Author: Lucy Bellwood

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The Cartozia Tales Kickstarter is LIVE

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You’ve heard me shouting about it for months and end, and now the day is finally here! The Cartozia Kickstarter Campaign has launched with an incredible outpouring of support from fans all over the world. I’m so excited to share it with you.

In case you’ve missed it the last fifteen times I’ve gushed about Cartozia on the web, it’s an all-ages fantasy series set in a shared world and brought to life by a core team of eight indie cartoonists. With the guidance of our fearless editor Isaac Cates, we’ve published the first two issues on our own dime, and now we’re aiming to fund an entire year’s worth of 40-page issues. It’s an audacious campaign, but I have faith that we’re going to knock it out of the park.

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From story to story and issue to issue, we swap characters and locations via a game of chance, building on one another’s ideas to create a dynamic narrative landscape. Two guest stars per issue help keep things fresh, and we’ve got some incredible names on the project (James Kochalka! Brittney Sabo! Evan Dahm! Eleanor Davis! Dylan Horrocks!).

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I’m fairly certain this type of storytelling has never been done before on such a scale, and the results so far have been fantastic — immersive and playful for kids, engaging and complex for adults. We’re making Cartozia Tales because we think the world needs more comics that will attract young readers and let them celebrate adventure, curiosity, exploration, and fun, but we can’t make it happen without your help.

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If you want to dive in and make this thing happen, here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Pledge to the campaign.

2. Spread the link (especially to parents and teachers!).

3. Find us on Twitter @Cartozia and get in touch.

4. Reblog this post on Tumblr.

5. Learn more about the world, our contributors, and our methods on the homepage.

6. Invite your friends to the campaign event on Facebook!

I’ll be posting more news as I get it, but right now the biggest goal is setting this campaign off to a roaring start. I can’t wait to see where it goes. As an added incentive, here’s a full gallery of all the ridiculous dances I was giving away earlier this week to celebrate early subscribers to the series:

 

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New Comic: Mr. Tambourine Man

In honor of Mr. Tambourine Man making the official selection for Rock Ink Roll’s anthology (out in November from Altered Aesthetics!), I’ve decided to release the comic online for all to read and enjoy. It was great working with writer Shannon Campbell again, and I’m looking forward to the other projects we have planned for the near future. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, HAVE SOME FREE COMICS!

 

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Cartozia Lives!

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Joy of joys! My copies of Cartozia #1 arrived over the weekend and HOLY COW they are bee-yoo-tiful. Isaac did a stellar job with the print quality and paper stock, and the stories all look gorgeous. I just can’t stop touching them.

We’ll be running a Kickstarter for the full year’s worth of issues later this month, but I encourage all of you to order or subscribe NOW, as the price will go up to account for Kickstarter fees and other sundry costs. The more subscribers we get now, the lower our target goal will be and the higher our chances of succeeding. Plus, this is a beautiful and innovative comic, and I’m excited to get it into as many hands as possible.

If you’re allergic to ordering things on the Internet, I’ll also have these first issues for sale in person at Rose City Comic Con next month. No excuses!

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Cartozia #1 Pre-Orders & Issue 2 Previews!

Cartozia Vector Adjustments2So I just got word from our fearless editor Isaac Cates that Cartozia Tales #1 is hot off the press and headed out TODAY! Here’s a couple phone-quality photos of the first issue:

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Leah Palmer Preiss’s incredible cover illustration!

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A page from my first story, Above.

You can still snag a copy for the pre-order sale price ($5!) until Isaac starts shipping orders in earnest, so be sure to grab one THIS VERY SECOND! Seriously, initial support is crucial to the continuation of this series, which will run for a whole year (and possibly more), so the more the merrier at this point.  Plus, I’m super proud of all the work that went into this and I think the contributors are all a buncha badasses, so, y’know. There’s that.

We’ll also be launching a Kickstarter later this month, but subscriptions and single issues are cheaper if you order straight through the store right now, so get to it!

And since we just can’t stop, here’s a couple panels from my story for the second issue, which I just wrapped up earlier this week:

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You might remember Reshii from the paper doll cards I posted a while ago. He’s a confident navigator.

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Unfortunately confident navigation isn’t always the best strategy when you’re trying to find your way out of The China Labyrinth.

Want to know more about Reshii and his quest? You can catch the first part of his story, illustrated by Sarah Becan, in Issue 1. My piece for Issue 2 explores the mysteries of the China Labyrinth, which was one of my absolute favorite places to design. I’m hoping to do a little “Learn More” featurette about its unique ecosystem somewhere in Issue 2. Keep your eyes peeled.

Cartozia Forever!

 

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Cartozia Paper Figures!

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YOU GUYS LIKE PAPER DOLLS? I DO.

These are some fancy postcards that will come bundled with the second issue of Cartozia Tales. They’ll be fully sendable, so you can either cut ‘em out or mail ‘em to friends. The paper will be nice and sturdy, and the figures each have outfits that you can color and cut out yourself from the centerfold of the second issue. If you don’t want to cut up your precious comic, we’ll even offer PDFs of the outfits so you can make as many as you like!

Sarah Becan created Reshii (who’s one of the characters I’ll be working with in Issue 2), and Jen Vaughn is responsible for Sylvia.

In the meantime, as I mentioned yesterday, Issue 1 is available for pre-order at a dollar off the regular price until it starts shipping on August 1st!

SO MUCH EXCITING CARTOZIA NEWS!

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Cartozia Issue 1 Pre-Orders

ISSUE1COVERCartozia-Tales-1-webOh gosh you guys. It’s happening!

Issue 1 of Cartozia Tales went off to the printer’s yesterday and should start shipping on August 1st. Can you believe this incredible cover by Leah Palmer Preiss? Such beautiful work.

The issue will contain 44 sturdy pages of adventurous comics, interactive features, and other surprises. We’ve had a great time putting together this first issue, and #2 is already coming together nicely.

You can pre-order a copy for yourself or a voracious young comic reader in your life here or get a subscription to the whole series here. Issue 1 is also discounted until the comic comes in from the printers, so you get can your copy for a dollar off the cover price if you order now!

VIVA CARTOZIA!

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That’s A Wrap

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After ten days of non-stop insanity, Mr. Tambourine Man is FINISHED. I’ll be submitting the story to Rock Ink Roll tomorrow morning after a few final tone tweaks. I’m so pleased with how this thing came out, and I’m thrilled to be working with Shannon Campbell again. (We’ve got another project in the works for August, so keep your eyes peeled for that.)

I did let myself celebrate by sleeping in until the ungodly hour of 10:30 this morning, so with that R&R under my belt it’s time to hit the drawing board again for square one of the next project. Wish me luck!