I’ve just received the first actual advance copies of The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath and other stories! The folks at Global PSD did a beautiful job; it’s a hefty 184 page hardcover with spot UV and smythe-sewn binding, which feels like it’ll still cause SAN loss if you find it on a dusty bookshelf thirty years from now.

I only have a few advance copies, but I’m sending the first copies out to international backers, and I’ll send the remainder out as I receive them! Everyone who supported the Kickstarter (for which you have my deepest thanks) will get their copies before the books arrive in stores in late March. If you know someone who’s interested in ordering their own copy of the book, they can order it from their local comic store in the January 2012 issue of Diamond Previews!

Here’s the gallery section!

A few sample pages from “The Strange High House in the Mist”:

And the map of the Dreamlands, as printed on the front & back inside covers:

More information and art soon! Thanks for reading!

I had a very vivid dream last night in which I had accepted a challenge to a duel. It was to be a sword duel, to the death. The dream actually started out with me exploring an elaborate fountain, a three-story structure of bronze-colored Grecian columns rising out of the water and greenery, something like the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, only with a vaguely sci-fi Star Trek: TNG feel; but as I climbed inside the fountain the sci-fi elements faded away and, perhaps by climbing to the top of the fountain, I reached the castle/estate to which I had journeyed for the duel.

Some rich, evil man was sponsoring the duel. His champion, with whom I’d be dueling, was an androgynously handsome short-haired woman (or was she a man?) who didn’t talk to me but just practiced her swordplay. I examined the place where we’d be dueling, which was a large terraced balcony on the top floor of the estate, decorated with plants and grapevines growing out of the earth. The whole place had a Mediterranean feel, and when I arrived it was early afternoon and the sun was bright. I was vaguely nervous that some of the men’s servants, who were hovering over me, would take the opportunity to off me then and there as I stumbled while examining the arena. The swordswoman (?) I would fight was wearing peculiar high-heeled shoes. I had the option of wearing high heels as well, or alternately, some sandals which struck me as crude and liable to slip off my heel. While I was thinking about my footing, my brother arrived; he was the first person to arrive for the duel, and he waited at one of the patio tables, reading a book.

Then I went inside, into the lattice-windowed rooms hung with grapevines, and I started writing the essay I had to finish before the duel. It was either my last will and testament, or just an assignment that I couldn’t leave hanging before the fight. I was afraid that I was going to die, because the other duelist was so much better than me — I knew nothing more about swordfighting in the dream than I do in real life — and I was sure that I would be cut to pieces and killed, unless maybe I was able to lunge in with a lucky blow. Unable to decide on my footwear, I asked someone if I should duel barefoot, and they laughed. I continued working on the essay, and hours passed, until night had fallen and the estate was crowded with rich aristocrats and wealthy folk, drinking and dining, who had come to watch the duel.

I felt embarrassed and angry, as I hadn’t realized just how many people would be in the audience, and it was one thing to die but another thing to die and be humiliated in front of a mob. Still, I had a few people in my corner — my brother was there, and some family and friends. But I had to finish my essay before I went out to face the duelist who was still practicing her swings and thrusts with the same easy grace, ignoring the chattering and gossiping of the ever more eager crowd. Then I suddenly realized it didn’t matter if I finished the stupid essay. If I was going to die anyway, it didn’t matter, and I was angry at myself for wasting the last few hours of my life working on this tedious task. I got up from the desk with the essay left incomplete and went out to begin the duel.

I just got the printed sheets of Dream-Quest back from the printer! These are for testing the actual image quality of the final pages, and they look delicious. Here’s some photos!

Previews is Diamond Comic Distributor’s monthly catalog of stuff coming out in the comic book direct market. Go to the latest issue of Previews, the January 2012 issue with the Adam Hughes “Fables” cover (no, I didn’t draw this)…

…turn to page 312, under “Mock Man Press,” and there is the listing for “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath and Other Stories!” It even got a Certified Cool listing, which is awesome!

Yes, it’s coming out soon! The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath and Other Stories (including The White Ship, The Strange High House in the Mist and Celephais, plus about 8 pages of sketches & rare concept art) will be in comic stores in late March 2012. It’s going to be a 184 page hardcover for a retail price of $25. All of this is thanks for the generosity of Kickstarter supporters, who will be getting their copies before the books hit shops; international supporters will get their books a little before supporters in the US.

If you weren’t a backer but you’d like to get a copy of the book, or if you are a backer and you’d like to get an extra copy for someone or get more copies out there of the book with your name in it, go to your local comic store before the end of January and ask them to order a bunch of copies of Dream-Quest! I’m only selling 500 signed copies in the direct comic shops market, since most of the others are spoken for by the wonderful Dreamers at Kickstarter. Anyway, store-owners and everyone, please check it out! Thanks for all your support!

Happy Solstice, everyone! I’ve been keeping silent but working hard on the ongoing Dream-Quest project. The book is at the printers, and I’ve been spending most of the last few weeks working on the new 24″x36″ version of the map of the dreamlands. The image is a detail from a portion of the map.

I also recently read Mark Amory’s biography of Lord Dunsany, and I’ve been working on the final touches for “The Club of the Seven Dreamers,” the RPG adventure. Basically, I’m rushing around trying to finish everything, but all’s going well! And lo and behold, if you weren’t a Kickstarter backer but you buy your comics at a local comic store, the Dream-Quest graphic novel is available in the upcoming January 2012 issue of Previews for release in late March! So one way or the other, Dream-Quest will be coming out next year, all thanks to the awesomeness of the many people who supported it on Kickstarter. I’ll have more news to post after the 26th!