Want more stories out of the Waste? Read the Crumble Bulletin, a newspaper-meets-blog telling the everyday tales of a small Waste township from the perspective of its mad inhabitants.
What is the Crumble Bulletin?
Imagine if you could read a newspaper written by someone struggling to survive after the world has ended. This newspaper is as small town as small town can be, forgoing big think-pieces in favour of telling the stories that matter – like what your neighbour is up to, or who is organising the next angry mob.
This is The Crumble Bulletin. It’s an ongoing work of comedy fiction styled like some weird half-assed attempt at journalism. It exists as a series of blog posts on the eponymous website, designed to be read like a story – not just a series of random posts where you can start from anywhere. I mean, you could start from anywhere if you really wanted, but I tell ya, it’s gonna get confusing real fast.
The cool thing about The Crumble Bulletin is that it allows me to expand on some of the world in which “Smack-dab” is set. For example, the Overlords only play a minor role in my novel, but yet they seem to have a huge impact on the Waste. So who are they? What are they?
Well, you can read the Crumble Bulletin to find out more. The Overlords are a major part of their local government. Adventurers also play a more interesting role, and we learn about the politics of governing a small, shitty little town long after the last bombs have fallen.
What is the plot?
The Crumble Bulletin is told in a series of “Issues”, which are its way of categorising story arcs.
The first issue – “A Hero Comes to Town” – focuses on the exploits (and ramifications) of a wandering adventurer passing through Crumble. Things go well at first, with the local townsfolk paying said adventurer to do their dirty work. But they soon realise that all is not as it seems, and this hero for hire might not be so heroic after all. It’s actually an exploration of heroes in video game RPGs, where the player can just wander into somebody’s house and take stuff, or accept a job and then never finish it. Except we see it from the townsfolk’s perspective.
The second and third issues are all about politics. The town needs a new mayor, and then that mayor turns out to be not who they expected. Things go awry, laughs are had, people die.
What will happen in future Issues? Subscribe and find out!
