In an effort to spread the word that Archaia is back and all the quality you had come to expect from them is still there, many of the Archaia talent have banded together to help pimp eachother's books and get the word out. So, I encourage anyone who reads this blog to take a moment to view their copy of the April Previews and check out The Awakening.
Below is a press release from Nick (the writer) discribing the book. And, I must say that as a rule, if I don't like something I won't pimp it. I loved this book. It's more of a dark, psychological mystery than a "zombie" book. Kinda reminds me of the X-Files when it was good.
Anyway, I will now leave you to Nick.
-Kat
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Nick.Tapalansky@gmail.com
http://www.archaiasp.com/awakening.php
For Immediate Release:
Awakening Volume One Now Available for Pre-Order!March 26th, 2009 – New Paltz, NY. Creators Nick Tapalansky and Alex Eckman-Lawn are thrilled to announce that Awakening Volume One, the first of two volumes of the critically acclaimed Archaia series, is now available for pre-order.
"It’s been a long, strange trip getting here," Tapalansky says, referring to the restructuring Archaia (Mouse Guard, Artesia, The Killer, etc.) underwent throughout the entirety of 2008. "Archaia is a fantastic company and all we can say is the wait was well worth it. These guys came out on the other side as a stronger company with some great initiatives for fans and creators alike. We’re proud to be a part of their line-up and can’t wait for people to see what they’ve got coming, especially Awakening. Not that we’re partial or anything.”
The solicitation for Awakening Volume One reads as follows:
“The once peaceful city of Park Falls has been tainted by a series of gruesome murders and missing persons. Cynthia Ford, well known as the town crazy, comes forward to speak with retired police detective Derrick Peters one January afternoon. She claims to have information about the murders, but does she hold the key to unlocking the mystery or has she truly gone insane?
To Derrick’s disbelief she utters one word:
Zombies.
Unable to ignore Cynthia’s information, though not sharing her beliefs, Derrick and others in the city explore the mystery as weeks turn to months and the death toll rises. Could Cynthia have been right? Follow the first half of Park Falls’s year-long struggle for answers here…”
“We’re really taking a grass roots approach to getting the word out,” Tapalansky explains. “We want to reach out to as many fans and retailers as possible. We’re hitting
MySpace, deviantArt, message boards, you name it. We’re hoping that fans of the floppy issues will jump on board and help spread the word. That’s also why we’ve released our fancy pre-order coupon, which is a huge component of that initiative.”
The coupon Tapalansky refers to can be found ----->. It contains all the information a retailer will need to order a copy of the book from Diamond’s Previews catalog.
“All anybody needs to do is print this sucker out and bring it to their local comic shop. That’s it! Come June they’ll have a tome of existential horror and noir mystery to enjoy. We’re hoping that fans and folks interested in the book will feature the coupon and some links on their blogs, message boards, bathroom stalls - whatever it takes to get the word out.”
“We couldn’t have gotten this far without our rabid fan base,” Tapalansky continues, “We’re hoping they’ll turn their unnatural lust for horror and good comics towards spreading the word.”
Those without local shops needn’t worry – as soon as the book is available for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other book retailers, links will be posted to Nick and Alex’s websites, various message boards, and blogs across the internet.
So spread the word and get ready: Awakening is coming.
You’ve been warned.
About Awakening: Chapters 1 – 3 of Awakening were originally serialized and released in 2007 to rave reviews. Fans and critics alike enjoyed the unique take on the zombie genre, focusing on the noir mystery of a city slowly rotting from within rather than the typical mass uprising/fight for survival. Referred to as existential horror by the publisher, critics have said that it’s “The coolest and most original zombie piece since The Walking Dead,” (Broken Frontier), “The next 30 Days of Night,” (The Pullbox), and that main character Derrick Peters is “where Phillip Marlowe meets George Romero,” (Horrorview). Readers can find out more by visiting the MySpace page for Awakening, Nick’s Blog, Truth in Four Colors, or the official Archaia page for Awakening.
Awakening Volume 1 is due in stores this June.
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More Good News: Do you remember that thing for Titanium Rain that I said we were getting? That thing that you could wear but it's not a t-shirt? Well, they came in... and look-it how cool it is!!! Whoo Hooo!! 
Comic Geek Speak just updated their website (yah!) and both Josh and I have contributed an art piece each that will rotate with others on the homepage. Please visit their site at ComicGeekSpeak.com to check it out.
HELLO KITTY CYBERMAN!!! Bow before it's cuteness and dispare for you too will be cyberized into it's adorable army!
I've also working on a few serious robot sketches. This one will be inked but I just wanted to post the rough pencil now. I've done another one that is inked and colored but she's hasn't been scanned yet. I'll try to include her in an upcoming post as well as hopefully some examples of what Josh has been working on. 
<-----Here is a sample of his previous sketch card work. I love how completely diffrent his are from mine. 
Random Rant: Ok, gotta crow here because I'm just so happy and I don't care how stupid it may sound. I finally got the chance last night to sit down and find all 5 of the rat-men dens in Portal:Still Alive! Whoo Hoo! New achievement for me! Silly I know but I didn't find them all the first time through, then the last time I played I found the one I was missing, but since I started towards the end of the game I didn't nab them all. So, last night I finally did it!!! Now, I must finish all advanced test chambers, go through the whole game w/out taking a bullet, and figure out how to get myself so screwed that GLaDOS has to come save me. I think that one will be the hardest because for the life of me I have no idea how the hell you do that. I'm just going to have to start from test-chamber one and work my way through, trying to get myself stuck. :)
Red Lights of Death: UPDATE. The Xbox is back!!! Whooo hooo! Oh how I've missed it. I plugged it in and instantly tapped my "Portal" vein. ooooh it was sweet to play it again. :)
In TR News: Josh and I ordered some very cool merch. in preperation for SDCC and the relaunch of the book this August. :evil grin: I can't wait till we get these things in. I'm going to leave it a secret for now... but I will say that you can wear them but they are not t-shirts. :)
Takshaka News: if you haven't yet, be sure to check out the Takshaka MySpace page to hear four (that's 4) full tracks. As well, in a few days, check out the Official Takshaka Website to hear the full album. :)
And last, but not least, on Saturday Josh and I hung out with Jules Rivera of Marsh Rocket and her husband, Alex. Strangely enough we met eachother in San Fransisco and discovered that we lived only a few miles away. Weird. We went to dinner at a local irish pub and wound up talking for 4 hrs. Good times had by all. It's so nice to get out and hang with fun people once in a while. :)
Nick.Tapalansky@gmail.com
The coupon Tapalansky refers to can be found ----->. It contains all the information a retailer will need to order a copy of the book from Diamond’s Previews catalog. 
