A father and former D.A.R.E. essay winner is forced to examine his own biases when his doctor prescribes him with medical marijuana.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Getting closer!
5 months ago
– Fri, Jun 21, 2024 at 02:33:40 PM
It's time for another update!
The timeline hasn't altered too much since I last wrote to you all. We have made some headway though! Take a look at our current progress:
Max has completed 5 full pages of art. There are only 3 more pages left to go and then I can send the files over to Andriy to be lettered. I've completed the final design and ordered the custom packaging from the printer for our Stash Box backers.
This next image shows the progress on fulfillment and the one-page backup story 'Ode Town Road' with art by Lane Lloyd and letters by Reed Hinckley-Barnes.
Speaking of Custom Printed Rewards...
The hemp bookmarks have arrived!
I wanted to do something a little more unique for this campaign. That's why we had so many different rewards available. So, when I found a company in Los Angeles that printed your bookmarks on hemp cardstock paper I knew these were perfect.
Everything else was pictured below was ordered & shipped to my home before the campaign even launched. Take a look at the printed rewards that have arrived so far:
Stickers, Art prints, and Two bookmark designs (Printed front & back)
We asked you to help us reach 150 prelaunch followers for "The Healer’s Blade #1" for our next announcement and we did it! I’m grateful to all of you for helping my stories find readers like you. I'm also grateful to work with the final variant cover artist to join The Healer’s Blade team:
Skylar Patridge is a comic creator and artist living in New Mexico. She has done work for DC, Marvel, BOOM!, Dark Horse, Vault, Sourcebooks & more. Most notably, she worked on Supergirl, Trial of the Amazons and Artemis: Wanted for DC Comics, was a co-creator & artist on Resonant from Vault Comics, and was a co-writer and artist for Our Sins are Scarlet. She has also contributed work in the book market, most recently for USA Today best-seller, Where He Can’t Find You. She is currently working on projects with DC and Image Comics.
I'll be back again with another update in the next 2-3 weeks.
Enjoy your weekend!
A Long Overdue Update
6 months ago
– Sun, Jun 09, 2024 at 08:20:16 AM
Thank you all so much for showing up and supporting this project! Each one of you helped us reach what looked like a mountain we might not be able to climb. I will forever be grateful to every person who decided to take a shot on me and pay for the stories I have to tell.
I couldn't do it all without the help of the entire creative team. Max managed to come through in the clutch throughout so many obstacles the almost obliterated this book from the beginning. Joey was able to get our campaign graphics changed for the page just before the interview/launch party. Andriy's letters weren't only amazing, but expedient. There were several variant cover artists and others that helped bring this comic to life.
I'd like to apologize. I should have sent out this update long ago, but during the first week of the campaign collecting pledges it was clear that there was cause for some concern. Our top three backers pledges ended up being dropped. This means that Kickstarter attempted to collect the pledges, but an issue with the card wasn't corrected. The most alarming part was that these pledges accounted for $712 of the funds raised. This is essentially, but just barely less than, half of the money that the team needed to get this book out to you.
We were left with two choices:
1.) Scrap the book, process refunds for every pledge, and eat any fees for reimbursements (without releasing anything)
2.) Look under every couch cushion, break every piggy bank in our home, play the lottery, have a garage sale, and court family for fiscal favors to raise the remainder needed (at least releasing something)
Thankfully, hope and perseverance paid off. Although far from ideal and the details are still being figured out, I was able to make a plan to secure the funds necessary to bring this book to life. It has been such an emotional rollercoaster. These issues are what held me back from sending this all out to you sooner. I began writing the start of this update and prepped bags & boards for fulfillment the day we funded I wanted to have the final fate for the future of this release decided for you before bothering you with uncertainties.
What's next?
The good news: We get to bring this book to life, get it printed, and fulfill it to for each one of you! Thumbnails for all of the pages are complete. We shouldn't be too much off target for the digital release timeline. With luck, we won't run into issues that prolong the physical release from being fulfilled.
The bad news: We will have a minor delay in production due to those uncertainties. Art needed to be temporarily postponed until funds were secured, but now that everything is back to "normal" Max has already mustered up some new art! Take a look below:
Page 12 (Unlettered) | Art by Max Pinelli
You can expect to receive updates about every 2-4 weeks throughout the remainder of this project. If there are any more hiccups or delays, I'll be sure to let you know as soon as possible. No matter what, fulfillment for this campaign will be my top priority. There will most likely need to expect a slight alteration of a few months to my future release schedule as well.
One of the first books that I backed on Kickstarter was Sacrimony: A Tale of Love, Life and Death - In No Particular Order. This comic is a fantasy told fantastically by M. Sorcier. It has amazing art, a spectacular story, and remains one of my all-time favorite crowdfunded comic series. She also is a good friend - always supporting those that surround her & also providing the B variant cover for The Healer's Blade #1.
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.
Yunika is more focused on important things like fleeing the past as far as possible, trying to pretend like nothing weird happened and trying to have a normal life.
This comic series is jam-packed with action and emotion about the addiction battling, past unraveling punk named Zeke. I really enjoyed each one of these comics, but The Coven has been my favorite so far. I will always be a Day 1 Backer for this book. Who doesn't love a comic that explores the characters connection to the Salem Witch Trials, historical landmarks, and his love for punching Nazis?
Zeke has fallen in love and starting to spiral with this new feeling of happiness. That leads him to explore then ghost of his girlfriends past leading him to a former girl who has now become a NAZI punk!!
Granite State Punk is an ongoing comic told in a series of one-shots. This is the 4th installment written by Ringo-Nominated creator Travis Gibb, Art and Colors by Patrick Buermeyer, Ringo-Nominated Jerome Gagnon on Letters, and Edits by Heather Gibb.
New Add-Ons and FINAL HOURS!
7 months ago
– Sun, May 19, 2024 at 02:39:44 PM
Hey everyone,
I want to start by thanking each and every one of you. Your support is the only way we've been able to get this close to the finish line. But, we aren't done yet!
The campaign only has 15 HOURS left to raise the remaining $383 before we reach funding and cross into stretch goal territory! We've already reached our first Backer Goal and unlocked a larger indie digital bundle.
Once we reach funding, we will unlock two additional rewards:
1.) We will have reached to second Backer Goal and unlocked the 1-page backup story "Ode Town Road" featuring guest artist Lane Lloyd and guest letterer Reed Hinckley-Barnes in both digital and print editions.
2.) All physical backers will receive a FREE print of the Max Pinelli variant cover art!
Art by Max Pinelli
New Add-Ons!
The Marcus Jimenez variant art (Cover D) is now available as a holo-chrome cover in a new add-on and with a new pledge tier!
Art by Marcus Jimenez
The Healer's Blade #1: PROLOGUE [GSCC Exclusive]
I've added 5 (five) copies of the Gem State Comic Con exclusive cover of The Healer's Blade #1: PROLOGUE and made them available in the add-on section.
Art by Elisa Romboli | NOTE: The image shown above does not show the trade dress, but this is NOT a virgin cover
LAST CHANCE ITEMS
These are also the final hours to snag any of the unique rewards available before the campaign closes. There are 3 (three) remaining cameo spots in the comic book. You will also receive personal e-mails with updates to the page process your cameo is in AND a 6"x9" art print of the page your character is on! You also receive a physical copy, signed if requested, with your choice of cover.
Or if its the eco-friendly hemp bookmarks, D.A.R.E Comic shirts, lighters, or any of the other items available as an add-on and in reward packages.
In the gorgeous land of ancient Greece, Herakles spends his time embarking on epic adventures of godly proportions. In the city of Thebes, our titular hero has stopped to rest from his travels. Due to Hera’s machinations and unwavering hatred, Herakles will have to face off against formidable foes — Ares and his Dogs of War, who serve the mad Queen of Olympus as she seeks to end him once and for all!
Devin Arscott is an awesome editor, a good writer, and an all around great person. I've loved Hercules and mythology since I was a young kid, so when I saw that Devin's new book was about Herakles. This epic isn't just packed with action, but pure heart as well. It's clear that he has done his research and this comic was also a labour (of love) for Devin.
THE VALOR VERSE SPECIAL #1 IS A DYNAMIC INTRODUCTION TO THE VALORVERSE, A FRESH AND EXHILARATING NEW SUPERHERO UNIVERSE! THIS 40-PAGE ONE-SHOT COMPRISES FOUR COMPELLING SHORT STORIES, EACH SPOTLIGHTING AN ARRAY OF UNIQUE AND DIVERSE CHARACTERS DESTINED TO IGNITE A NEW ERA OF HEROISM. DIVE INTO THIS EXPANSIVE WORLD WHERE EACH PAGE TURNS A CORNER INTO UNCHARTED TERRITORIES OF BRAVERY AND ADVENTURE, SETTING THE STAGE FOR FUTURE TALES OF VALOR AND LEGACY.
If you're a fan of indie comics, there is no doubt that you've heard of the talent on this creative team. The Valor Verse Special #1 is created by Kara Huset, with Toben Racicot, Marucs Jimenez, and Brent Fisher. This entire team is filled with amazing people with a terrific track record. I can't wait to get my copy on payday!
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!
7 months ago
– Fri, May 03, 2024 at 10:46:22 AM
WHO LIKES FREE COMICS?
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY Limited Time Offer(s)
To celebrate our favorite nerd holiday(s), we have a new reward tier and add-on(s) available Saturday only! They are already created and scheduled to last for 24 hours.
You can find a short update on this campaign below the highlighted add-ons.
Get a FREE copy* of The Healer's Blade #1: PROLOGUE [NEW TIER]
*Only pay for shipping
This is a perfect opportunities for those who only wanted a t-shirt (or different add-on) without the book or those who would like to support me but don't care for the subject matter!
Add a FREE* copy of The Healer's Blade #1: PROLOGUE to your pledge! [NEW ADD-ON]
*Only pay for shipping
Get a FREE* mystery comic book from J. Michael Miller's personal collection! [NEW ADD-ON]
Examples include, but are not limited to: Fox & Hare #1, Heart Eyes #1, End After End #1-5, Hercules #1, and more.
*Only pay for shipping
Don't miss out on your favorite add-ons!
So many people have LOVED the "D.A.R.E. To Read Comics" and the "D.A.R.E. To Create Comics" shirts. If you wanted an item, this is your best opportunity to add one of these T-Shirts, Lighters, or one of the other unique rewards only available in this campaign. Just select the FCBD tier and build your bundle!
Available as an add-on only
Update
Thank you so much for all of your support! We are nearly halfway through the campaign and we've had both a strong start followed by the typical slump. We've been able to reach 30 backers and get to 31.5% funding! It is only with the help of each and every backer that we were able to accomplish what we have so far.
And with your help, we can still make sure we meet (or exceed) our funding goal! Awareness is key and every bit matters. Please share the campaign with friends and family and let them know about the free comics!
I have a limited amount of Kid Cretaceous #1 available on my Ko-fi shop at no charge. You only need to cover the cost for shipping. These copies do not have the preview pages for the upcoming follow-up, Kid Cretaceous #2, and are from the previous printing before 2024. You can select Cover A, Cover B, or Cover C while supplies last!
May The 4th Be With You
Free Comic Book Day just so happens to fall on May 4th this year too! Every backer will receive a digital poster, character design art, and Nikki SooHoo's monologue from Kaldani Spires -- an unreleased Star Wars fan project I started in 2020.
All digital deluxe backers (and above) will also receive access to the script for Episode 1/"The Rebel" of Kaldani Spires!
Script excerpt from "The Rebel" - Kaldani Spires (Episode 01)
