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Of course, being jetlagged Tuesday, there were some important things I forgot to say.
The main announcement being:
SNAPDRAGONS is starting in its own comic book this summer!
Liz Rathke and I created Snapdragons a couple of years ago, about a group of gamer kids and the power of imagination. Some strips have run in the back of Dork Tower, but now we’ve made a quarterly comic book out of it. And I’m really excited about issue # 1 (July), which you can order now from your comic retailer, and is featured in the May issue of PREVIEWS.
The first issue is a lot of fun, and we’re hard at work on issue # 2 already. Plus, the amazing Mike Kunkel (HEROBEAR AND THE KID: – http://www.astonishcomics.com/books/herobear/) is not only writing the introduction to the book, he’s also doing an alternate cover for issue #1! (Like Dork Tower #17, both covers will be available in a 50/50 proportion).
As well as Snapdragons comics (one main story and some single-page strips). there will be backup features including a brand-new DORK TOWER, Aaron Williams’ stunning new comic strip, PS 238, and Scott Roberts’ PATTY CAKE.
Many kids (or their parents) tell me they read Dork Tower, and I’m quite proud of the fact that it seems to hit all age groups. Snapdragons will be a similar kind of book, I hope. It will just let me tell some stories of a different side of Mud Bay.
Liz’s work is just fabulous, and it’s a blast working with another creator on a project. Some preview pages (minus the dialog) are up at:
http://www.dorktower.com/images/snapdragons/snapdragons(cover).jpg
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http://www.dorktower.com/images/snapdragons/snapdragons01.jpg
http://www.dorktower.com/images/snapdragons/snapdragons02.jpg
http://www.dorktower.com/images/snapdragons/snapdragons03.jpg
http://www.dorktower.com/images/snapdragons/snapdragons04.jpg
http://www.dorktower.com/images/snapdragons/snapdragons05.jpg
http://www.dorktower.com/images/snapdragons/snapdragons06.jpg
32 pages, $2.99. Get YOUR comics and games retailers to order some Snapdragons! I think people will really enjoy this!
SNAPDRAGONS #1
Dork Storm Press DSS 2001
32 Pages B/W $2.99
ISBN 1-930964-48-X
Written, by John Kovalic and Liz Rathke
Pencilled, colored and inked by Liz Rathke
Cover by Liz Rathke
Alternative cover by Mike Kunkel
Release Date June 1, 2002
Dork Tower comic strips will start appearing in GAMES Magazine this September. I’m really excited that GAMES will join DRAGON and SCRYE magazines as part of the Dork Tower family, and this also means I’ve an outlet for some cartoons on mainstream games that I’ve had stored away for the right time.
September’s issue (which goes to press shortly, I believe) is Games Magazine’s 25th anniversary issue, and there will be a special two-page Dork Tower helping to celebrate the fact.
The Comics Buyer’s Guide made Dork Tower # 17 their Pick of the Week last week, which left me stunned, flattered and humbled. It garnered an A+ rating, and was declared “extremely funny and well-paced,” and a “must-read.”
I’ve been a fan of CBG for many, many years, so I don’t take something like this lightly. It’s really a fantastic honor, and I’ll keep trying to do the best work I can in the comic book. Doubly so now that I know what I’ve got to live up to. Well, OK, so now there’s a note of panic in my voice, but let’s just overlook THAT little detail…
To all at CBG: many, many thanks, folks!
Sequential Tart has written a lovely Preview piece on Dork Tower, and has been kind enough to spotlight some pages from Dork Tower #20 (August 2002).
Sequential Tart may be the comics-related web site I visit most often, so that makes it a double thrill.
So if you want to see a sneak peak, pop over to http://www.sequentialtart.com, and click on the “Tart Teasers” column.
Remember to e-mail them and thank them for supporting Dork Tower.
Dork Tower #18 should be back from Press soon — in a week or two. Dork Tower #19 (the FOOD issue! Huzzah!) and the Heart of Dorkness trade paperback are both nearing completion.
If you haven’t heard the new Wilco album yet (“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”), try and do so. It’s an amazing piece of work. Lush, complex and addictive.