Comics and Graphic Novels

It’s been a crazy couple of days here at Worldbuilders.

On Wednesday night, we did our first-ever live streaming video hangout with a bunch of cool geek glitterati, like Vi Hart, Molly Lewis, John Scalzi, Brian Brushwood, Mary Robinette Kowal… too many of them to list, really. You can see the entire four-hour glorious debacle over here.

Buzzfeed did an article about the copy of Stardust that has become the unofficial Worldbuilders mascot.

And yesterday I posted up a blog explaining how folks donating to Worldbuilders could win a chance to become one of my beta readers, among other things….

As I type this, our current donation total is $531,000.

That’s right, because lovely folks like you have been chipping in and helping to spread the word, Worldbuilders has raised more than $120,000 dollars in the last 36 hours. This fills me with joy.

That’s going to do a lot of good in the world.

goat 1

Today we’ve got some delightful donations from the comic world….

Some of today’s items are going in the lottery, and others are going up for auction on e-bay. So pay attention. You can also see *all* Worldbuilder’s current auctions over here.

*     *     *

Over the years, we’ve done manuscript read-and-critiques, tuckerizations, and feedback on novels. But this year, we reached out to a few comic creators to see if we could do something similar for the graphically inclined.

Adam_Casalino

Adam Casalino, creator of the fantasy webcomic The Wizard of Quippley, is offering a Tuckerization in the second chapter of his new story: The Goblin Wars. For your donation you will be immortalized in this exciting fantasy epic, as character or creature appearing in one of the comic’s installments. Become a great warrior of legend, or a vile monster of contempt. Be the envy of all your friends! Adam will use your name and even likeness in the comic and make you a part of the heroes’ journey.

If you want a chance at being in this comic, bid over here.

GuitarHeroGreg

Since 1999, Greg Dean has been making his comic, Real Life, in Adobe Illustrator. With over 3,100 comics under his belt, he knows a thing or two about the program. All of that knowledge is just swimming in his brain, and he’s willing to share it with you! He’ll set up an online classroom and based on your current Illustrator skill set, you’ll get a 2 hour lesson, one-on-one to ask questions and see him answer with live demonstrations. By the end of it, you’ll be able to understand the tools and how to hack those tools to make do neat effects.

Not a beginner? That’s OK! He’s willing to teach an Intermediate class for you. Since it’s just the two of you, it’s completely tailored to your current skill set!

To bid on this, which really could be useful for *anyone*, head over here.

  • Auction: A read and critique of up to 50 strips of your webcomic series by Kris Straub.

Kris-Straub-Portrait

Kris Straub is willing and ready to critique one comic series of up to 50 pages or strips, either continuity- or gag-based. He will provide thoughts about your story premise and concept, the sensibility of the humor in your series, dialogue and gag construction, overall pacing and layout, and his opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of your work.

Kris Straub is a cartoonist, writer, designer and humor scientist. STARSLIP, his seven-year science fiction comic series, was nominated for an Ignatz award in 2012. His cosmic horror series BROODHOLLOW funded a wildly successful Kickstarter in August 2013. He is co-author of the 2007 Image Comics book How To Make Webcomics. In 2008 he wrote the horror short story Candle Cove.

If you want someone this awesome giving you feedback on your webcomic draft, head over here.

bh_auction1

This contains: A hardcover copy of Broodhollow: Curious Little Thing, signed and drawn in by the author, including a six-page additional story unavailable online; an envelope full of initiation documents for entry into the Society of the Skull and Shovels; two sets of travel postcards from Broodhollow; a Skull and Shovels insignia pin in antiqued brass; a”Cadavre” cloisonne pin, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the famed Belgian newspaper comics character; a Broodhollow “Town Pride” cloisonne pin, only available through the Kickstarter; a rare Mercy pin, only available through very high tiers of the Kickstarter; and a very rare Zane pin, no longer available except from Kris in person.

Honestly? I wanted to put this into an auction. Because then I could bid on it, because I’m kind of a geek for Broodhollow.

But Amanda has forced me to put it into the lottery instead. That way anyone has a chance to win it by donating to the Team Page.

So it looks like I’m going to be donating to my own fundraiser. Again.

  • A Deluxe Edition of The Last Unicorn graphic novel.  Signed by Peter S. Beagle.

Last Unicorn - cover

This deluxe edition was donated by a longtime Worldbuilders supporter, Kali. When Peter S. Beagle was doing a massive tour through the area, Kali went there with this book, specifically to get it signed for Worldbuilders.

As you all know, I’m a huge fan of the Last Unicorn, and the comic adaptation is brilliant. Best of all, this hardcover edition of the books is *very* posh. So whoever wins it in the lottery is going to be getting something lovely.

  • Auction: A vintage film cell from the animated film The Last Unicorn.  Signed by Peter S. Beagle.

Last Unicorn Full

This is a true rarity.  We have a frame of the original film cells from the Rankin/Bass animated film, in a clear protective cover.  The cell is from the original 1982 American theatrical release, and the cover is signed by Peter S. Beagle, who wrote the novel and the screenplay for the film.

To see more pictures or bid on the auction you can head over here.

  • A Set of Omnibus Volumes 1 & 2 of The Gutters.  Signed by Ryan Sohmer.

Gutters set

Here we have two huge, beautiful Absolute editions of The Gutters, a comic about comics and the comic industry. If you follow comics, this is going to be a great read for you. If you’re *not* a big comic reader, it’s still pretty great, as I said in my goodreads review, I don’t follow a lot of mainstream comics or know a lot about the industry. But I still had a blast reading this…

“The Gutters is truly a unique webcomic beast… At the end of the day, the combination of a rotating art cast with Sohmer’s wit and criticism of the comic industry equals a damn funny webcomic that had the Unshaven Comics crew doing spit takes while we roamed through the archives. ” – ComicMix

  • A copy of Dork Covenant: Dork Tower Volume 1.  Signed by John Kovalic.

IMG_1405

Dork Tower is pretty much the coolest. It’s a great comic about gaming and board games, and it’s done by none other than the awesome John Kovalic, who has illustrated tons of games and been a huge part of the gaming community.

We’re putting this in the lottery, so anyone who donates to Heifer International on the Worldbuilders Team Page gets a chance at winning it, as well as thousands of other cool books. Many of them rare, signed, or otherwise unique.

Munchkin Game

This is a really cool game that very nearly anyone can play. And because of that, we’re throwing them into the lottery, where anyone who donates to Heifer International on the Worldbuilders team page can win them.

Munchkin Game

And, because we know some of you out there *really* need to get hold of a copy of this double-signed game, we’re putting one up in the auction.

You can place your bids over here.

  • Auction: A limited edition “The Luggage” Munchkin card. Signed by John Kovalic.

IMG_1404

This is the official, and only, Terry-Pratchett-authorized Munchkin Discworld card. It was released at North America Discworld Convention when it was in Madison, two years ago.

Not only is this signed by Kovalic himself. But if you click to embiggen the above card, you’ll see that John has made an addendum to this already awesome card. It’s now +4 for the winner of the auction.

And he’s John Kovalic. So nobody can rules-lawyer you about it. This is cannon.

You can bid on this rare, signed, modded card over here.

  • Auction: Become an official Munchkin card, drawn by John Kovalic.  Includes signed original art and a signed copy of the game.

$_57

And in case all of that wasn’t enough for you, we have something extra special to close out today’s blog.

John Kovalic is offering to draw you into a new Munchkin card, which will be released in an actual game. As a bonus, you will receive the original art, signed, as well as a signed copy of the game that contains the card.

Yeah. Needless to say, this is a pretty awesome offer. When John offered up something similar for Child’s Play earlier this year, it went for $4000.

Not that I have anything against, Child’s Play. But I’d *love* to see us beat that.

To become an official Munchkin, head over here and make your bids.

*     *     *

Remember folks, we’re days away from the end of Worldubilders. That means you only have a little time left to donate on our team page for a chance to win thousands of books. ShelfJanuary

Also, we’ve unlocked a ton of new stretch goals today because of all the new donations.

If you have any ideas for more stretch goals, feel free to mention them in the comments below. If we don’t have time to use them this year, we might make use of them for our next fundraiser….

This entry was posted in Worldbuilders 2013By Pat58 Responses

58 Comments

  1. forestgreene
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 1:40 PM | Permalink

    Stretch Goal Idea: It was hilarious to see Hank Green seduce a tree and all, but perhaps we could see a tree seduce Pat? One-upmanship at its finest!

  2. Taravangian
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 1:42 PM | Permalink

    Great work everyone! We’re about to surpass last year’s total by $100k, and still two and a half days to go!

    @Amanda/Pat/Brett/anyone, any chance of some last minute stretch goals being added, or is it too late for that?

    • Posted January 31, 2014 at 1:45 PM | Permalink

      That’s why I made a call for them up in the blog there. We’re taking suggestions….

      • Taravangian
        Posted January 31, 2014 at 1:46 PM | Permalink

        Ah, totally missed that paragraph! My bad.

    • Taravangian
      Posted January 31, 2014 at 1:45 PM | Permalink

      Derp, actually we already have surpassed last year by over $100k. Well done, guys! :)

  3. Posted January 31, 2014 at 1:42 PM | Permalink

    Truth or Dare Google hangout. =P

    James Earl Jones and Malcom McDowell read your blog comments. Ok, mostly kidding on that one – but maybe someone could do it in the *style* of those Sprint commercials =D

    • Posted January 31, 2014 at 1:46 PM | Permalink

      Oh god. A truth or dare hangout is a terrifying thought….

      • Posted January 31, 2014 at 1:58 PM | Permalink

        *flex* Adding ability to terrify a Rothfuss with a single sentence to my list of superpowers.

      • Amanda
        Posted January 31, 2014 at 2:02 PM | Permalink

        Terrifying-ly AWESOME.

    • Posted January 31, 2014 at 1:54 PM | Permalink

      /vote

  4. TrueEyes
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 1:42 PM | Permalink

    I wanna see Pat head to Sochi and try curling with our olympic team!

    • TrueEyes
      Posted January 31, 2014 at 1:50 PM | Permalink

      Btw Pat you have to be the dude with the t iny lil broom

    • Posted January 31, 2014 at 1:55 PM | Permalink

      Curling fascinates me. The only thing that stops me from giggling is the sheer ferocity with which they brush that ice. Their focus and determination leaves no room for levity.

      • TrueEyes
        Posted January 31, 2014 at 2:21 PM | Permalink

        What if Pat had to use his beard as the broom with that same determination Lyndsay……now thats a stretch goal.

  5. Taravangian
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 1:52 PM | Permalink

    Idea: A collaboration between as many authors as are willing to participate, where you take turns adding a single sentence. You could either agree on a basic plot beforehand, or all make it up as you go.

    Idea: Get a few authors and/or Worldbuilders staff and do a “radio theater” style podcast/recording of a short work of your choice, like a children’s book or something.

    • khil1
      Posted January 31, 2014 at 2:05 PM | Permalink

      I was just thinking about that first one! Only I like the idea of a google hangout with like Pat, Sanderson, and Scalzi spitballing it as they go.

      • Posted January 31, 2014 at 2:24 PM | Permalink

        that’s funny, because this was one of my thoughts, too! It really is a great idea! Once done, the story could be taken down, bound into a one of a kind or very limited edition and used for next years’ fundraiser.

  6. JBG
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 1:58 PM | Permalink

    $1,000,000 stretch goal : Pat shaves his beard…???!!!

    • elae
      Posted January 31, 2014 at 2:09 PM | Permalink

      Ooh, this is good!

      $700,000 – Pat shaves his beard
      $700,001 – Pat does NOT shave his beard.

      These are always fun.

    • krysteline
      Posted January 31, 2014 at 3:02 PM | Permalink

      I mentioned this a few weeks ago… It didn’t seem popular at the time but it still gets my vote! :)

    • Posted January 31, 2014 at 3:27 PM | Permalink

      He’s adorable under all that man-fur! I fully support a shorn Rothfuss.

      • Posted January 31, 2014 at 4:04 PM | Permalink

        I am many things under this beard. But I am not adorable….

        • Posted January 31, 2014 at 4:26 PM | Permalink

          Not true. Many things, yes + adorable.

        • Sandhya
          Posted January 31, 2014 at 8:17 PM | Permalink

          You are so wrong! I was watching the Google + thing last night (or early this morning) and realized that Oot got his cuteness from you. I think you wear that beard so you won’t look so cute! ;-) Butch you up a bit.

  7. LenaMeow
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 2:15 PM | Permalink

    Stretch Goal Idea: A number of authors, who agree to participate, play the Broken Telephone game (one comes up with a sentence and it gets whispered down the line, the last author announces the sentence, usually it is different in an amusing way from what it started out as). If desired, this game can be played numerous times and shared to the amusement of the fans, in the end a favorite sentence is selected. Then the authors collaborate to write a short story that is inspired by that sentence. Could include comic/graphic novel artists, then it can be a short illustrated story.

  8. Taravangian
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 2:22 PM | Permalink

    Idea: Live stream of a small group of authors/contributors/staff/etc. playing a game. Could be pen-and-paper, board game, video game, party game, etc. Ideally something that people could do from home, to make it easy on anyone who wants to participate.

    Idea: Pat, if you’re still in touch with Shane Tyree, maybe you could ask him if he’d be willing to draw something for Worldbuilders on a live stream? Or another illustrator perhaps, if Shane can’t be reached, or is unavailable.

    • Posted January 31, 2014 at 2:25 PM | Permalink

      Draw it on livestream and then auction or throw the original in the lottery. ;)

  9. TrueEyes
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 2:28 PM | Permalink

    Ohh another idea…..Peter Brett wards Pat Rothfuss with a magic marker everywhere but the risque areas?…..just a thought

  10. Posted January 31, 2014 at 2:43 PM | Permalink

    On Wednesday night I took out the garbage and came back inside just in time to see Pat read my question out to the group. It was awesome. XD

    Some of the stretch goal ideas here are great, but ohmygosh a beardless patrick rothfuss? The world would cease to exist as we know it.

    Planning on donating asap today, you’ve done a great thing with Worldbuilders pat.

  11. Brady Dill
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 3:00 PM | Permalink

    700,000 $: A single sentence from The Doors of Stone is released.
    750,000 $: Rothfuss shaves his beard.

    • Brady Dill
      Posted January 31, 2014 at 3:01 PM | Permalink

      I know the beard one was already said; just agreeing emphatically.

    • Kthaeh
      Posted January 31, 2014 at 5:49 PM | Permalink

      I’d vote for these, but being a…pragmatist? greedy bastard?…I’d cut the goals down to $600k and $650k respectively.

      And I would be neither surprised nor even terribly disappointed if Pat fished out a one- or two-word sentence from the MS to satisfy the goal. As much as I’m dying for that 3rd book, the crazy anticipation is all part of the fun.

  12. Posted January 31, 2014 at 3:25 PM | Permalink

    How about you watch the new hobbit movie and tell us how you *really* feel about it?

    • Posted January 31, 2014 at 4:01 PM | Permalink

      Oh god. That’s horrifying.

    • Posted January 31, 2014 at 4:01 PM | Permalink

      There’s a reason I haven’t watched it yet.

      • Posted January 31, 2014 at 5:46 PM | Permalink

        I know. That would be part of the fun for us.

        I know I’m not alone in hating the new Hobbit. I know you feel my pain.

        We need you to be our voice in this, Pat. We need to you let us know ee’re not alone…

        • Simone Becker
          Posted January 31, 2014 at 7:33 PM | Permalink

          Oh god. I would love to see this.

          You could do it like RiffTrax.

          That way we could watch the movie at home and it would be like you were right there with us, hanging out and drunkenly ranting at the screen with us.

          • Posted January 31, 2014 at 10:08 PM | Permalink

            Say now… there’s an idea….

          • Posted February 1, 2014 at 8:33 AM | Permalink

            That would be amazing! Mystery Hobbit Theater 2014, lol. <3

  13. BKLounge22
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 4:09 PM | Permalink

    How about at a certain level throwing a Book 3 or Auri-novella tuckerization into the lottery? Or adding a couple of College Survival Guides to the lottery?

  14. Prufrock
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 5:01 PM | Permalink

    $600,000 — A Sandersonian book progress bar on your site.

    Hey, I can dream.

  15. Prufrock
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 5:04 PM | Permalink

    $550,000 – Pat runs across a pool of non-Newtonian water/starch mixture, then walks back.

    $575,000 – Lyrics to Savien

  16. Prufrock
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 5:06 PM | Permalink

    Other possible goals — get someone to do a detailed map of the University. Or the Underthing. Or the Four Corners, for heaven’s sake!

    Or drawings of some of the Underthing’s rooms — those stick in my imagination.

  17. nmnjr
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 5:40 PM | Permalink

    Pat and Amber do a dramatic reading of their erotica.

  18. Tempi Tantrum
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 5:40 PM | Permalink

    Wow, $546,000?! Never mind the fucking ‘Organisation for blah blah’, everybody at Worldbuilders deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. Seriously.

  19. Dr. Drev
    Posted January 31, 2014 at 7:46 PM | Permalink

    Pat reads aloud the most difficult boot ever Dr Suess’s Fox in Sox

  20. Posted February 1, 2014 at 5:02 AM | Permalink

    – something about the four corners world is revealed that never made it into the story line but you wish it had
    – Internet scavenger hunt
    – bags of those custom fortune cookies released into the lottery
    – another photo contest but instead of all the work being emailed to have it posted by artists to a flickr gallery. Make it a single theme. Best work gets to sell limited prints in the tinkers pack.
    – Patrick Rothfuss is Roasted by friends and colleagues
    -if you kept any- Auction off one of your novels rejection letters

  21. Jezdynamite
    Posted February 1, 2014 at 5:32 AM | Permalink

    Idea for a stretch goal:

    Perhaps Pat and Neil Gaiman or Pat and Terry Pratchett reading an excerpt together from one of Neil’s or Terry’s books?

    Dunno if it would be something others would want to hear, but I’d definitely tune in for that.

  22. dauphine76
    Posted February 1, 2014 at 7:12 AM | Permalink

    Some years ago, a guy I was friends with in grade school found me on Facebook. We re-connected and caught up, during which time wee began to talk about books. (I read more often than is healthy and my ex-husband is in the industry.)

    I broke every rule I have (no rookies, no unfinished series, no more fantasy, etc) based on the passionate recommendation of a guy I had not seen in over 20 years. (Yes. Do the math. I am old. Get off my lawn.) I have never regretted this decision, and have been faithfully spreading the word about your books since.

    I expected everyone I know to love your work as much as I do. They do! They do! I never expected to find myself proud to be your fan. As I type, you have CRUSHED the 560k mark and it appears donations are still flooding in. I like authors, I may even admire authors…. I have never been Proud to Be a Fan before.

    No less than six people have contacted me saying something like, “Hey! That guy! The one you told me about! The guy that wrote those Kvothe books? He is doing a thing!” You and Worldbuilders are ALL OVER my Facebook and crawling around in my email. I smile and say, “I know.”

    Nice work, Pat. You’ve gone viral. Shoot for a million.

    • Posted February 1, 2014 at 12:41 PM | Permalink

      This is my big warm fuzzy for the day….

  23. JeremyM
    Posted February 1, 2014 at 9:57 AM | Permalink

    Yay!! I just made my first donation for Worldbuilders. I’ve been following it since the first year, but was never able to donate before. I’m super happy to be a part of it this year. Great job on smashing last years total!!!

    • Posted February 1, 2014 at 12:55 PM | Permalink

      It’s a good feeling, isn’t it?

      • JeremyM
        Posted February 2, 2014 at 10:35 AM | Permalink

        It’s a fantastic feeling. I already notified my family for Christmas next year that instead of gifts I want them to donate to Worldbuilders. Unfortunately the thought came to late this year. Thanks for all you’ve done Pat. The world is a better place with people like you in it.

  24. kdculb
    Posted February 1, 2014 at 9:58 AM | Permalink

    Well, I just finished my taxes and I was not hit up for as many contributions last year. So I just made another contribution – this one ending in .33. P.S. Don’t shave your beard. I have seen another bearded wonder shave after 20+ years and it was not pretty!

  25. LunaDrache
    Posted February 1, 2014 at 10:39 AM | Permalink

    Wow, that Last Unicorn book looks amazing! I didn’t even know there was such a thing.

    Also, the Munchkin auctions… OMG, how awesome!

    Thank you all for doing this. I can’t wait to see the final numbers!

  26. landlouper
    Posted February 1, 2014 at 1:09 PM | Permalink

    I was able to donate again, for the second year in a row. I really can’t afford to donate, but for personal reasons I really can’t afford not to donate. I’m amazed at how much this has grown year on year. If you can keep growing it by 33% each year, we’re going to make a serious dent in world hunger pronto. Thanks for all you do, Mr. Rothfuss and the Rothfi.

    Oh – one more comment: the stretch goals have been amazingly great this year. I don’t see how you can top them in the future!

  27. SamuelB
    Posted February 1, 2014 at 9:01 PM | Permalink

    Stretch Goal: Livestream of Rothfuss & Friends playing a munchkins game with as many decks as available mixed together.

Post a Reply to Taravangian Cancel reply

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • RSS info

  • Visit Worldbuilders!

  • Our Store

  • Previous Posts

  • Archives



  • Bookmark this Blog!

    (IE and Firefox users only - Safari users, click Command-D)