Cool Comics and Awesome Art

Heifer International is full of, and run by, a lot of truly wonderful people dedicated to fighting poverty. They work tirelessly day and night to make the world a better place. You might not guess it by looking at them, but the folks at Heifer are also a big bunch of nerds.

They promised us a stretch goal this year, but kept it kind of secret what they were actually going to do for us. All we knew was that they’d be sending us a video as soon as they were done. What they sent us was this:

Yeah. They’re our kind of people.

Comics/Graphic Novels

  • Special edition hardcover copies of Lookouts Volume 1. Signed by Gabe and Tycho.

lookouts

The guys over at Penny Arcade are great, and they made sure to get involved in the fundraiser this year in a big way.  These are pretty awesome collections of the six-volume Lookouts comic book series, put together into a limited edition hardcover. It has bonus concept art and an alternative cover included, so if you’re a geek for Lookouts (and even if you’re not) you’re going to get a lot of joy out of these.

  • Auction: Lookouts & Penny Arcade prints with a Special Edition hardcover copy of Lookouts Volume 1. All signed by Gabe and Tycho.

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(Click to Embiggen)

There was a lot more passed along, so we figured we’d include one of everything Penny Arcade sent us in one massive auction. It has the special edition hardcover book, plus a Daughters of Eyrewood print, Parts 1-6 of A Boy Must Learn, Parts 1-5 of The Judging Wood, and A Trick of Retrospective, all signed by both Gabe and Tycho.

Bid on this coolness right here.

And for those of you who are fans of Lookouts…

  • Store: Lookouts collaboration with Penny Arcade.

Lookouts Beneath the Forest Floor

(Click to embiggen)

Last year, I won a guest appearance in Penny Arcade as a part of their annual Child’s Play fundraiser. We chatted for a while about what we could do for the strip, and in the end, rather than have my hobo-looking self make a guest appearance, I offered up some of my words instead. Mike came up with this beautiful thing, and then generously offered to let us make prints of it that we could sell for the Tinker’s Packs.

You can buy a copy for yourself right here. I’ll even sign it if you like….

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The good thing about comics and graphic novels is that they’re usually pretty small, so people don’t seem to mind shipping us a bunch of them all at once. This is thirty prizes in the lottery, and they’re going to delight thirty people with their art, charm, and wit.

  • 7 copies of X-Men: Pixie Strikes Back!, 10 copies of Iron Man: War of the Iron Men, and 3 copies of Astonishing Thor.

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You might not have heard of this little indie group called Marvel comics. They’re not a very big deal these days, but they’ve got some cool characters like Iron Man and Thor, so we’re excited to have some of the comics to help spread the word. That said, even less known is Pixie from X-Men, and she looks like she could really mess someone up with her pink sword.

  • Auction: Prints and an original art panel from Goblins. Signed by Tarol Hunt.

goblins

A new trend is developing in our donations where artists have sent us their original sketches from their work. I am a big fan of this development.

We’ve got a variety of Goblins prints available here, including an original sketch from a panel of the comic, all of which are signed by Tarol Hunt. If you love Goblins, then you should really grab all of this coolness right here.

SnarfQuestWithSignatures

At GenCon last year we had an information table for Worldbuilders that some of our staff manned, sharing what we do and helping out with the writing panels. We ran into Maxwell Alexander Drake there, and when he asked what we do here, we told him.

Immediately he handed over this copy of the SnarfQuest 30th Anniversary Collector’s Edition to include in the fundraiser. It’s an awesome hardcover edition, and it’s number 330 of only 350 that were signed by both Larry Elmore and Maxwell Alexander Drake.

This is too cool to pass up. Bid on it right here.

  • Auctions: Original page art + doodled copy of the book from Porcelain: A Gothic Fairly Tale. Original page art + doodled copy of the book from Porcelain: Bone China. All signed by Chris Wildgoose.

porcelain

If you haven’t read Porcelain yet, do. I loved it so much I blurbed it a while back.

“I loved the feel of it, like an old-school faerie tale. Tight and well-written. A little mystery, a little humor, a little horror. It made me smile in places and get a little weepy in others. Everything I want in a story.”

It’s a beautiful series, and here we have two sets of one original page art with its respective book for the first two books in the series. You can bid on the set for book one (A Gothic Fairy Tale) right here, and book two (Bone China) right here.

  • Auctions: Original page art + doodled copy of the book from Butterfly GateOriginal page art of a Rothfuss Cameo + doodled copy of the book from BriarAll signed by Chris Wildgoose.

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(Embiggen to see the mighty Rothfuss twins)

Porcelain isn’t the only project worth looking into, though. Here we have two more sets of original art with a signed copy of its book, one of Butterfly Gate, a silent, sci-fi oddysey, and the other of Briar, a story of myth and folklore. And apparently really creepy Rothfuss twins.

You can bid on Butterfly Gate right here, and on Briar right here. I know you won’t be disappointed.

  • Improper Books Bundle: Porcelain 1 & 2, Butterfly Gate, Briar, Night Post, MULP 1 & 2, and Knight & Dragon. 4 sets in the lottery, and one up for auction.

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This bundle does not mess around. It has copies of everything Improper Books has produced, so you’ll have a lot of good reading ahead of you. We’re putting 4 whole sets into the lottery, but for those of you who love collecting beautiful graphic novels and comics, you can bid on the auction right here.

  • Auction: First edition copy of The Gigantic Beard that was Evil. With signed bookplate from Stephen Collins.

beard

This book comes up a lot in conversations I have for some reason.

All self-deprecation aside, this book is really beautifully made, and having a signed first edition copy is an added bonus. If you want to read about the Gigantic Beard that was Evil, you should bid on this right here.

Signed and Cool Art

We’ve worked with a lot of artists over the years, and they’re lovely people. You may have heard of my own drawing skills, and so real artists seem to me to be something like wizards, with the arcane ability to make their pictures look good. I don’t know how they do it, but I like it.

  • Auction: Limited Edition Star Wars Celebration poster, signed by Karen Hallion.

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Karen Hallion is one of our favorite artists. She collaborates with us on a calendar every year, and her stretch goal of drawing a Rothfuss-inspired Doctor Who is eagerly anticipated.

She’s a fantastic artist, and this poster helps prove it. This is one of only 250 made, and the only way to get them was to be at the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, CA back in April. It’s in Karen’s wheelhouse of pop art mashed up with classic paintings, and it’s seriously beautiful. If you want one, bid right here.

  • Auction: Commissioned marker illustration of your favorite pop culture character from Karen Hallion.

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Karen didn’t stop by simply sending us a really rare print. She’s offering up the chance for your very own marker illustration from her of the pop culture character of your choice. She’s willing to work with you on it to be sure it’s something she can do, and then you’ll get a one-of-a-kind piece from Karen herself.

It’s a pretty sweet deal. If this is something you’re interested in, you should bid here.

  • Auction: Copper foil Cinder Spires maps, signed by artist Priscilla Spencer and Jim Butcher, with an ARC of Aeronaut’s Windlass signed by Jim Butcher.

cinderspires

Priscilla Spencer does maps for a lot of fantasy authors, including Kevin Hearne, Harry Connolly, Myke Cole, Saladin Ahmed, and Jim Butcher. These maps in particular are for Jim’s latest series, The Cinder Spires, and they’re fantastic.

They’re printed on navy blue felt paper with copper foil, signed by both Priscilla and Jim Butcher. As an added bonus, there’s a signed ARC of the Aeronaut’s Windlass, so you can have a complete collector’s set. Bid on it right here.

  • Auctions: Art from Alexa Duimstra, part 1: Young Kvothe watercolor, Kvothe playing the lute watercolor, and Vulnerable Kvothe watercolor. All signed by the artist.

Kvothes

This artist gifted a few pieces in the past, and we were all too happy when she offered to make more for the fundraiser. Here we have the many faces of Kvothe available.

You should really take the time to look at them in their full-sized glory over in the auctions. You can bid on Young Kvothe right here, Kvothe playing the lute right here, and Vulernable Kvothe right here.

  • Auctions: Art from Alexa Duimstra, part 2: Auri charcoal and calk, Denna watercolor, and Felurian charcoal and chalk. All signed by the artist.

ladies2

(Seriously, click to embiggen)

Part two of the art from Alexa features all the ladies she’s drawn for us. There’s two different versions of Auri, one in watercolor and one in chalk, a very accurate depiction of Denna, and a beautiful sketch of Felurian. You can even see pictures of the process of creating Felurian over on her tumblr.

These are all beautiful, one of a kind pieces. You can bid on charcoal Auri here, Denna here, or Felurian here.

  • Auction: A bundle of Charmed Realm art. All signed by Paul Kidby.

charmed

Paul Kidby is a prolific artist, known best for all of the work he’s done for and with Terry Pratchett. There’s a lot more of his work out there, though, and the Charmed Realm is is a great collection of his faerie and folklore art. This bundle comes with the hardcover book (complete with dragon doodle), the folio full of 6 prints, a Daybreak card, and bookmark. If you like mythical creatures and beautiful art, you can bid on this here.

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If you missed Concert Against Humanity, you regret it. That is an indisputable fact.

These posters were made specifically for the concert and literally thrown at guests on their way out (if you don’t believe us, you don’t know the kind of people drawn to Cards Against Humanity). There was a signing line where attendees could get their posters signed by most of the performers, though a few had to duck out early. Four mostly-signed posters are going into the lottery.

Then we have a special one. A poster that was passed around backstage. A poster signed by everyone, including Kumail Nanjiani and Cameron Esposito, who had to leave before the great signing line. That makes these posters quite a rarity, as any others floating around probably aren’t signed by these two. If you want this super-special poster, bid on it here.

* * *

Last night, for the first time, Fallout 4 didn’t win the voting in our beautiful game, and people actually got to see a stream of me writing book 3. If you missed it in all of its clicky keyboarded goodness, you can watch past streams right here, and they’ll be up on YouTube later as well.

Remember, every dollar donated counts as a vote for the next stream, so if you want some say, make sure to donate.

There will be a bunch of auctions ending on Sunday, so if any of our crafts, swords, collectibles, or games we have up for auction were enticing to you, you’ve only got a couple of days left to bid.

Thanks for making the world a better place with us.

This entry was posted in Worldbuilders 2015By Pat11 Responses

11 Comments

  1. khil1
    Posted December 4, 2015 at 8:53 AM | Permalink

    Pat, I’m at work and can currently only get the first few minutes of the video from last night’s stream to play but I love the sound you and your keyboard make. The intense clickity clack reminds me of 90’s hacker movies.

    In short, Pat = Zero Cool

    • Brett
      Posted December 4, 2015 at 9:42 PM | Permalink

      He WAS Zero Cool. It’s Crash Override now. :D

    • Posted December 5, 2015 at 11:56 PM | Permalink

      Click clack moo!

      Oh wait, that’s a different book. (Love that book!)

      . . clickety clackety is good background sound for studying, I think.

      Had to buy a tableflip today, from http://maxistentialism.com/tableflip/
      just because.

  2. Kthaeh
    Posted December 4, 2015 at 3:09 PM | Permalink

    I have every confidence that WB is going to raise more than a million dollars this year. In fact, when I saw last year’s total, I was sure back then. I think it would be really cool if you set up a betting pool (which is entered by way of making donations, of course) for what hour of what day the total raised hits $1,000,000. Remember the betting pool in American Gods for when the car sinks through the thawing lake? Like that, only with a cool prize rather than any monetary payout. I betcha you and Neil between you could cook up some awesome name for the pool.

    • Posted December 4, 2015 at 7:51 PM | Permalink

      That’s an interesting idea….

      • Kthaeh
        Posted December 5, 2015 at 8:05 AM | Permalink

        I hope it can happen then, despite what must be a lot of logistics. If not this year then perhaps next?

        Also, forgot to say: Heifer’s thank you video was awesome. I’m really touched by it. Please pass along our appreciation to them.

    • LizisSparta
      Posted December 5, 2015 at 6:41 AM | Permalink

      I really like that idea! I bet Mr. Gaiman does, too!

  3. cageo
    Posted December 5, 2015 at 1:59 AM | Permalink

    Stretch goal idea: you straighten your beard with a hair straightener. I was watching your video on how you write today and I was completely distracted by your beard and just how awesome it would look all flowy. I mean, it already is awesome… Ahem. Is that too weird?

  4. waifofthenorth
    Posted December 5, 2015 at 11:07 AM | Permalink

    Magic goats! :-D

    If I had known fallout had won everyday when I donated I might have voted for something else. You work hard and deserve some fun, too though!

  5. Posted December 6, 2015 at 1:49 AM | Permalink

    Thing I learned today:
    Animals with lightsabers make me cry happy tears.

    • Amanda
      Posted December 6, 2015 at 10:09 AM | Permalink

      Same here….

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