THE TAO OF IGOR: a new Dork Tower collection by John Kovalic

PDFs, MP3s and Bears..Oh my! (No actual bears included)
almost 5 years ago – Tue, Oct 01, 2019 at 06:17:48 PM

Hello backers,

Just a quick note to tell everyone we are sending out the various PDF books (Dork Tower TPBs, Individual issues, Wild Life, Doctor Blink and Snapdragons) and Luke Ski MP3s that were part of backer rewards and add ons today.  This does not include the Tao of Igor PDF--John is still working on that one.

If you are waiting for any of these items, watch your email for a message from DriveThru Comics for the PDFs and from Backerkit for the MP3s.  If you don't receive one by this evening or if you can't remember if you should be getting one, feel free to email me at [email protected] for help.

Thank you, backers.  And sorry about the misleading bear headline--again, there are no bears.

Dave, Fulfillment Monkey

Many Things, Many Bullet-Points
almost 5 years ago – Mon, Sep 30, 2019 at 01:33:19 AM

First things first - What I Know:

* The solicitation sheet for the Tao of Igor has been sent to distributors, for November’s catalogs. The Book should be in stores by December.

* The Book should get to backers well before that.

Second – Things I Don’t Know:

* How much sooner it will get to backers than it will be in stores.

* The Capitols of most US States. I really don’t know those (Animaniacs video notwithstanding).

* Wait – here’s another thing I do know: the moment the book goes to press, you all will be getting the PDFs of the book.  DANG. That just messed up my bullet-points.

Third – Strong Suspicions:

* “The Tao of Igor” will not be out in time for Gamehole Con, where I will also be, the first week of November. This is disappointing, but not crushing. I’ve taken this project as a Learning Experience, and I’ve learned a lot.

Fourth – Things I’ve learned:

* I don’t do all-nighters anymore. Ten years ago, this was often how I’d get something to press, as deadlines approached. Now, I work better in the mornings. I’m older. This sucks, but it’s better than the only other option.

* I am bad at the Internet. I realize most people find it distracting, but it can be utterly debilitating to me. My best work-mornings have me hitting the Freedom App immediately, forcing myself offline for hours at a time.

* I can get one heck of a lot more work done than I’ve ever given myself credit for. Those mornings I do block the internet, then work, I can really crank out some nice stuff. Ideally, I draw from 8 or 8:30 am, to around noon or 1 pm. Then (and only then) do I reply to emails, get other organizational stuff done, or even think of peeking online.

* Some days I forget this, and things go to hell.

Fifth – Random Other Things:

* September has been an awesome month. I’ve been working on (almost) nothing but Dork Tower: the Tao of Igor, and the Patreon Campaign and web-strips.

* There is a cool Munchkin project on the near horizon, but it has a manageable deadline, and my work on various Dork Tower things should not be affected by this.

* I will continue to turn down new projects through the end of the year. This month has been both a joy, and a quite a revelation. Being able to concentrate on (almost) nothing but Dork Tower has been wonderful. Being able to plan for future Dork Tower projects has me excited.

* Originally, this Kickstarter was going to lead into an even larger Kickstarter for a grand, re-compiled, re-organized 25th Anniversary three-volume collection of the Complete Dork Tower. But I’m not even close to being ready for that, organizationally, logistically, or well, anything-ly.

* Instead, the next Kickstarter (or wherever) will be a new collection of the web strips. This should be followed by a new Dork Decade slipcased edition. Dork Decade was the collection of Shadis and Dragon Dork Towers, which has been long out-of-print. The next edition will include the remaining Dragon strips, and a second volume (hence the slipcase) of the Game Trade Magazine strips. Then, depending on how well those two projects are run, we’d either be looking at the Complete Dork Tower, or another collection of web strips (there are nearly 12 years’ worth of web strips that have never been compiled). But anyway, at this point, we’d be looking at 2021 or 2022, so this is all utter speculation. We’ll see.

* Bit I'm not even thinking about the next Kickstarter until this one is out the door.

* The Insane Charity Bike Ride took up a lot of my remaining mental space this month. I’m glad it’s over. The army of Dorkness raised nearly $16,000 for a tremendous local charity which is doing great work. That was almost 40% of what was raised by all 800 other cyclists! This is both is remarkable and humbling.

* Here’s something fun (and I don’t think it’s too spoiler-y): a page from the Tao of Igor I drew ten years ago, and the new page that I’m replacing it with:

OK. That’s it for the moment. I’ll try and update again soon, but I am an awful, awful correspondent (as many of friends know). I will – however – strive to get better as the Tao of Igor winds down, and I continue learning things both about the process, and about myself.

SO MANY THANKS to you, for your incredible support, and patience! We’re nearly there!

  - John

The End is...Near? REALLY?
about 5 years ago – Tue, Sep 03, 2019 at 03:23:35 AM

I...think so!

Here in the US, Labor Day (today) traditionally marks the End of Summer.

It’s Back-to-School time.

It’s the day so many kids dread, but so many parents relish.

Here at Dork Tower Central, September is going to be awesome!

I’ve worked, juggled, and weaseled hard to get to this point, BUT…

I’ve cleared September to work on nothing but Dork Tower.

Finishing off the Tao of Igor is Job One. (Getting caught up on the Patreon campaign is also up there, as is finally building up a backlog on the Dork Tower web strip. But Job One? Tao!)

Honestly, it feels great!

I’ve said “no” to a number of jobs, and pushed back a couple of others I’d have been an idiot to say “no” to. But yes, waking up in the morning and no needing to think about any work other than Dork Tower is so dang fun.

On Friday, I finished off four important pages, which run near the end of the book. I can’t show them to you, I fear, as they’re pretty damn spoiler-y. But I’m ridiculously happy with how the story came together, and you’re going to love it!

I may have mentioned this before, BUT…I’m almost glad I didn’t get the book out, six months ago.

Almost.

Still, it truly is a far better book, now: the story’s stronger, I’m much happier with the art, and it’s just so cool having it all coalesce.

While we’re talking about New Art, by the by, here are some new pages (the big black box atop the first page is just there to hide some aspects of what’s going on):

 I may have some more new pages I can show you (without spoiling anything), later this week.

Also, I’m going to try REAL hard to post weekly updates, once more. (1) There should be a ton more to talk about, now, and (2) It’ll keep me focused on the goal. (I’m really a garbage correspondent, but honestly…I’ll try!)

Anyway, LOOKIE! Here we are in the home stretch!

THANK YOU for your incredible generosity, and unbelievable patience. I deeply appreciate both, and I believe it will be worth the wait (though I never ever want to make anyone wait again, when the next one of these comes along.)

 Huge thanks to everyone who came out to the London meet-up! It was a lovely group, and I’ll definitely be doing things like that again, in the future.

 You folks are the best!

- John

LONDON Kickstarter/Patreon meet-u-!
about 5 years ago – Thu, Aug 08, 2019 at 01:02:52 AM

The George, 74~77 Borough High Street. 6-pm-? Friday. August 9..

I shall try to get a table as close to Table 1 (at the back of the pub) as I can. I’ll be wearing a “Wisconsin Art” t-shirt.

I’ll get there at 6, and probably have at least a couple of drinks. To see if anyone shows up,

More, if nobody does...

• John

The End is Near(er)!
about 5 years ago – Thu, Aug 01, 2019 at 08:13:48 PM

Hey there!

Things are going great!

I mean, really, really great!

(Apart from the fact that I am a terrible correspondent, and haven't started posting weekly (yet)).

Other than that, though...wow!

I finished off a bunch of pages, last week, and it felt amazing! 

As in: "Holy CATS, I remember this powerful feeling...the feeling of creating something that I can't wait to show you!"

This is what it felt like, eleven years ago. This is why I loved making comic books and compiling collections. I remember it all! It is so, so fun!

There's still a little bit to go, but right now, I'm buzzing on the pure excitement of it all. 

I was going to tease you with a shot of some of the new pages:

That's Studio Cat. She enjoys being up on her art.   

Anyway, this was a tease, as most of the new pages are incredibly spoiler-y.  

Then I drew these two pages, which really give nothing away (save for how much fun I am having):   

As I hope you can tell, I am loving this process again. 

Immensely.

By the way, here's the simple pencil sketch I used to initially lay these pages out in my mind:

As previously noted, I'm skipping Gen Con and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators conference in LA, to visit my parents in London, and just work.

But I'll be at Eclectic Games, in Reading, Saturday, for Pop-Up Gen Con, in case you happen to be in the area.

I thought about possibly doing a Patreon/Kickstarter meet-up, say, Thursday August 8 or Friday August 9, somewhere in Southwark, in case you're interested. No promises yet, as it will depend on how the week goes, and family commitments, but we'll see. (Leave comments below, if this is something that might interest you).

One task before jumping on that plane to my parents' place is getting the solicitation sheet for Tao of Igor off to distributors. This really is the "pulling the trigger" moment. Wheeeeee!

And lastly, Insane Charity Bike Ride 2019 is a month and a half away, if you'd like to help a great local charity (and get some swag)! As we did last year, we'll be aiming to get all backer rewards to folks out quickly.

OK! Back to work!

- John