I’m currently aiming to get Multiplex: Book 2 (not the final title, of course) ready for Summer 2012. That may or may not change, of course.

I’m not currently planning on including a long, exclusive story like the Prequel in Book 1, but there will be at least 25 pages of new material interspersed between the five chapters (6 through 10) included in the collection, some of which might be exclusive to the print collection.

Since Multiplex takes place in real time and generally update twice a week, I occasionally have to paint the story in relatively broad strokes. And, unfortunately, sometimes a story thread gets lost in the shuffle. It happens.

For Book 1, I used much of the new material to flesh out Devi and Gretchen, strengthening the narrative in the process, although it still lacks an overriding thrust over the course of the book. But adding a few finer brush strokes to the book, I think, adds a bit more dimension to the characters than you get from just the archives.

Book 2, on the other hand, has a stronger narrative in that it’s centered around Jason and Becky for chapters 6–8 and, in some ways, Jason’s absence in chapters 9 and 10 (although the book ends happily, with Jason returning to the theater).

So, like I did in Book 1, I’ll be using the bonus comics to expand on things between the characters — in chapters 6–8, between Jay and Becky, as well as Jason and Devi’s break-up. And in 9 & 10, I’ll be expanding on things in and out of the Multiplex 10 during the period where Jason had quit working at the theater.

To that end, if there’s a story thread from this period that you’d like a little more neatly tied up, or a movie you’d like me to touch on — basically, a deleted scene you’d like see added into the extended edition — feel free to make a suggestion! I, of course, reserve the right to disagree with you, since it’s my comic. ;)

(Please keep the suggestions to the range of strips included in Book 2: numbers 103 through 216 (November 2006 – March 2008). If you’d like to look up what movies came out in that time frame, ComingSoon.net’s release calendar is always a valuable tool; you just need to manually edit the URLs to find older dates.)

Apparently a few (two so far) copies of the book have repeated/missing pages around the p117–122 mark. If you got one of these, E-MAIL ME. It’s definitely not in all of the books, or even 1% of them; it’s a misprint. I try to flip through all the books to make sure they’re clean, but these things slip through sometimes.

I can get credited for them by my printer, and I will happily send you a new book — but I do need some sort of photographic/scanned evidence.

I’ve decided to make some changes to the Multiplex pre-order drive. You can read the new deal on the Multiplex sales page, but the gist of it is this: instead of 250 pre-orders, the goal is $5000 (a whopping $12.50 higher in dollar terms, based on the regular edition of the book). However, all purchases from the Multiplex store count towards the goal now — so we’re significantly closer to the goal than we were before. I think this is a fair change for everyone.

Like before: if (and only if) we reach the $5000 goal by September 18th, anyone who has pre-ordered a book will get a free bookmark, including Kickstarter backers and anyone who has pre-ordered the book to date.

But additionally: if we reach the $5000 goal, anyone who has pre-ordered the book will be entered to win one of TEN Multiplex/Memento mini-posters and one of TEN T-shirts of their choice (dependent upon availability in your size, I’m afraid) — again, including Kickstarter backers and anyone who has pre-ordered the book to date.

NOTE: Only people who have pre-ordered tbe books will receive bookmarks and be eligible to win the free posters and shirts — including $30 and up Kickstarter backers. Donations, while appreciated, do not count towards the goal. I’m not holding my hat out — at least, not exactly. I want to sell you something.

Questions? Comments?

The giveaway is valid for Goodreads users in the US and Canada only (sorry). See the Goodreads giveaway page for more details.

Also, if you’re in the Chicago area, please be sure to come to the Multiplex: Enjoy Your Show book release party at Third Coast Comics on September 18th, from 4pm – 7pm. I’ll be selling and signing copies of the book (a full four days before they’re officially on sale!), and fun will be had by all.

Afterwards, at 7pm, there will be the monthly meeting of the Chicago Comic Book Meetup group, and I’ll be a special guest, so you can hear me ramble incoherently about my comics.

P.S. Thursday’s strip is running late, but rather than crap something out at the last minute, I’d rather just take my time and do it right. Sorry!