Where do we go from here?
about 4 years ago – Fri, Apr 10, 2020 at 01:34:28 AM

Hello White Ashians,

Yes, that title was just an excuse to post a clip from Buffy (Because who couldn't use a little Buffy-related smile right now).  But first and foremost, from the bottom of our hearts (once more, with feeling) we want to say thank you. The fact that 1054 of you want to read/ read some more White Ash, is incredibly humbling. And we know with that comes a responsibility to deliver and rest assured, deliver we will.  To that end I will regularly update you as we move along through production. Here’s a quick snapshot of the next couple of weeks.

Week One — Kickstarter collects fees and backers who may have forgotten that their credit card has expired/was stolen/was maxed out buying 15 cases of toilet paper, will be given a chance to update it.  PLEASE CHECK and see if you're one of the 37 backers that have a notification from KS.

(NOTE: If you're having financial difficulties due to the Covid crisis, we understand. Please message us and we can make payment arrangements outside Kickstarter if needed.)

Week Three (around the 24th of April) — As soon as Kickstarter has transferred the funds to our account, we’ll send out our BackerKit Surveys. Please fill these out as quickly as possible. We’re hoping to start shipping out some of the catch up materials by the beginning of next month.

Week Five (around May 8th) — Once we have all the surveys back and we have your emails and addresses in hand, we'll be sending out all the catch up PDF's.  We're also planning on shipping out all the DOMESTIC hardcovers early.  So backers who live in the United States will be getting 2 shipments. We wish we could do the same for the international ones, but the shipping costs are too expensive to do it as separate orders. 

After that... we'll keep you updated on our progress.  Romina is currently working on the Glarien story.  As soon as that's finished, we'll send it on to you. (Most likely end of May, early June).  With Chapter Five, we still anticipate an on time completion date. Hopefully that won't change, but with the world being as volatile as it is right now, it's hard to be 100% sure about anything. Regardless, we always keep our backers in the loop.

If you have any questions, always feel free to reach out to me here on Kickstarter or find us on the following social networks:

Conor (and sometimes Charlie in chat) streams LIVE ON TWITCH (most) M-F from 12:30-5pm and 10:30pm-1am EST

White Ash on Facebook. 

Charlie Stickney on Twitter  

Conor Hughes on Twitter 

Fin Cramb on Twitter

Before we leave you for this week, we wanted to mention one last friend who's got a project on Kickstarter.  If you're looking for some more reading material to help you pass the time while at home, Tom Ward's Merrick: The Sensational Elephantman will help you scratch that itch.

The series is a Victorian penny dreadful pulp adventure comic, set in 1880s' London. Based on a fictional version of the life of Joseph Merrick, it steps between historical facts and turn of the century folklore juxtaposed with the superhero comic conventions of super powers, masks, secret identities and fantastic adventures.  If you want to check it out, there's a link on the kickstarter where you can download the first issue for free.   I've backed all the issues and can't wait to see where the series goes next.

Be safe everyone,

Charlie and the rest of Team Ash (Conor and Fin)

Last Stretch Goal Revealed (and already met)
about 4 years ago – Wed, Apr 08, 2020 at 10:36:09 PM

Hello White Ashians,

What a finish we're having to this campaign.  To all of you who've joined us in the last day or so  (and there are a lot of you) welcome to White Ash.  This has been an incredible ride. We were going to post a teaser about the last stretch goal today.  But with huge surge we've had in the last 48 hours, we've already hit the total we needed. So without further adieu, here's...

Stretch Goal #6 Don't Get Lost In White Ash.

We know that a lot of you have fallen in love with White Ash and are looking, one day when we're allowed to leave our houses again, to visit our little town.  To make sure you're properly oriented when you arrive, we're going to be giving every Print Backer a White Ash Trail Map that shows all the best hiking spots from Lake Alden to Thaldar's Rock.  (Digital backers will of course get a digital copy).  This map will hopefully prevent you from wandering off the beaten path to a place where... well, let's just say it's better to STAY ON THE PATH.

So thank you White Ashians for helping us have such an incredible time on Kickstarter. Once the campaign finishes tomorrow, we'll be back with an update to tell you where things go next and how and when we'll be getting all these rewards to you. In the interim, we'd love to point out another fantastic project on kickstarter.

 The Catch is from one of our favorite people to hang out with at SDCC, Steve Bryant. 

Steve, who also writes (and draws) the Eisner nominated Athena Voltaire for Dark Horse and Action Lab, has put together a really cool caper comic in the vein of if Karen Sisco from Out of Sight, had to track down Lex Luthor.  The concept is great, and Steve always brings his A-game when it comes to dialogue.  Steve is also one of the friendliest pros out there.  If you're looking to support a great guy and a fabulous book, I highly recommend you check it out. 

Thank you again everyone.  We've said it before, but the amount of support we've gotten on this campaign is truly overwhelming.  Conor, Fin and I are incredibly touched.  

Please stay safe out there. And all the best from White Ash,

Charlie, Conor and Fin.

Unstoppable.
about 4 years ago – Sat, Apr 04, 2020 at 11:06:08 PM

Hello White Ashians,

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! 

With your support, we've now reached  Schwarzenegger status... 

We've hiT- 800 backers. And this campaign is officially on fire.

Alright, that was a bad meme pun.  But in my defense, I've been sequestered inside with two young children for several weeks now.  This is as good as it gets.  Thankfully, the White Ash scripts were written long before the lockdown turned my brain mushy.  

Sincerely though, we can't tell you how much your support during this incredibly challenging time has meant to us. With your help, this has become our most successful campaign ever.  And Conor, Fin and I are going to continue to find ways to show our appreciation... starting with our next Stretch Goal which has already been unlocked.  

For our first campaign, we included 4 postcards from prominent landmarks in White Ash.  They looked like this.

Well, Conor went rummaging and he found he had box (that he'd forgotten about) that he picked up the last time he was in White Ash. This box was filled with copies of another postcard.  It's an older one that was printed in the 1950's showcasing the splendor of Lake Alden.  And he thinks he has just enough to give one to every backer who pledged at a physical reward tier.  So that's what we're going to do.  An all-new (old) postcard for everyone.   I forgot to ask him to snap a shot of it, but we'll throw one up sooner than later for you all to look at.

(Note, if you're new to the White Ash universe, and you want a set of the ones we previously released, we'll have a limited number of those available as an add-ons post-campaign.)

While you're looking at things, I have two more campaigns I'd love you to check out. The first is SHE from Ryan K Lindsay (Eternal, Chum) Chris Panda and the amazing people at Comixtribe.

This book, following a deadly bounty-hunter desperate to protect her last secret, looks amazing.  If you've ever read anything that Ryan Lindsay has done before, you'll know you're in for a wild ride full of twists and turns.  The fact that he's teamed up with ComixTribe makes this even more exciting.  ComixTribe constantly has some of the most fun rewards on kickstarter and puts out truly gorgeous editions of books.  This hardcover looks to be no exception.  But don't take my word for it, CHECK IT OUT for yourself.  And maybe grab one of those cool custom legos.  

The second campaign I want to point you at is a fabulous-looking kids' book created by Mark Mullaney and put out by Enrica Jang's Red Stylo Media -- Ninja Bear. 

I personally can't wait to give this book to my kids.  And seeing as they may be inside with me for a while, having an 80-page graphic novel that could entertian them for a couple of hours, is worth every penny.  Plus Red Stylo puts out great books, so please, if you have kids, or like things that kids like, TAKE A LOOK at this one too. 

Thanks again everyone.  We couldn't do any of this without you. We'll be back soon to reveal the next stretch goal.  Till then, stay safe and wash your hands.

Lots of love from White Ash,

Charlie, Conor and Fin

So, what's the next stretch goal?
about 4 years ago – Thu, Apr 02, 2020 at 01:06:57 PM

Hi White Ashians,

We hope you're all staying safe.  I (Charlie) just received the news a couple of hours ago that California is now on lockdown.  So I'm home for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, one of the things that's very easy to do at home is make comics.  And that's what we're doing.  In fact, as the campaign is going so well, we've decided that we're going to make a little more than we originally intended.  In the form of...

Stretch Goal #4 Glarien Returns

For those of you who are new to White Ash and don't know Glarien, you're in for a treat.  She's one of our very favorite characters.  (Think the White Ash version of Red Sonja, but a little more bad-ass). And if we can hit our next Stretch Goal at $24,000, we're going add an all-new, digital Glarien tale, to EVERY backer's rewards.

And as not to slow Conor down, this story will be drawn by the incredible Romina Moranelli.  Romina does a lot of work for Aspen Comics and also did this killer variant for us (the first look anyone had at Glarien) for White Ash #3.  

We'll keep you posted, but we're incredibly excited to work with Romina and can't wait to see her get a shot at more Glarien.

And for those of you who think that sounds appealing and wouldn't mind a few more stories about a beautiful woman who know how to handle herself, our friend Samantha Branch has you covered with her campaign for Will Not Bow a "not your typical fairytale" that she writes AND draws.

Conor and I have gotten to know Samantha fairly well over her Twitch stream.  She's a blast to hang out with and it's a pleasure to watch her draw.  Samantha's world of Zareen is filled with magic, mystery and more than a little romance.  Samantha also delivers one of the prettiest Kickstarter packages around.  You've got to scroll down to the "Delivery" section and check out the wrapping on her book.  It's little touches like that, combined with an intriguing story and very pretty art, that makes Will Not Bow a campaign I'm always happy to support.

Stay safe everyone.  We'll be back as soon as the Glarien stretch goal has been achieved. 

Till then, all the best from White Ash,

Charlie, Conor and Fin

Glarien Unleashed
about 4 years ago – Mon, Mar 30, 2020 at 05:27:57 AM

Hello White Ashians,

We hope you're all keeping safe. It's crazy times out there. This week, the non-kickstarter comic industry received word that Diamond distribution is putting a pause on delivering new comics to shops. (Those that are still open anyway.)  While this doesn't affect us here in White Ash, as our family-run distribution center will stay open as long as the post office does, it's another reason we're incredibly thankful for your support.  To that end we're working on coming up with a set of all-new stretch goals for you, to continue to improve your White Ash rewards package. Especially since...

THE GLARIEN STORY IS  UNLOCKED.

Thanks to your continued, tremendous support, yesterday we crossed the 24K threshold.  Romina Moranelli will now start drawing and coloring a new Glarien tale that will be distributed digitally to every backer.  We hope to have this one done in May.  If you want to check out some more of Romina's incredible artwork you can take a gander at her INSTAGRAM to get a taste of what's in store.   Romina loves to draw powerful women and we can't think of a better artist to take the helm and give Glarien the treatment she deserves.  

And while we're on the subject of incredible female artists, David Bryne currently has a kickstarter running about vampire hunters, featuring covers from some of the best in the business.

STAKE #1 features covers from:

• Piper Rudich
• Tiffany Groves
• Laura Rimaszombati
• Peach Momoko
• Zu Orzu
• Carla Cohen
• Sorah Suhng

And several more still to be revealed. The covers really are gorgeous and showcase a huge range of styles.  If you like looking at pretty art, you owe it to yourself to check them out.  And while there, pick up a copy of Stake and let's keep Kickstarter a strong, vibrant place for comics.  

That's all from us here in White Ash today.  We'll be back VERY soon with a list of all-new stretch goals.

Wash your hands everyone and thank you again for your continued support. Especially now, we couldn't do this without you.

Charlie, Conor and Fin