Hello Emberverse!
Love is in the air and has exploded all over our Christmas tree…
If you’re new to Last Ember Press (LEP) and Around the Fire (ATF), take a look around. If you like what you see, consider hitting that button below to get us in your inbox!
Here’s a quick sneak peek at what you can expect this time Around the Fire:
Have you ever heard of a Valentine’s Tree?
I’m honestly asking because I’ve never seen it done. Until now.
As we stood there in mid January faced with taking the tree down, inspiration struck. We decided to NOT take it down, but instead re-decorate it… for Valentine’s Day!
Off to the store we went to see what we could find on the cheap, and lo and behold, there’s a lot of stuff out there!
Why did we do this? Well, for this little gal:
Our 4-year old niece went shopping with us and helped pick out a lot of the decorations then helped us decorate it one day and is now counting down the days until V-Day. When the day comes, she gets to take down one of the 4 little boxes of candy off the tree and dig in!
It’s these kind of things that I feel like kids remember. The Easter I remember the most is the one my mom got me a Fisher Price wheelbarrow filled with candy, plastic eggs and toys instead of a basket when I was 3 or 4. And our niece is now at the age where she’s remembering things and we wanted to make some special memories this year with her.
Plus, honestly, it’s just fun!
We’re already the weird house that has toys and graphic novels on our living room bookcase, superhero and Doctor Who pictures hanging on every wall and board games on a shelf in our dining room.
So why not have a Valentine’s Tree?
The question is do we leave it up even longer and make an Easter one…?
The Last Ember FINAL WEEK
Speaking of Valentine’s Day, The Last Ember Kickstarter ends 2 days before the holiday on February 12th, which is just a week from this coming Monday!
That means there are only NINE DAYS LEFT in the campaign!
For this FINAL WEEK push, we’re trying to decide how to navigate it. Do we do Stretch Goals or just let it ride? We’re already doing a giveaway (more on that below). What about Kickstarter updates? Should we add a vanishing add-on?
I’ve been debating over all these questions all week long and I’m still torn.
So maybe you can help! At least as it pertains to Stretch Goals.
How? By voting in this poll, of course:
(POLL) IF WE WERE TO DO STRETCH GOALS…
I’m really curious to see these results.
Note: The prose prequel is about Ashley, the girl in the flashback story in issue #0 or Reforged.
This poll only runs through Monday, so vote early!
And in case you missed my previous post showing off the Lenticular Cover, which we now have in hand, check this out:
GIVEAWAY!
I mentioned a giveaway above and that’s going down on MONDAY!
As a “Thank You” to our backers, we’re giving away our last Metal Print of Federico’s project image for the last campaign:
We only had 5 of these made and this is the last one we have. So it’s extremely rare!
Now, it’s time to…
There is never a shortage of wonderful comic projects launching on Kickstarter. There’s also never a shortage of creators I know launching on Kickstarter!
So here are a few that are live and upcoming right now you might want to check out:
Crossover Division #'s 1-5: Hyde and Seek
Will Allred is really trying to ramp up the schedule for this book and get several issues out this year. That starts with the latest issue of Crossover Division that tackles the classic tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!
“When stories come to life and threaten to fracture reality beyond repair, only an English professor and a research librarian have the knowledge and smarts to save us all. Join Hank Wallace and Hector Ramirez in Crossover Division #5 as the growing evil of Mr. Hyde stalks a transformed London. Can Hank and Hector end the crossover before Mr. Hyde ends them?”
I have the honor of being a small part of this creative team providing the lettering for the book and it’s a blast to work on.
As I’m typing this up, it’s only $106 away from 75% funding, so consider helping it reach that milestone by clicking the button below!
PACK #1-4: A Comic Book Series About Vigilante Dogs
Lynsey and Jayel of Oneshi Press have a wide range of stories and experiences they share through their many projects and this one is as unique as any of them!
“PACK is a grungy, gritty, dark, vigilante-justice, urban-drama-noir limited comic book series with a heart of gold about 1 stray man and 6 stray dogs who roam the back alleys, defending the innocent as they put bad guys under the fang.”
This one just launched and could use your support to get it going, so check it out by hitting that button below and get a tree planted for your support!
Sacrimony #1-7: A Tale of Love, Life and Death - Make 100
Matta Sorcier’s Sacrimony, like The Last Ember, ends in 9 days! But it still has a little ways to go before reaching its goal. Matta is great and this book is too! We’ve backed every issue.
“Khajad is dead. But now she's alive again.
So what's the catch?”
“She has no memory of her past, and no idea why she now has demon wings that she needs to hide from society. Unfortunately, her mother, Yunika, is the only one with all the answers and she hasn't been terribly helpful. Instead of giving her daughter straight answers and explaining that Khajad will be killed on sight if anyone sees her wings, Yunika lies and makes excuses in order to avoid the subject entirely. “
If this sounds like your kind of book, considering backing it too:
Talos of Sparta 1 & 2
Shaun Keenan is another creator that puts out a lot of material and helps others launch as well. He’s also always been a supporter and cheerleader for our projects, so we’re always happy to spread the word about his latest.
“Join Talos as he sets out on an adventure to not only avenge his father's death but to protect Sparta from an evil that will stop at nothing to see his country and its people burn.
The Beast King is a Spartan myth, a legend nothing more than a tale to scare children and the lost traveler from venturing too far into the unknown region. Little did people know that while the first Spartans defeated this evil, Rome had kept it at bay for many years. When Rome fell to the power of Sparta this evil was left to grow and prosper, waiting for its time to take revenge on Sparta and all those who opposed him.”
If you like tales of the Spartans and stories filled with mythical beasts and epic battles, check this one out below:
And here are a couple of upcoming ones by some friends of mine. Go follow their prelaunch pages so you don’t miss their launches!
SINK #1-13: MONSTERS Deluxe Edition - Vampire Crime Horror
Nightmare in Wonderland #1 - NSFW Queer Fairytale Romance
Wurst & Mayhem #1
Finally, here are a few more if you are in a backing mood:
Miskatonic High Issue 22 - The After Party
THE PEACEKEEPERS #1-4 from Ringo Award-Winner Rylend Grant
MONSTER MATADOR: ONCE UPON SOME MONSTERS IN MEXICO #1-2
Cheeky Comics Annual 2024 - Three NSFW Stories
The Surgeon Chapter 6: Blood
Even if you can’t back all of these, you CAN SHARE THEM completely for FREE! And that helps just as much as financial support. That includes The Last Ember. Can’t back it right now? Please spread the word about it so more people can find it!
Before I wrap this one up, if it’s okay with you I’ll share a personal and a couple of recreational updates with you. First, an update on my whole back situation.
The Shots Did NOT Work…
Last time I mentioned those shots in my back. Well, not only did they not work, they actually caused me MORE pain!
The day after, I could barely move I was in so much pain. I wrote that off as my body having been through the injections and the concoction not taking effect yet. I was told by multiple people, including the doctor, the next day would be rough.
5 days in, I was still in pain and having NEW pains I hadn’t had before! So I called and got my follow-up appointment moved up nearly 2 weeks.
Bottom line is if I wasn’t feeling relief by that 5 day mark it didn’t work. So now we have to try something else.
Currently, I’m on different pain meds, including patches I where for 7 days at a time awaiting my next procedure on the 19th, which is SIX shots in my back basically temporarily deadening the nerves that run up my spine.
Yeah, sounds scary to me too!
If THAT doesn’t work, then I go see an orthopedic doctor and have a bunch more shots to determine what additional underlying issue exists that is causing my pain to persist. You know, aside from the now THREE bulging discs in my lower back and sciatica.
I’ll keep you posted on that front. In the meantime, the patches are helping a LITTLE but not a whole lot. The past two days I’ve had a catch in my lower right side of my back that’s caused me to be in constant discomfort I can’t seem to relieve no matter what I do.
But let’s move onto a couple of more positive notes…
Daily Drawing Update
So, I was doing really, really well. But then I missed a couple of days in late January.
Now, the old me would have been frustrated with myself and my desire to have a perfect record and either given up or picked a time period to restart.
Instead, I recognized that pattern in myself and broke it by saying “Forget that!” and continuing on the very next day after I missed each time.
I haven’t drawn today yet, but yesterday, I roughly sketched one of the Locke & Key keys:
I guess my point in sharing this is to say to whoever needs to hear it that it DOES NOT MATTER if you mess up, go off schedule, fall behind or what have you. No one is keeping score! And that means YOU shouldn’t either!
If there’s a goal YOU set for yourself and you didn’t quite meet it, that’s ok. Really! Just keep going. Break that cycle like I did and don’t beat yourself up about it. At the end of the day, it’s the trying that matters!
Even if that’s just a public note to myself I felt it needed to be said.
Comic Book Weekly’s 10-Year Anniversary is Coming!
On February 13th, we celebrate our 10-Year Anniversary of our YouTube channel!
Our actual anniversary is the 11th, and while we’ve actually been doing a version of this show and channel for over 10 years, this channel in particular was officially launched on February 11, 2014.
So if you want to join us for a LIVE Q&A as we walk down memory lane and still talk about our Top 5 comics of the week, the latest news and more, mark the date and be there LIVE at 10:15pm EST on Tuesday, February 13th!
The song in that video is by “Making Metal with” George O’Connor. We still use it every week, George, and we love it. Thanks!
Now I’m hungry and it’s time for lunch, so I’ll leave things there.
Have a great weekend!
Thanks for reading once again and joining me for another talk Around the Fire.
Stay toasty!
-Brant