We Have Winnahs! plus, News!

That's right, I said winnerS!  Only two contestants were able to correctly guess the identity of our cover artist, so I've decided to send both of them advance copies of the first issue of "Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit". 

First up is Mike DeStasio, who found us by way of Crom!  The Ultimate Conan Fan Blog.  The blog is a wonderful resource for all things Conan, and a great way to discover and explore some of the best fantasy artists in the business.  Mike himself appears to be a decent artist from the samples I've seen so far, so I wouldn't be surprised to see his name pop up here again sometime.

The second winner has not given me permission to publish his name, so I'm going to assume he chooses to remain anonymous.  That's fine; I'm still happy to have had his participation in the contest, as I am with all who entered. 

Both winners were, with their discerning eye, able to figure out that our mystery artist is, of course, none other than Ernie Chan, longtime artist of Marvel Comic's "Conan the Barbarian" and "Savage Sword of Conan", among many others.   I cannot tell you how happy I am to have been able to commission Mr. Chan to create a portrait of Bruno the Bandit for us, and how pleased I am with the results.  As lifelong fans of Conan, both Ian and myself are floored at the rendering of Bruno with which Ernie has graced us, and believe me when I say that it's going to make a fabulous cover for our first issue.
Ernie Chan's art can currently be seen at his website, and also  at the DarkBrain webcomic, "The Vat."  I strongly recommend giving it a visit.

Here's a larger preview of the cover art.  There's a little more to the full version, and I have colored the piece for our cover.  I think it's going to be great; see if you don't agree.

As for the book itself, I'm pleased to say that I've just finished what I am tentatively calling the final draft of the first issue.  That means that I will soon be sending it out to the distributors to check against their specs, and if all goes well, it should be on sale soon.

Thanks to all who entered the contest.  The advance copies will be emailed out to the winners shortly.  Meantime, keep an eye here for other happenings...who knows when we're going to do another contest? 

Cover Preview and a Contest

Looks like a few of you are finding your way here from the Bruno the Bandit Facebook page.  Welcome!  I hope you Bruno fans are looking forward to the release of "Brutal Blade..." as much as I am.
Just to move things ahead, here's a small preview of the cover art for the first book.  I'm not gonna give it all away, and I'm not gonna say who just yet, but I will make a contest of this.  If you think you can identify the artist who'll be doing a guest spot on our first cover, send me an email with your guess, and one lucky winner will receive a free pdf advance copy of the first issue of "Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit".  The book is nearing completion, and any advance copies will be sent out about a week before the actual publication date.
You've got until Hallowe'en, that's 31 October, to get your guesses in.  Good luck!

 

EDIT:  OK, I'm getting some visitors, but not a lot of guesses.   Let me see if I can help out with a little hint.  Our guest cover artist is a longtime comics pro, with credits on Batman, Jonah Hex and Conan the Barbarian.  He's known for a heavy inking style and is tremendous at drawing large, complicated battle scenes.  Does that help?

EDIT 2:  For the record, email addresses will be discarded once the contest ends.  We will not harvest, sell or reuse contact information in any way.   All above board, and notice that at no time do my hands ever leave my wrists.