A small note of big thanks.
about 3 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!
about 3 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!
about 3 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

25K and Stretch Goal #12 unlocked!
about 3 years ago – Tue, Nov 16, 2021 at 09:02:52 PM

You keep unlocking more Stretch Goals... and I'm good with it!

Hey all!

I just spent the weekend as a guest at the amazing Grand Rapids Comic Con, and now that I've returned and gotten by feet under me I'm happy to announce that we've unlocked the TWELFTH Stretch Goal on this campaign... going past the "Ultimate" Stretch Goal of the video game, even!

I cannot thank you all enough for your support of this campaign, which ends on Friday!

As a few quick reminders...

• This is the only time we'll be offering the hardcover edition of both TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 5: "Rockstar Paranoia" and the TALES OF MR. RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE, which contains the first four volumes of RHEE, including Volume 1 in full color for the first (and only) time. While the books will also be made available in comic shops and book stores in 2023, they will both be in SOFTCOVER only. If you want the hardcovers of both books, get them here through this campaign at the "Both Books" or above pledge level, friends.
• The video game download and all the other Stretch Goals are included with ANY pledge level that come with a hardcover.
• The Mr. Rhee statues being offered in this campaign are Kickstarter Exclusive! If you want to treat yourself, now's the time to get this super-rare collectible edition of the statue from our friends at Sixus1!

That's the skinny, friends. As always, I truly cannot thank you all enough for your support of this campaign. As I type this we're over $25,000 in presales and only about $540 away from the THIRTEENTH Stretch Goal, which, as seen above, will offer gold gilded pages on the Kickstarter Exclusive Hardcover Editions of the RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE.

The more people who support the campaign, the more we ALL get, so please consider sharing details about the campaign with your horror-comic loving friends using this link:

www.TalesOfMrRhee.com

Thanks again, everyone! Let's see how much more we can all get before Friday, shall we?

Your friend in comics,

Dirk Manning

More Stretch Goals? Yes, more Stretch Goals!
about 3 years ago – Thu, Nov 11, 2021 at 02:50:25 AM

We have a week left...

I'm still humbled that we unlocked the TALES OF MR. RHEE: "Punch All Monsters!" video game with over a week left in the campaign... but given that we now still have a week left, well, let's see how many more Stretch Goals we can unlock, yeah?

I've talked to Source Point Press and there is a plan in place, depending how far we can get during this last fourth of the campaign.

We have a week left. Keep sharing the link www.TalesOfMrRhee.com and let them know why they'll want to back this campaign and let's see how many more free Stretch Goals we can all unlock, friends!

Your friend in comics,

Dirk Manning