: Sorry I'm a little late (and in the midst of a Halo 5 flood no less), but to
: clarify: 343i didn't contact me about publishing it themselves, they
: contacted me about a licensing offer akin to what Red vs Blue survives on.
: A Fistful of Arrows would have been approved by Microsoft's lawyers, but
: not technically 'canon' or supported by 343i in anyway. I'd be publishing
: it myself, advertising it myself, etc. and Microsoft would get a cut of
: the profit.

: Though one might hypothesize that some fans would interpret such an act as
: some sort of endorsement towards canonicity - I know I would if I were the
: audience and not the maker. So even though it wouldn't be 'full' Halo, I
: was still ready to do whatever it took to make this next step in my
: art/career happen.

: ...And I still don't really know why it didn't work out. Though, I have some
: ideas. This hushed casket of a project had a lot of puzzling
: contradictions...

: I think MS was imagining a digital release model (like RvB again) at the
: start. I had to point out that Fistful had already been released digitally
: for free in its entirety and that I had no idea how to hit the 'redo'
: button on that. I suggested that I could make a new comic (one that would
: have bridged Halo 2/ODST and Halo 3, or a direct sequel to AFoA) that
: could be released with some sort of sponsorship model. But if I recall
: they didn't want to have to approve the content as it was made. They
: already had Fistful in their hands and they could read it all and licence
: it - something new would be a completely different boat. But the fact that
: Fistful WAS already in their digital hands was the thing that made selling
: it digitally so difficult, heh.

: So then a printing! But a printing required (my) money up front, or a
: Kickstarter, etc. I tried to get some quotes and make some proofs for
: Microsoft but printers wouldn't do so without some sort of official 'okay'
: from MS since the word "Halo" was half of the front cover. A
: Kickstarter would also need some sort of similar approval or official
: communications. MS said they might be able to do something like that if
: the project went forward... but how could it go forward if I couldn't get
: it started? It was like I was trapped in a paradox.

: I kept researching and refining a method to make a printing happen though and
: a great in-person meeting made it seem like things were going to happen...
: But over the next few months the emails slowed and eventually MS stopped
: replying.

: The next year, I found out from BS Angel, who's direct response I greatly
: appreciated (in addition to the spotlight she gave to AFoA), that the
: project had been put on hold indefinitely or something to that effect.

: Looking back, I do wish 343i had thought out the offer themselves before
: extending it to me. It really felt like they thought it was a great idea,
: got excited, contacted me, THEN realized the details and slowly crept back
: into the bushes like a Homer gif . I also would have appreciated being
: kept in the loop if the project was looking grim. The slow realization
: that it wasn't happening was a huge letdown for me and (combined with some
: other life events) led to a pretty good depression. I had put a lot of
: things in my life on hold so when it finally fell apart, it felt like I
: had wasted my life for a while. Couldn't make any real art to speak of for
: some time. It also became much harder to get excited for any new 343i Halo
: content, tied so closely as it is in my head to that tease and removal of
: potential success/validation.

: Mayflower was born directly out of those ashes - that year or so of feeling
: invalid. I needed to make my portfolio full of my own ideas and work on
: projects that I was in control of. If I'm going to fail, I need it to be
: my fault.

: But it is still great to see Fistful enjoyed and remembered fondly. And those
: mentions and hat tips from 343i send more folks back to the comic so
: that's lovely to see.

I didn't know all of that story...thank you for sharing.

Be proud of what you accomplished, official endorsement or no. What you created was nothing short of absolutely astounding!!