Now Available! The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit Vol. 5!

Oyez! Oyez! The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit Vol. 5 is now available in both print and digital formats for your elucidation and entertainment!  Get thee now to Amazon (for the print edition) or DriveThru Comics (for the digital version) to procure the latest in humour and fantasy from the pen of Ian McDonald!

From the book's description:

"Unless you've been living under a dome, you know that The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit is a shining example of great comics! No doubt you've had insomnia waiting for the next volume, but you need live in desperation no longer, for here it is! End your misery; make a stand by putting Brutal Blade on your list of needful things!

The stories in this volume are guaranteed to transport you to joyland, from the wastelands of "Castle's Lot" where we meet the dark half of Bruno's favorite author, to "The Lair of Morpheum" where our heroes get snared by the original dream catcher, to "1001", where Bruno must brave the dead zone of dietary hell!

You won't want to miss this revival of webcomics history, and one of the best comics on the web becomes one of the funniest comics in print."

In case you didn't figure it out from that glaringly obvious blurb, there's a Stephen King parody in this one.   There's also a cover by my own humble self, and to top it off, this book features the meta-dimensional story "The Lair of Morpheum", which was my first effort at creating an original storyline for Bruno the Bandit.  All in all, it's jam packed with the goodness you've come to expect from Bruno the Bandit and crew.  Get it now!

Edit:  As usual, pdf copies for reviewers are complimentary.  Just send me an email address and a link to the site where you'll be reviewing the book, and I'll get you a copy ASAP!

What's Up? Catching up with AIM Comics

Things have been quiet around AIM Comics central lately. That's due to a number of things, personal and otherwise, but mainly because I've been trying to catch up on other, unrelated work. Now, however, I seem to have a steady ship running again (for the moment...nobody look at it wrong), so it's time for an update on the Work in Progress of AIM Comics. Here's what's in the hopper right now:

 -The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit, Vol. 5 is in the works. Featuring a great selection of stories (aren't they all?), and a cover by yours truly. In a perfect world I'd have this one ready for release by the end of October. We'll see...
  -A new version of Brutal Blade Vol. 1 for Kindle. Because the current version is just terrible, frankly. The content is fine, but the orientation on most devices is, at best, wacky. I'm building a new version using Kindle Comic Creator. If that works out, I'll be doing the rest of the Brutal Blades as well as our other books the same way.
-The Journals of Simon Pariah, issue 2. Republishing "The Hounds of the Forest" from the website archives, this one just needs to be rescanned and compiled. In a perfect world, it would be done before Xmas. As with BBoBtB vol. 5, we'll see.
-H.P. Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in Literature. All my research tells me that this essential essay is in the public domain, so I'm going full-steam ahead with an illustrated version that will be released in both print and digital versions (although I will highly recommend the print version; there's going to be some detailled work in here). As of right now, there's projected to be 30+ illustrations plus an illustrated cover, with all work by yours truly. This one's going to take a little longer (in my case, "a little" may be read in geological terms) as I want to really make this a labor of love. Check out our Facebook page for updates and preview art as they become available.

That's it for now, but with everything else I'm working on, that's enough. While you're waiting, dear reader, don't forget to check out all our past offerings (including the free ones!) at DriveThru Comics and Amazon. I've gotta get back to work....

Upcoming Event: Dartmouth Comic Arts Festival

So for those not already in the know, I'll be an exhibitor at Dartmouth Comic Arts Festival on Sunday, August 17.  This is an annual, free event held at Alderney Gate in Dartmouth, NS, showcasing (mostly) local comics creators.  The guest list this year includes some fairly big names, including Faith Erin Hicks, Sandy Carruthers, Nick Bradshaw, Geof Isherwood, Gisele Lagace and Kate Leth, so it looks like I'll be in good company.



Similar to the East Coast Comic Expo, I'll be doing sketches as well as selling prints of past work, and will have a sampling of AIM Comics material.  If you're in the area, drop by the table and say hello!

Christmas in July!

Did you know that for a limited time you can buy AIM Comics's publications at DriveThru Comics for 25% off during their Christmas in July Sale?

Well you can, so get over there and grab some deals before the "season" ends!

Come Sample Our Treats at ECCE!

Literally hot off the press, here's a preview of the AIM Comics East Coast Comic Expo Sampler Edition that I will have available at the event on May 17!  It's a comic! It's a sampler! It's a sketchbook!  It can even cut a rusty tin can!  OK, well maybe not that last one, but nevertheless, it is an exclusive item that will only be available at the East Coast Comic Expo, and then only in limited quantities. 
Running at 40 pages, the book contains several tasty treats, including the first Bruno the Bandit story, "The Amulet of Myglyn", The Journals of Simon Pariah # 1A, AKA "A Pair of Boots", and my 24 hour comic, "Why Comics".  To top it all off, the book has a sketch cover that will let me take quick sketch commissions at the event, so there's guaranteed to be something in it for everyone!
If you're in the Moncton area on May 17, drop by, say hello, and help support AIM Comics!

Housekeeping

For what it's worth, this post is just to let potential readers know that I am considering our stores at Wowio and My Digital Comics closed.  We've had exactly one sale through the latter, and one less than that through the former.  Ever.
Closing these off will let me better concentrate on the stores that people actually seem to be using, such as DriveThruComics, CreateSpace and Kindle.  I'm trying to think of better ways to market our books, and I think I need to start by getting rid of what's not working.
Meantime, if anyone out there has some good suggestions around marketing I'd love to hear them.

Upcoming Appearance: East Coast Comic Expo!

I've been pondering this for a while now, but I've just made it official...I will have an artist table at the East Coast Comic Expo in Moncton, NB on May 17.

From their webpage:
"East Coast Comic Expo is an all-ages, day-long convention organized by dedicated Fanboys and Fangirls to celebrate comic books and comic book culture. We'll have industry professional writers & artists joining us to celebrate, along with local vendors and many talented local creators and artisans as well."

I will have a table offering sketches for a small fee (hey, got to cover the cost of traveling, right?) as well as a sampling of AIM Comics products. 
This will be my first con as anything other than an attendee since Hal-Con a couple of years ago, so I'm really looking forward to getting out there again and  meeting some people.  Time to work on those quick sketching skills!

If you're in the area, drop by and say hello, get a sketch and chat with me about all things comics.

See you at the expo!