Tails from the Federation is a British-American transmedia franchise centered around collection of science fantasy stories. It is a franchise brand of ColorWorld Productions. Created by Craig Black, Jacob Elmer, Jordann William Edwards and Elizabeth Mogan, the franchise expanded upon the original Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart stories, and expanded the storyline. It was planned to be part of the ColorWorld Universe, but Edwards dissolved the partnership, effectively jettisoning the brands from the setting.
History[]
Development[]
In 2015, Craig Black was developing the MacTaggart stories, and would plan out an initial round of 13 "episodes". Beforehand, he has hired close friend and fellow artist Jake Elmer to illustrate for the series.
Once Jordann Edwards discovered that there was potential to expand beyond MacTaggart, he began writing down ideas. The pair began discussing ideas for where to go beyond this wild world. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Mogan was influenced by what Black was doing, and created Ghosts of Earth.
Edwards and Mogan began exchanging concepts, and, upon discovering what might be a potential story for Darkblade, started developing what would become Bloody Cutlass. Black would then entrust them in creating the actual stories.
Unfortunately, due to focusing on her own stories, Mogan decided to step away, and declared Ghosts of Earth "dead". She stated that, aside from the story of Darkblade setting the basis for Bloody Cutlass, she admitted that she had nothing else to offer in terms of contribution. At the same time, Edwards opted to take a break from the collection in order to similarly focus on developing The Dynamite Twins and strengthening ColorWorld overall. Before leaving, he was already merging the concepts of Ghosts into MacTaggart and Cutlass, to give Black and Elmer further inspiration.
Creative differences and execution[]
In July 2017, the crew has had a bout of infighting regarding the series itself, due to a simple mistake regarding pieces of fan art drawn by British cartoonist Mark Appleyard. After seeing Appleyard's reply to Jacob about "not creating any of the characters," Jordann Edwards announced he was no longer contributing to the original story. He wanted to focus on developing The Dynamite Twins and Friends and Dragon Mages, while taking what was already written in the original MacTaggart stories, and adapting them to create a cohesive setting for the ColorWorld Universe. Jacob Elmer made an announcement of his own, stating he was taking a temporary hiatus due to his depression (which resulted from his frustration from the comment), while also remarking that he doesn't get as much credit as the other three. Mogan also decided to back out, admitting that she had little to offer. Despite all of this, all four are now equally credited, not just for creating and developing MacTaggart and the Tails franchise, but the ColorWorld Universe as a whole.
Things got relatively worse when for two years, Edwards was criticised by Appleyard's friends - Andrew Morrice, Christopher Clews, and Sally Foster - for, in their eyes, not only refusing to change his art style (even though he was slowly improving), but "announcing grandiose projects with nothing to offer from them," as well as constantly bringing up his "studios" even though he didn't legally establish them at the time. This resulted in Edwards nearly spiraling into another depression. He publicly lashed out at them, and ended up cutting them and their friends off his inner circle.
Final attempts and ultimate cancellation[]
As Craig Black winds down his original story, Jordann Edwards has started building up the ColorWorld Universe, and he has opted to help Black and Elmer overhaul not just their stories, but those of The Dynamite Twins and Friends, while also creating Dragon Mages. He's enlisted Joey Carlon and Douglas Marshall to contribute as well. However, after Edwards suffered an endless swath of criticism, and numerous creative differences, he decided to call off the partnership and cede control of the franchise and any further involvement in it, while focusing on developing his own brands full-time.
Today, Edwards has been hard at work, focusing exclusively on his own creations, particularly TDT. Elmer, on the other hand, has been struggling with depression and a major case of art block. However, after the story winds down, he still wishes to continue the Captain MacTaggart comic book series, and he still hopes to have help from Edwards, Marshall, and Carlon in making it as interesting as possible.
Stories[]
Current[]
Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart[]
Created by Craig Black, Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart centers around Jaws MacTaggart and her fight against the Federation and the Empire.
- A series of comics is planned
Bloody Cutlass[]
Bloody Cutlass is a series of stories centering around pirate captain Darkblade. It is a spin-off of MacTaggart, and a stand-alone sequel to Ghosts of Earth. It was created by Edwards and Mogan when they were developing different ideas.
- A series of comics is planned
In development[]
Zander Dodgers[]
Zander Dodgers is being developed as a film that takes place before the events of MacTaggart. It focuses on a dog who gets entangled in a war.
The Syndicate of Time and Space[]
A new spin-off is in the works by Jordann Edwards, focusing on a mysterious dimensional traveller who assembles a group of familiar faces in the Universe to stop threats from messing with all of time and space.
The Lumarions[]
A possible sequel series, entitled The Lumarions, is being discussed, with Jake Elmer and Joey Carlon helming development. The story so far centers around a younger crew recruited by a rogue warrior from a post-apocalyptic future, in a new force disguised as an interstellar courier service, having to contend with pirates, rival traders and a potential uprising of sympathizers to the cause of the former Midori Empire.
Cancelled[]
Ghosts of Earth[]
Ghosts of Earth was originally set before the events of MacTaggart, centered around Captain Willow and her voyage back home on Earth. Mogan cancelled the series as she has no intent on continuing development.
Music[]
Original scores[]
Black has been looking for composers for the animated adaptations of MacTaggart and Cutlass. There are also plans to release albums with all the incidental scores from the series.
Soundtracks and compilations[]
Two soundtracks are in development: one, the Edwards-produced A Stellar Voyage, has more orchestra, urban, and electronic influence; another, the Elmer-produced Space Pirates Rock!, consists entirely of heavy metal, hard rock and punk rock songs.
Elmer is also producing a Field Marshals album.
Comics[]
It has been recently implied that comic books and graphic novels are in development to promote the series, for both MacTaggart and Bloody Cutlass.
Radio[]
Edwards has had a concept of a radio/podcast tie-in, called TFTF Pirate Radio. The exact nature of this tie-in is currently unknown, though it has been suggested that it could take the form of an in-universe pirate radio station.
Federation Pirates[]
Federation Pirates is a team from within the ColorWorld Brand Studio that manages and oversees the Tails franchise and its sub-brands.
- Craig Black - co-creator of Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart, writer, brand manager and franchise editor
- Jacob Elmer - co-creator of Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart and The Lumarions, brand manager, franchise editor, writer, executive lead artist
- Jordann William Edwards - co-creator of Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart and Bloody Cutlass
- franchise editor, writer, concept artist (2015-2017)
- Elizabeth Mogan - co-creator of Bloody Cutlass
- creator of Ghosts of Earth and its characters
- Joey Carlon - story and character development, co-creator of The Lumarions
- Douglas Marshall - science/tech concept contributor, story development
External Links[]
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| Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart | {{{subgroup1}}} | {{{content1}}} | |
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| Bloody Cutlass | {{{subgroup3}}} | {{{content3}}} | |
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