Before starting work on SPERA 3.1 i drew the main characters of this issue (Lono, Pira and Adel) using the character guide that wonderful Afu Chan had drawn.
Get your digital copy here today! http://www.comixology.com/Spera-Vol-3-1/digital-comic/MAR138001A
The first digital issue of Spera: Vol. 3 is up on comiXology! This issue features art by Michael Dialynas (Amala’s Blade) and a cover illustration by Hannah Christenson.
Pira, Lono, Adel, Chobo and Yonder seek the Treasure of the Waterfall, only to come across one unexpected thing after another, each more dangerous than the last!
Spera will be at TCAF!
Afu Chan, Kyla Vanderklugt, Polly Guo and I can be found at table 258, located on the upper floor in the Owlkids section. We will have copies of both Vol. 1 & 2, the Glass Flowers Special, free postcards and one or two surprises.
If you’re looking to score even more signatures for Vol. 2, Kris Mukai will be at table 244, while Roman Muradov can be located in the Wowee Zonk Small Press Showcase.
TCAF takes place this weekend during May 11th (9am-5pm) and 12th (11am-5pm) at the Toronto Reference Library. Admission is free.
Kyla Vanderklugt’s Castle is up on Spera-Comic.com! This 4-page comic serves as an introduction to Nole and Kyle, Vol. 3’s main antagonists. Click here to read the full comic.
Above are pages 2 & 3 as an unbroken spread, which is how they’ll appear in the Vol. 3 hardcover when it releases later this year from Archaia.
Kyla, Afu Chan, Polly Guo and I will be promoting Spera at TCAF this coming weekend (May 11th and 12th). We will be selling and signing the first two books, the Glass Flowers Special and we’ll also have free postcards available. Admission is free. Learn more about the festival here.
Here’s the endpapers art from Spera: Vol. 2. The Kotequog sketch is by Giannis Milonogiannis, with the ribbon by Kyla Vanderklugt (who also created the ribbons on the Spera site).
From the cover to the endpapers to the pixel image that closes the book, we tried to put the focus on the city itself for this volume.
Press Release
‘COW BOY: A BOY AND HIS HORSE’ AND ‘SPERA VOL. 1’ EARN NOMINATIONS IN THE 2013 WILL EISNER COMIC INDUSTRY AWARDS
Titles are recognized in ‘Best Publication for Kids’ and ‘Best Publication for Teens’ categories
Los Angeles, CA (April 17, 2013) – Archaia Entertainment is proud to announce two of its titles published in 2012 have earned nominations in the 25th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards (“The Eisners”), as was revealed yesterday by Jackie Estrada, administrator of the awards. The edgy and entertaining Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse, by Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos, is nominated for “Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12).” The fun and spirited Spera Vol. 1, by Josh Tierney, Emily Carroll, Afu Chan, Hwei Lin Lim, Olivier Pichard, and Kyla Vanderklugt, is nominated for “Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17).” The winners will be announced during a ceremony to be held during Comic-Con International in San Diego, Calif. “We are delighted for and proud of Nate, Chris, Josh, and the entire teams for producing two great books recognized by the industry which appeal to such important groups of readers,” conveyed Jack Cummins, Archaia President & COO. “We are similarly thankful to be nominated once again for the comic industry’s highest honor.”
“It’s an honor for our creators and for Archaia as a company to be recognized for our all-ages material,” added Archaia Editor-in-Chief Stephen Christy. “Nate and Chris have created something timeless and very special with Cow Boy, and Josh’s Spera is a great story married with artwork from some of the best up-and-coming artists in the industry. The creators of both these books put their hearts and souls into their work, and we’re so honored that the Eisner Award judges recognized them for their efforts.”
Featuring words by Cosby (Jim Henson’s The Storyteller)and illustrations by Eliopoulos (Franklin Richards), Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse is the story of Boyd Linney, a 10-year-old bounty hunter determined to send his entire outlaw family to jail. With a lovable character that kids love and a story that adults can enjoy, Cow Boy is truly an all-ages-appropriate title. The book, one of Archaia’s best-reviewed titles of 2012, also features short stories by Roger Langridge (The Muppet Show comic book), Brian Clevinger & Scott Wegener (Atomic Robo), and Mike Maihack (Cleopatra in Space) & Colleen Coover (Jim Henson’s The Storyteller). “It’s truly an honor to be nominated with such talented people and wonderful all-ages books!” exclaimed Cosby and Eliopoulos.
Written, co-edited, and created by Tierney, Spera Vol. 1 sprang from an immensely popular fantasy webcomic about the adventures of two princesses, Lono and Pira, and a fire spirit in the form of a dog named Yonder. When evil rears its ugly head, the trio set off for the magical realm of Spera in the hopes of surviving the oncoming threat! Spera Vol. 1 is a collaboration of artists from around the world, illustrated and told in consecutive sections. Each hand-picked artist brings their own unique designs to the world of Spera, creating a fantastic realm of adventure and wonder.
“It really is a crazy, unexpected honor to have Spera be nominated for an Eisner,” marveled Tierney. “I want to congratulate the many artists on this first book (10 of them! 16 when counting pin-ups!), who, along with designer Scott Newman and production editor Rebecca Taylor, helped shape the book into what it is. I’ve been following the Eisners since I was a kid, and always got super excited to see my heroes get nominated. This nomination means a lot to me and all the artists, and I must thank Archaia for taking a chance on something as collaborative and experimental as Spera.”
Cow Boy: A Boy and His Horse($19.95, hardcover, 96 pages, full color, 6” x 9”, ISBN: 978-1-936393-67-1) and Spera Vol. 1 ($19.95, hardcover, 176 pages, full color, 6” x 9”, ISBN: 978-1-936393-30-5) are both available for sale or for order now at your local comic book shop.To find your closest comic book shop, visit www.comicshoplocator.com. They are also available for order through the Archaia webstore (store.archaia.com) and wherever books are sold (use the books’ ISBN numbers to help you search for them).
Spera: Vol. 1 has been nominated for an Eisner (link)! It is among the five nominees for Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17).
Congratulations to all the artists, and everyone else who was nominated! This is definitely a huge, huge honour!
You can learn more about the first Spera book here. The above art is by Olivier Pichard, one of the Vol. 1 artists.
AFU CHAN is coming to TCAF!
Afu is a freelance illustrator and a comic artist. He also worked on the covers, concept arts for the comic book Spera.
Artist’s Website: http://afuchan.com/
Spera Website: http://spera-comic.com/
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TCAF is The Toronto Comic Arts Festival, taking place May 11-12, 2013, in Toronto, Canada. More at http://torontocomics.com/
Afu will be at the Spera table with Kyla Vanderklugt, Polly Guo and me!
Lorem the Creepy Guy summons a monster through previous comic pages in Glass Flowers: Part 14. The pages on the left are the originals by Hwei, Jen Lee and Nick Sumida, while the pages on the right are Don Cocor’s. Click here for the comic, which ends with two full Cocor pages.
