Another Look at Our Lost Treasures
almost 3 years ago
– Mon, May 08, 2023 at 10:47:27 AM
Hello and welcome to our latest update.
Today we'd like to show you some more of the artwork contained in our Lost Treasures stretch goal. Unlocked at £8,000, the 48-page Lost Treasures includes a cornucopia of concept designs, unused artwork and other esoterica created by our artists throughout the development of First Men on Mars #1.
Today we bring you a collection of character portraits. Created by our artists during the development of First Men on Mars, these pen and ink studies and watercolour paintings bring our core characters to vivid life.
Drawn by our principal artist and designer Gary Erskine, these two fabulous drawings perfectly capture our characters Lady Lillian Wells-Cavendish and Duke Albion Prospero.
Next we have these gorgeous paintings by artist Dave Golding:
Painted in watercolours, this triptych depicts our characters Captain Ruecroft, Hemlock and Sir Goodsir.
Finally, we have Gary's astonishing portrait of another our main characters, Sergeant Kandake:
Lost Treasures will be unlocked if pledges for First Men on Mars #1 reach £8,000. But we can't get there without you; please continue to share our updates and like, share and comment on our posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
That's all for today, but we'll be back tomorrow with more artwork from Lost Treasures. In the interim, stay safe.
Very best,
Paul
A Look at the Kickstarter for Hedrek
almost 3 years ago
– Sun, May 07, 2023 at 07:50:08 AM
Hello and welcome to this, our latest update.
Our friends at Scratch Comics are running a Kickstarter for the latest Hedrek comicbook.
This 36-page anthology features four strips, each telling stories related to the ongoing Hedrek: Night of the Mummers mini-series. Written by Laurence Alison (a professor of forensic psychology, no less!), it features artwork from Steve Austin (2000AD, Judge Dredd Megazine), Adam Jakes (The Chaos of Floid, Longpig, Shokwave), Damian Edwardson (Pre-Mortis, Galaxy Grappling Alliance) and one of E.M.PRESS' favourite artists, Paul McCaffrey (Dr Who, Adler, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and, of course, First Men on Mars).
The Kickstarter for Hedrek: Broken Pieces ends on Monday, 22nd May. You can back it here.
Lost Treasures: Simon Fraser's Unused Pages!
almost 3 years ago
– Sat, May 06, 2023 at 08:46:59 AM
Hello and welcome to our latest update.
As the Kickstarter for First Men on Mars #1 advances towards its first stretch goal, we'd like to take a look at another of our stretch goals.
Unlocked at £8,000, First Men on Mars: Lost Treasures not only features this amazing cover by Tiernen Trevallion, but also a feast of concept art, promotional material and other curios. It also includes some pages of sequential artwork which, sadly, won't make it into First Men on Mars #1. The following gems by Simon Fraser are two prime examples:
Known for his work on, amongst other things, 2000 AD's Nikolai Dante, Simon's style is perfect for First Men on Mars (I mean, c'mon, just look at that wartomaton!). These pages were drawn in 2021 during the run-up to our original (and unsuccessful) Kickstarter for First Men on Mars #1. Sadly Simon's schedule precluded him from returning to the relaunched campaign. Regardless, we still have these incredible pages to enjoy.
Whilst these pages are now destined to appear in Lost Treasures and not issue #1 proper, the good news is Simon is pencilled in (no pun intended!) for issue #2 later this year. We can't wait to see what he produces!
Lost Treasures will be unlocked if we reach £8,000 worth of pledges. Please help us reach this milestone by continuing to share the Kickstarter with your friends and on your social media profiles. There's still a long way to go until we can unlock goodies such as Lost Treasures, and we can't do it without you!
Very best,
Paul
Victorian Playing Cards
almost 3 years ago
– Fri, May 05, 2023 at 05:06:06 AM
Hello and welcome to our latest update!
Today we'd like to to take a look at another steampunk project. These superb Victorian playing cards are currently funding on Kickstarter and we think that they deserve your attention:
Created by our friend Maciej Frolow, the standard deck of these beautiful and thematic cards features:
- 52 cards and 2 jokers
- High-quality printing on cards, 310 gsm premium German linen card stock
- Printed by NPCC
- 330gsm silver and gold mirror Italian cardstock for tuck boxes
- Embossed details on tuck
- Inner printing on tuck
This campaign includes both a gold and silver tuckboxes and this presentation box:
Please visit the Victorian playing cards - Steampunk edition Kickstarter campaign for more details.
We Are Funded
almost 3 years ago
– Wed, May 03, 2023 at 07:01:03 PM
Well, it's been a long time coming, but First Men on Mars #1 is now funded on Kickstarter.
There are people behind the scenes that I should thank at this stage, but that's something I want to do both privately and in person. However, it would be remiss if I didn't express my gratitude to everyone who has backed the campaign thus far, and those of you who will back it in the the weeks to come; the careworn adage 'we couldn't have done it without you' has never been more apt. Thank you.
So, now we're funded, I guess it's time to look at our first stretch goal, right...?
Drawn by the amazing Paul McCaffrey, this fabulous cover will adorn the PDF version of First Men on Mars #1 if and when our funding reaches £7,000.
If you like what you see and want a physical copy, then prints of this magnificent piece are available as an add-on. These prints come in two varieties: the branded version seen above, or the 'virgin' version, which is free of our logo, masthead and text. This virgin version is available in A3 and A4.
That is all for now, but I look forward to examining our next stretch goal in due course. In the interim, thank you all so much for your support; First Men on Mars has been in development for ten years, and to reach this milestone is at once exciting, surreal ... and way, way overdue!
Very best,
Paul
