The following Flesk newsletter is going out tomorrow. I’m posting it here for those who are not on our email newsletter mailing list. Here goes…
With just 9 days left to go in The Art of Brom Kickstarter campaign, we wanted to touch base with everybody–to thank those who have checked it out already, and to let those unfamiliar know how much the campaign has changed since we launched last month.
So firstly, thank you to everyone who has gotten involved in The Art of Brom on any level. Whether you pledged a buck or bought a zombie package, ‘liked’ the updates on Facebook or asked us a question on the Kickstarter page, sent Brom a “Good on ya’, mate,” or John a, “Is that really you in that video?”, jumped on board with the fervor of a 13-year-old girl at a Bieber convention or peeked at the page just to humor us: you have made this book launch more fun, successful and inspiring than even we could have hoped. And we hope big.
Secondly, the campaign has changed dramatically since it started, most notably by way of the number–and sheer awesomeness–of the goodies we are now throwing at our Pledgers.
In the beginning, any pledge that got you a book also got you an 8 x 10 inch signed art print exclusive to Kickstarter supporters, as well as your name printed in a special acknowledgement section of the book.
Now, due to overwhelming support of the campaign, all book pledges of $47.00 or more will receive a bonus Brom portfolio holding five individually signed prints. This unique portfolio is exclusive to our Kickstarter supporters, and is still available to those getting involved under the wire.
In addition, to celebrate the campaign breaching our latest stretch goal, we’ll be upgrading the binding on our Publisher and Deluxe Editions of The Art of Brom, furthering the artistic individuality of this collection. (In other words, we will be going nuts with the binding!)
Thanks to all of you, The Art of Brom will be moving forward with much zeal and an abundance of goodies until Friday Oct 5, at 3:00pm EDT.
And we couldn’t be more excited.
Best,
John, The Flesk Crew (and the incomparable Brom, by proxy)
Advance books for new Bruce Timm, Jim Silke and James Bama books. Bulk shipment arriving in mid-October!
I’ve updated my master list showing every book and print I have published, as well as a few other projects I played a role in. This covers everything up until the end of 2012. The total comes to 38 books, 2 prints and 3 specialty produced collections.
2012 Flesk Titles
1. The Art of Craig Elliott, January 2012, 68-pages, HC
2. Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm, January 2012, 304-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 1000 numbered copies) and PB
3. Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings, January 2012, 112-pages, HC
4. Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! 2012 commemorative show book, May 2012, 64-pages, HC
5. Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm 2012 Teaser, July 2012, 16-pages, PB (Signed limited to 1000 numbered copies)
6. James Bama: Personal Works, December 2012, 144-pages, HC
7. Jim Silke Sketchbook Volume One, December 2012, 64-pages, PB
8. Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm Big Pocket Edition, December 2012, 256-pages, PB
Production assistance provided for the following sketchbook for Terry Dodson
1. Bombshells 6 by Terry Dodson, July 2012, 16-pages, PB
Total 2012 page count is 976 pages.
2011 Flesk Titles
1. Mysterious Islands by Gary Gianni, July 2011, 16-pages, PB (Signed limited to 1000 numbered copies)
2. Al Williamson Archives Volume Two, July 2011, 48-pages, PB
3. Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume Five, July 2011, 48-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 800 numbered copies) and PB
4. Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm Teaser, July 2011, 16-pages, PB (Signed limited to 1000 numbered copies)
5. Flesk Prime, August 2011, 64-pages, HC
6. Flesk Prime Print, September 2011, 1-page (Signed by Elliott, Gianni, Meseldzija, Schultz and Stout, limited to 50 numbered prints)
Production assistance provided for the following two sketchbooks for Terry Dodson
1. Reveries by Terry Dodson, July 2011, 16-pages, PB (Signed limited to 500 numbered copies)
2. Bombshells 5 by Terry Dodson, July 2011, 16-pages, PB
Total 2011 page count is 225 pages.
2010 Flesk Titles
1. Blue Book by Mark Schultz, March 2010, 16-pages, PB (Signed limited to 1000 numbered copies)
2. James Bama Sketchbook, May 2010, 144-pages, PB
3. Hallucinations by William Stout, July 2010, 48-pages, HC (Signed limited to 500 numbered copies) and PB
4. Al Williamson Archives, July 2010, 64-pages, PB
5. The Legend of Steel Bashaw by Petar Meseldžija, October 2010, 64-pages, PB
6. Inspirations by William Stout, November 2010, 48-pages, HC (Signed limited to 650 numbered copies) and PB
7. Xenozoic by Mark Schultz, November 2010, 352-pages, PB
8. Harvey Dunn: Illustrator and Painter of the Pioneer West by Walt Reed, November 2010, 304-pages, HC deluxe (Signed limited to 350 numbered copies in special upgrade book binding, with slipcase, and bonus art and photo of Harvey Dunn bound in on special signature double page. Signed by Walt Reed) and HC
9. Jungle Girls by Jim Silke, December 2010, 84-pages, HC (Signed limited to 500 numbered copies) and PB
Total 2010 page count is 1124 pages.
2009 Flesk Titles
January 23, 2009 marked my first full time date running Flesk Publications. Prior to this, I held a full-time position at a tech company for a decade. This explains the growth in the number of titles released from this year forward.
1. Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne adapted by Gary Gianni, January 2009, 64-pages, HC super deluxe with original art, HC deluxe (Limited to 600 signed and numbered copies) and HC
2. Prehistoric Life Murals by William Stout, February 2009 (indicia states January 2009, but it arrived in stores in February), 144-pages, HC super deluxe with original art in slipcase, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 600 numbered copies) and HC
3. Major Thrill’s Adventure Book by Gary Gianni, July 2009, 32-pages, PB
4. Mark Schultz Various Drawings Volume Four, August 2009, 48-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 800 numbered copies) and PB
5. Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic by Mark Schultz, June 2009, 256-pages, HC and PB
6. New Dinosaur Discoveries A-Z by William Stout, December 2009, 64-pages, HC
7. Dinosaur Discoveries by William Stout, December 2009, 144-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 500 numbered copies) and PB
Total 2009 page count is 752 pages.
2008 Flesk Titles
1. The Prince Valiant Page by Gary Gianni, June 2008, 112-pages, HC super-deluxe (40 signed and numbered copies containing a tipped in Prince Valiant strip preliminary in pencil by Gianni), HC (Signed deluxe limited to 1000 numbered copies in slipcase) and HC
2. Xenozoic Tales Print by Mark Schultz, July 2008, 1-page, Deluxe (Limited to 100 signed and numbered prints on special thick archival paper) and regular edtion
Total 2008 page count is 113 pages.
2007 Flesk Titles
1. Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume Three, August 2007, 48-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 1000 numbered copies) and PB
2. Steve Rude: Artist in Motion by Steve Rude and John Fleskes, December 2007, 208-pages, HC super-deluxe (Limited to 13 roman numeral copies with bound in original artwork in a unique clam shell tray case), HC (Signed deluxe limited to 800 numbered copies in slipcase) and HC
Total 2007 page count is 256 pages.
2006 Flesk Titles
1. Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume Two, July 2006, 48-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 1000 numbered copies) and PB
2. James Bama: American Realist by Brian Kane, October 2006, 160-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 1000 numbered copies in slipcase) and HC
Total 2006 page count is 208 pages.
2005 Flesk Titles
1. Mark Schultz: Various Drawings Volume One, July 2005, 48-pages, HC (Signed deluxe limited to 500 numbered copies) and PB
Total 2005 page count is 48 pages.
2004 Flesk Titles
1. Joseph Clement Coll: A Legacy in Line, July 2004, 208-pages, HC (Deluxe limited to 300 numbered copies and signed by Fleskes, Gianni and Meglin), HC and PB
Total 2004 page count is 208 pages.
2003 Flesk Titles
1. Joseph Clement Coll: The Art of Adventure, July 2003, 168-pages, HC (Limited to 800 copies) and PB
Total 2003 page count is 168 pages.
2002 Flesk Title
1. Franklin Booth: Painter with a Pen by John Fleskes, March 2002, 112-pages, HC (Limited to 500 copies) and PB
Total 2002 page count is 112 pages. My first book!
Scanning assistance: After the release of the Franklin Booth book, Gary Gianni asked me if I could scan his art for use in an upcoming self-published book of his. I scanned the original artwork for the 40 story pages for Corpus Monstrum by Gary Gianni, published by Hieronymus Press in 2002. Jim Keegan designed the book.
This has nothing to do with publishing or Flesk Publications, but instead goes into my passion outside of books. Many of my summer and fall weekends for the past 25 years have been spent down at the beach skimboarding. (I surf mostly through the winter and spring.) These last four weeks have been no exception. There were two Santa Cruz, CA contests, the Senseless Skimfest and O’Neill Skimbash in September. In-between my personal sessions I pulled out my camera and took a few shots during and around the contests. Here are some samples.
Cameron.Wyatt, one of the best from the young guns. Super glassy conditions the morning before the Senseless Skimfest got started on September 1.Wyatt, charging hard.Wyatt, again–ripping.Mitch Cramton, 2012 Senseless Skimfest organizer and third place in the Pro Division.Ryan Parola, 2005?-2011 Senseless Skimfest organizer and a heck of a guy.Cameron.Mitch Cramton during an early heat at the Senseless.Square-Dave Safradin, winner of the 2012 Senseless Skimfest Pro Division!David Haefele, the other new kid who is shredding.Geoff during his heat at the Senseless.Geoff. The lighting conditions constantly change in Santa Cruz, especially at the beach. From morning fog, to clear skies, to direct sun and windy conditions. This pictures was taken during a lighting sweat spot.Wyatt, squeezing into a mini-barrel. The waves were small that day, but these guys still managed to get a little foamy rinsing.David Haefele on Sunday, September 2. I had to quit skimming after an hour due to an uncooperative thigh muscle, but fortunately I had my camera on me. The waves were powerful on this day and I managed to get a few sick shots.David Haefele.Bob Camarda, 52 years of age, and still going strong.Austin Keen during the final day of the O’Neill Skimbash on September 16. Austin went on to win the pro division.This picture illustrates skimboarding perfectly as a cross between skateboarding and surfing. Check out those fun ramps!Pro rider, Brandon Sears. One of the best.Brandon Sears—going for it. I like this angle.Lee Farola, grand master winner at the Skimbash. He still has it! I’m sure I have a picture in the archives of him doing this same spray 20 years ago.David Haefele.David Haefele.Gary Velo, Velocity Skimboards owner and board maker. Love these glassy mornings.Gary Velo squeezing in for a special ride.Austin Keen during the Pro finals at the Skimbash. The conditions sucked by this time, but he still made it look fun.Austin Keen–victory ride.To wrap things up, here are three pictures of my new skimboard made by Gary Velo of Velocity Skimboards. Thanks Gary! This thing is amazing! I was stoked to win the 30 and up division at the Senseless Skimfest on it!
I’m booking the flights, squaring way the hotel rooms and I just finished our Flesk advertisement for the APE program book given away to all attendees. The event may be a month from now, but my work begins about five weeks before the show date.
This year, Mark Schultz will be making his first APE appearance. Mark has missed the past two WonderCon shows, and hasn’t made an appearance in the Bay Area for going on two years. It’s good to have him back in our neighborhood for the weekend.
I am also flying in William Stout for the show. He’ll have plenty of art, prints and books with him. Craig Elliott, who joined me last year, will be making his second appearance at APE. I expanded to three tables this year. Mark, Bill, Craig and I will be all together at the Flesk booth 212-214.
Here’s the ad that will appear on the inside front cover of the APE guide.
I’ll have more news right before the show.
“Busy” is a word that is used often around here—especially by me. Any time someone asks me how I’m doing or what’s going on I reply, “Busy…” I know this isn’t a good answer and only solicits more questions that I’ve been too busy to respond to. I promise the word “busy” will not appear any more in this post. Instead you will get answers. This is a small attempt to share some of the news that’s going on around here.
"The Art of Brom" Publisher Edition Fantasy Cover
The Art of Brom Kickstarter Event
If you are unaware of Kickstarter or how it works, in brief, it is a vehicle that allows creative projects to receive funding through the backing of individuals who can pledge support. When Brom approached me about publishing his The Art of Brom book, he was looking for a publisher who was willing to look at some non-traditional approaches to marketing, promoting and creating a book. He brought up the idea of using Kickstarter. The more I researched Kickstarter (KS) and as we discussed our ideas, we found KS to be the perfect opportunity to potentially produce a very special edition with some extra goodies that wouldn’t normally be possible. This approach has also allowed us the opportunity to better connect with the fans. With how well our KS campaign has been received and supported, we are honored, humbled and excited about all of the positive energy. It’s going to be a blast to produce and pass along the multitude of KS exclusive goodies to our supporters. They truly deserve the bonus items and I’m happy to get the extras into their hands.
If you haven’t seen Brom’s KS video yet, you have got to take a look. Besides seeing a master painter at work, there is a funny clip right at the end. My video was put together by our very own Jonathan Leveck. He filmed me during an unscripted discussion, then he set it all to music and pictures. Jonathan is working on an extended version of this session which we will post in a few weeks on the new Flesk website.
New Videos
Speaking of Jonathan and videos; I have hours upon hours of video that I have shot over the last ten years of many of the artists I know and have worked with. I’ve asked Jonathan to start digging through my archives with the idea that he would make five to ten minute clips to share on our website. It will be a slow process at first, but you can expect to start seeing new video posted soon. As an example, I just remembered that I have three separate Steve Rude painting demos that have never been shown. It’s time to share. The footage does no good sitting in a box.
New Website
Woo-hoo! A big thank you to Stan Yeung for his hard work and excellent fresh design on our new Flesk Publications website that is now live! This has been in the works for a long time. Providing Stan with all of the content, images and pictures has been a lot of work—but well worth it. There were many hours spent on photography sessions and inputting book content, but we got it done. Stan did a phenomenal job. Jonathan played a role in taking care of many small details. And an additional thanks goes out to Lazuras Potter for his help with the back-end security to help keep all of your private information safe and secure. A newsletter announcement will be going out in a few days about the new site. We’ll have a special 20% off sale to celebrate. It will last until September 12th using this code to get the deal, “fp20”
New Books
I have approved the proofs for the three new Flesk books that will be available in early November. They are James Bama: Personal Works, Jim Silke Sketchbook Volume 1 and Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm Big Pocket Edition. Jonathan filmed me while I was going over the proofs. I spoke about the process and what I was doing. We’ll share a clip when the book comes out.
Future Books
I have already discussed The Art of Brom. This will come out in summer 2013. But what else am I doing?
This month I am working on packaging an exhibit book for a museum. I will make you all aware of the title, topic and museum once they make the announcement publicly. It’s a fun project.
I’ve also started work on a new Steve Rude book. This collection will be an art book compiling Nexus stories that were penciled and inked by Rude himself—direct from the originals. We will be showing a few stories in the pencil form and there will also be an unpublished Nexus #99 comic reproduced. Steve had completely finished penciling Nexus #99 “The Root of Evil” when Dark Horse cancelled the series. When Steve and Mike Baron later revived Nexus they abandoned “The Root of Evil” storyline and started with a new Nexus #99 epic. The original #99 will be published in this book for the first time. The release date is not set yet, but I expect it should be ready by spring or early summer 2013.
I’m talking with three artists, all of whom I’ve been discussing a book project with for the past couple of years, and all who I have not published prior. I know by not saying their names it’s a bit of a tease, but my point is I want to let you know there are many new titles in the works that excite me, and I hope will be welcoming to you as well. Furthermore, new Gary Gianni and William Stout books are in development.
Mark Schultz
When is Storms at Sea coming out? It will be released when Mark is done with the drawings. I know that is not a good answer. All I can say is it will be well worth the wait.
When will the next Various Drawings come out? I spoke with Mark a few weeks ago about this. We’ve decided to start a new series that will collect his work. The title, look and feel will be revealed next year and the collection will have a July 2013 release date.
The Next Event
APE! I have three tables this year at the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco. This is one of my favorite shows. I always look forward to going. Craig Elliott, Mark Schultz and William Stout will join me at the Flesk booth. This will be our first and only Bay Area appearance this year. We’re looking forward to seeing you there. The show runs the October 13th & 14th weekend.
Warren Chang Lecture in Monterey, CA
Warren will be giving a lecture on September 12 at 10:30 at the Monterey Museum of Art. There will be a book signing following his talk. Stop on by if you get the chance. I’ll be there, too.
Magazine Features
Imagine FX #86 has a Mark Schultz article and gallery and a Craig Elliott sketchbook feature. Plus the new International Artist magazine (#86) has a process article by Petar Meseldzija. Then issue #80 of American Art Collector has a piece on Craig Elliott and our friend Brad Kunkle regarding their show at the Arcadia Gallery in New York City. I believe you can still find these at your local magazine rack.
I’ll have some more updates on current and future books soon. Until then, thanks for reading and for your support.
The September 2012 Previews is now available from your local comic book store. There are three new Flesk books listed within, along with a Flesk ad (above).
Here’s a list along with the DCD item ordering codes:
1. Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm Big Pocket Edition – page 304 in Previews
DCD order #: SEP12 1111
2. James Bama: Personal Works – page 356 in Previews
DCD order #: SEP12 1310
3. Jim Silke Sketchbook Volume 1 – page 358 in Previews
DCD order #: SEP12 1313
And our three Flesk backlist titles:
1. Jim Silke Jungle Girls — page 358 in Previews
DCD order #: SEP12 1314
2. James Bama Sketchbook — page 356 in Previews
DCD order #: SEP12 1311
3. James Bama American Realist — page 356 in Previews
DCD order #: SEP12 1312
