Awakening Pre-Order Initiative: Week Ten

A WORD FROM OUR WRITER...

Yeah, I know, we're a few weeks behind and I lay myself prostrate before you. Slow news weeks for all things Awakening, a trip to Boston, and various other odds and ends have kept me from you but I'm here now, baby. Not much new to report but just you wait - the coming month leading up to our release are gonna be chock full of cool shit.


OUR TOP STORY...

Awakening Volume One. 32% off. DO IT!

http://www.amazon.com/Awakening-One-Nick-Tapalansky/dp/1932386483/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242403586&sr=1-1

Or, if you prefer, you can go in to your local Barnes & Noble and reserve a copy. You know you want to.


AWAKENING IN THE PRESS...

While I don't have any new reviews/interviews to show you just yet, we've got a couple of big things cooking. Keep your eyes on CBR in the coming weeks for a few cool things, not to mention the July issue of the most kick-ass horror mag around. Then there's the ridiculously cool tr... What? I can't talk about that yet? Hmm, alright.

Links and announcements as they come in...

In the meantime, if you haven't already checked this out, head over to Comic Monsters and see a sick Making of Awakening feature Alex put together:

http://www.comicmonsters.com/section-article-252-The_making_of_Awakening_-_by__Alex_Eckman-Lawn.html

And then there are these advance reviews for the book - find out how tits they think we are:

http://reviews.comicswaitingroom.com/2009/03/31/awakening.aspx

http://www.omnicomic.com/2009/04/review-awakening-volume-1.html


LOCAL SIGHTINGS INCLUDE...

Check this section next week for a special Anime Boston report, especially if you want to know what a Mifa is (trust me - you do.)

Below is a listing of our upcoming convention and panel appearances - more to be added as they're booked.

PRE-RELEASE! (No hardcover, no Alex - just my smiling face supporting my lovely and talented fiance, Jackie Santiago)
Big Apple One-Day Summer Show (June 13th with Jackie Santiago, Mark Holmes, and Luke Mierisch)

DEBUT! (First time the hardcover is available folks - get 'em hot off the press and signed by the most daring and debonair comic creators you know)
Wizard World Philly (June 19th to the 21st in Artist Alley with Jackie Santiago, Mark Smylie, Kate Glasheen, Dave Rodriguez, and a host of other friends)

Panel Announcement! In addition to debuting Awakening Volume One at Philly, Alex and I will also be taking part in a Return of Archaia panel at the show. It'll be from 12pm-1pm on Saturday, June 20th in room 204A

The Return of Archaia
After a brief hiatus, Archaia, formerly known as Archaia Studios Press, has returned to publishing high-quality, creator-controlled comics, including titles like Mouse Guard, The Killer and Artesia. Join Mark Smylie (publisher of Archaia and writer/artist on Artesia), Nick Tapalansky (writer of Awakening), Alex Eckman-Lawn (artist on Awakening), Kate Glasheen (artist on Hybrid Bastards!) and David Rodriguez (writer of Starkweather: Immortal) for an inside look at Archaia’s returning titles, upcoming books and exciting new projects!

SUMMER/FALL!
Otakon (July 17th - 19th in Artist Alley with Jackie Santiago, Kate Glasheen, and Dave Rodriguez)
San Diego Comic-Con (July 22nd - 26th with Archaia)
New York Anime Festival (September 25th - 27th in Artist Alley with Jackie Santiago)
Baltimore Comic-Con (October 10th and 11th with Archaia)
Albany Comic-Con (November 1st with Jackie Santiago, Mark Holmes, and Luke Mierisch)


KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST AWAKENING UPDATES! WE WANT YOU TO JOIN...

...our brand spankin' new Awakening mailing list! Sign up and receive release information, special promo news, signing and convention appearance updates and more! Just sling an e-mail* on over to AwakeningComic@gmail.com with the subject "Sign Me Up!" to get started. You'll be happy you did.

First edition due out at the end of June - don't miss out!

*Remember kids, ask a grown up first!



We love you.

Twitter! Amazon.com! Exclamation Points!

That's right folks, you too can now know every shit and sniffle Team Awakening takes thanks to the 140-character messages of Twitter!

http://twitter.com/awakeningcomic

Come follow us on our ridiculous adventures in making comics, keep abreast of our every whim, and (ha! I said aBREAST!) make merry with us.

Now you can say "But moooom, all my friends are doing it!" and mean it!

And of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention yet again that Volume One is available for pre-order at Amazon.com at 32% off! That makes the book a scant $13.57, impossible to pass up (and if you sleep on this discount, you might just find a certain Mr. Eckman-Lawn sitting on your bed in the darkness of night, sucking your breath out as your dreams fade and your heart slows. Save yourself!).

http://www.amazon.com/Awakening-One-Nick-Tapalansky/dp/1932386483/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242403586&sr=1-1

Special Offer! Free Print! Discount! Awakening Pre-Order Initiative: Week 2

Big news, ladies, gents, and everybody else - Awakening Volume One is now available at a HUGE discount over at Discount Comic Book Service (DCBS for short). Not only does every copy you order come with an EXCLUSIVE print signed by Mr. Alex Eckman-Lawn himself, but it's also on sale for 45% off!!!

What's that now? You want to know how much the book will cost then?

$10.97!!! WITH A FREE EXCLUSIVE PRINT!!!!

Oh, and the icing on the cake? They ship internationally.

Awakening at DCBS for only $10.97!! Includes a signed print exclusive to DCBS!

Don't miss out guys - Get over there and pre-order your copy TODAY to guarantee your exclusive signed print and take advantage of the insane discount!!

**For those of you holding out for an online retailer you know, like Barnes & Noble or Amazon, just sit tight - as soon as the book is available for pre-order through them I'll pass that along. Of course, they won't have the discount OR the exclusive print... But I'll post the info up as soon as it's available.

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Let's see, let's see... What else do I have for you? Hmm...

Ah! Here's a fun one - this news story popped up a day or two ago. Give a read and you tell me: Just a strange happening or Awakening viral marketing? Hmmm...


Stranger takes bite of gardener's arm
Victim says attacker chewed, swallowed
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
By Michelle Hunter
East Jefferson bureau

A Metairie resident is recovering after a stranger bit a chunk of flesh out of his arm, and swallowed it, Saturday afternoon.

Joseph Lancellotti, 67, told authorities he did not know the suspect, later identified as Mario Vargas, 48, or why he was attacked in his front yard.

Lancellotti was gardening at his home in the 4400 block of Kawanee Avenue about 2 p.m. when he noticed a man walking toward his house, shouting angrily, the report said. Lancellotti said he couldn't understand the man because he was yelling in Spanish. But when the man got within two feet, he slugged Lancellotti in the head, the report said.

Lancellotti said he tried to defend himself with a garden rake. As the men struggled over the rake, the stranger bent over and bit Lancellotti on his right forearm, the report said. Lancellotti's flesh ripped away as he fell to the ground. The man then got on top of Lancellotti and began choking him, the report said.

It was then that neighbor Chantal Lorio, a podiatrist and director of the Wound Center at East Jefferson General Hospital, came out to check on Lancellotti. Lorio said Monday that she first thought Lancellotti was having a heart attack and the other man was trying to help him.

The stranger was still gripping Lancellotti as Lorio noticed her neighbor was lying in a pool of blood. She didn't learn what happened until she began dressing the wound -- with the stranger still clutching her neighbor's shirt.

"He said, 'He bit my arm, chewed the flesh and swallowed it in front of me,' " Lorio recalled. She said the bite measured almost 3 by 1 1/2 inches, and was less than 1/4-inch deep.

The pair tried to calm the stranger, who never made any attempt to run away. He eventually let go of Lancellotti and walked two blocks to a parking lot, where he hovered near an empty police car, the report said. The suspect was still standing there when deputies arrived and took him into custody.

Vargas, of 724 Camp St., New Orleans, was booked with second-degree battery. He was being held Monday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Lancellotti's wife, Bonnie, 60, said Monday that her husband was recovering from the bite, physically and mentally. She said his sense of safety in his neighborhood has been shaken.

With all the bacteria involved, Lorio said a bite from a human is worse than an animal bite.

Bonnie Lancellotti also has concerns about the suspect, who apparently had been treated at East Jefferson General Hospital earlier in the day for a finger injury. Vargas was released 45 minutes before the attack, according to the incident report.

Bonnie Lancellotti wondered whether hospital staff noticed anything amiss while treating Vargas. "This person's clearly lost his sense," she said. "I mean, what else can you say, eating people's skin?"

Keith Darcey, spokesman for the hospital, said, "We cannot comment on any individual patient because of privacy laws. But as a matter of general hospital policy, the emergency department has behavioral health nurses available to help diagnose patients who might require mental health assistance."

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We've got tons of pending interviews and advance reviews in the pipeline but nothing I can link to just yet... Next week could produce some fun stuff though. I'm happy to report, for those of you who've been patiently waiting for this book since LAST April (or longer) that the book was uploaded to the printers today! We're en route to a big splash in June and, yes, we're really coming this time.

Maybe you need a little preview though, just something to whet your appetites a bit. I've got to have something lying around here...



For those of you who picked up the issues, this journal supplement comes before issue 1. Each issue in the book is supported by an entry like this which fills in some time gaps within and between issues. Read 'em carefully too - you never know what may prove important in Volume Two...

See you next Friday, kids.

We love you.

Awakening Pre-Order Initiative: Week One

Alright, depending on who you're going by, we're anywhere from 9 - 12 weeks away from the in-store release of Awakening Volume One! Last week we launched Mission: Existential Horror Zombies In Your Face (or, EHZIYF for short) with our pre-order coupon, a.k.a. Phase One, that you can just print and bring to your local comic shop to pre-order a copy of the book.



Phase Two is coming next week and is a pretty cool one if you ask me... More on that next Friday.

Speaking of Friday's, keep checking back every Friday for updates, including online pre-order info (we've got something really cool in the works), advance reviews and interviews, blogs, forums and message boards of note, some really cool previews, convention and signing announcements, info on other books you should check out and more! It'll be a one-stop shop for all things Existential Horror Zombies In Your Face.

First up this week - the first advance review for Awakening Volume One is in! This one brought to us courtesy of Marc Mason and Avril Brown over at Comics Waiting Room 3.0:

"AWAKENING
Posted by Marc Mason at 3/31/2009 8:43 PM
Categories: archaia studios press
AWAKENING: Volume One
Written by Nick Tapalansky and Illustrated by Alex Eckman-Lawn
Published by Archaia Studios Press

Zombies really freak me out, and it is stories like AWAKENING which do not let me forget that fact. More than just another scary monster story, this is one of the most incredibly illustrated and uniquely written comics I have ever read. Zombie, comic and art fans of all sorts should not hesitate to pick up this book and marvel at it for years to come.

Tapalansky takes his time effectively building suspense surrounding the strange and gruesome things happening in Park Falls and keeps the mystery alive, even after encountering several ‘zombies,’ of what exactly is causing these horrific events. This is not an instant epidemic or ‘guy wakes up in a coma after several months’ type of zombie story. Things are gradually getting worse, spreading slowly out from Park Falls, and there is no real pattern to explain why. The main characters are likable and easy to become invested in; an important aspect of a zombie story since you’re never sure how long someone is going to be alive. The journal pages of Derrick Peters, a cop-turned-private detective and the story’s leading man, add a personal touch and insight to the narrative.

The artwork in this book is simply stunning. The amazing mosaic of different media displayed throughout the pages completely vibes with the story and is a veritable feast for the eyes. The mixture of standard comic panels with gritty lines and noir color schemes and full pages of artwork so fine and beautiful you cannot tell whether it was hand drawn or a photograph from the early 1900’s creates a hazy, dark mood suiting for the story. The whole effect is, quite frankly, completely cool.

AWAKENING is a fantastic creation of unlimited imagination, superb writing and pure talent, and is without a doubt highly recommended for anyone with a taste for a slightly different kind of scary story that grips your brain and doesn’t let go."

****

How's THAT for a great start?! Now, as soon as Alex stops strutting around with a mirror and telling his reflection that he's "simply stunning" and I stop dancing to Joe Esposito's "You're the Best (Around)" we'll get back to work...

Also, if you want to check out a fun interview I did with Comic Book Monsters (awesome site with a great forum), you can find that here:

Nick Tapalansky talks Awakening

Meanwhile...

The word about our impending release has been spreading, thanks in no small part to all of our friends and supporters out there picking up the ball and running with it. I want to call out a bunch of them here and encourage you to check out their books, blogs, or anything else they've got going on:

First, our buddy Todd Dezago (Tellos, Perhapanauts, Spider-Man) was great enough to post up our pre-order coupon and gush openly about Awakening in his thrice-weekly Perhapablog! Get over there and check it out! Don't forget, Alex and I have a two-part back-up story in Perhapanauts #9 and #10 due out over the summer. If you haven't been reading the book - get on it!

Also, just got turned on to Omnicomic, a blog run by Jonathan Pilley. He jumped on the Awakening train and ran with it hardcore! Check out his pimping of the book on his blog and watch that space for an advance review and interview soon!

Next up, our pals Kat Rocha and Josh Finney, creators of Archaia's Titanium Rain (Coming this summer!! Can't wait!) were awesome and posted up a little press release I threw together about the pre-order coupon. Visit their main site for their book by clicking here - Titanium Rain - and their blog here - The Hangar. If you dig some deep and thoughtful sci-fi (think Ghost in the Shell: SAC) then you owe it to yourself to get in on the ground floor here.

Speaking of Archaia creators, your buddy and mine Alex Sheikman (Robotika) has a double-sized issue of Robotika: For A Few Rubles More coming out in June too! And, what's this? A pre-order coupon you can print and bring to your comic shop (along with your Awakening coupon of course)! Click the image and download that sucker to get yourself a double-helping of the second Robotika mini (and, if you missed it, the first hardcover).



You can find out more about this amazing Sushi Western (as opposed to Spaghetti Western, get it?!) by checking out Alex's blog - Moonstruck.

Also from Archaia in June, while we're on the subject: Some New Kind of Slaughter! You can find author A. David Lewis (Lone and Level Sands) over at his website, Caption Box, with more info about his second collaboration with artist mpMann, a really unique book bringing together diluvian myths - that's flood stuff for the nonedumacated (like meself). More on this, Robotika, Titanium Rain, and more as the releases get closer...

That's it for this week...

So, our first week of straight pimping has kicked off strong. We've got tons of cool stuff lined up and you'll be seeing it all here over the coming weeks so stay with us as we blaze a trail of glory all the way to our exciting June release! In the meantime, please keep on helping us spread the word: put the coupon up on your blog, show your retailer our listing in Previews, tell your friends and send e-mails, text messages, and twitters about it - this release is going to be an EVENT and everybody's invited!

Seriously, we couldn't do this without you. Keep doing what you're doing and we'll keep putting books in your hands.

We love you.

Awakening Volume One Available for Pre-Order!

The Time Has Arrived...



AWAKENING Volume One is being solicited in April Previews (comic shop ordering magazine)! It’s alllllll set for it’s June release and we couldn’t be more excited. We'll post up some more previews over the next two and a half months as the release nears, just to whet your appetites...

Now the first step in our multi-pronged effort to throw ourselves in the faces of as many people as possible begins. We’re working with a limited time frame, so any help you guys can give would be appreciated more than you know. :)

The deadline for initial order cut-offs from comic shops is incredibly short this month. While they can place re-orders later, if you want to guarantee that the shop will get the book in on the day it’s released, you’ll need to stop in no later than April 11th. To make it super easy for everyone, Alex and I have created a coupon with all our Previews info on it. Just download it below!

Just print that sucker out, give it to the shop along with your name and phone number, and away you go! If you need help finding a local shop, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com/. Don't worry, it only looks big (that's what she said) - it prints at 4"x6" and won't kill any ink cartridges. Download link is at the top of the image once it loads.

In the event that you don’t have a local comic shop, don’t panic! As soon as the book is available for pre-order through bookstores (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.) or online comic shops I’ll be posting links and a second coupon you can bring to said stores.

In the meantime, please pass this along to friends, family, and loved ones who might be interested in a little existential horror/noir to brighten their day... They can find out more about the book by visiting http://www.myspace.comAwakeningComic or http://thehumungusstudio.deviantart.com.

Likewise, if you’ve got a blog or an online presence (website, MySpace, Facebook, etc.) and dig the book, please please please help us spread the word. Post the coupon up for download, sing our praises, talk about how handsome Alex, Thomas, and I are, you know… the usual.

Thanks again everybody for all the support you’ve given us so far! We couldn’t have gotten to this point without all of you and we hope you know how much that means to us.

We love you.