Welcome to Relativity, where the superheros don’t need super powers to be badass, and the super villain may just be in a bugsuit.
Although I’d been aware of Relativity for a while, my first real interaction with the serial was almost a year ago when Michelle submitted a story from the serial to our Speculative issue. We didn’t publish it. Ultimately it did not fit our final view for the issue, but the superhero serial stayed with me.
In the year that followed, I became an avid fan, watching as new art and stories were published online, so when Michelle submitted another serial for our Repeat Review, I felt a pang of sadness emailing her and Jim a decline. Here was this great collaborative project that I loved, but had no way to properly publish on our old site. Thankfully, plans for self-hosting were already underway, and once we were redesigned, I knew I had to get Relativity for our first special issue.
Over the last couple of months, I’ve worked closely with Jim and Michelle to design the features you’ll find in this issue. I’ve picked some of my favorite pieces from their first collection, Lost & Found, and a couple side stories from their collection This & That. Start where you want to, with the voice actors, the artists, selected stories, or the characters themselves. You can’t go wrong.
I’ll leave you with my two favorite characters, Yule, who you’ll meet in this feature, and Cricket, who you’ll meet if you continue onto Relativity’s second book, Secrets & Revelations.
For more things Relativity, visit blacktorrent.us where additional stories are available for free. If you like the project, consider making a donation directly to the serial here.
Best,
Raquel Thorne
Editor
Meet the Authors | Meet the Artists |
Meet the Characters & Heroes | Meet the Actors |
Selected Episodes |

Joel Hartlaub
Relativity theme music composed by Joel Hartlaub. Joel is a super tall dude with a super big heart. He is the bomb-diggity at composing music and ain’t too bad lookin’ either. He can be reached at joelcomposes@gmail.com.
Also a big congratulations from cahoodaloodaling on your wedding! Cheers!
Click to hear the “theatrical” theme for Relativity, orchestrated by Joel.
To download Relativity music, click here.