ARCHAIA ENTERTAINMENT
www.archaia.com
I will be at TCAF with the Spera crew at table 258 this weekend. I’m bringing these cardboard prints with me. They’re very limited, so come get it before they’re gone.
If you’re at TCAF this weekend, be sure to stop by the Spera table!
(via joshtierney)
Here’s a look at the cover of the Glass Flowers Special, a brand-new Spera comic we’ve put together for TCAF. Within is an 8-page comic illustrated by Afu Chan, along with pin-ups by Kyla Vanderklugt and Polly Guo. I should warn you now that this comic is very much influenced by fighting games.
Afu, Kyla, Polly and myself will be tabling together with a whole bunch of Spera comics for sale. Learn more about the Toronto Comics Arts Festival here. TCAF is a free festival filled with some of the best creators in independent comics.
If You’re going to TCAF 2013 be sure to check out this Spera comic!
Press Release
‘COW BOY: A BOY AND HIS HORSE’ AND ‘SPERA VOL. 1’ EARN NOMINATIONS IN THE 2013 WILL EISNER COMIC INDUSTRY AWARDS
Titles are recognized in ‘Best Publication for Kids’ and ‘Best Publication for Teens’ categories
Los Angeles, CA (April 17, 2013) – Archaia Entertainment is proud to announce two of its titles published in 2012 have earned nominations in the 25th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards (“The Eisners”), as was revealed yesterday by Jackie Estrada, administrator of the awards. The edgy and entertaining Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse, by Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos, is nominated for “Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12).” The fun and spirited Spera Vol. 1, by Josh Tierney, Emily Carroll, Afu Chan, Hwei Lin Lim, Olivier Pichard, and Kyla Vanderklugt, is nominated for “Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17).” The winners will be announced during a ceremony to be held during Comic-Con International in San Diego, Calif. “We are delighted for and proud of Nate, Chris, Josh, and the entire teams for producing two great books recognized by the industry which appeal to such important groups of readers,” conveyed Jack Cummins, Archaia President & COO. “We are similarly thankful to be nominated once again for the comic industry’s highest honor.”
“It’s an honor for our creators and for Archaia as a company to be recognized for our all-ages material,” added Archaia Editor-in-Chief Stephen Christy. “Nate and Chris have created something timeless and very special with Cow Boy, and Josh’s Spera is a great story married with artwork from some of the best up-and-coming artists in the industry. The creators of both these books put their hearts and souls into their work, and we’re so honored that the Eisner Award judges recognized them for their efforts.”
Featuring words by Cosby (Jim Henson’s The Storyteller)and illustrations by Eliopoulos (Franklin Richards), Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse is the story of Boyd Linney, a 10-year-old bounty hunter determined to send his entire outlaw family to jail. With a lovable character that kids love and a story that adults can enjoy, Cow Boy is truly an all-ages-appropriate title. The book, one of Archaia’s best-reviewed titles of 2012, also features short stories by Roger Langridge (The Muppet Show comic book), Brian Clevinger & Scott Wegener (Atomic Robo), and Mike Maihack (Cleopatra in Space) & Colleen Coover (Jim Henson’s The Storyteller).
“It’s truly an honor to be nominated with such talented people and wonderful all-ages books!” exclaimed Cosby and Eliopoulos. Written, co-edited, and created by Tierney, Spera Vol. 1 sprang from an immensely popular fantasy webcomic about the adventures of two princesses, Lono and Pira, and a fire spirit in the form of a dog named Yonder. When evil rears its ugly head, the trio set off for the magical realm of Spera in the hopes of surviving the oncoming threat! Spera Vol. 1 is a collaboration of artists from around the world, illustrated and told in consecutive sections. Each hand-picked artist brings their own unique designs to the world of Spera, creating a fantastic realm of adventure and wonder. “It really is a crazy, unexpected honor to have Spera be nominated for an Eisner,” marveled Tierney. “I want to congratulate the many artists on this first book (10 of them! 16 when counting pin-ups!), who, along with designer Scott Newman and production editor Rebecca Taylor, helped shape the book into what it is. I’ve been following the Eisners since I was a kid, and always got super excited to see my heroes get nominated. This nomination means a lot to me and all the artists, and I must thank Archaia for taking a chance on something as collaborative and experimental as Spera.”
Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse($19.95, hardcover, 96 pages, full color, 6” x 9”, ISBN: 978-1-936393-67-1) and Spera Vol. 1 ($19.95, hardcover, 176 pages, full color, 6” x 9”, ISBN: 978-1-936393-30-5) are both available for sale or for order now at your local comic book shop.To find your closest comic book shop, visit www.comicshoplocator.com. They are also available for order through the Archaia webstore (store.archaia.com) and wherever books are sold (use the books’ ISBN numbers to help you search for them).
AFU CHAN is coming to TCAF!
Afu is a freelance illustrator and a comic artist. He also worked on the covers, concept arts for the comic book Spera.
Artist’s Website: http://afuchan.com/
Spera Website: http://spera-comic.com/
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TCAF is The Toronto Comic Arts Festival, taking place May 11-12, 2013, in Toronto, Canada. More at http://torontocomics.com/
Afu will be at the Spera table with Kyla Vanderklugt, Polly Guo and me!
Here’s a sample of every artist in Archaia’s Spera: Vol. 2. From top to bottom, they are:
Spera: Vol. 2 is now available in comic stores and will be available wherever books are sold starting March 12th. It can also be ordered from online retailers such as Amazon.
Reblogging this as I had somehow missed Zac Gorman the first time.
February 27th, Wednesday, three amazing hardcover Archaia book will be available in comic shops! Make sure you don’t miss them!
The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths vol 2: Part two of the three-part graphic novel prequel series delving into the origins of the Skeksis, Mystics, Gelflings, the world of Thra and the Dark Crystal itself. Spanning a time period from thousands of years ago to right up to the start of the original film, this graphic novel epic will tell the definitive origin of Dark Crystal, under the supervision of The Jim Henson Company and The Dark Crystal concept designer Brian Froud.
Pre-order HERE!
Spera vol 2: Spera: Volume 2 brings the same gorgeous artistry as its debut installment and twice the adventure! In this sequel to the critically acclaimed first volume, exiled princesses Pira and Lono travel to the bustling city of Kotequog to avoid the clutches of Pira’s mother, the Evil Queen. Obtaining jobs as adventurers, the two best friends set out on a series of quests that land them in perhaps more excitement than they’d bargained for. The series, based off the original webcomic experiment, brings artists together from around the globe to showcase their talents as some of the premier fantasy artists in the industry. Spera will appeal to art lovers and children of all ages, especially fans of The Legend of Korra, Patricia Wrede’s Dealing with Dragons, Disney’s Tangled, and the Flight series.
Pre-order HERE!
Pantalones, TX: Welcome to Pantalones, Texas, where children still play outdoors, skin knees and raise hell. Chico Bustamante’s favorite pastime is givin’ chase to Sheriff Cornwallis. That is until Chico meets the Sheriff’s Giant Chicken and aims to ride it or die tryin’. He’ll have to man up and not chicken out.
Pre-order HERE!
Website ‘Major Spoilers’ has sneak peeks at all three of these upcoming titles, be sure to visit their website to see for yourself!
Today’s a great day for Digital Comics! RUST: SECRETS OF THE CELL Part 4, SPERA Volume 2 Part 4, and SPACE: 1999 AFTERSHOCK & AWE Part 4 are on ComiXology today!
Spera Vol. 2 #2 is now available online. This issue will feature art by Kyla Vanderklugt and cover (above art) by me. Monster and maid designs done by Kyla. Check it out!
Afu Chan’s covers are absolutely gorgeous. We can’t get enough of them!
The third digital issue of Spera: Volume II is now available from Archaia on comiXology!
This is the first full comic illustrated by Afu Chan, Spera’s character designer and cover artist. More preview pages can be found on comiXology’s site.
Read as Pira, Lono and Yonder deal with violent ghosts, bribed soldiers and cooking in this latest issue of Spera’s main story.
Definitely check out the latest adventures of Pira and Lono. And while you’re there, pick up Rust and Iron too!
The second digital issue of Spera: Volume II is now available on comiXology!
This issue features interior art by Kyla Vanderklugt (above, with more samples at the link) and cover art by Afu Chan.
From Archaia:
In this next installment of Spera Vol. 2, Pira and Lono have lost the monster but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a normal relaxing day in the city…right? Lono and Pira are going to have a harder time than they thought with monsters showing up behind every corner, not that Pira minds. Will Lono ever get her day of relaxation?
Read Spera! Volume 2, part 3, is hitting comiXology tomorrow, so check it out!
In their quest for adventure, Princesses Pira and Lono — along with their companions, the fire spirit Yonder and warrior cat Chobo — have made their way to the big city. There they must contend with strange laws, stranger men and the strangest monsters if they wish to join the city’s prestigious Adventurer’s Guild — and then, only if the enigmatic Rale will let them!
The second Spera book from Archaia will be out in autumn, and features main story art by Giannis Milonogiannis, Kyla Vanderklugt, Afu Chan and Timothy Weaver.
Shorts are by Michael Dialynas, Mikkel Sommer, Paul Maybury, Kris Mukai, Zac Gorman, Louis Roskosch, Rachel S. (Baru), Julia Scott, Anna Wieszczyk (lettered by Ed Brisson), Roman Muradov and Polly Guo.
Also included are pin-ups by Afu Chan, Roxie Vizcarra, Nick Edwards, Jake Wyatt and Joanna Krótka.
Above is the front of the Vol. II postcard, designed by Kyla and featuring snippets of art from Afu’s chapter.
