This is it—we are coming down the Final Stretch of the Mark Schultz Kickstarter Campaign. We’re down to the final five days.
We would like to once again express our ongoing gratitude for all of your support in making the special upgrades, video, hardbound books and prints happen. We feel we just can’t say this enough.
It’s been our ongoing objective to bring you value at a reasonable price, but in the end it is up to you to tell us whether or not you agree that you are getting good value. Your contributions have spoken loud and clear and we appreciate your faith in us.
Now, before we get to that last goal, let’s recap what you have already made possible:
1. Two 8 x 10 inch signed prints exclusive and free to all print and book supporters. The first print features a new Xenozoic image of Hannah and Jack battling stinging, crawly things. The second print is of the painting used for the Carbon cover.
2. The 55 minute brush and ink demonstration video by Mark Schultz comes as a bonus, at no additional cost, to all of our Kickstarter print and book supporters. This will be available for streaming from our website at the same time as the prints and books become available by August.
3. Xenozoic hardcover edition, with signature page and upgraded binging. This unique edition will be limited to only 500 copies. The Kickstarter price is $60.00. The cover price will be $75.00 after this campaign is over, and this book will not be available through the bookstores.
4. The Carbon deluxe signed hardcover edition limited to only 600 copies and only available direct from Flesk.
5. The “Beyond the Known Forest” 18 x 24 inch signed deluxe print.
6. Xenozoic signed bookplate included with all pledges for the paperback or hardcover Xenozoic book.
7. Free shipping for all orders in the U.S.A.
So, with the final few days left, we’re adding one final stretch goal to our campaign: If we hit the $61K mark, we will add a third 8 x 10 inch signed print featuring Mark’s watercolor and carbon pencil illustration, No. 1 (as seen in Various Drawings Vol. 5, page 11).
No. 1 print image
And, as a reminder, Carbon and Xenozoic are both wrapped and on the press. All continues as scheduled. All goes according to plan. Cue mad laughter.
Thanks, everyone. More updates coming later this week.
We’ll be exhibiting at the Big Wow ComicFest at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, CA this May 18-19. If that date sounds familiar, you’re right. It just so happens to be the same weekend as the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 event we are also exhibiting at. I’ll be at the Spectrum show, while I have my friends James Walker and Josh Ford running the booth at Big Wow. James and Josh have plenty of experience doing shows and are familiar with Flesk and what’s going on. There will be a full line up of our books, some very reasonably priced dinged books for you to sample our titles and free brochures for your perusal. The Flesk corner booth is #432.
The show has an impressive group of comic book artist guests. Rachel and Terry Dodson (Songes, Bombshells and Reveries) and Jim Silke (Jungle Girls and Jim Silke Sketchbook), who I have had the pleasure of working with, will be there. There’s also Frank Cho, Frank Cirocco, Lela Dowling, Geof Darrow, Aaron Lopresti, Alex Nino, Kevin Nowlan, Sanjulian, and many more. Even Stan Lee will be making an appearance on Sunday.
If you are in the Bay Area it’s well worth going. Tickets are only $20 for the day or $30 for both.
Last week I sent out the following email newsletter. If you are interested in joining the newsletter list, you can add your email address here. I send one or two out a month.
April 25, 2013 Flesk Newsletter
This is John Flesk and I have a lot of great information to share. I’ll cover our exhibiting at Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2, the artists that will be at our booth, the new SFAL2 commemorative book, details about Mark Schultz’s new book Carbon and new printing of Xenozoic (including deluxe signed hardcovers), plus a Schultz Kickstarter update, and provide a link to a new Schultz interview conducted by myself. Let’s start with my favorite event of the year, Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2!
Flesk Publications will be exhibiting at the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 event in Kansas City, Missouri on May 17-19. I wrote details about the show and what will be happening at the Flesk booth on my blog. You can read it here.
In brief, we will have Brom, Bill Carman, Peter de Sève, Craig Elliott, Gary Gianni and Mark Schultz at our booth (#500). We have some other guest appearances which I will announce as we get closer to the show.
I’m honored to have had the opportunity to produce the SFAL2 book. Spectrum Fantastic Art Live, Volume Two commemorates the second annual Spectrum event by celebrating the work of the exhibition’s six special guests: Jon Foster, Peter de Sève, Tara McPherson, Charles Vess, Michael Whelan and Terryl Whitlatch. This 80 page, 9 x 12 inch hardbound collection will premiere at the show. All pre-orders will ship immediately after. Click for full details and to pre-order.
The new art book, Mark Schultz: Carbon, collecting Schultz’s most recent works and the new printing with a new cover of Xenozoic is off to the printer. Our advertised release date is August 1st, but we are hoping to have copies at our Flesk booth at Comic Con International in San Diego. (I’ll keep you updated.)
You can pre-order copies of Carbon and Xenozoic at our Mark Schultz Kickstarter campaign, which gets you a special early-bird price and bonus goodies such as a signed print and access to watch a brush and ink demonstration video for free. (Click here to visit.) Afterward, the books will be available for pre-order from our website, although without the Kickstarter bonus items. Thanks so much to all of our supporters who have made the special signed editions possible through Kickstarter funding. You have our gratitude.
I have conducted an interview with Mark about his new art book, Carbon, and what you can expect to see inside. I have posted it on my blog for your enjoyment. You can read it here.
Another newsletter will be coming in two weeks. It will fill you in on all of the last minute details for SFAL2 and the Schultz Kickstarter campaign.
We are just one month away from Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2! It runs on May 17-19 in Kansas City, Missouri in the Grand Ballroom of Bartle Hall. There is no other show this year that I am looking forward to more than this one. SFAL2 is all about the artists. It’s about real people and the art that they create, all of who are accessible in an inviting atmosphere. SFAL2 is open to the public. Anyone can go! Plus, there is original artwork to view and purchase.
The ticket prices are very reasonable. It’s only $40 for a 3-day pass and $20 for a single day entry. I like how the organizers have made the show welcoming to a diverse group by keeping the entry price low. I have always felt that it is important to make events accessible to young people, students and to those that don’t have a lot of money. It’s the best way to share our passion with others, and to introduce the arts to new people.
The 3-day ticket is an exceptional deal. It gets you into the show on the Friday Preview Night and Opening Night Party, plus a guaranteed seat at the Spectrum Awards Ceremony at the Midland Theatre on Saturday, May 18th. You can’t get the 3-day pass onsite–only in advance through the website. (A link to purchase tickets and for full show information is at the bottom of this post.)
I’m thrilled to be in a position to exhibit at SFAL2. It’s always a privilege to meet new people and those who have supported us. We hope we can give back a little by leaving you with a memorable visit, and properly show our appreciation in person.
I’m excited by the opportunity to host a terrific group of artists at our Flesk Publications booth (#500). Much of how I run Flesk is by focusing on the relationships and the artists. This show, I feel, falls very much in line with what I feel is the most important part of this industry–the people. With this in mind, I’ve asked some really great individuals to join us at the Flesk booth.
To start with, Gary Gianni and Mark Schultz, two gentlemen I came to know when I began publishing in 2002, and who have been wonderful to work with, will be available for autographs and to talk to.
Brom will be with us on Friday and Saturday. And things are looking good for us to have an advance copy of The Art of Brom book to preview.
Bill Carman will be doing a painting demonstration throughout the show. He has an uncanny ability to talk and paint at the same time. We encourage you to ask questions and take advantage of this opportunity to learn from this master painter.
Craig Elliott will be signing and sketching, plus he can fill you in on the latest paintings and films he is working on. Craig has completed a few stunning recent fine art works. He will have prints of them available.
Special guest to the show, Peter de Sève, can be found at our booth as well. Peter is well known for his covers for The New Yorker and his character development work for the Ice Age films. His imagination is among the highest level that I’ve seen.
These six artists will have original art, prints and books available. In addition, we will have a full line of all of our Flesk titles for you to peruse.
You can pick up the special event commemorative book celebrating the work of the six show guests from us. These artists are: Jon Foster, Peter de Sève, Tara McPherson, Charles Vess, Michael Whelan and Terryl Whitlatch. I’m working on a group signing at our booth on Saturday. The Details will follow soon.
Mike Mignola, who was previously announced as being at our booth, had a personal matter arise and will not be able to attend.
As we get closer to the show I will continue to provide updates and fill you in on the events that we will run.
Mark Schultz and I added a few bonus items to our Kickstarter campaign. Should we reach the goal outlined below we will include these options at no extra charge. What is Kickstarter and what are stretch goals? Please follow the link at the bottom for details.
Our Kicksarter stretch goal announcement:
As we continue to receive your support we would like to add more value to our goodies, and include new bonuses, as an ongoing expression of our gratitude.
45K Stretch Goal
Additional footage added to the brush and ink demonstration. We were discussing Mark’s demonstration video and came up with an idea to make it even better. We will film and add an additional 15 minute segment with Mark discussing the tools he uses as well as his influences. This will expand the 40 minute video to 55 minutes.
55K Stretch Goal
Upgrade binding and bound in signature page for the Xenozoic hardcover edition. We are seeing a lot of interest for this Xenozoic hardcover edition. We want to upgrade the binding from the current printed boards with jacket option to a fancy quarter-binding with an onlaid plate featuring the cover art set in the front center boards. The board design will finish off with a stamp of the title and Mark Schultz’s name on the front boards. (I’ll work on putting together a visual graphic to share soon. –John) The jacket will also be included. In addition, we will add a bound in signature page to the book, featuring a new Xenozoic preliminary drawing, which will be signed by Mark Schultz. This is on top of the already promised signed bookplate. This will be an exquisite production and unique to this 500 copy edition you have made possible through Kickstarter.
We will announce more stretch goals once the 55K goal has been unlocked.
In other news, we see that the Combo Pack #2 has been the most popular choice and that the availability has almost run out. We discovered that Kickstarter lets you adjust the numbers available for the different rewards. With only a finite number of hardcover books being available, we took away 75 copies from the individual Carbon and Xenozoic hardcover book options and then added 75 paired units to the Combo Pack #2, which gets you both of the hardcover books with one pledge.
Greetings, everyone! We launched our Schultz / Flesk Kickstarter campaign today. Here is a link and a copy of our email newsletter going out today.Thanks for looking.
Flesk Newsletter:
The Flesk and Mark Schultz Kickstarter Campaign is now live! We’re offering Mark’s new art book collection, Mark Schultz: Carbon, in both trade and Flesk exclusive hardcover editions. We’re offering brand-spanking-new prints! We’re offering a Flesk exclusive hardcover edition collecting all the Xenozoic stories Mark has drawn! And we’re offering something truly unique: a video inking demonstration by Mark! Never before attempted — never before seen!
The full details and a video about our book and print offerings, exclusive Kickstarter goodies and a pair of pledges that will get you original artwork are provided at our Kickstarter campaign page here:
Here’s a breakdown of what you will find:
1. Mark Schultz: Carbon — new art book in paperback and Flesk exclusive hardcover
2. Xenozoic new printing with new cover — paperback and Flesk exclusive hardcover
3. “Beyond the Known Forest, She Talks with Birds” — signed color print
4. Exclusive Kickstarter 8 x 10” signed print — free to KS supporters
5. Exclusive brush and ink demonstration video by Mark Schultz — free to KS supporters
6. Two Special combination packs that offer original art from Mark Schultz.
Note: The hardcovers, prints and video will only happen if we reach our Kickstarter goal.
If you enjoy Mark’s work, this is your chance to support the quality projects he loves producing. Please take a look. And thank you — we appreciate your consideration!
This Thursday, April 11, at 10:00AM PST / 1:00PM EST, the Flesk and Mark Schultz Kickstarter Campaign will go live! We’re offering his new art book collection, Mark Schultz: Carbon, in both trade and Flesk exclusive hardcover editions. We’re offering brand-spanking-new prints! We’re offering a Flesk exclusive hardcover edition collecting all the Xenozoic stories Mark has drawn! And we’re offering something truly unique: a video inking demonstration by Mark! Never before attempted—never before seen! We will share the live link here on Facebook, on our Flesk website homepage and on John Flesk’s blog at go time this Thursday!
I wasn’t able to make the Emerald City Comicon one month ago, but we were able to have a Flesk Publications booth presence thanks to Jonathan Leveck. I asked Jonathan if he could write a recap about exhibiting at the show. I’ll turn you over to Jonathan:
Jonathan Leveck writes about the Flesk Booth and time spent at Emerald City Comicon
The lead-up to Emerald City Comicon was rife with a quirky mix of emotions. Having grown up near Portland, any travel to the Northwest provokes nostalgia–that inimitable sense of coming home. Seattle, however, would be a new destination for me: one of those places that’s always been on the list but has remained conspicuously unchecked, like never having read On the Road, or seen Willy Wonka.
So there I was preparing to go home to a place I’d never been.
Then there’s Flesk. A failure on the part of the universe at large to take into account the subtleties of the company day planner resulted in a scheduling kerfuffle. Flesk would need to be in both Seattle and Kansas City, Missouri on the same weekend. Reluctant to miss either the ECCC or the 20th Annual Spectrum Judging, John Fleskes and I decided we’d divide and conquer the two events.
For me this meant running a show on my own for the first time and putting a check next to Seattle on that list I mentioned. For John Fleskes that meant being in Kansas City while, for the first time in the history of his company, Flesk Publications was being represented by someone other than himself, and that on the other side of the country. Neither the honor nor the responsibility were lost on me.
John and I caught up on business at the airport, checking out the cover proof for Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 and chatting about where publishing should set the bar in terms of catering to vs. challenging its viewership. A few parting words of Emerald City Comicon advice and we boarded our separate flights, John leaving Seattle and his company in what he outwardly projected–but must have inwardly hoped–were my capable hands.
Seattle. Where all the neon is rosy.
Within an hour of landing I was at my hotel downtown, already loving Seattle if only for its public transit system. The hotel lobby was a cage-less zoo of comic industry professionals, Trekkies and a gaggle of what I can only assume were plain-clothes cosplayers. A pair of unarmed security guards stood wide-eyed and twitching amidst the chaos.
Set up the next morning was a breeze, the show’s staff organized and helpful. I picked up the books and took my time setting up the booth, bringing the better parts of my compulsive nature to bear upon the presentation of our books and banners.
The Flesk booth just prior to the show opening.
I looked up from my shuffling to find a gentleman looking at me with an expression that said, “One of us should know the other, but I suspect neither of us does.”
“Hello,” I said vaguely, now mirroring his expression.
“I… You’re… This is Flesk?”
“We are.”
“We’re doing a book with you.”
A stunning bout of deductive reasoning on my part (combined with asking the man outright who he was) led me to understand that I was speaking with Richard Pini. Richard and his wife Wendy are the creators of Elfquest. Their books The Art of Elfquest and Wendy Pini: The Line of Beauty are currently in development with Flesk Publications.
Well met with Mr. Pini, the Elfquest booth was the first I visited when I made the pre-show rounds. I introduced myself to Wendy and handed her the new postcards for the upcoming books. Her face lit up when she saw them, further widening Richard’s easy grin. I was struck by the dynamic between these two: Richard, gregarious and charismatic, Wendy soft spoken and warm–equal and opposite points on the charm spectrum.
Richard and Wendy Pini pre-show.
My next stop was the BromArt booth, where Brom was bustling about the booth and his wife, artist Laurie Lee Brom, was returning from a failed odyssey to find her friend’s booth in the maze of the gaming floor. I was glad to finally meet Brom in person, having only interacted with him via email during the Art of Brom Kickstarter campaign.
Infectiously lighthearted, the Broms’ personalities might have been separated at birth. Speaking with them in tandem, one gets the inexplicable sense that everyone is a sly smile away from giggling.
In equal contrast to the ‘brooding rockstar artist’ persona one might project upon him to look at his art, Brom offered to watch the Flesk booth, should I need to pee at any point. Dark and angsty, indeed…
Brom and Laurie Lee Brom
By the time I left the Dodson’s booth a few minutes later, I was finding it a bit silly just how damnably charming all these couples are. Terry all warm-welcome and quick-to-laugh, Rachel quiet and amused.
Terry and Rachel Dodson: Charm and Charmerer.
Thankfully Mignola was next on the list. I hadn’t yet met his wife, but surely Mike’s dry wit and forthright demeanor would lend itself to some sort of Archie Bunker-esque repartee to help mollify my playful inner cynic.
Alas: nope. Equally lovely interactions from the Mignola camp.
Mike and Christine Mignola applying the finishing touches.
Convinced that John had some sort of hidden agenda to unite charming couples beneath the Flesk banner and take over the world at large, I headed back to the booth to prepare myself for the impending hordes.
And hordes there were. The show was stunningly busy. Our table–teeming with books on the morning of day one, with a case of overflow stowed beneath–comfortably fit all of our remaining stock by that afternoon. By the end of day two we had sold out of the large format Bruce Timm Naughty and Nice book and all but two Big Pocket editions. We were out of catalogues and the stacks of offerings from Dodson, Elliott, Gianni, Meseldžija, Schultz and Stout had been whittled down to a nub.
Booth bustle.
By the end of day three we were fairly well out of stock, and an extraordinary thing happened: We became an information booth.
“What’s the story on the Brom book?”
“When’s Mark gonna finish Xenozoic?”
“Is Bruce Timm here?”
“Are you Bruce Timm?”
“Where can I find Bruce Timm?”
“Are you the guys doing Elfquest?”
“Is Mark Schultz still alive?”
“Who’s Jim Silk-EE? This stuff is gorgeous…”
“Look honey: booties!”
“Do you have any more Gianni stuff?”
We had people stopping by to identify themselves as Art of Brom Kickstarter supporters, or to express what an influence Mark Schultz has been on their art.
With little left to sell, the crowd hadn’t diminished around the booth. For the last couple of hours the Flesk booth was a place to stop by and chat about good art.
When all was said and done, I packed a single box to send back to California, and arrived back at my hotel exhausted, voiceless and extremely pleased. John called and we downloaded our separate events and chatted about the big things upcoming from Flesk, some announced and others soon-to-be.
So: Seattle was fantastic. I didn’t burn anything to the ground, and nobody caught me sleeping at the booth. Well: nobody that couldn’t be bribed with a Naughty and Nice Teaser.
Warren Chang will be giving a lecture at the Monterey Peninsula College this Wednesday from 1:30 to 2:30 PM. I will be in attendance and there will be a book signing immediately after his talk. See a little further below for the full details.
Also, the new issue of International Artist magazine (#90) features a book review of Narrative Paintings. The writer of the article, Matthew Innis, has posted the review on his Underpaintings blog. Check out the links at bottom to learn more.
Lecture Details:
GENTRAIN SOCIETY PRESENT A LECTURE BY WARREN CHANG
LEARNING FROM THE PAST TO PAINT IN THE PRESENT
MARCH 20TH, 1:30PM-2:30PM
MONTEREY PENINSULA COLLEGE: LECTURE FORUM LF 103
980 Fremont St, Monterey, Ca 93940
Warren Chang will be giving a lecture and slide presentation of his work pertaining to the Old Masters. Perhaps best known for his paintings of the field workers of Monterey County where he grew up, his lecture will focus on the influence of historical artists Bruegal, Millet all the way up to contemporary times and the influence of author John Steinbeck and others on the artist’s work.
He is the recent subject of a monograph book, titled Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings, published by Flesk Publications in 2012 and due out for worldwide release in March, 2013. Copies of the book will be available at the lecture for purchase and signing by the artist.
The Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 book is wrapped up and running on the printing press. I approved the last of the proofs at the end of February. The title will premiere at our Flesk booth at the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live show in Kansas City Missouri on May 17-19.
The cover for the book is titled “Easy Being Green it is Not” and is by Peter de Seve. Back in November when I was starting to put the book together I asked Peter if he was willing to provide the cover artwork. I’m a huge fan of his work. I first became aware of Peter with the release of the Disney film art book on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which showcased his visual art contributions. I’ve followed his career since, enjoying his other film work, The New Yorker covers and his other miscellaneous work. I find him to have a massive wit and creative spirit. When I asked Peter if he had any art in mind for the cover of this second “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live” book, he suggested using “Easy Being Green it is Not.” This art was originally done for Star Wars: Visions published by Abrams in 2010. A big thank you goes out to Disney for providing permission for us to use the piece.
The book consists of a gallery section on each of the six special guests of the show. They are Peter de Seve, Tara McPherson, Charles Vess, Jon Foster, Terryl Whitlatch and Michael Whelan. I had a great time working with all of them. Anthology books involve a lot more planning and coordination compared to doing a book on a single artist. In this case, there are the six artists, eight people writing introductions, artwork permissions to get approved, on top of all of the editing and designing work that is required. And everything has got to get done, and the book printed and delivered in time for the show. There’s no time allowed for nitpicking or extended deadlines. But, I’ve got to say, it’s a fun process. It allows me the chance to work with a group of professionals that I admire, most of whom I had not met before. And the limited time frame keeps me focused.
You can pre-order the book on our website. It ships immediately after the SFAL2 event. Here’s the official book description. You can follow the link at bottom to find it at the Flesk store.
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2
Hardbound with jacket, 9 x 12 inches, 80 pages, $29.95
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live, Volume Two commemorates the second annual Spectrum event by celebrating the work of the exhibition’s six special guests. Jon Foster, Peter de Sève, Tara McPherson, Charles Vess, Michael Whelan and Terryl Whitlatch have hand-picked a diverse assortment of images for inclusion in this volume—a collection of six individual galleries with artist statements scattered throughout.
Jon Foster’s work has graced the pages of a vast array of publications, from National Geographic to DC and Marvel Comics to nearly all the book publishers of fantasy and science fiction. Jon teaches art and illustration across the country and has received two Silver and three Gold Spectrum Awards.
Perhaps best recognized as a regular cover artist for The New Yorker and for his character designs for blockbuster animated films such as Ice Age and Finding Nemo, Peter de Sève is widely recognized as an icon in contemporary illustration. Peter’s many distinctions include the Hamilton King Award from the Society of Illustrators, a Clio Award, a Spectrum Gold Medal and an Emmy for Outstanding Character Design.
Equal parts whimsical, thought—provoking and seductive, Tara McPherson’s works have adorned the walls of art galleries around the world and, through her poster art, plastered the brick-lined streets of the American indie rock scene. Her work has been featured in numerous publications as well as the Oscar-winning film Juno, the Eisner Award-winning anthology Popgun 3 and the permanent collection of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Haunting and ethereal, the art of Charles Vess has long defined fantasy illustration and comic art. He has brought visual life to the works of such authors as Neil Gaiman, Jeff Smith and Charles de Lint. Awarded an Inkpot for excellence in comics and multiple Eisner and World Fantasy Awards, Charles is one of the most distinctive and admired artists in the industry.
Michael Whelan has defined the visual aesthetic of some of the best-known science-fiction authors of the past thirty-five years, including Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and Stephen King. Among a myriad of other distinctions, he has been presented with three World Fantasy Awards, fifteen Hugo Awards and thirteen Chesleys. Michael is a Spectrum Grand Master and was the first living artist to be inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
Best known in the entertainment and publishing industries for her work in creature design, Terryl Whitlatch seamlessly blends her technical knowledge of paleo art with her passion for the fictitious. Her film work includes her role as principal creature designer for Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace and concept art for Disney’s Brave and Brother Bear.
Few artists so interweave the fabric of contemporary fantastic art as these six. In honor of their contributions to the industry, several of their contemporaries have provided introductions for this volume. Artist and novelist George Pratt (Wolverine: Netsuke, See You in Hell, Blind Boy), master painter and illustrator Gregory Manchess (National Geographic, Robert E. Howard’s Complete Conan of Cimmeria, Volume Three), illustrator and creator of the Artist as Brand workshop Greg Spalenka, novelist and professor of folklore and mythology Ari Berk (Undertaken Trilogy), publisher Bob Self of Baby Tattoo books, and creature concept designer Bobby Chiu (Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland) have all brought their unique professional and personal perspectives to discuss the works of this extraordinary panel of artists.
The experience of “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live” has been likened to the act of walking through the Spectrum annual itself: a living, breathing extension of all that Spectrum has come to mean for the world of contemporary fantastic art. With this volume we explore a cross-section of this extraordinary movement’s visionaries and invite you to imagine, wonder and—above all—enjoy.
No. 1 print image
