Final Laps!
over 7 years ago
– Wed, Aug 02, 2017 at 01:36:47 AM
Okay gang, this is it!
Regardless of whether we get funded or not, thank you so much for coming along for the ride. The amount of support from all of you on social media, the comments, and messages has been overwhelming. I hope you've enjoyed our little behind the scenes updates along the way. I'm currently a little loopy getting adjusted to the new time zones over here in Norway, so hopefully what I'm typing is making sense. Did I mention Norway loves it's trolls?
Sorry, I'm rambling. Before I go, I wanted to end on an exciting note. I'm currently waiting for the files to be confirmed and sent off to print before I officially announce it. But... As of right now, Rum Row is going to have a four-part old timey newspaper style adventure strip in the back of a long running comic series many of you know, and may even read. It's going to be a side story, featuring a new character in the Row. A young teenage cab driver - Takezo "Take Away" Urasawa.
The tale will focus on Take Away's tour of the Row for a small group of reporters as they prepare to write about their night on the "town".
Well that's all for now! Thank you again for you continued support. Please feel free to share the project on social media or with any comic book friends you have. Let's get Rum Row funded!
Best,
Andrew
Telegram
over 7 years ago
– Thu, Jul 27, 2017 at 05:05:28 PM
Hey Gang,
Rum Row is going global! Okay not really. But I will be traveling out of the country for a bit, so I just wanted to check in and let everyone know.
I will be on a trip starting tomorrow the 28th, until past the end of the campaign. I'm usually quick to respond to messages or comments, but if I don't right away, that's why. Everywhere I'm going has internet, and I'll have my laptop, so it shouldn't provide any real problems. I'm just giving you a heads up in case I'm on a flight. I'll be in Bergen, Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm in case anyone has any recommendations. Hell, if anyone lives in those areas maybe we can grab a beer. Let me know.
Regarding process stuff, here is a fun little interview I did with We are Nerdy if you're interested. I had a nice conversation with Josh on writing, my influences for Rum Row, and making indie comics in general.
You can check it out here.
In addition, I wanted to go into the process of creating Little Shanghai, another one of Rum Row's sky districts. I wanted the district itself to almost look like a parade or festival was happening in the sky. If there's a whole Row of vices, a district would need to stand out to get a patron's attention. I wanted some of the planes to resemble the Chinese junk ships like this reference picture:
The uber talented artist Joe Dellagata, did an excellent job of translating that in a pin up he did for the first issue:
I wanted the main dirigible to resemble a dragon you might see in a parade or festival, and I think Michele hit it out of the park:
In the first issue, you get a small glimpse of this ship, but in issue #2 it becomes part of the story, and we get to meet some of the Triad groups that inhabit the district.
Lastly, there was the district itself. I sent Michele a variety of pictures of the Lantern Festival like this:
Then Michele blew me away by sending this:
Pretty cool right? This is why the early concept stages and set piece creation can be one of my favorite parts of making comics. We're creating our own world, and we get to play in it. It's addicting to say the least.
Before I go, I wanted to highlight another fantastic Kickstarter I recently backed called Murder Most Mundane by Mad Robot Comics.
Murder Most Mundane draws on classic whodunnits and detective shows - but with a stronger element of horror - Lovecraft influenced B-movie violence and gore. It's Hot Fuzz with a healthy dose of Se7en and The Wicker Man thrown in. If that doesn't sell you, than I don't know what will... Make sure to check these guys out here.
That's all for now! Feel free to reach out with recs if you've visited or live in those areas I listed above. For new backers or for those of you who haven't downloaded the free milestone goal comics Archon, and Silence, make sure to get them here. They're fantastic and worth checking out.
Oh, and please continue to share the project if you can. We're getting close to the final week, and we're still just a bit over 62% funded. I don't want to say I'm nervous, but this is definitely cutting it close.
Thanks again for your support, and have a great weekend!
Andrew
Over 200 Backers!
over 7 years ago
– Sat, Jul 22, 2017 at 10:34:17 PM
Hey Gang,
You guys are awesome! We're past the 200 backer amount and 60% funded. Thank you so much for making that a reality. Only 15% more to go, and we unlock another milestone goal and a free comic.
In this update, I wanted to include some more behind the scenes stuff. We received a lot of really positive feedback on the last one, so I think you'll like this as well. Today, I want to show you the process of how we came up with the look and style of the sky district Harlem Skyland. A big influence was the old jazz clubs during Prohibition, particularly the Cotten Club. Here's some pics I gave Michele for reference:
We wanted to take that big lights, glitz and glam, and partying feel to the skies. Take a look at Michele's initial concept sketch for the district. He really blew me away.
Don't you wish this was actually real? Heh, I want to go there! I mean just don't look down I suppose...
Well that's it for our little process bit this update, but before we go I wanted to highlight another great Kickstarter I backed. It's Unmasked Vol. 2 by Michael Sarrao and John Broglia.
UNMASKED VOLUME 2: PROMETHEAN is an action packed superhero adventure, and the continuation of the successful Unmasked series that kickstarted in 2012. This is actually the book's 5 year anniversary! Some of you believe it or not might recognize John's work elsewhere as well.
That's right, John did a pin up for Rum Row for issue #1! John's an amazing talent, and Michael has set up a great concept. Definitely check them out here.
Alright, I'll leave you all to have a great weekend. Feel free to message me if you have any questions. Please spread the word on social media if you can. We're just under 2 weeks to go, with 40% to go, so let's get this project funded! Thanks again.
Best,
Andrew
Turning Garbage into Art
over 7 years ago
– Tue, Jul 18, 2017 at 10:57:45 PM
Hey Gang,
We're at almost 200 backers with 17 days still to go! If we end up meeting our funding goal, we'll just about double our previous campaign record. That's amazing. Thank you everyone for the support, it really means a lot.
I know we didn't get to touch on process stuff in the last update, so I wanted to include a quick little segment that I thought you would all enjoy. There's a big "back and forth" aspect that goes into making comics. Writers and artists pitch ideas back and forth (at least ideally), until the best possible outcome is reached. Hopefully with a piece of each creator, making something entirely better than either could have made on their own. This process can get bogged down though, since most of the communication is done via email. We may get a quick Skype call in, but with different timezones and even different languages, email may turn out to be the best option. Although sometimes, words just aren't enough. That's where my horrible drawings come in. Then despite my garbage, my extremely talented collaborators are able to turn them into art. Let me show you some examples:
My version of the aerial map I did for Rum Row:
Michele's Version:
A little different huh? Then take my sketch I sent Goran Gligovic for his art print.
Now Goran blowing me clean out of the water and into another galaxy.
Pretty cool right? It just goes to show you, that as long as you can get your point across, that maybe everything will turn out okay. (As long as you're working with superstar talents of course). But you know...
So that's all for this update, but I wanted to spotlight another couple awesome projects out there I backed recently on Kickstarter. First up is Fraser Campbell and James Corcoran's Alex Automatic.
Driven mad by illegal Government experiments, a young agent believes he is the robot super-spy hero of 70s TV show, Alex Automatic. With that art, and that story premise, how can you not read this?! I gobbled up this first issue when it launched on Kickstarter, so I was beyond ecstatic when this went live. Check it out here.
Then we have The Wild Cosmos by Curtis C and Mauro Mandalari. This book is beautiful!
Explore derelict space stations to lush alien rainforests with captain Cooper and his crew of five. I was so sold. Not to mention Curtis is a local Southern California creator like myself. You can check it out here.
That's all for now! I'm here if you have any questions.
Best,
Andrew
Milestone Goal Unlocked
over 7 years ago
– Fri, Jul 14, 2017 at 06:49:52 PM
Hey Gang,
We did it! We are now over 50% funded, with 3 weeks still to go. Even better, that means we unlocked another milestone goal. More free comics for you guys!
For this reward, I wanted to include another gem that deserves more attention called Silence. Silence was fully funded on Kickstarter, and written and drawn by Devin Kraft.
The story follows a band of girls in a yellow submarine as they try to stop the sirens that sang the men in their coastal town to shipwreck.
It's a beautiful book, with an original and fresh premise. Definitely give it a read. You can download Silence and our previous 25% milestone goal, Archon for free here.
Before we go, I wanted to spotlight a couple other great titles I recently backed on Kickstarter. The first is Rohan Fraser's Blokkan: Robot Stories. I first came across Rohan's work when I saw this cover from the series, and I was sold.
It's a bright, action-packed comedy series about robot adventures! What else do you need? You can check it out here.
Next we have Curse of the Vessel by Micheal Leal.
The story follows a cursed criminal, vengeful ghosts, sass mouthed witches & grizzled lawmen as they collide in this Supernatural Crime Thriller! Art and premise looks great, and I can't wait to read it. Check it out here.
Well that's all for now. I promise to have some more process stuff next update, but I wanted to make sure you guys get your milestone goal rewards. Keep up the great work of spreading the word on social media, every little bit helps. I've seen the tweets and shares, that's huge. Talk to you soon.
Best,
Andrew
