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LOVE STORIES ABOUT DEATH Pre-Order Store

Created by Dirk Manning

Get LOVE STORIES ABOUT DEATH -- and some other goodies by Dirk Manning and Friends -- months before they appear on most store shelves!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

A reminder to complete your BackerKit from NYCC... and to get ready for what's next!
2 days ago – Wed, Oct 16, 2024 at 06:31:43 AM

Hello everyone!

I'm in New York City right now for New York Comic Con (which starts tomorrow), but I wanted to give you all a quick LOVE STORIES ABOUT DEATH update:

  • I'm happy to report that the files have been delivered to Source Point Press and that the book will be sent to the printer after we all get back from the convention! (I'm in Artist Alley at Table H-8 -- as in "Hate!", and Source Point Press Chief Creative Officer Josh Werner will be on the upstairs floor at #3641!)
  • As a friendly reminder, fulfillment on this campaign (including getting your mailing addresses, etc.) is being done through BackerKit, so if you haven't completed your BackerKit yet please take a moment to do so here:  

(You may also notice I'm offering some specially priced add-ons through the BackerKit, too... so, again, if you haven't completed yours yet, hurry-up and do so HERE, as I want to get this one to the printer and into all your hands fairly quickly.)

That aside, circling back to New York Comic Con, I'm tickled to announce that for the first time in years I'm offering a New York Comic Con Exclusive comic, this time as a preview of my next graphic novel launching on Kickstarter... and it's a BIG one. Heck, it's more than "BIG"... it's flat-out legendary:

After being lost for almost 100 years, we're bringing LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT back to life as an official graphic novel adaptation on Kickstarter in a few weeks!

If you're a fan of classic horror, rejoice, for we're bringing the lost Lon Chaney horror classic LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT back to life in cooperation with Chaney Entertainment and Source Point Press as an official graphic novel adapted by yours truly(!) on Tuesday, October 29th at www.LondonAfterMidnightComic.com... and at New York Comic Con this week we're offering 100 copies of a preview comic of the full graphic novel 

These preview comics will be first come, first served, and as an added bonus LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT illustrator Joshua Ross and editor Drena Jo will also be floating around my table at Artist Alley Table H-8 (where the NYCC Exclusive Preview Comic will be exclusively available) throughout the weekend for added signature possibilities!

If you're coming to New York Comic Con come grab one right away. If you're not but know someone who is, send them over and be sure to tell them to tell me that you sent them!

If neither of those options work for you, though, be sure to go over to www.LondonAfterMidnightComic.com and hit the "Notify Me On Launch" button right now, for if we have any unsold copies, we'll be offering them as add-ons on the campaign on a first come, first-served basis!

Thanks all! I'm very excited to get LOVE STORIES ABOUT DEATH into your hands, so make sure your BackerKit is completed... and get ready for the official return of LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT later this month!

Your friend in comics,
Dirk Manning

ALL BACKERKITS HAVE BEEN SENT!
17 days ago – Mon, Sep 30, 2024 at 05:59:06 PM

With Halloween month officially starting tomorrow, you're going to be hearing a fair amount of news from me over the coming weeks, so I'm going to keep this update quick:

All BackerKits have been sent, and you'll need to fill out your BackerKit in order to enter your mailing address, pick your shirt size (if applicable), and add on any additional Halloween treats if you'd like to treat yo'self as we enter October!

Again... YOU NEED TO COMPLETE THE BACKERKIT TO GET YOUR PLEDGE WHEN THEY'RE READY TO SHIP!

If you didn't get the link via email, you can also log-in to complete yours HERE:

Fill it out, take advantage of those bonus deals I'm offering if you'd like, and we'll talk soon!

Thanks everyone!

Your friend in comics,
Dirk Manning

Final page count, and BackerKits coming this week...
19 days ago – Sun, Sep 29, 2024 at 10:07:27 AM

The final page count is...

Hello everyone!

Over the last week (or three) I've been working closely with LOVE STORIES ABOUT DEATH book designer Dave Lentz, and -- real talk -- thanks in no small part to his efforts, this book may be seen as one of the most gorgeous graphic novels I've released to date... all194 PAGES of it.

That's right, friends, as promised, this book is clocking in just below 200 pages, which, to put it in perspective, is equivalent to about 10 comic issues worth of  standard comic book content. It's a titanic tome of terror (and love), and I can't wait for you all to see it!

To that end...

The BackerKit will be opening next week!

Honestly, given the "Quickstarter" nature of this campaign, I originally planned on not offering a BackerKit on this one, but I realize that this is a way that some of you catch-up on some book shopping... so I went ahead and set one up in the past week as well. It should be ready to launch this coming week, first with a "Smoke Test" that will be sent to a small subset of random backers (I have no control over who gets to see it first -- it's totally randomized by BackerKit), and it will then go out to everyone a few days later.

I've added some fun limited edition items and packages into this one, too, because, again, it's all about the love, and -- quite frankly -- I love to use opportunities to hook you all up with some special treats... especially with Halloween on the horizon.

I'm going to keep the window short on this BackerKit, though, so when you get the link, please complete it ASAP, as I am very anxious to get this book into your hands, friends!

Thanks all! I'll be in touch again here soon... and keep an eye on your emails later this week for your BackerKit link to submit your mailing address, etc. We're almost there!

Your friend in comics,
Dirk Manning

The finishing touches are being finalized... here's what's next!
about 1 month ago – Sun, Sep 08, 2024 at 04:06:40 PM

Hello friends!

I've been a bit quiet over here on the LOVE STORIES ABOUT DEATH front mainly because I've been digging through old storage disks (remember those) finding various old promotional images and such dating back to the early 2000's (aka: the days before cloud storage) finding old art files, promotional images, and such for the new text retrospective piece at the end of the book.

In news that will come as no shock to those of you who know me and/or have backed projects from me before, the text piece has grown exponentially in size, with me adding more and more content to it as I've gone along, prompting me to then search through my old files for more and more old-school images and such.

I'm finally "calling it" on the retrospective piece, though, lest book designer Dave Lentz and/or editor Drena Jo throttle me, haha.

SPeaking of my wonderful (and wonderfully tolerant) creative partners, Austin McKinley is putting the final touches on the internal cover to the story "Nothing Else Matters," which contains all the cameos for those of you who secured them. I've seen the final inks and the WIP (work-in-progress) colors, and the cover may be among my favorite pieces he's ever done. No spoilers, but here's a peek at the pencil layout, at least:

Austin McKinley is so, so good... from layouts to final pages!

That aside, I've been toying with what platform to use for the post-campaign survey options, and it's looking likely that I'll be using BackerKit once again, if for no other reason that I'll most like set it up that you can add some graphic novels and such to your pledge, which you may be inclined to do to either treat yourself or perhaps some loved ones.

This coming week I have some travel obligations followed by two signing appearances in two different locations this weekend: Monroe Comic Con (Monroe, Michigan) on Saturday and Gathering Volumes (Perrysburg, Ohio) for their Author Fair Parking Lot Party on Sunday... so if I don't get to setting-up the BackerKit until next week, that's why. In the meantime, if you're within driving distance of either of my signing appearances, I encourage you to come on out! Details about both can be found at my (recently updated) website www.DirkManning.comunder the "Signings and Appearances" section.

Thanks, all!I appreciate your support, and I'm very, very excited to get this book to the printer... and then into all of your hot little hands!

I'll be in touch again soon!

Your friend in comics,
Dirk Manning

IMPORTANT: "It's Date Night!" Couples Cameo Backers Photos Needed
2 months ago – Sun, Aug 18, 2024 at 09:30:58 AM

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