Off the road and back to work...
over 2 years ago – Thu, Dec 16, 2021 at 02:25:10 AM

Off the road and back to finishing assembling the book!

As those of you who follow me on social media are aware (I tend to use Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in that order), I just finished a massive "10 Shows in 12 Weeks" convention tour that took me all over the United States as convention organizers everywhere combined a year's worth of shows into the last four months of the year. While I was able to do some of the final work necessary to finish prepping the files for the printer (including writing the bonus prose story), some of the work can't be done in airports and hotel rooms... which is why I'm happy to be back at my home office to wrap the files up for print.

In the meantime, a preview...

Some of the final stages of preparing the book for publication has come in the form of prepping the files for the Kickstarter Exclusive bonus comic you all unlocked together. As a reminder, through the campaign you all unlocked TWO bonus stories for the comic (one written by me and illustrated by Senk Chhour, the other visually plotted by Austin McKinley and then dialogued by me)...

But of course a bonus comic also needs a cover, right?

Well, my artistic pal (and NIGHTMARE WORLD inker) Salvador Raga reached out during the campaign with an amazing piece of RHEE art that he was gracious enough to agree to let me use as the cover for our bonus comic! Check it out:

The final version of the illustration will be colored, of course, and truth be told, I have the colored version already... but I don't want to give away TOO much for you at the moment, you know?

BackerKits = After the Holidays

The plan is still to work with Source Point Press to set-up a BackerKit to fill your orders, and of course I am also planning on offering a few more rare and limited edition bonus items in there as well -- both RHEE related and otherwise -- after the first of the year. That way you can all enjoy your holidays (or at least the end of the year) and then we can ring-in the beginning of 2022 (already?!?) with some TALES OF MR. RHEE goodness!

In the meantime, if you would like to reach out, please do, friends. Otherwise, I'll be spending the next few weeks doing final prep work with Austin McKinley, Alessandro de Fornasari, Drena Jo, Jim Reddington, and the rest of the RHEEv5 and RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE team so we can get the book to the printer as soon as possible!

Thanks again everyone. Truly. I appreciate your support of this book so very much, and I will be in touch soon with another update on everything!

Like I said, the pages are all done -- now we're just going to give them all a final review and prep them for print!

Until then... Happy Holidays!

Your friend in comics,

Dirk Manning

A quick note on upcoming convention appearances! And BackerKit!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 08:58:21 PM

Life on the Road...

Those of you who know me know that I tend to tour a lot, and I'm happy to report that I'm closing out the end of the year with two MAJOR convention appearances:

This week from Thursday to Sunday I'll be a guest at Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle at Artist Alley Table S-1! I'm also hosting TWO different panels at the show:

Then, next week, I'm closing out the year at the mighty C2E2 in Chicago from December 10-12. where I'll be a guest in Artist Alley at Table H-8 (as in "Hate!") and hosting one panel as well:

Then... BackerKit.

The plan right now is, after these two cons over the next two weeks, to put together the BackerKit for all of you to finalize your pledges... and, honestly, I may toss an extra holiday treat or two in there as an option for you, too. We'll see.

Either way, again, I most sincerely appreciate your support, and I look forward to seeing as many of you on the road over the next two weeks as possible. If you're able to make it to one (or both) of the shows, c'mon over and say "Hi," yeah? I'd value the opportunity to say "Thank you" in person, friends.

Thanks all! Talk soon regardless, as I already have some cool stuff Kickstarter Exclusive stuff I look forward to sharing with you!

Your friend in comics,

Dirk Manning

A small note of big thanks.
over 2 years ago – Sun, Nov 21, 2021 at 05:57:37 PM

$30,003.

Admittedly, I would have liked to have sent this update Friday afternoon, but I had to drive to a comic con for a guest appearance right after the campaign ended. All day Saturday I was at the show, and I got home after midnight and collapsed. For the first time in a long time I didn't set the alarm. It felt nice.

So, now it's Sunday (late) morning and the first thing I'm doing now that I'm fully active is writing all of you this note of thanks. I made a picture to go with it, too:

What beautiful numerology. Thank you, friends.

Thank you to all of you supported this campaign with your pledges, your sharing, and your extra encouragement in all ways to push us to this. I know who you are, I appreciate you, and I am more indebted to you than an email update can express.

This campaign, yet again, was a game changer. Thank you. Truly.

Here's what's next.

• All of the artwork on the TALES OF MR. RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE and RHEEv5 is done. Austin McKinley and Alessandro de Fornasari (RHEEv5 illustrators), Jim Reddington (RHEE OMNIBUS letterer), Drena Jo (editor) and and I are all going to give everything one final pass before passing the files to Source Point Press.
• During this process, I'm also going to write the prose story for RHEEv5 and commission the spot illustrations for it. The prose stories at the end of each volume of RHEE are always VERY important to "big picture" and oftentimes include not only world-building features that we can't fit into the main stories, but also hints and foreshadowing of plot points to come. The title name for the prose story in RHEEv5 was selected by one lucky Kickstarter backer who snagged that pledge, and I'm excited to dig into it based on the song title chosen. Y'all are in for a treat with this one.
• I will be in touch with Source Point Press about setting-up the BackerKit. BackerKiit is like an online shopping cart which will be pre-populated with your pledged rewards, but also offer you a chance to perhaps "treat yourself" to a few other items. I may be adding a few surprise RHEE items in there for people who want to give themselves (or others) a special treat for the holidays... or just because. We all have the Thanksgiving holiday followed by two MAJOR convention appearances in the next few weeks (Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle immediately followed by C2E2 in Chicago -- I'll be a guest in Artist Alley at both and SPP will be at both as well), so please give us a little grace as we go forth in setting this up, but know that it is on our list of priorities and we will be doing so soon... and keep you posted along the way, of course.

Again... THANK YOU.

If you follow me on Facebook you may have seen me say on a livestream (or two) that TALES OF MR. RHEE is my favorite creator-owned series I write, and that if I could only write one comic series until its natural conclusion that it would be this one.

This was, and remains, 100% true.

I say this because I recognize the privilege I have to now be 700 pages into this series and, with RHEEv5, starting "Act Two" of this massive "Three Act" story. The first four volumes of Act One set the stage. Act Two is where the conflict and crises escalate, and you'll be seeing that happen in rapid fashion in RHEEv5.

I am so thankful you are supporting this book. To previous RHEE readers, I hope you will be blown-away by what RHEEv5 brings to the table. For new readers, welcome, and I hope this will quickly become among your favorite horror comic series.

Thank you, friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

If you'll be attending Emerald City of C2E2 in December, please swing by Artist Alley and come say "Hello," as I would love to thank you for your support in person. Otherwise, I will be in touch again here soon with a progress and production update.

Thanks, all! Truly. RHEE-ly. Thank you.

Your friend in comics,

Dirk Manning

#NOLIFETILLEATHER has been unlocked! You're amazing! Thank you!
over 2 years ago – Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 11:41:10 PM

Hello, leather.

With 17 hours left in the campaign we unlocked the 14th Stretch Goa earlier this evening, meaning that every TALES OF MR. RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE pre-ordered through this campaign will now come with a ribbon bookmark, gold gilded pages, and now a leatherbound exterior cover! Again, all these upgrades are exclusive ONLY to the copies of the RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE pledged for ONLY through this Kickstarter campaign.

Want to make sure you're getting everything?

Since this will most likely be the last update I send before the campaign ends, here's one last quick review to help you determine that you are getting all the Stretch Goals you want:

• Your pledge must include at least one hardcover (either the hardcover edition of RHEEv5, the RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE, or both books) to get the Stretch Goals.
• Stretch Goals #1-11 all come with either hardcover edition. As long as your pledge includes at least one of the hardcovers, you get all of these Stretch Goal bonuses:

• After all of those, the last three Stretch Goals are exclusive upgrades to the RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE and are STRICTLY Kickstarter Exclusive:

If you have thus far just pledged for the softcover edition of RHEEv5 or only one of the KS Exclusive Hardcover books but now want both, you can adjust your pledge in order to get the "Both Books" or "Gimme Everything" pledge level (which also includes that really cool RHEE beanie) and that will get you both books.

If you need to do this, just log in, adjust your pledge to the proper amount, and select your new desired pledge level accordingly.

Most importantly, though, whatever your pledge level, please know that I most sincerely appreciate you making this campaign such a huge success for me, our team, and Source Point Press.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Even as I type this I cannot believe we have unlocked FOURTEEN Stretch Goals. I appreciate you all so much, and I most sincerely enjoy paying it forward to all of you. Thank you for this opportunity. Truly.

If you know if anyone else who may want to jump-in on this campaign during its final hours, now's the time to let them know by sharing this link with them:

www.TalesOfMrRhee.com

Thanks again, everyone. TRULY. I can't wait to share this latest offering with all of you!

Your friend in comics,

Dirk Manning

You just unlocked gold... now we're going for leather!
over 2 years ago – Thu, Nov 18, 2021 at 02:18:41 PM

Lucky #13 has been unlocked! Let's go for one more!

Hey all!

Today we passed $25,666 in presales and unlocked the THIRTEENTH Stretch Goal, which means every *Kickstarter Exclusive* Hardcover Edition of the TALES OF MR. RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE has now been upgraded to include a ribbon bookmark.

Since we've still got 40 hours left in the campaign, though, I've been given the all-clear by Source Point Press to offer one last Stretch Goal at the $27,666 mark... and it's the one I've been hinting at for several days, now:

That's right, friends... if we get another $1,300 in pledges/presales on this campaign before it ends, every *KS Exclusive* edition of the TALES OF MR. RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE will now not only be hardcover with a ribbon bookmark and gold gilded pages... but it will now also gave a *KS Exclusive* leatherbound texture, too.

"What if I want to add the OMNIBUS to my pledge?"

I can hear some of you asking this already, so here's all you have to do: If you are pledging at a level that doesn't include the OMNIBUS and you want to add it, you can simply log in, adjust your pledge, and select the new pledge level that will get you what you need. Honestly, the "Both Books" is the most economical way to get the hardcover editions of RHEEv5 and the RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that you can get that amazing beanie as well by pledging at the "Gimme Everything" pledge level... and that will of course get us all even closer to the leather!

Finally, as always, please feel free to directly share this campaign with friends who may want to get all this amazing bonus swag, too! Remember, as long as your pledge includes at least ONE of the hardcovers, you'll get:

• A *KS Exclusive* sticker
• A *KS Exclusive* double-signed and remarked bookplate by Austin McKinley
• A *KS Exclusive* comic featuring TWO new bonus stories
• A *KS Exclusive* art print signed by me and James O'Barr (creator of THE CROW)
• A free download of the TALES OF MR. RHEE: "Punch All Monsters" video game
• *KS Exclusive* upgrades to the OMNIBUS giving copies ordered through this campaign a ribbon bookmark and gold gilded pages

And now, if we hit $27,666 the *KS Exclusive* edition of the TALES OF MR. RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE will be upgraded to a leatherbound texture, too.

Share this link with friends who may want to get in on this action and help us unlock #nolifetilleather, friends:

www.TalesOfMrRhee.com

Thanks all! We have 40 hours. Let's do it!

Your friend in comics,

Dirk Manning