Welcome to the very first installment of our Behind the Book series!
One of the things we've always wanted Patreon to be is a place where we can share the creative process behind Worlds Beyond Number—not just the finished product, but all the work that goes into bringing these stories to life.
This graphic novel has been in the works for a long time, and we've been quietly saving pieces of that journey to share with all of you. We're excited to start opening the vault.
Today, we're handing things over to someone who's been at the center of this project from day one: Skybound Editorial Director Alex Antone, the editor of the graphic novel. Alex was instrumental in assembling the incredible creative team behind this adaptation, and below he's sharing the story of how it all came together.
Along with his notes, you'll get an exclusive look at Sarah Webb's original audition pages, Jadzia Axelrod's first chapter script, early character designs, and Chapter 1 layouts.
This is just the beginning. We have plenty more behind-the-scenes material to share, and we'd love for the Fireside to help shape what comes next.
—The Worlds Beyond Number Team
Hey folks! Alex Antone here, Editorial Director at Skybound and editor of the first Worlds Beyond Number graphic novel. I thought it would be fun to pull back the curtain on how this book came together. I've been editing comics for 15 years now (sheesh), and one of the questions I get asked most often is how comics are actually made. So here's an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how this graphic novel came to life...
Once Skybound and WBN officially partnered to make the book, our first step was to identify an artist who fit the tone of The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One, specifically The Children’s Adventure, because we knew that’s where we wanted to start the graphic novel adaptation. Art is EVERYTHING in comics, it is a visual medium after all, and after a great meeting with the entire WBN cast to discuss what their vision for the comic could look like, we scoured the world looking for the best artist to bring this story to life.
One artist that stood out to us immediately was Sarah Webb, I’d been a fan of her work for years and when I finally got a chance to meet her at TCAF in Toronto, I told her all about Worlds Beyond Number and thankfully, she thought it sounded like a cool project! But believing that someone can do something is one thing, and for a project this important, we needed to see it for real – so we asked her to do a little tryout to see how she’d approach the characters and adapt the story. One of the most important moments of the book is when Suvi and Ame meet for the first time, so that’s the scene we chose for the test. I wanted to see if Sarah could capture the character dynamics AND the setting, since Grandma Wren’s cottage is where the majority of the first book takes place. I also asked her to do some Eursulon sketches since he didn’t appear in the Suvi/Ame scene, but I still wanted to see what her Eursulon looked like.
What follows is her tryout, and suffice to say, we were all blown away.
Once we had Sarah on board, we needed to find someone to take on the immense task of distilling 10+ hours of TTRPG story into a 200ish page comic script. Could Sarah have done it herself? Probably, but it was actually her idea to bring in a writer so she could focus on the art, and I’m SO glad she made the suggestion, because we found the absolute PERFECT writer in Jadzia Axelrod. I’ve known Jadzia for years and worked with her a little bit, and I’ve always been impressed by the craft she displays in every script she writes. She’s a meticulous writer in the best way, and as it turned out, she’s also a MASSIVE fan of TTRPG storytelling, specifically Worlds Beyond Number! So, when I asked her if she’d be interested in adapting The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One, it was probably the quickest “YES!” I’ve ever received.
After a story call between Jadzia and the WBN team, we received her first script, and we knew we’d made the right call. Jadzia absolutely nailed it, and really, I think might be the secret weapon of this whole venture.
Below you can read Jadzia’s script for chapter 1.
Next, Sarah began her official work on the book and went about creating the looks for each character in the official graphic novel adaptation. You’ll notice some tweaks from the tryout which were made at WBN’s direction. She also began doing sketches for some prints that eventually became the cover to the book, the cover to the Patreon exclusive comic, and the Kickstarter exclusive print. Gorgeous.
From there, she started to draw the first chapter! And here’s the result. You can see how she approached Jadzia’s script and brought her own distinct voice to the table.
Below you can see Sarah's layouts for chapter 1.
The result, I think, is something quite extraordinary. And in case you missed it, you can read the entire first chapter right here. (We could do a whole separate feature on lettering and the amazing Sara Linsley’s contribution if there is a demand for such thing!)
If you haven’t already, be sure to pledge the Kickstarter campaign to read the rest of the graphic novel! And let the folks at WBN know if you want more BTS content like this, I’d be happy to come back and do it again.
Ahoo-hoo and crackle, crackle!
Alex Antone6/26/26 (that’s a cool date)
A Quick Note: 500 More Signed Bookplates Are Coming!
Before we go, we wanted to give Patreon members a quick heads up about one of the next big Kickstarter stretch goals.
When the campaign reaches $1.5 million, we'll officially announce 500 additional signed bookplates from the Worlds Beyond Number cast. These will be offered as a new Dungeon Master Tier, featuring the same rewards and pledge amount as the original Dungeon Master Tier.
The new tier will not go live immediately when we hit $1.5 million. Instead, we'll announce the exact date and time it will become available—and Patreon members will receive at least 24 hours' notice before it opens, so you'll have plenty of time to prepare!
Please note: The instructions below are for backers who have already pledged to the campaign and would like to upgrade or change their existing pledge to the new Dungeon Master Tier once it becomes available.
If you have not pledged yet, you’ll be able to select the new Dungeon Master Tier directly from the campaign page once it goes live.
How to Change Your Pledge
Desktop
Make sure you’re logged into Kickstarter.
Go to the Worlds Beyond Number Kickstarter campaign page.
Click Manage Your Pledge in the top right.
Select Change Your Pledge.
Choose the new Dungeon Master Tier once it becomes available.
Click Confirm Change to save your updated pledge.
Mobile App
Open the Kickstarter app.
Tap Profile and go to Backed Projects.
Select Worlds Beyond Number: The Official Graphic Novel from your backed projects.
Tap Manage in the bottom right.
Tap the three-dot button in the top right.
Select Edit Reward.
Change your pledge to the new Dungeon Master Tier once it becomes available.
Tap Confirm to save your changes.
Important note: If a large number of people are trying to change their pledge at the same time, Kickstarter may take a little longer to load. Please do not refresh the page while your pledge change is processing, as this may cause you to lose your place or interrupt the update.