Punks, Squatters, and other Horrors
I can't believe it's already March! This year is flying by and sucking me up into the jet engine.
So what's new?
Liminal Horror Deluxe Edition
Work is underway on the Deluxe Edition of Liminal Horror, which is coming later this year from Space Penguin Ink.
While I don't have a lot to share yet, I'm doing a ton of new artwork for this. The first thing to finish is the cover of course. Here's the sketch proposal for it:
I plan to have the cover done before the end of this month.
Mystic Punks
Back in the day, the first TTRPG illustration gig I ever did was artwork for the original zines for my buddy Anthony Meloro's game (co-created with Jay Domingo) Mystic Punks. It's evolved a lot during the last decade--with a collection of the original solo game zines with updated art and a quickstart rule guide for group play. Now the quickstart rules are being expanded to a fully realized game, adventure, and setting manual!
It's kickstarting soon, so you should follow the campaign here so you're ready when it's announced.
For my part, I illustrated some of the bestiary. Here's a couple of those pieces:
Metaphysical Squatter
Last year I made an optional character class for the ttrpg game CY_BORG for the CY_BER Bundle published by The Lost Bay Studios. Not only is the bundle available for purchase again worldwide, but I've also made it available digitally on itch. The digital version is essentially free (simply download the images on the itch page), but if you pay $2+ you get a high res copy and a plain text epub (for accessibility).
Drop Leviathan
Another piece I finished up this month for SNAKE WOLF 3 (which just successfully completed crowdfunding). This piece was a lot of fun. Not a ton to say about it, just want to show it off.
LA Times Book Prize
I had the wonderful opportunity--alongside fellow Cartoonist Cooperative co-founders Sloane Leong and Nero Villagallos O’Reilly--to be a judge for the 2023 LA Times Book Prize for the Graphic Novel category. I had to read dozens of graphic novels over the last several months (truly an incredible treat) and pick my favorites. They just released our finalists a couple weeks ago! Here's the list so you don't have to click through:
Derek M. Ballard, “Cartoonshow”
Matías Bergara, “CODA”
Emily Carroll, “A Guest in the House”
Sammy Harkham, “Blood of the Virgin”
Chantal Montellier, “Social Fiction”
Simon Spurrier, “CODA”
Who will win??? (I already know, but you'll have to wait to find out)
Cartoonist Cooperative ANTI-AI Art statement
We finally released our statement and stance on AI art. I encourage everyone to read the full statement here.
Physical World
Lastly, here's what I sent to subscribers of the PHYSICAL WORLD tier on my Patreon and Ko-fi for February. This is my 3rd full year making these and still going strong! Consider signing up. It's a great deal! You get a print and 2-4 stickers every month for only $10! Frankly that's unbeatable.
Availability
My schedule is starting to clear up, so now is a great time to get in touch to work together! I'm open to most illustration projects and can handle quick turnarounds. Email me for rates or any other inquiries you might have. You can simply reply to this email or send it to zachhazardvaupen@gmail.com.
Until next time...
ZHV