The books have hit the port! And more excitement!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Aug 22, 2022 at 08:57:55 AM

HELLO, CUSTOMS!

Earlier this week I was informed by Source Point Press that both TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 5 and the TALES OF MR. RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE have arrived at customs! Once they go through processing (which should be soon) they will immediately by on a truck to Source Point Press headquarters for packing and shipping! Huzzah!

In the meantime, the Kickstarter Exclusive Bonus Books have been printed... and they look GORGEOUS!

Master artist James O'Barr also signed and delivered the mini-prints, too...

And Austin McKinley is working with a game designer to finalize the video game, and I spoke to Les Garner earlier today and the last of the statues are being produced even as I type this!

(For those of you who pledged for a statue, I'll most likely be sending all of you a separate, private message to confirm your shipping addresses, as the statues will be sent separately from the books to minimize the risk of a giant hardcover book or two slamming into your statue!)

Speaking of Mailing Addresses...

It's been a minute since we launched this campaign -- and some of you may have moved since then! The BackerKit is locked, but if you've moved recently, please send me a message THROUGH THIS KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN PAGE with your new mailing address and we'll get it updated in the BackerKit for you!

And if you want a little more Cthulhu in your life...

Speaking of BackerKit, for a limited time the BackerKit for THE ADVENTURES OF CTHULHU JR. AND FRIENDS is now open for preorders!

If you didn't get a chance to preorder this book through the Kickstarter campaign, I most sincerely and passionately encourage you to take a moment and "treat yourself" to pre-ordering the TPB edition of the book (at least) now right HERE.

I know some people weren't sure if this would be up their alley given that it's an all-ages book, but I assure you, while this is a book accessible for readers of any age, it is most definitely a "Dirk Manning production" through and through. I worked with the amazing team of illustrator/co-creator Scoot McMahon, colorist Sean Burres, and editor Leah Lederman to create a fun, funny, and I daresay even at times emotionally moving horror book filled with monsters, mayhem, and mischief in a story that, yes, will also allow younger readers to access the world of horror we all love and enjoy.

And, yes, you can still get that amazing 12" Cthulhu Jr. plushie through the BackerKit if you hurry, too: 

https://cthulhujr.backerkit.com

Thanks, all!

I suspect I'll have another update sooner than later at this point... but in the meantime, treat yo'self to some CTHULHU JR. (it's sooooo good!) and we'll talk soon!

Your friend in comics,

Dirk Manning

Some photos -- and videos -- you'll RHEE-ly want to see!
over 2 years ago – Tue, Aug 02, 2022 at 09:53:16 PM

Some process-work eye candy while we wait for the boat to arrive...

Hey all!

C2E2 in Chicago is this coming week (as always, at Artist Alley Table H8 -- #EmbraceTheH8), and while there was a time that I was internally entertaining the outside chance that just maybe the books would arrive in time to make the Kickstarter packages available for this upcoming show, but, alas, the boat is moving a little too slow to make that possible.

That being said, look what HAS arrived, though:

The Kickstarter Exclusive Bonus Book comics have arrived at the Source Point Press warehouse! This comic contains two stories that directly tie-into and enhance the experience of reading  TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 5: "Rock Star Paranoia", so I can't wait for all of you to read them!

Here's a fun fact you may or may not be aware of, too: I've offered these "Bonus Comics" as Kickstarter Exclusive Stretch Goals ever since the Kickstarter campaign for TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 2... but one thing I've never done is reprint ANY of these stories, anywhere, ever!

This means the only way to read any of these stories has been in these bonus comics, making them a truly -- and I daresay RHEE-ly -- exclusive collector's item!

Speaking of collector's items, as mentioned in the last update, RHEEv5 illustrator Austin McKinley has completed the remarks on the KS Exclusive Bookplates that will be accompanying every HC Edition of the book, and he shared this one minute video with me that  is just too cool not to share. Check it out:

I don't know about you, but I could watch stuff like this all day. I remain in awe of watching master illustrators like Austin McKinley at work.

Now, that being said, keep in mind that he also did this approximately THIS many times:

He's a national treasure, friends, and if you're not yet aware of his work -- he's also illustrated stories I've written in NIGHTMARE WORLD, TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 3 (which, of course, will be included in the TALES OF MR. RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE), BURIED BUT NOT DEAD, and BUTTS IN SEATS: THE TONY SCHIAVONE STORY -- I encourage you all to both keep an eye out for and support his addition coming work in the future. He's not only a master illustrator, but also one of the kindest and most talented people I've had the pleasure of working with throughout my career.

That being said, if you'll be at C2E2 this weekend, please come by, say hello (or Hell-O) at Artist Alley Table H8 ("Hate!"), and consider picking-up a book or two. If you get there early enough, I may even have a copy of some of those earlier (and never reprinted) TALES OF MR. RHEE Kickstarter Exclusive Bonus Comics as well as a few other RHEE-ly special surprises. Heh.

Thanks again, all! I appreciate you, I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible this coming weekend in Chicago -- or otherwise on the road soon!

Your friend in comics,

Dirk Manning

Big action! BIG ACTION!
over 2 years ago – Sun, Jul 17, 2022 at 04:29:25 AM

The books are on the boat on the way here...

The bookplates are signed and remarked by me and artist Austin McKinley...

James O'Barr is signing his bookplates for you after I signed them...

Oh, and the video game is being finalized too... and the multi-talented Austin McKinley (yes, he designed and animated the video game, too!) is CRUSHING IT on the graphics... take a peek:

The TALES OF MR. RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE is almost here.

The TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 5: "Rock Star Paranoia" Kickstarter Exclusive Hardcover is almost here.

All those amazing Stretch Goals we unlocked, including the TALES OF MR. RHEE: "Punch All Monsters" video game is almost here.

I know the wait has been long due to the supply chain issues we crashed into head-on right as the campaign ended... but we're close, friend. We're RHEE-ly close... and we're going to make sure your patience will be rewarded.

Thank you all for your support! I'll be in touch again soon with another update!

Your friend in comics,

Dirk Manning

Photos of so... many... signatures!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Jun 27, 2022 at 12:23:54 AM

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so...

I think, possibly forever, I will always joke (to myself, at least) about how you gotta leave it to me to launch a Kickstarter presale campaign for two books at once totaling over 700 pages in content... only for the whole industry to then go into a global paper distribution shortage.

It's exactly the type of scenario you'd expect to happen to Mr. Rhee in one of his adventures, and that irony makes the whole situation even funnier to me, honestly, even if it's a bit of gallows humor.

That being said, as mentioned in the last update, I've been notified by Source Point Press that the books will be shipping to them soon, and I got evidence of this being true (not that I needed it, as we're an honest and transparent publisher) when I received both the embossed book plates illustrated by TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 5 illustrator Austin McKinley *AND* the prints of the TALES OF MR. RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE cover illustrated by James O'Barr earlier this week... which meant I had a lot of signing to do:

These are, of course, the bookplates illustrated by Austin. I don't know how well you may be able to tell, but both the art and the Rhee sigil are embossed and "raise-up" off the bookplate, just like we did with the BURIED BUT NOT DEAD bookplate (if you backed that campaign).

These bookplates will be mailed to Austin for his signatures and remarks this week... and you may also notice that I also remarked thirteen of these bookplates as well as a little mystery bonus. Happy holidays (early) to the 13 of you who get one of those with a little doodle on it from me as well... and let it serve as a reminder as to why I am the writer and not the illustrator.

And these, of course, are the prints featuring the artwork of James O'Barr. As I posted on my Instagram earlier today, it's still surreal to me to be in a position where the creator whose work set me on the path to being both a lifelong fan of comics as well as a professional comic creator has done work for me on one of my books (on what is quite possibly my favorite series I write, to boot) is just... surreal. I thank you all for your support in making this possible, and look forward to you all getting to hold BOTH books in your hands soon.

Oh... and I also signed only 13 of the prints in silver... so, again, if you get one of those variants... well, there's only 13 of 'em. Happy (early) holidays again!

I hope to have another update soon, friends... so watch this space!

Your friend in comics,

Dirk Manning

A quick (but RHEE-ly exciting) update... and another horror comic worth checking out!
over 2 years ago – Sun, Jun 12, 2022 at 12:56:56 PM

"The books are shipping soon!"

That's the update I received from Source Point Press, meaning that the books will soon be to the warehouse, and from there the packages will be assembled and sent-out to all of you! I've appreciated your patience on this project so very much -- we didn't know we'd be running into such a paper crisis when we launched this campaign that involved over 700 pages of material per pledge level (for those of you who pre-ordered both books)... but the light is officially at the end of the tunnel! Yay!

Source Point Press is also sending me the book plates and prints to sign as well now that they are being printed, so I'll then sign those all and get them to Austin McKinley and James O'Barr, respectively, to sign for all of you too!

I'll be sure to send you some sneak peek photos as I get them!

If you like horror, please check out this (fully funded) campaign in its last two days!

There's only about two days left on the Kickstarter campaign for dude Ben Goldsmith's long-awaited THE SEANCE ROOM Volume 2, a fully-funded horror graphic novel featuring the artistic talents of Alex Cormac, Drew Rausch, Dustin Irvin, and Ben Templesmith as well!

I was a "Day One" backed on this project, as I like Ben personally and also like his work, and if you're a horror fan I encourage you to check it out at well HERE.

***

Thanks all! I appreciate you all very much and will be in touch again soon -- most likely with some sneak peek photos of some of the RHEE materials!

Your friend in comics,

Dirk Manning