No Holds Bard: The First Folio Original Graphic Novel

Ergo, I come with this apology:
almost 4 years ago – Thu, Jul 09, 2020 at 08:06:56 PM

Hey everybody.

Eric here with a quick update. First, I hope all is well with you. It's a scary time, and yet I'm perhaps most scared of normalizing it.

I want to apologize once again for our delays. I've been terrible at transparency and scared of disappointing you, but in truth, there is a lot to be told, and most of it is good news, albeit slow news.

Gabrielle is well into work on issue #6, our grand finale, Ines is coloring Issue #5, and our world-class letterer Aditya has #4 on his schedule for the next few weeks.

I also wanted to let you read what we've completed to this point. The first three issues are first-rate and fully completed, and I'm excited to share them with you. While nothing beats the feeling of reading a finished graphic novel on paper for the first time, you deserve to see what you paid for. So if you want to read them, please send me a message, and I'll follow up with a link to everything we have so far. Not enough, I know. In the meantime, I'd like to thank you for your patience and know that we'll have everything in your hands by the end of the year.

Thanks again. Your patience means the world to me.

More soon,

Eric

Virus be danged!
about 4 years ago – Thu, Mar 26, 2020 at 01:57:42 PM

Good tidings everybody,

Eric here. I hope you're doing all right, all things considered.

The whole creative team is in lockdown, but we're still working remotely as always. #3 is lettered, and in the books, #4 is all inked. We got the stickers back from the printers, and they look good!

You know, Shakespeare himself supposedly wrote King Lear while holed up during the Black Death fiasco, but that doesn't mean you have an impetus to be creative or anything. 

So what can you do? Marquee.tv has a 30-day trial now, and they have a ton of plays from the Royal Shakespeare Company, including Richard II starring David Tennant as the sad king.

Sir Patrick Stewart is reading Shakespeare's sonnets over at his Instagram. His ever mellifluous voice is exceptionally comforting.

Speaking of, if you're a mega Patrick Stewart fan (and why wouldn't you be?), there's now a 30-day trial of CBS All Access, where you can watch the whole first season of Picard. You can also watch The Twilight Zone, even though we're already living in it.

But one thing I'm urging you to do is keep comic shops alive. Diamond Comics Distributors has a monopoly on all new comic distribution, and they're shuttering due to the virus. That means no new comics for the time being. But there's still plenty of back issues to burn through, so buy gift cards, do curbside pickup, order online, maybe start a pull list with a local shop, and support your favorite artists on Patreon. They need us now more than ever.

In the immortal words of the bard, Jerry Springer, "Take care of yourselves, and each other."

More pages! Patches are here! Canceled Cons! And More!
about 4 years ago – Tue, Mar 10, 2020 at 12:32:25 AM

Sup friends?

We're almost finished with the inks for ish #4, so I'd thought I'd share a few shots of Juliet and her Romeo, who play a big part in the issue. Check it out:

Once again, our intrepid illustrator, Gabrielle Kari, is outdoing herself.

C2E2 was a blast, I got to talk to a couple of great publishers, and there is some real interest in our little book. Fingers crossed on that front.  I also got to talk with a few spectacular creators, including Dave Baker and Nicole Goux, Cara McGee, and one of the most prolific writers in comics today, Tom King (who coincidentally graduated from my high school about ten years before me). Of course, I came home with the dreaded Con-Crud, which is made worse by the recent news...

I'm sure you've heard already, but Emerald City Comic Con, which takes place in Seattle, was postponed due to COVID-19. It's a bummer, but ultimately the right decision. There's always more cons in the future. Meanwhile, be sure to support creators online. Our friend Jen Vaughn is organizing a QVC-style virtual con from the 12th-14th, which you can check out at https://www.twitch.tv/vvspa! She also does regular Dungeons & Dragons shows which are pretty fun to watch.

Remember last time when I said there would be patches? Well, they're here, and they're spectacular.

So yeah. That's about it for now. We're firing on all cylinders, but the comics creation process is an old jalopy. So thanks for your patience, and in the meantime, keep a song in your heart.

Best,

Eric

Con season is upon us!
about 4 years ago – Thu, Feb 27, 2020 at 12:30:05 AM

Hey everybody! Quick update,

Inks for #4 are coming in, and they look amaaaazing. The subject matter is the most emotional of the bunch, and so I was a little worried about how to handle it delicately while maintaining our sense of humor. In the face of those odds, our astounding art team has the vision and nimble hand dexterity to walk that tightrope with ease! I'll show you a part of a preview below.

And #3 is flatted, and almost all the fine detail is finished! How about those colors? I was extremely excited to see how Gabrielle handled our island baddie numero uno Caliban, and she knocked it out of the park. And with the one-two punch of Gabrielle and Ines Bravo, well, see for yourself...

I've started putting in orders for our merch, which is super-swell if you ask me. The first thing we're fulfilling is embroidered patches! We'll be using Logan's excellent mask design for them. They're about 2 inches wide and have an iron-on backing for easy application to any surface. Of course, with the global productivity issues surrounding the coronavirus, they might take a little while, but this project is delayed to heck and back already. But seriously, everything is coming together...it's just taking a longer time than we all thought. 😬

And finally, a big congrats to our friend and cover artist, James Callahan, whose monumental comic, The Auteur, is being turned into a Showtime TV show by Taika Waititi. I had a chance to speak with James at Permanent Records, a fresh new bar/record store/zine fest over the weekend in LA, and he's still one of the nicest dudes ever.

Ok, that's about it! I'm off to C2E2 early Friday, followed by a jaunt up to ECCC and finally Wondercon. Hope to meet you there!

Byeeee

New Pages! New Colors!
about 4 years ago – Mon, Feb 03, 2020 at 08:14:19 PM

Hey all!

We're chugging along on the book, and everything is looking fantastic. Gabrielle has completed the roughs for issue 4 and should have inks done in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, our fabulous new colorist, Inês Bravo (The Hartwin Series), has been turning in some eye-popping pages sure to make your heart flutter. Like this one here:

So yeah, I know it's taking a while, but all the pieces are in place, and the finish line is in sight (although still aways away), and with Inês on the job, it should be going slightly faster. Thank you all for your patience, and we'll make the best book possible.

Best,

Eric

P.S., I'm going to C2E2 and ECCC to handle some business. I won't be tabling, but I'll be walking around. If you see me, say hi!