(permalink to this week’s page)
Okay, gang, I promise that this is the last page of rabbit gore for awhile.
MEANWHILE, over on the Dylan Meconis Library Kickstarter, the news continues to be awesome. We’ve got 18 days left to go and we’re climbing towards $22k! That means we busted past 20k, so everybody who’s getting a copy of Danse Macabre 2.0 will also be getting a set of Skullhouettes prints. This is one of my favorite designs, and I am VERY excited to be able to give it to more of my readers!
Next up, when we reach $25k, I’ll be making an embroidered patch for Outfoxed, and there are even more things I look forward to doing beyond that. Most of all, I am looking forward to spending so much of this year working on, you know, my own work, and not having to knuckle down through months of paying off a big print bill and wincing every time I print out a shipping label.
Thank you to everybody who’s contributed so far (and thank you for the patience and the cheering-on from those of you who aren’t able to this time around.) Check in on Kickstarter for more updates!
Man, what a week! The 2012 Library is now over $18k on Kickstarter, which means that all three books will be going to print, and that the anniversary edition of Bite Me will have a new 11-page short story! All of that is a very big deal for an indie artist/publisher like me. Thank you to everybody who has pitched in so far! And hey, the rest of you: the books will never be cheaper online, and they certainly won’t come with as much cool cool extra stuff. You have until July 17!
(And, if we hit 20k, you will have a shot at getting a set of Skullhouettes prints, aka my fastest-selling design ever.)
In other news, Portlanders may have been seeing even more of my illustration work around town lately. The last two weeks of the Portland Mercury have both featured art by me – last week’s Pride issue included one of my Lady Parts images, and this week’s story on wind energy had me drawing Senator Ron Wyden in lumberjack mode:
It’s not every day you get paid to look up photos of lumberjacks. It’s a fine job, my job.
And now, on to pagan rituals in the back woods of Moravia in the 18th century! Here’s your teaser panel for this week’s page of Family Man:
Warning: we are back into Bunny Guts territory. If you do not care to gaze upon (tastefully rendered) rabbit innards, put this one off until you’re feeling a little more up to it!
Hello, all – for the last several months I’ve been scheming away on My Next Big Thing. (Or, you know, my Concurrent Big Thing, since my graphic novel Family Man continues apace as I accumulate new pages for Volume II.)
You might’ve noticed that I’ve been sold out of Bite Me! books for awhile. As in, over a year. I’ve gotten so many e-mails and messages asking about it, and it’s driven me crazy every time I’ve had to reply “they’ll be back again soon! When I can make them better quality! And add stuff! And the elves return to Middle Earth!”
You might also have noticed that there hasn’t been a print edition of Outfoxed yet. Most of the comments on it I sum up to “This is great! Where can I buy a copy?” Up until now the answer has been nowhere.
And, if you were one of the people who wanted to buy an original piece from my Danse Macabre 2.0 illustration series but missed out or couldn’t afford it, you’ve asked me when I was going to do a collection or issue prints.
Well, I have some relevant and exciting news for all of you, because I’ve decided it’s finally time to open up pre-orders and fund a print run!
Of all three books! Through Kickstarter!
Here, let me explain, via video. (It’s only four minutes, and there are jokes.)
I’m excited, gang. I’ve become a much better at this stuff – the practical side of bookmaking – since I last made a book, and I’ve become astronomically better at it since I first made a book. I know how to make a book more quickly, at higher quality, at a lower cost, and get it to you with greater speed. Perhaps most importantly, I know who to ask for help rather than trying to do everything by myself.
But I can dream up the fanciest stuff on earth to no avail – ultimately it all depends on you folks, my lovely and distinguished readers. I don’t want to make things you’re not interested in.
So, if you’re interested in owning a copy of any of these three projects – please consider contributing! The success (or failure) of this campaign will have a big impact on how I print my work in the future. (The future of Family Man volumes will hinge, at least in part, on how well this project does.) Creator-owned self-pub is absolutely the most effective way I can turn my work into income.
Thanks in advance, all!
(permalink to this week’s page)
Moon and stars and snow and wolves! And that dang gun. Next week: what have the ladies have been up to?
This work week finds me busy at work on a project that will be launching next Wednesday. I hate those “OOH SECRET PROJECT I CAN’T TELL YOU ABOUT” posts that everybody falls victim to posting online; if you’re only an occasional peruser of my work, this is just your official advisory to check in sooner rather than later. Your bookshelf will thank you later.
Lastly, if you’ve been looking for some more 18th century historical fiction, I’ve been plowing through the prose novel The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, by David Mitchell.
Mitchell is a wonderful stylist, and when he’s in Historical Mode he does a marvelous job of taking a setting and wrapping it around your head. (His plotting can be rather cruel, though, so if you’re squeamish about characters being knocked around, seek comfort.)
All sorts of familiar things making (re)appearances! It’s fun to draw circles.
Holiday shoppers! This is your last week to use the code SPINOZA in the store to get 20% of your order. If you’ve already got the delightfulness on offer there, keep on eye on my Etsy store today. Starting at 12pm Pacific, I’ll be posting over a dozen itty-bitty, one-of-a-kind watercolor paintings, most 2.5×3.5 inches, for sale throughout the day! I don’t sell art very often, and these paintings are fun because they’re way more affordable than bigger pieces.
Also! Last weekend I appeared on the 3rd annual Freelancer Roundtable, hosted by Katie Lane of Work Made For Hire and featuring fellow knuckleheads Bill Mudron and Erika Moen. We answered audience questions and said inappropriate things and just generally had a delightful time. You can listen to it in audio form or watch our antics on camera at the bottom of the Podcast page.
Lastly, there’s a new set of Notes up, for pages 210-219! Possibly the sauciest set of notes I’ve written yet.