[DISPATCH] VALLARS Marches On, Art Teases

Join us for a look at last week's launch of THE VALLARS, plus a look ahead with some stunning art.

Welcome back to the [DISPATCH], a weekly direct report from us to you, with news, recaps, exclusive content and more. Last week we started off this new weekly feature with an interview with THE VALLARS artist Jason Howard, and we’re back with more good stuff for you this week.

But first, a reminder that we’re running a special promotion, offering a 30-DAY FREE TRIAL OFFER on all annual subscriptions! This runs through May 8, so don’t miss out.

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And with that, let’s look back at the big week that was…

• [COMICS] We’d been teasing the debut of the first 3W/3M ongoing series for a minute, and last week we finally released the first episode of THE VALLARS, with art by Jason Howard and colors by Frank Martin. Its free to read, for everyone, so do yourself a favor and check it out if you haven’t already. And don’t forget, the second episode will be released on Thursday.

• [SERIAL] What is any Sunday without a new installment of ACADEMY, and the legendary Steve Epting delivered a doozy this week. Don’t forget that we’ve made the first four chapters FREE for everyone!

• [SUBSTACK NOTES] Substack rolled out a major new feature, NOTES, which we’re going to use to engage with our community and the larger world moving forward. We think there’s a ton of potential to do fun stuff there, so we’ll be trying some new things there very soon. Let us know in the comments (or on any of our Notes) if there’s something you’d want to see from us there.

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This is your mid-month reminder that the second [WORLDS WORTH READING] selection is happening right now. We’re checking out Enrique Fernández's BRIGADA, and we’ll have some conversation about it in Chat soon. Later this month we’ll be hearing from Enrique himself about his process and approach.

It’s a truly gorgeous and original vision, and we’re looking forward to discussing it with you.

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The first round winners from [THE COMPETITION] turned in their one-page outlines to us, and we’ve been very impressed by what everyone has brought to the table. It’s going to be a really difficult process selecting who makes it to the next round, and we’re looking forward to sharing those with you soon. Just as we did with the pitches, Jonathan will be sharing his feedback on all of them.

And thank you to those of you who have been posting in Chat about your process along this journey. We’ve really been enjoying Alison Humphrey’s threads along this journey, so definitely give those a read. Here’s the latest.

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We’re going to have much more VALLARS headed your way this week. The response thus far has been phenomenal. We’re so pleased that we’re going to share a sneak peek of more great art from Jason and Frank:

The second episode goes up on Thursday, but that’s not all the Jason Howard action you’re getting this week. We’ll have a [PROCESS] post from him about his approach to the series, and he’s also going to be joining Mike del Mundo and Mike Huddleston later this week for a very special LIVE DRAW. We’ll let you know all the details on that very soon.

Speaking of amazing artists, we already let you know that Juni Ba would be joining us for an upcoming story in [MAPS], but we didn’t tell you who he was paired with. The story will be colored by 10-time Eisner Award Winner for Best Colorist Dave Stewart, and it looks so good! Here’s a little taste:

[MAPS] is our second Graphic Novel Sourcebook, which members of our Premium tier, THE CIRCLE, will receive in print as a beautiful, deluxe hardcover edition signed by Jonathan, Mike, and Mike (shipping not included). Annual subscribers will get a softcover version. Be sure to subscribe now or upgrade to make sure you get a copy:

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How about another tease with absolutely no context. Sound good?

More details soon, but you’re gonna love it…

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