WE ARE SO EXCITED TO START SHIPPING! Last month we missed a blog post, mostly because we've been trying so hard to get The Shadow Agency #1 to print so we can fulfill the Kickstarter orders. Now that the comics have printed and arrived, we have begun the shipping process! Books are sorted and ready to pack for sending! Shipping has been a beast of its own from my past experience, but I'm still thrilled for everyone to get their hands on The Shadow Agency #1 and really read it for the first time. It will be worth the wait. Additionally, extra rewards like digital books and social media shout outs will be coming along the way. Lots of excitement there as well! After Shipping Once Kickstarter shipping has completed, I'll be reopening the store on the website for people to place orders for the book itself. Also I'll be working with other comic shops and stores that didn't have a chance to back the project to see if they'd be interested.
Also, we'll be working on the next book. #2 will be just as exciting and action packed as #1 and I can't wait to show previews. Other projects will continue in the works as well, but no updates for now. Keep an eye on those mailboxes in the meantime and we'll keep the blog posts coming more regularly.
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We're a little late with this blog post, but just like you did for homework assignments, we have a good excuse. The Shadow Agency #1 is close to finalizing for print, which is extremely exciting! We've been working very hard to get to this point, hence the late post, but that doesn't mean we don't have some surprises for you in the book. We've dedicated one page to each of these surprises. Here are some of the things to look out for: Important People In The Shadow Agency #1, there will be a nice graphic for important people to know for the future. This will include our main characters and supporting characters from #1. Of course it wouldn't be a comic without a fun character chart! This will be a great reference for you to better understand the hierarchy of The Shadow Agency. It will showcase each of the members titles and units along with additional characters outside of the agency. The Lore of The Element I've had a few people ask me about the universe that this story is set in and how it got to where we are now. Where I can't reveal everything, I thought it would be useful to have a taste of what this world is like. That was partially the inspiration for this prose section that came about. The Element has a backstory and lore behind him that is unlike the other characters introduced in this story, so I thought it would be fun to add a bit of that history into the comic. The Element is a very important figure to the universe of The Shadow Agency, so I hope you enjoy learning about him. Three Shapes of Humanity In our world, humankind only has one shape but various biological differences. In this universe, humankind is divided into three separate shapes: Standard, Powered, & Exo. One page of the book is dedicated to explaining what it means to have any one of these shapes. This should help you to better understand the weight behind the identities. In the meantime, hang tight, we will be getting the physical book to print shortly so you can read all about it! Get excited for The Shadow Agency #1 coming to you!
I always try to keep these posts focused on what's going on with the comic progress, but every now and then it's appropriate to stop and talk about what's going on in the world. Let's stop Asian hate together The shootings in Atlanta reminded many of us to talk about what has been boiling for some time now. More and more, people of AAPI backgrounds are finding themselves being harassed, attacked, or killed. This can stem from a lot of things, from stereotypes related to COVID-19 or, like in Atlanta, a culture of hyper-sexualizing the AAPI experience. Neither are a valid excuse for these actions. Like we did for Black lives, we all need to support Asian and AAPI communities and fight against the violence they're experiencing. I wish I could say that this was happening only in specific places, but even areas close to me, I've heard reports of hate towards AAPI people. We can't expect this to end without coming together. Let's talk about gun violence too We need to chat about gun violence too. There have been too many active shooters and too many lives lost. We're doing active shooter trainings, talking about mental illness, and morning our lost, but it still seems that the mass shooting doesn't stop. I'm not proposing to have the answers, but I won't let being silent be part of the problem. Our comic, The Shadow Agency, has a character that can create guns with a thought. My goal with the comic has never been to glorify guns, but to really show what they require: responsibility. Liam could create and use something lethal to kill but there are so many other options he could choose instead. There are so many other options that people have other than to shoot and kill masses of people and if we can do something to prevent those deaths, we should. Be the change you wish To seeThis world is full of problems, but we as a people can thrive if we become the change that we wish to see in this world. Don't just hope for better times, be the catalyst for better times. You can stop hate and violence, but it starts right where you are in your sphere of influence. Push for change where you are to make the world a better place for all.
Good News!We've been working very hard on the final pages for The Shadow Agency #1 and I wanted to let you all know we've crossed a milestone. All of the pages for the book have pencils and inks completed! If you don't know, that means everything but the colors have been put into the pages. This keeps us on track for the spring production and delivery of the books. Lettering has been happening as well, so once the colors are completed on the last outstanding pages, we'll be ready to ship! In the MeantimeSome of the art will be a surprise to see, but this one panel I wanted to share`. This below is a look at the Shadow Agency base with it's high tech operations. Get excited about learning all about what the organization can do! Stay tuned for more updates as we get closer to the finish line!
One of the many exciting things that came out of The Shadow Agency #1 Kickstarter was that The Shadow Agency unit was named for this team. The Shadow Agency is a very large organization and each unit of agents has its own name. Backers who pledged for the top two tiers were able to suggest and vote on what this unit's name would be and this is what they came up with! Phantom Unit! This unit, being led by Liam Parrish and Elle Symone, will be a special task force in The Shadow Agency and the focus of the book. In other news, February is an important month for Endurance Comics, because that is the month we filed to become an actual business in 2019. We had been doing a lot before then, as you'll note in our timeline, but Endurance Comics really wasn't what it is today until then.
A lot has happened since, especially with The Shadow Agency #1 Kickstarter succeeding (check out our newest post on Kickstarter) and I'm grateful for what we've been able to achieve and excited for what we'll do in the future! Here's to Phantom Unit and the next chapter! Often in January, we like to do a post reflecting on the year past for Endurance Comics and looking towards the months ahead in the New Year. 2020 was a very unique year to put it mildly, so this post we're going to go over some of the lessons specific to Endurance Comics and what that means for 2021. Never give up. This might seem like one of those motivational posters, but 2020 solidified how important it is to never give up on your goals. More specifically, The Shadow Agency #1 Kickstarter was coming up against all odds. Global pandemic. Massive unemployment. Comic-cons moving virtual. Even in good circumstances, the odds of funding your first Kickstarter is not high. It would have been understandable to say "it's just not meant to be", but we waited until we thought the time was right and then you showed up for the campaign. A massive thanks to everyone who supported the Kickstarter and spread the word! Majority of the funds were raised within the last 24 hours of the campaign, which shows that even though day in and day out might look impossible, there is still hope. So don't you give up. Stand up for what you think is right 2020 taught us that it's easy to speak to something, but it's even more important to show up. In the wake of the Summer for Black Lives, it was no longer acceptable to just expect someone else to stand for what you believe in. Our statement on the terrible killings of Black people were not just to say "oh hey, this thing that everyone is for, we're for it too". It was to bring awareness to an issue that the world has gone too long without addressing properly. In 2021, we hope you'll join us in speaking, showing up, donating, and volunteering for causes that you believe in. As a Black owned business, we still believe Black Lives Matter and we hope united together we can all make positive change. adapt and Create 2020 required everyone to become more flexible in what they considered to be their normal day. COVID-19 still does remain a deadly virus that is easily spread. We've all needed to be adaptive to what we are able to do. Wear a mask. Social distance. Video conference. Wash your hands. Being adaptive though is the mother of ingenuity. The COVID-19 lockdowns resulted for us in creating new story ideas, including Only Yellow Door, and advancing forward on those concepts. We can't yet say what the future has in store, but we can say that in the coming year, more content will be crafted towards this. Additionally, we were able to engage with folks at Comic-Cons and conferences around the world as we all did virtual events this year. Although it wasn't the norm, many more people who wouldn't have access to attend events as such were able to participate and really gain knowledge. Off to something new We're ready to see what 2021 has to offer. There's been a lot of pain and suffering in 2020. A lot of loss and fear. Also a lot of reflection, moments of joy, and togetherness from a far. This New Year though, fingers crossed, will offer us a small piece of hope that together we can make the best of.
It's been a little over 1 month since The Shadow Agency Kickstarter was funded and there's a lot that we have done! Here's what you can get excited about. The sHadow Agency #1 has funded! Even if you didn't help with The Shadow Agency #1 Kickstarter, you can be excited for it. Once we've completed all of the artwork, we'll be printing the book. Once all of the Kickstarter backers have had their rewards sent, you'll be able to get your copy here and in comic book stores! In the meantime, here's a panel from the upcoming book. You'll have to see what happens to The Element from that creepy hand. New Works In Progress The Shadow Agency is a very exciting story, but that's not all we have to tell. We've been waiting to share with you a few new character designs for a new story! These new character designs have been done with art by Marc Rene. Take a look: Right now there isn't a timeline for when this will come out, but as always, I'll keep you posted. More things to come We're still working on other stories and exciting ideas all in the meantime! We hope you're excited for what's current and what is coming next for Endurance Comics, because we can't wait for you to see it!
The Shadow Agency #1 has been funDed on Kickstarter!If you haven’t been following our Kickstarter or following us on social media, you probably haven’t seen the good news! Our Kickstarter for The Shadow Agency #1 has been funded! We are so thankful to all of the people who supported this project! I am truly grateful to everyone who pledged, shared, promoted and helped with this campaign. We couldn’t do it without you. What does this mean?It means we’ll have books soon! Right now were going through the process of completing the rewards for each of the backers and then once all of that is complete, I’ll add information on how you can get your copy.
In the meantime, keep it posted here for updates! We’ll be sharing more on social media and on the Kickstarter page as we make progress. So far so good! The Shadow Agency Kickstarter launched at the beginning of the month and I could not be more excited! We've all worked very hard and have come a long way to get to this moment, but now it's up to you to help it go live! If you have not pledged for the campaign, we have until October 30th at 11:51 PM to meet the goal. If you're unfamiliar with Kickstarter campaigns, it's an all or nothing campaign, meaning if the goal is not reached, no one will be charged. Any donation amount helps us towards our goal. We will need a lot of help with this campaign, so even if you don't pledge, we would greatly appreciate a share on social media or for you to reach out to someone who might be interested. Any help will be appreciated! Additionally, some of the things that you can get by pledging to the campaign include your name in the acknowledgements, a digital copy of the book, a physical copy of the book, a mug (see below), the original black and white preview, and a 11x17in poster. Not to mention stretch goals and other things that can come as time continues. I can't tell you how exciting this is for me. But the thing that brings me the most joy is the support I've received from people like you! Thank you so much for helping to keep this going!
Of course, the Kickstarter is going to be the main focus for this month, but that doesn't mean that I don't have other things in the works. For now, we'll focus on this. I'm really excited to share more though when the time comes. Lastly, I've been posting in the Kickstarter in the updates section for you and other supporters to see, but I also have the ability to share updates just for backers. The most recent post I shared was just for backers and really goes into the process from start to finish on how pages get created, along with other QA type questions from Kickstarter. If you haven't pledged, do so to unlock that post! We can do this, but not without you! You're the key to this project and I'm excited that you get to enjoy the journey with us. We’ve got a lot going on! It is not lost to us that it has been about 2 years since we first started this blog and we appreciate you sticking around the whole time. Back then, we were just beginning to get artwork done for The Shadow Agency and now we have so much more for you to see. We are most definitely gearing up for Kickstarter season for The Shadow Agency. Our goal of launching this month is looking very good, we just need to make sure everything is nice and aligned before we go forward. Once we launch, you'll see posts on social media, here, and also in the Kickstarter alert! Regardless, check in with us at the end of the month and you should see a launch. In the meantime, we are getting more art completed for the story, because we're excited too! Take a look at these latest page drafts, featuring The Element. Art done of course by Charles. We are so exited for these, because these pages lead up to some of the final in the first book. We are also getting writing and art done for a new project as well! Nothing yet for you to peek at, but there should be content for you to look at and some updates to the site soon. Keep your eyes peeled for that as well.
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