Step inside the early comics career of legendary artist William Stout with rare art and firsthand stories in this 304-page 9×12″ art book!
William Stout’s Comics Volume 1 is the first installment in a three-volume celebration of the legendary artist’s comics career, focusing on his formative years and early professional work. Featuring more than 75 complete comic pages, over 370 comic-style illustrations and personal works, and rare historical photographs, this volume is a visual treat for his fans and comics historians alike.
Please note that those who are outside of the US will be able to order the book direct on our Flesk website closer to when the books arrive with us.
This collection is offered as a paperback and as a signed deluxe hardcover edition. We also have three premium signed 13 x 19″ prints available. Every book pledge comes with a Kickstarter exclusive 8.5 x 11″ signed print (one for each copy of the book).
Written and narrated by Stout himself, the book traces his journey from childhood obsessions and early superhero creations to his time at the Chouinard Art Institute, where influential mentors helped shape his artistic voice. It explores his pivotal time as an assistant to Russ Manning on Tarzan of the Apes, the impact of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ stories, and Stout’s wide-ranging early output, from car and motorcycle comics to his unexpected entry as a sports cartoonist.
We also have luxurious prints that feature three of Stout’s favorite images. Each is made using 300 gsm acid free matt paper that is printed with archival inks. All are signed by Stout.
We are thrilled to bring you the latest art book collection from Flesk! The Art of Daniel Warren Johnson showcases the majority of his kinetic career since his start in 2013. There are a multitude of sections covering his favorite comic-book covers and pages, along with rarely seen commissions and personal works, preliminaries and cover thumbnails. Full access was given to his personal sketchbooks, allowing for a deep look at over 200 sketches that are presented in a dynamic and exciting way.
This art book is offered as a paperback and as a signed deluxe hardcover edition. We also have two premium signed 13 x 19″ prints available. Every book pledge comes with a Kickstarter exclusive 8.5 x 11″ signed print.
This sizable book reveals great detail by sharing extended commentary covering DWJ’s thoughts and pathos for almost every piece. This collection has been methodically put together from the original art and through numerous interview sessions with DWJ over the span of four years.
DWJ is the writer/artist who brought us Space-Mullet, Extremity, Murder Falcon, Do A Powerbomb!, The Moon is Following Us, along with Wonder Woman: Dead Earth, Beta Ray Bill: Argent Star, and a magnificent run on Transformers. And let’s not forget his short Wolverine and Superman stories, and his many variant covers. It’s unbelievable what he has accomplished in the last decade. His high-quality output is nothing short of spectacular. We’re all big fans of DWJ and are honored to showcase his work.
We also have limited quantities of Bruce’s previous signed sketchbooks that he self-published in the 2000s. Plus, a small number of various signed Naughty and Nice books and Teasers. Plus, two signed prints!
Each signed item is limited to 1 per person. This is to help ensure that the most people possible can get something signed by Bruce at a fair price. Many of these books and sketchbooks are from Bruce’s personal stock. Most of these items are available in limited quantities.
Bruce has no foreseeable plans to appear at any events. This is a great chance to get something signed by this amazing producer/director/writer/animator/comic artist and co-creator of Harley Quinn!
There are still unsigned copies of the latest edition of Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm and some unsigned prints that are available at affordable prices.
There are 150 signed copies with the title on the cover and 100 signed copies with no title (virgin cover) available direct from Flesk.
Bruce Timm’s previous signed sketchbooks that he self-published in the 2000s are available in very low quantities. These are direct from Bruce’s personal stock and his last copies.
Our Flesk B.T. Teasers from 2011 to 2013. These were limited to 1000 copies and sold out a decade ago. These are copies from Bruce’s personal stock.
Warehouse finds! A handful of copies of the two Big Tease hardcover editions and some first edition paperback copies of the original Naughty and Nice book are available. All come signed by B.T. on the title page!
Making books, even after publishing for nearly 25 years, always takes more time than we expect. I was looking back at our email exchanges with Tran about Spectres and came to the realization that this has been a three-year project. If you add the time that Tran put into making the art, Spectres is over a decade in the making.
“Study No. 1,” the painting that would spark this series by Tran was done in 2014. I was already well-aware of Tran at this time and marveled at each new painting that she created. It was in early 2018 that I first broached the idea of publishing a book on her paintings. Thankfully Tran said yes! This led to the release of Ambedo in December of 2019. The\is book had a limited print run and was never available to stores. It quickly sold out directly from us.
The experience of working with Tran was so enjoyable, and I continued to see her growth and creation of her “Study” series, I was eager to work with her again one day. In early 2022 we started discussing a new edition of Ambedo and a new book collecting her experimental studies–Spectres.
As with Ambedo, this opportunity to publish a second collection of Tran’s work has been an absolute privilege. Tran is very kind, creative and professional with smooth communication. She is very involved with the designs and packaging of both books. The cover designs are all by Tran. The look and feel of the book are very much guided by her feedback. This is a book that not only collects her art, but the covers serve as her own hands to hold the book together.
While it is a long process, the time is worth it. We never set a schedule when making a book. The time needed is dictated by the book, not by us.
We tried something new with this campaign. In the past we had stretch goals. Instead, this time we launched as an all-or-nothing approach. The gilt edges, the foil for the cover stamps, the spot color inside the book are all elegant features. We wanted to make sure you knew from the beginning that these books are luxurious.
Your pledge and trust in us, and our faith in you to support us, has made something especially beautiful. Thank you.
The campaign ends this Thursday. As we noted in our last update, the book is with the printer. The proofs have been approved and the book is on the press. As soon as we have our advance copies, we will share pictures in a future update. We will also update the shipping schedule once the books are on the way from Hong Kong.
We look forward to getting Spectres and Ambedo into your hands and onto your library shelves.
On behalf of Tran and everyone here at Flesk, thanks!
These two art books are offered as a hardcover edition for only $39 (the cover price is $49.95). In addition, we have a signed edition of Spectres that comes in a slipcase and is limited to 500 copies. We also have two premium signed prints available.
I have good news to share!
We had Spectres and Ambedo done and ready for the printer before this campaign was launched. With the successful backing by you all, we went ahead and sent the books to the printer right away. The printer then made a set of proofs for us to review. We always request high quality proofs for all books that we publish. It’s costly but guarantees that the press team has a visual guide on hand to compare the pages coming off the press to. It also gives us a chance to tweak or adjust any colors that may not look exactly the way we expected before the book goes to press. We have approved the proofs and sent these sheets back to the printer.
At this point the books are entirely in the hands of the printer. They will be printing, binding, applying the gilt edges, spot colors, foils, and making the slipcase for the Spectres deluxe edition over the next 4-5 weeks. Once they are done, the printer will send us two copies of each edition for us to review and approve. Once approved, the books will be packaged and shipped to us from Hong Kong. The transit times are typically another 6-7 weeks. We’ll keep you updated on how everything goes.
Thank you so much for supporting us! We’re grateful to you all for helping to make these books a reality.
We’re thrilled to announce that our Jeffrey Alan Love Kickstarter campaign has launched. We are bringing you Jeff’s new graphic novel, The Last Battle at the End of the World. There are a hardcover and a deluxe signed hardcover available. We are also releasing expanded editions of Notes From the Shadowed City and The Thousand Demon Tree. All three books include a behind the scenes section that features sketches and commentary revealing how each book was made.
We’re just one week away from launching our new Jeffrey Alan Love Kickstarter campaign. This event is to celebrate Jeff’s new graphic novel, The Last Battle at the End of the World. There will be a hardcover and a deluxe signed hardcover available. We are also releasing expanded editions of Notes From the Shadowed City and The Thousand Demon Tree. All three books will include a behind the scenes section that features sketches and commentary revealing how each book was made. The campaign will launch next Tuesday, February 4th at 9:00AM PST. We have a pre-launch page online where you can click on the “Notify me on launch” button. We’ll also send out a newsletter reminder that morning.
In other news, we returned from a short trip to the LA area last Sunday evening. It has been heartbreaking to see how the fires continue to affect people in certain areas. William Stout and his wife were evacuated at one point. They are safe and back in their house. We were glad to see the rain on Saturday and Sunday while we were there.
We had a nice get-together with Bruce Timm where we went over the second round of his new book together. Bruce’s original art is so valuable at this point that we stopped mailing packages years ago. Since we make a handful of trips to the LA area each year, we make a point to pick up and drop off material as we pass through. This is my favorite method since we can take our time photographing and scanning the art at home. Once the new material is organized, I drop the pieces into the appropriate book (we’re currently jugging three different themed books) and tighten up the book maps. Once I’m happy with the latest revision I print out a hard copy for Bruce and hand write or type any thoughts or notes that may be useful for him to see. I then mail this copy to Bruce. During our next visit I pick it back up from him. The printout will have his notes and sketch guides written and drawn all throughout to help guide the next revision. I have the second revision for one book in my hands. I will begin to make the appropriate improvements over the next few weeks. Bruce is an absolute joy to work with. He’s always pushing to improve the books, while being easygoing and thoughtful with his communication. We’ll keep going back and forth like this until a book is done. As soon as we are done with the first title, I’ll announce what it is. I’ll give you one themed book hint… HORROR.
On another topic, I had a few productive days working on the Daniel Warren Johnson book last week. I emailed and talked with Dan to fine tune the final art picks for his collection. There are a few recently completed pieces that we slipped into the book. I’m doing a little shuffling around to adjust the flow slightly. I tend to come up with new ideas often. It’s not unusual for me to make small or drastic changes all throughout the book map and design process. I’ve been having some recorded conversations with Dan to ask questions. I capture the relevant portions of our talks that I then transcribe into commentary. I send off the text to Dan who gives his words a final look to make sure his voice is captured correctly. I then insert the commentary on the relevant page. The artists like this method since they can draw while we talk, and they don’t have to write anything. I never plan my questions. Instead, we let the conversation go in any direction. In this way we get interesting and natural dialogue for the book.
I’m also working out some details with the printer for the two new Tran Nguyen books, Ambedo and Spectres. And I’m doing the same with the Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea revised art book by Mike Mignola and Gary Gianni. These details include obtaining the pricing, reviewing and ordering paper, and looking into some production options. This lets us review our budget, set the cover price for the books, fine tune the release schedules, and gather the final details for when we officially promote and offer the book to you all. This is typically a 2-3 week process depending on how much specialty work goes into the book. I have ongoing conversations with Tran, Gary and Mike to keep them up to date and to get their input and approval on everything. All our books are a collaboration and involve a lot of communication.
Besides the three Love books, the two Tran titles, the Gianni/Mignola collection, the DWJ and B.T. books, we still have the three-volume William Stout Comics set on the schedule to be released late this year. This Stout collection is stunning. I can’t wait to tell you more about it.
2025 will be our best year yet! We already have our 2026 and 2027 schedules mapped out as well. We are not considering taking on any new books or artists for the next five years. This is how long it will take for us to get fully caught up on all the upcoming books that are on our existing plate. I’m grateful that we are in this position. Thank you for supporting us so that we can continue.
Welcome to our top 10 list of Flesk books sold throughout 2024! This ranking was calculated by the actual number of copies sold, rather than by the total funds collected. The number of people holding a copy in their hands is our favorite way to measure success.
At the top of our 2024 list is The Art of Rachel and Terry Dodson. Luckily for us, we are friends with Rachel and Terry which made this a pleasure to produce. We made numerous visits to their studio, poured through stacks of original art, had regular ongoing talks about the direction of the book, and were able to gather commentary to sprinkle alongside the art. We love how this book turned out and feel pride in how we could showcase these two amazing people.
Coming up at number two is the massive ElfQuest Covers book. As soon as the first printed advance copy arrived in my hands, I did a “holy crap” out loud from the weight and feel of it. Turning the pages is like a memory book of not only the ElfQuest individual comics and stories, but also where I was at as each issue was released. We are very lucky to have had this chance to capture these covers in one big volume. Richard’s commentary is an endless array of the best desserts that one can consume. Working with Richard and Wendy is an absolute delight. They are kind and wonderful friends and an inspiration to us. This book also serves as Vicky’s first fully designed book. She did a great job making sure the covers and commentary were framed and highlighted properly. Our goal is to always serve the artist. On another note, the ElfQuest community was exceptionally supportive throughout the entire process, which we are also grateful for.
At number three is Portfolio by Mark Schultz. This book was another big hit. We took the large-format Portfolio book from nearly ten years ago, reformatted it, and added a whole bunch of new art. Talk about fun! I started to tinker around on this book one day when it seemed to take on a life of its own. The book kept growing and expanding until it became what it was. Being a long-time fan of Mark’s, I made the book that I wanted for myself. The easy to hold format is my favorite when sitting and looking at his art. This is another exciting opportunity to highlight a good friend and exceptional artist.
For number four, we have the number one title in 2023—The Art of Arthur Adams. Arthur is an absolute legend. It has been satisfying to see him gain so much attention over the last forty years. This book was a massive hit last year, and it’s wonderful to see how well it continues to do. This is a testament to Arthur’s amazing art. This was another book that was only possible by having Arthur’s blessing and help. We made numerous visits to his studio to gather the material and quotes to use throughout. This was another fun book to make.
At number five, and just squeaking into 2024, is Arthur Adams Preliminary Studies. While we were making The Art of Arthur Adams, we had access to piles of original preliminaries. We started to make this book slowly in the background. Before we knew it, we had a book made. We intentionally kept this at the same size and page count as a Manga book. (Arthur is heavily influenced by Japanese pop culture.) This format worked out perfectly since almost all of Arthur’s prelims are shown at the actual size. We also wanted something that was easy for Arthur to take to events. All-in-all, it proved very popular, and we had a blast making it.
For number six, we have Xenozoic by Mark Schultz. Even after having this in print for 15 years, it keeps moving year after year. I re-read Xenozoic recently and found it to be just as enjoyable and relevant as when I first read the series back in the early nineties. Gorgeous art is matched with captivating stories to make this a timeless story.
Frank Cho was missing from our list last year, but 2024 made things right again. Thanks to strong distributor restock orders, Pencil and Ink by Frank Cho is back on our top ten list. It’s always a pleasure to work with Frank. We have a bunch of new books in the works with him. He was a guest at over 20 shows last year and spent much of his time on the road. He has promised to travel less in 2025 so that he can focus more on personal projects—including some cool stuff that we will publish.
Numbers eight, nine, and ten are Pastoral, Gilt, and The Genesis Collection by J.A.W. Cooper. Gilt was on our list in 2023 and is now being joined by two new reprint collections. Pastoral and The Genesis Collection are back! I like having titles in print for as long as possible. Cooper was kind enough to design the two covers and we couldn’t be happier. Having this trio available is a delight. It’s no secret that I’m Cooper’s biggest fan. Their work is moving, extraordinary, unique, and majestic. We’re grateful to be able to work with Cooper and to have these books available.
I say this a lot, and I want to say it again. Thank you. Thanks so much for all your support as we enter our 23rd year of making books. Each time you get a book from us, you directly support the artist to make more art, and also help us to make more books. We hope you all have a terrific 2025 and wish you the happiest New Year!
New Flesk Books! Our schedule for over a dozen titles coming in 2024 through 2025.
Hi, everyone,
Vicky asked for me to map out a schedule for the rest of this year and into 2025 for her to see. I thought I would share all of these details with you at the same time. There is a lot of information here and I hope you will find this as helpful as Vicky does. After all, we’re all in this together. It’s always very clear to me that none of this could happen with you supporting us along the way.
We’re in an unusual position–one in which we are grateful for. We’ve never had this many books in a nearly completed stage before. We spent years putting these all together. We like to take our time, we never rush, and we let the books tell us when each is ready for the printer. I can safely announce the following books since most are either done, or almost completed.
Please continue to read below to learn about the next books with Arthur Adams, Jeffrey Alan Love, Tran Nguyen, Gary Gianni, Daniel Warren Johnson, and William Stout. The Flesk Direct date referenced is our estimated time when the book will ship to those who order direct from us on our website. This date may shift slightly, but my hope is not by much.
This 432 page collection of Schultz art will be arriving at our warehouse toward the end of this month. We look forward to shipping your pre-orders at that time. All of the details about this book are shown on our website.
Collecting each ElfQuest comic book cover from the entire 46-year run, with the inside scoop on each one! We have the full details about the book editions on our website. The book has been printed and will be shipping to our warehouse from the printer soon.
Surprise! We have a new Adams art book done and on the press. Have you seen those beautiful blue pencil preliminaries that Arthur shares on his Instagram page once in a while? We grabbed a big stack of originals from his studio and made this 224 page 5 x 7.5″ book collecting a bunch of our favorites. This format is the same size as the easy to carry and hold Manga books that we enjoy so much. And almost all pieces are shown at the original size.
-Pre-order on our Flesk website in November (day to be announced later) -Shipping begins on December 2nd -Paperback Edition $24.95 cover price -Hardcover edition with jacket $34.95 cover price -The paperback Flesk direct price will be only $19.95 for the paperback and $29.95 for the hardcover. -5 x 7.5” -224 pages -Hardcover copies will come signed!
2025 Releases
The following Flesk titles are scheduled for next year
The Last Battle at the End of the World by Jeffrey Alan Love The all new graphic novel by the celebrated JAL! This moving story will come with an additional 48 pages of bonus material with sketches and commentary giving you insight into how this book was made. Notes From the Shadowed City by Jeffrey Alan Love New printing with 32 page bonus sketchbook and process section! The Thousand Demon Tree by Jeffrey Alan Love New printing with 32 pages bonus sketchbook and process section!
Flesk direct release date for all three titles: March 2025
We are releasing Jeff’s new book along with new printings of the sold out Notes From the Shadowed City and Thousand Demon Tree. During a visit to Jeff’s studio we had the chance to view his sketches and preliminaries. This inspired us to make process sections that take you into Jeff’s mind. We’ll be running a Kickstarter campaign for this trio. The launch date will be announced late this year.
Spectres by Tran Nguyen An all new collection highlighting the painting studies by Tran. We are looking forward to sharing these treasures in this exciting new collection. This will be a 9 x 12″ hardcover book. Ambedo by Tran Nguyen This long sold out book had a much too small print run. We’re bringing this back with a new cover to re-highlight the first decade of Tran’s career. This will be a 9 x 12″ hardcover book.
Flesk direct release date: April 2025
Tran’s star continues to rise and we are honored to showcase her works in these two upcoming collections.
Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea Art Book–by Mike Mignola and Gary Gianni Flesk direct release date: May 2025
With Mike’s support, we have finished working with Gianni on an updated trade edition of the Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea art book. This collection goes into great detail about how this comic was made. We’ve introduced some new insight and details that didn’t make it into the original edition. We originally advertised this book as a fall 2024 release, but solely due to our workload being a little heavier than expected, we ran out of time to get it out this year. We decided to push this book to next year when we can best promote it. This beautiful book is done and ready for the printer.
The Art of Daniel Warren Johnson Flesk direct release date: August 2025
This book is amazing! Much of it is done and well mapped out. We originally planned on having this book come out in late-2024, but decided to push it to 2025 since DWJ has so much material from other publishers coming out in 2024. This gives us more time to fine tune this book by adding more commentary and recent art.
William Stout Comics The big three-volume set that will total over 800 pages! The Playing Card Art of William Stout A two-volume set collecting Bill’s playing card art.
Flesk direct release date: October 2025
Five magnificent books packed with Stout art. In addition to hundreds of Stout pieces, the Comics collection has a substantial amount of text that shares stories about Bill’s career and those who he worked with. These legends include Harvey Kurtzman, Russ Manning, Bill Elder, and many more. We’ve been teasing this massive collection for years. It’s finally coming–next year! As a bonus, we have the two-volume playing card books to enjoy.
“Art of Bruce Timm” titles A series of new books!
Flesk direct release date: To be determined
There are no B.T. titles or dates that we can announce at the moment. But rest assured that we are working with Bruce on a new series of books that collects his art. These are a blast to produce and we are eager to share the details once we are able to. We’ll reprint The Big Tease alongside the next new book.
Thanks for reading! We hope you are excited as we are about the new fifteen books that we have coming out between the remainder of 2024 and throughout 2025. We sure do appreciate you all for allowing us to make books for a living.
