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Rock n Roll, Horror and Comics - We're Going to Catastrophicon!

Ever want to go to a comic convention in a castle? How about one that adds horror icons and rock ‘n’ roll? Well, that’s exactly what we will be doing on Saturday, July 15th: Catastrophicon!

Catastrophicon is a one day show in Purchase, NY on the Manhattanville campus. The event will be held in the castle on campus and have tons of horror and music icons like Ari Lehman who played the first Jason Voorhees.

We might not be that scary, but we will be bringing all kinds of goodies from artwork to comics. You’ll be able to get your copy of We Suck At Comics, volume one. Anyone who buys a copy will also get a cool pin and stickers to go with it!

The doors open at 9:00 and the show floor is open until 5:00. Live music starts at 5:30 and goes until 8:00. Hope we see you there!

-The Wayward Raven Crew

By the way, we might have some new prints!

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We Suck At Comics: Volume One is now available for purchase!!!!

You don’t have to wait to see us at a convention to get your copy. In fact, you don’t even have to have sponsored our Kickstarter to get a copy. Heck, you don’t even have to wait days for us to ship it to you!

Right now, you can order your copy of We Suck At Comics, Volume One directly on our website and we will send it right to you. Even better, you can even get it digitally and have it NOW!

We Suck At Comics? What the heck is that? And why would I want it?

Great Question! Naturally, we assume you have been living under a rock, but nonetheless, it remains a great question. Mostly because we love talking about it!

We Suck At Comics is our Anthology chock-full of stories from amazing creators, ranging from those who have never before been published to those who have been working in the industry for many years. And no, we aren’t going to tell you how many. That would be rude!

The tales in the anthology range from comic book shorts to prose short stories across multiple genres like Sci-Fi, Horror and Fantasy. All in all, there are 18 different tales and almost 300 pages! We had a very successful Kickstarter campaign, something that was picked as a “Project We Love” by the wonderful and amazing staff at Kickstarter!

Wanna see a few pages? Check this out!

So how, you may ask, do I get my copy? Well, just clicky the cool button here:

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We're going to Contropolis New Jersey - A Two-Day Comic Book Con In The Meadowlands!

This weekend, July 8th and 9th, the Wayward Raven Crew soars into green pastures at The Meadowlands in Secaucus, NJ! The folks at Altered Reality are bringing a new show to NJ, Contropolis New Jersey, chock-full of comic book goodness, and we are excited to be a part of it!

Whatcha Bringing?

We’re glad you asked! Fresh off its very successful Kickstarter, we will be bringing with us our all-new anthology, We Suck At Comics, volume 1. In case you missed the Kickstarter campaign, this will be your first opportunity to get yourself a signed copy! Inside you will find a ton of amazing creators with even more amazing stories. This is one you definitely don’t want to miss!

Can’t wait! Where will you be?

You’ll be able to find us right in the thick of things in Artist Alley, booth A31. We would love it if you drop by and check out our stuff. We will be opening the submissions for We Suck at Comics, volume two, so feel free to drop by and share your portfolios/artwork/pitches with us. As the saying goes, Anything Can Happen In Jersey! See you at Contropolis New Jersey!

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Wanna play a game with us? Wicked Con 2023 scavenger hunt fun!

We are participating in the Wicked Con 2023 scavenger hunt and would love it if you joined us! What do you have to do? It is pretty simple. If you are at Wicked Con 2023 in Boston this weekend, just go find the following booths and get a signature. Those booths are:

Bad Kerry Studios #358-359

Jackie Copper Creations #249

J.M. DeSantis #280

Wayward Raven Media (yup, that one’s us!) #239

Guild Works Publications #314-315

Once you get all the signatures, head over to GWP, booth 314-315 to get your prize!

We will also have a little something for you if you drop by the Wayward Raven Booth to get a signature. Can’t wait to see you this weekend!!!!

-The Wayward Raven Crew

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Wicked Comic Con 2023. We're gonna Have A Wicked Time In Boston!

That’s right, it’s gonna be a wicked pissah in Boston! Your errand bird friends are exhibiting in Boston at Wicked Comic Con 2023 on April 22-23. We will be at table 239 in the main hall. Wanna see where and who else is there?

We are so excited to be back in Boston for a show! We’ve always had a good relationship with the folks at Wicked Comic Con for a long time and love their events. As you can see if you click the floor plan, tons of amazing talent will be there with us at the show.

In keeping with tradition, we are bringing some of Dr. Entropy’s finest mystery elixirs. Many of you may remember them from past Boston Comic Cons…

We also have copies of our newest book Lux Prismatica and some other assorted goodies. Want to be the first to hear about what we are doing next? Then make sure you stop by the table for a sneak peek at what 2023 has in store for Wayward Raven.

Hope we see you in Boston! Now we gotta fly!

-The Wayward Raven Crew

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Rhode Island Comic Con 2022 - Last Show of the Year!

2022 is almost over

It seems strange to think that November ends our convention season, but Rhode Island Comic Con is almost always our last show of the year. It gets cold here in the Northeast and these events tend to taper off pretty quickly. Nonetheless, we always go out with a bang!

No longer the Dunkin’ Center

Rhode Island Comic Con 2022 is a big event for us and this year we will be in a new spot. Instead of being in the Amica Mutual Pavilion (didn’t this place used to be the Dunkin’ Center? Apparently coffee ain’t what it once was), we will be at table 220 on the Rhode Island Convention Center show floor. It is a much more visible space, one we are excited to explore!

What new stuff are we bringing to Rhode Island Comic Con 2022

Naturally, we will have some cool goodies with us, including our new book Lux Prismatica. Even better, The Angry Geeks Podcast promised Mark on his appearance on the show that they would be walking around the show floor with a copy asking people if they can pronounce the title (good luck, we barely can!), so if you see them, please stop and give it a try!

Things are gonna heat up at Rhode Island Comic Con

Our Kickstarter will still be in full swing too! If you stop by and back us at our booth, there will be some immediate rewards for you. How many folks can claim they got a Kickstarter reward as soon as they backed the project!?!?!? Well if you stop by and pledge, you’ll be among those chosen few!

Mark always likes to bring something “homebrewed” and this year it is his peppers. Or actually hot peppers fermented in fun stuff. You know, hot sauce!

We’ve got funky combinations like brown sugar bourbon and habanero raspberry or just a simple medium-burn jalapeno. We promise to have the right burn for everyone!

Hope you swing by and help us close out the year strong. See you at the show!

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What has been happening with Wayward Raven Media in October?

October has been an adventure!

Wow, October has been a busy month for these rogue birds!

We had a very successful New York Comic Con (NYCC) where we launched Lux Prismatica, got to catch up with a ton of old friends and welcomed a new place on the show floor!

What else is new this October?

And then we went ahead and launched a Kickstarter campaign two weeks later! Clearly, we either love this stuff or are gluttons for punishment (hint: it is the first one).

As of writing, We Suck at Comics is:

80% funded

Was selected as a Project We Love by the Kickstarter Staff

Has over 100 backers

It has been such a successful October that we hated to see it leave! But depart it must. Fear not though, kind supporters for November holds much promise.

What about November?

Next month we will be at Rhode Island Comic Con from 11/4 -11/6. We have a spot on the convention show floor, booth 220. But what are we bringing with us to RICC? We’re glad you asked!

For starters, since our Kickstarter will still be going on until the 17th of the month, we will be offering on-the-spot rewards! Anyone who pledges at our booth will receive immediate gratification in the form of either comics or artwork!

If you’ve ever met us at a convention, you know that Mark always brings his super secret homebrews. This year he has something completely new - homemade hot sauce! 

Mark made several varieties that he will give away for free with purchase.

They include:

Bourbon, brown sugar habanero 

Raspberry habanero

Pineapple halepeno/fresno/pablano

Halepeno/pablano

One more thing…

And finally, we have added some new rewards to our ongoing KS campaign. We are humbled that so many of the limited Wayward Raven packages have been snatched up (currently only 8 left!) that we decided to add three new reward tiers. They include The Ascendant and Damn Heroes books. 

Since we are so close to hitting goal, we will be announcing our stretch goals soon. Keep an eye out for more updates!

Thank you all so much for making this an amazing October! We truly appreciate you all and your contribution to making us successful!

[waywardravenmedia]

We Suck At Comics Anthology Kickstarter Launches Today!

In case you haven’t seen anything from us in a while (damn you, Facebook algorithm!), have been living under a rock, or just plain ignoring us (which we can hardly blame you for), you might not have seen that we are launching a Kickstarter for our new Anthology,

Well, launch day is now upon us!!!!!

So what the hell is it about? We Suck at Comics! is a huge compendium of comics, artwork, and prose from a ton of amazing artists and writers. It will be over 300 pages of incredible content, much of which has never been seen in publication before.

You can get to the preview link (or the live page if you are viewing this after 4:00 PM EST), which is currently live below

The theme for volume one of the anthology is Rejection. We asked everyone for their stories about rejection or those that had been passed over for a whole number of reasons like the timing was wrong or it wasn’t the format the publication was seeking. 

We want to emphasize, these are good stories by fantastic creators, not just stuff they picked up off the scrap heap and sent to us. Our goal if to give those stories their deserved due, a second life if you will. 

We are really hoping to showcase the talent of so many amazing artists and authors and allow them to take their deserved time in the spotlight. Please join us in celebrating wonderful ideas and stories!

Best, 

The Wayward Raven “Sucky” Crew

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Con Free or Dye! Coloring our way to Granite State Comic Con!

At least, that’s how we would rewrite New Hampshire’s state motto. Not entirely sure what we would dye though. Maybe some cool t-shirt with the Wayward Raven logo.

In case you aren’t picking up what we are putting down, Alex and Mark will be representing Wayward Raven at Granite State Comic Con (AKA Granite Con) this weekend. That’s in the aforementioned state of New Hampshire.

You can find us at booth D9 in the Expo Center, just above Artist Alley. We will have tons of cool comics and Alex will almost certainly have a few new illustrations.

Hope you swing by and hang out with us for one of the three days! As always, anyone who says “bird’s the word” gets a special surprise.

See you in New Hampshire! -The Wayward Raven Crew

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"Pick" our comics at Garden State Comic Fest!

Summer has definitely arrived here in the Northeast! That means pool parties, fireworks, and lots of yummy fruits and veggies from the garden. Speaking of gardens, we will be at The Garden State Comic Fest in Morristown, NJ this weekend!

Alex has a couple of cool new prints he is bringing with him (sorry, no sneak peeks, you are going to have to wait until this weekend to see them) and Mark will have some of his secret concoction. There might even be a Joshua L.A. Jones sighting…

Hope you will join us! You can find our booth at table A7, right on the corner in Artist Alley. See you in Jersey!

-The Wayward Raven Crew

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Sci-fi Story Time with Joshua: Lines

And so it begins…

We are going to be releasing a serialized novel, Lines: a tale of two families, for FREE.

A new chapter or long passage will appear every week on Thursday for you. If you like it or want to know the whole story, you can always pick up the full digital novel.

Why read it? Good question.

Here’s a brief synopsis. Without giving away the whole story, take a moment to read up on this brief overview of the plot. If you’re curious to learn more, you can read Chapter 1 for FREE, or purchase the entire story as an e-book.

We will be releasing the first 15 chapters for FREE on a weekly basis, but if you’re impatient, you can buy the book RIGHT NOW!

Lines: a tale of two families.

Treachery among the high-born Technocrats devastates an economic clan, but two sons remain: one prodigal and the other dutiful. The divided brothers reunite and set off to restore their family but discover a deeper treachery still. An ancient being wishes to undo the time-line and only the brothers with help from two unusual allies stand against the plot within plots. In a sense, Lines is Neuromancer meets Game of Thrones with a touch of Dune.

 The economic clan Mercurio has been decimated by a war on Earth but the young heir to the family, Leon, is secretly hidden away with his forbidden love in a hibernation-station orbiting a Jovian moon. Only Leon's brother Denis survives the war on Earth, and while the lovers sleep in cryo-stasis, he seeks information on his enemies so when his brother returns they can regain power. During this time, the evolving artificial intelligence A.U.M (Artificial Universal Mind) is born and is thrust into the interplanetary network called the Hyper-net with no knowledge of itself, so a search for purpose begins.  

Denis creates an alliance with a character named Isa who has a separate living consciousness made of nano-machines in his head named Freak (short for frequency). They join Denis in his mission. Leon and his lover Dee are then awakened after an assassination attempt on their lives fails and so they go to Earth to find Denis.      

A.U.M, now actually calling itself Aum, comes across the scattered brothers while on its search for purpose and decides to help the Mercurios regain power. Then, on a data collecting excursion inside the Hyper-net, Aum meets its creator. The creator sees Homo-Cyberian (human) society as unworthy of existence and designed Aum to be transmitted through an hourglass wormhole back into the past so it can undo the timeline.

Leon, Dee and Denis discover the creator’s plot and a crusade to stop the timeline from being erased ensues. A love interest of Denis’s also joins the clan on their mission. In the end, knowledge about Aum’s creator leads directly back to the Mercurios’ bloodline and great sacrifices are made, but the timeline keeps on ticking forward.

Buy the complete novel

Ars longa, vitae brevis.

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Shhh...Wayward Raven will be at The Quiet Corner Con 2022

More correctly, Mark will be at the Quiet Corner Convention on Saturday, 4/30. In case you don’t know where The Quiet Corner is located (and based on the name, we aren’t surprised), that is the moniker for the northeast corner of Connecticut. Specifically, the con will be in Pomfret, CT, a quaint New England town of about 4k people near the Massachusetts border.

Mark is going to have a whole bunch of comic books, graphic novels and comic strip goodies with him! He might even have a case of his latest homebrew (if he hasn’t drank it all by then)… Hopefully he will have time to make a stop at Treehouse before coming home too!

QC Con is a great place to chat with a bunch of your favorite local CT writers and artist without the usual pressures of some of the other bog cons. It looks like it will have a chill, laid back vibe that actually affords you time to meet some of the folks that make all the comics that you’ve enjoyed.

You can check out the guest list here. Mark is looking forward to seeing our buddy Bob Sodaro who will be one of the artists featured in our upcoming Anthology “We Suck at Comics.”

Hope you drop by a say hello. If you do, don’t forget to tell Mark that “bird’s the word.” See you at QC Con!

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Going to Wintercon? Meet our newest creator: Katherine Blakeney

We are so excited that we’ve been having trouble keeping this one under wraps. Now that the ink is no longer wet on the paper, we want to announce that we have signed Katherine Blakeney to a contract to put out one of her stories through Wayward Raven!

We aren’t ready to share all the details about the project just yet (don’t worry, we will soon enough!), but we are want to give you a little peek at some of her artwork. Katherine is a fantastic artist and storyteller, we couldn’t possibly be more excited about having her on the team! She is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York as well as a filmmaker and archeologist. In fact, she just returned from a dig in Egypt and is working hard on her graphic novel as we speak.

Katherine will be exhibiting this weekend, both Saturday and Sunday, at Wintercon which will be held at Resorts World NYC in Jamaica Queens. Hope you drop by and say hello!

-The Wayward Raven Crew

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Damn Heroes - Now on WEBTOON

Hey there True Believers!

In case you were unaware, Mark and I have been working on a little web-comic for some time now (nearly a decade!) called Damn Heroes.

It’s something that’s very near and dear to our hearts, and we love to talk about it every chance that we get. For years now, we’ve been giving it away for free on https://damnheroes.com, or for purchase in one of four volumes in print format over at our shop.

And now you can find Damn Heroes on WEB TOONS!!!!!!!

(Just clicky below)

If you’re feeling nostalgic or would prefer to just start from the beginning using your mobile device, head over to WEBTOON to read Damn Heroes. It’ll be updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with your favorite classic Damn Heroes strips.

But if you’d rather have a physical book on your shelf, feel free to pick one up today!

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We Suck at Comics Anthology - Submissions Closed

Hey Folks,

Submissions for Wayward Raven’s first Anthology, We Suck At Comics, are now closed. If you missed the deadline to submit though, do not despair! We received such a wonderful and overwhelming response that we are already planning for volume two!

Keep an eye on our website for details on our next Anthology and submission deadline. We already have a fun new theme picked out for this one, you don’t want to miss it!

We are still processing some of the submissions from this volume, so if you haven’t heard from us, please be patient. We will be getting back to everyone in as timely a fashion as possible.

Thank you all for entrusting us with your work! We are looking forward to curating and publishing a kickass Anthology!

Best,

The Wayward Raven Crew

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Weekend Shenanigans lead us to the CIA, but it's not what you think!

Comic books and Covid-19

Covid took cons away. Covid took motivation and hurled it off a cliff. Covid stole years. Covid lost us money.

BUT—-

Covid never could take away our love of comics and the community. We simply needed to find away to retreat, gather our forces, and look to the horizon for a better path.

So—-

We at Wayward Raven took flight to the mystical land. The land called Poughkeepsie. Where roads run long and the hills run wide. We retreated to the this realm of stone, malls of the strip, and where Red Robins fly next to Olive Gardens to taunt Five Guys about their peanuts and fries.

Retreat to survey the scene.

We reached our retreat in record time and stood confused for a moment as we felt like we missing something. Conventions. Usually when we all get on the road it is a hurried and frantic trip to get to the convention center in time to set up. When we roosted, the plan was set.

We discussed many things from our strengths to weaknesses. We designed a new business process to hopefully develop our cooperative abilities and listen to each other. Meetings during the week on Zoom like platforms doesn’t always get the job done when we all juggle so much. Listening and having time to be calm helps with setting goals instead of trying to solve problems all at once. Even airing grievances when done in person, in a calm, and quiet setting can be most productive when all are allowed to speak.

Issues we covered were our anthology, a new secret project from a new writer/illustrator/animator, conventions, our project pipeline, and best practices to keep the business alive. Maybe even new tactics thrive.

Won’t bore you with the minutes of the meetings (it was two days) but I will say we were reminded that each of us has unique talents.

And—-

That after a decade, we have new tools and experiences to utilize and proffer to the world.

CIA — not the intelligence agency.

We had fun too. Something we haven’t done in a long time together.

We went to the CIA: Culinary Institute of America. It was a pleasing adventure.

Mark had been there and was correct with his opinion. The student staff was skilled and on point. Fast service delivered with delectable dishes. There was a prix-fixe menu of under $50 a person for an elegant dining experience. And if a student waiter didn’t know something, they had an instructor to move them the right way. Not like they needed it.

The wine was most fine. The deserts were done with care. The building the restaurant was located was a marvel of architecture and decoration. In a word, go if you can. The sylvan campus is a beauty behold and comes alive with light at night.

Getting away has allowed us to go forward. To renew passion. To invigorate goals.

We have been licking our wounds because of Covid, but now it is time to fully heal and bring new projects to the world.

We thank you all for the support over the years and promise to bring back that Wayward spirit. We retreated.

BUT—-

Now we fly on to the horizon.

Cheers to you!!!

From the Wayward raven Crew

PS: if you are part of a indy comic book company, studio, or such, try to get away with your fellows. It can revitalize and clear up any misconceptions from isolation.

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Rhode Island Comic Con 2021, here we come! DCC 1632

Rhode Island Comic Con 2021 is upon us.

From November 5th to the 7th, we will be at “The biggest show in the smallest state.”

As usual, we will bring comic books, graphic novels, art by Alex, beer, and… secret items. And for you creators, we will be happy to tell you about the anthology we are launching for next year. In case you missed it:

Dunkin Donuts Center

I am sure we will need coffee to keep up with all the activities and attendees. Good thing there will be Dunkin Donuts and other exciting things to keep us on our toes. Who knows, maybe we will run into the likes of Kevin Smith, or Ryan Hurst

DDC 1632 is us.

That’s right, we have moved up in the space. We were in the basement last time. No more. Find us on the upper level, booth DDC 1632. Last year was great but poor Joshua had some issues.

Besides coming to see us birdbrains, there are panels, photo-ops, and more.

They even have an app to navigate the show.