I’m now in the process of wiring the final payment for the printing and shipping costs incurred in the production of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS. I’ll deal with Customs when the books arrive at the Port of Los Angeles sometime in June.
If anyone’s been on the fence about ordering a copy, I suggest sooner is better than later as I sincerely believe once people see these in San Diego that I’ll run out of copies to sell before the convention is over.
Now if anyone doesn’t mind, I have to get back to preparing the art for the Lara-Su print that everyone who pre-ordered will also receive with their copy of BEGINNINGS along with a random SONIC or KNUCKLES issue I worked on signed by me. This promotion ends once the complete shipment of books arrives at the warehouse here in Los Angeles.
FULL DISCLOSURE: the photo above does NOT depict boxes containing copies of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS. The printers haven’t sent me any pictures of the pallets with the books loaded on them ready for shipping. What they have sent me is an email listing all the shipping info as the books are being prepared for the process.
What I can tell you is the books are being packed in allotments of 10 copies to a carton with 64 cartons loaded on each pallet. My advance copies are being sent today so I can give my final approval before shipping.
As it now stands, the books are scheduled to ship by May 31, which I will confirm once I have that info in writing. Arrival is expected sometime between June 16 and June 25. Once the books clear customs, they will be delivered by truck to the warehouse where they will be stored. I’ll begin pulling copies for shipping to those who pre-ordered once I receive word the pallets with the books are in the warehouse.
Once I announce the books have arrived and I have them in hand ready to ship, the pre-order promotion immediately ends. The follow-up promotion will only be good for those attending the San Diego Comic-Con and will cost $50 as I have convention expenses to account for. (Hotel expenses, parking and meal costs will easily exceed $2500, to give those not attending some idea what it takes to do a convention, especially in a city like San Diego. And those are not the only expenses incurred.)
OFF TOPIC: I’m still working on my blog posting depicting the hidden history of Sonic the Hedgehog I started this past weekend on Twitter. I’m adding additional details, documents, photos and illustrations to the presentation that I hope people will find interesting.
While I wait for my advance copies of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS to arrive before giving approval to ship my entire order, there’s still a lot going on at my end in the meantime.
For the time being, I’ve decided to sell BEGINNINGS exclusively through my website and convention appearances. After the San Diego Comic-Con, I’m targeting Toronto, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Mega-Con in Miami. I’m also looking at Chicago and Boston for 2025 appearances. I’m open to appearances elsewhere, but taking a wait and see approach based on what happens after San Diego.
Currently, I’m continuing my pre-order promotion of a limited edition signed Lara-Su print along with a randomly selected issue of either SONIC or KNUCKLES I’ve worked on I will sign and include when the pre-ordered copy of BEGINNINGS ships to the buyer. The promotion immediately ends once I have the printed copies of BEGINNINGS on hand to immediately ship.
The promotional package at San Diego is still being worked on, but BEGINNINGS and a bonus extra will be priced at $50, and both will include my signature. (I’m thinking along the lines of a quick head sketch, or alternate print. My concern is being able to satisfy demand during the convention if I go ahead with the head sketch.)
I’m also open to doing appearances at various retailer stores, and if that does happen, you’ll here about it here. Retailers can contact me via this link.
I’m currently at work on a full color Sonic Cast of Characters print which is nearing completion as well as my first full color STAR TREK print which will be available on both this website and the San Diego Comic Con.
In addition, by the end of this month and definitely before I head down to Comic-Con, I plan on unveiling the cover art for KEN PENDERS’S KNUCKLES OMNIBUS as well as a page or two from the next chapter of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: SHATTERED TOMORROWS.
As work progresses on the Lara-Su app, while I’d like to say it will be ready for Comic-Con, because of short cuts I took to finish the new material for BEGINNINGS, I have to go back and finish several drawings so everything plays consistently with previous material. I’ll keep everyone posted on progress as well as when the app will eventually launch sometime this year.
As always, if anyone has any questions, always feel free to email me. In the meantime, thanks for your support. It’s appreciated.
About an hour ago, I received an envelope containing the proof copy of every page of THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES: BEGINNINGS. Upon opening it up and poring through the pages, I can’t convey how thrilled and happy I was with the finished results. Whatever colors you see in the photos of this blog entry, I can assure you they don’t come close to richness and vibrancy of seeing these pages along with the rest of the book in person.
I’ve selected a few of the pages to convey just what awaits anyone looking forward to this book. If you’ve read MOBIUS: 25 YEARS LATER during its original run in SONIC THE HEDGEHOG issues 131 thru 144 or it’s reprinting of selected chapters in the SONIC SUPER SPECIAL magazine issue 4, you haven’t truly experienced until you see the complete run collected together in this book.
I took a few quick pics on my iPhone, uploaded to my computer and just did a quick tweak and crop job as I have a few other things to take care, so I can’t emphasize enough the brightness of the colors as well as the high quality of the paper stock.
Once people absorb the original run of M25YL, I do an introduction into the new material, and the adventure takes off from there, reintroducing readers to some of their old favorite characters as well as introducing new members to the saga.
Once readers take in THE STORM and the opening chapter of SHATTERED TOMORROWS, the DATA FILES present in-depth info of several of the main characters. After the chapters of SHATTERED TOMORROWS premiere on THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES app, they’ll be collected in a hardcover volume similar to BEGINNINGS, along with updated and new DATA FILES.
I did a print run of 2000 copies, and just over 200 copies are now spoken for. I’m still taking pre-orders right up to the opening night of the San Diego Comic-Con, during which time one can only acquire a copy from me during the convention.
Following San Diego, I’m hoping to appear at conventions in Toronto, San Francisco and Mega-Con in Miami. New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland are also on my list.
If this print run sells out, I plan on making a couple of small changes to differentiate the 2nd printing from the first. I know what one of those changes will be already but still debating what the others will be.
I’m very confident people who have followed these characters all these years will want this book on their shelves as part of their collection. But that’s for the buyers to decide, and I’m really looking forward to what people have to say once they see this in person.
It was the fans who made this possible, and I can’t say thank you enough. Take a bow, everyone. I hope I did you proud. Take care.
