Hi, kids! Stephen Romano here, executive editor and head writer of Eibon Press. We’ve been going real hard this year at the ranch, trying our damndest to keep the lights on so we can continue to bring you the cutting edge of independent comic book publishing. That's never an easy grind, to say the least. (And as most people know I never say the LEAST about pretty much anything. Har har.) The last six months have been particularly tough. But we’ve got some great things still in the works, and even a few killer surprises on the calendar. As promised, we’re giving you an exclusive ALL-NEW PREVIEW of our upcoming sci-fi action series WASTELAND 1989 in this newsletter update (you can scroll to the end of this article if you can't wait) . . . but first, I thought I’d take a few minutes to bring you up to date and give a word of explanation about some of our recent growing pains, which a few of our more hardcore fans may have noticed.
We’ve been going extra hard this year, with a new book almost every month. This has been a challenge for more than one reason. First, we are currently still only a two-man operation, with Shawn on distribution and me on the creative end of things. As the writer and editor of these books, the workload is enormous. (That's one of the reasons you never see me on Twitter anymore.) And, as many of you already know, Shawn suffered a terrible injury earlier this year that set us back months in terms of production and mail-out efficiency. This has added a few weeks to the usual shipping schedule on our comics, in addition to unrelated difficulties we’ve had with printing and freight shipping on the comics themselves. THAT SAID, this ain't Kickstarter, folks. Meaning that when you order an Eibon product on a pre-order, it’s not a donation with a reward attached to it, where the question mark of whether a book will actually show up in your mailbox hangs over the whole transaction. Fuck that, said us. When you order from Eibon Press, the books and extras are already at the printer and we guarantee you will RECEIVE an Eibon Press product in the mail and it will be the asskickingest comic book you own. It will be a one-of-a-kind collector's item, worthy of a place on the shelf next to all those other books we’ve given you, time and again. It’s just taking us a few weeks longer to get those orders out to you. I shouldn't have to point out that we've already proven we deliver since day one and we continue to do so, but Eibon is also about a personal connection with the fans we've earned, so we want to let you know that we have NOT lost sight of that. Shawn is working on restoring his body, taking care of his family, repairing his other business and giving 100 percent to Eibon Press at any given time, dealing with almost twice the number of books this year. But he’s getting stronger all the time, and we’re fighting hard to make sure everything we do meets the high production and distribution standards this company has come to be known for. If there is ever any doubt that a book won’t be great, or that it won't come out in a reasonable number of weeks, WE DON’T DO THAT BOOK. It’s just that simple. As for me, I've experienced a number of adversities myself this year, which have forced me to re-focus on certain aspects of work and living. Some of this is personal. Some of it is professional. But I'm still 100 percent committed to Eibon. Thank you for your support.
Now on to new comics!
We get a lot of fan mail from people who ask us to adapt certain films, and among the most requested has been the BRONX WARRIORS movies by Enzo G. Castellari. So we listened. That was when I created Janet Of The Apocalypse. Janet is the the hero of our new original series WASTELAND 1989, based on all those funky-cool Road Warrior-style movies of the 80s.
But just making a cool comic book wasn’t enough so we developed a concept for producing and releasing WASTELAND 1989 that would take the Eibon Press production model a stage further. In the coming weeks we will announce what that concept is, and how it marks an all-new age of Eibon Press product . . . but for now, I want to say that WASTELAND was actually created as a direct shout-out to our most vocal and beloved fans. And it's one of the other reasons you don't see me on social media much anymore. This project is HUGE and has required a massive commitment. Not only is WASTELAND 1989 one of my proudest moments as a creator of comics, not ONLY is it one of the coolest, wildest rides you’ll ever take with us, but it’s something created entirely in-house and not officially based on anything else that’s come before. This allows us to evolve the brand in a different way . . . and even though we may not sell as many copies as we might have with a big license, we feel that our most loyal fans will appreciate and embrace Janet Of The Apocalypse as our new leader, pointing the way towards a brighter, nastier, more progressive and totally creative horizon. WASTELAND 1989 is part of our VHS COMICS line, for more reasons than one. And when you read the book you'll know why! It's very VHS friendly story, designed to plug into the nostalgia seeking mindset, but it's also great, progressive science fiction.
And guess what? We’ll still crank out the licensed properties you’ve come to expect, even harder and even nastier! In addition to the planned one-shots based on THE NEW YORK RIPPER and LASERBLAST (which will complete the story set forward in issue #1), we will also be working on our previously announced MANIAC sequel series (poster art above) which takes the main characters "on the road" for an all new demented adventure! And of course our Fulci Comics imprint will be going strong all through 2020, with our absolutely ultra-violent and EPIC new series based on Lucio Fulci's THE BEYOND. I am working with Pat Carbajal on that as you read this, and it’s already the best thing we’ve ever done together. You’ll see issue one in OCTOBER, just in time for Halloween, one month before Janet arrives in November for Black Friday. Here’s a super exclusive sneak peek at one of the uncolored black and white pages from that first issue, which is a prequel to the film:
Yes, you'll learn all about what happened with Schwiek The Painter in the days before his ignoble demise in 1927 and how poor Emily The Returner earned her place in hell. It's a bloodbath you will never in a million real time years forget.
IN ADDITION to these great new books starting their runs, we have a couple of MAJOR top-secret projects in the works right now . . . one of which will be revealed later this month as a SPECIAL SURPRISE for all our die-hards. It our big September release, kids, and it’s something many of you have been screaming your blood-thirsty heads off for. We’re working double-fast and extra crazy to bring it to you. Keep an eye out on our socials and right here for the official announcements.
Again, we are fighting every day to keep this imprint alive and thriving, and this year has been bloody and fucked-up. . . but we promise if you hang tough with us, you will not go unrewarded. Your loyalty and support not only mean the world to us, but it keeps things afloat here at Eibon. We can’t do this unless you show up for it. And since 2016, when we began this company with just a few grand in startup money and a few big dreams, that is exactly what you guys have done. So we feel it is our duty to continue to earn that support and trust. Shawn and I both guarantee everything we do. We guarantee the best writing and art. We guarantee the best printing and cutting-edge packaging. We guarantee collectability and exclusivity. And we promise that NO OTHER SMALL PRESS OUTFIT WILL EVER WORK AS HARD AS WE DO TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING NEVER SEEN BEFORE IN THIS INDUSTRY. PERIOD.
Now some updates on pre-orders and Wasteland sneak peeks.
ZOMBIE Issue #8, which is our final issue of the series, is in the signing and assembly stage now and will start to ship very very soon. Check out our previous news story for more details. This was an especially popular issue and almost sold out, so Shawn is dealing with a massive shipping requirement, and he only has one leg to stand on. He personally assembles, shrink wraps and packages each order BY HAND, and it is this commitment to quality and first-rate customer satisfaction that we cannot skimp on or cut corners to achieve.
HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY #3 is on the way from our printing press in China and will arrive at our compound soon. We've had a great time working with the legendary Vince Locke on that series and his final issue complete one of the best Gothic horror graphic novels ever made. That's what Shawn thinks anyway. It was his idea to hire Vince for that, and the rewards have been incredible.
Now . . . onto THE BIG PREVIEW. Oh boy! This one is my favorite!
WASTELAND 1989 #1 has been a game-changing project for us, and we hope you’ll agree that it kicks all the ass. We’re welcoming FANGORIA artist PUIS CALZADA to the Eibon family and out newest colorist, MATHEUS HUVE, who joins Eibon veteran FATBOY (CHRIS HALL) to deliver some of the wildest, kookiest, most vivid action we’ve ever done here. Check out the two preview pages below to get a glimpse of just SOME of what’s in store with out first 60 PAGE DOUBLE ISSUE . . .
Hot damn, huh! And that's just how it STARTS, kids. It gets ALL KINDS OF NASTY as it picks up speed. Also, it's odd as hell and FUNNY also. We do a lot of ultra-dark stuff here at Eibon. Time to lighten up, just a little bit. But as you can see, we will never skimp on the exploding heads. (There's an absolutely BRUTAL scene in this first issue that will shock the hell out of anyone with kids, fair warning.) AND MOST IMPORTANT: As I mentioned before, this isn’t just a COMIC BOOK, kids. It’s a whole new evolution of Eibon Press. What do I mean by that?
It’s a BIG SECRET for now.
But soon, we’ll tell you why WASTELAND 1989 is our most ambitious and innovative comic book venture to date . . . and you’re totally gonna eat it with both hands. We'll have more preview pages later in the week . . . so hang in there with us, kids. And keep letting us know what you want. And we won’t let you down.
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GURAN. FUCKING. TEED.
Again, we are fighting every day to keep this imprint alive and thriving, and this year has been bloody and fucked-up. . . but we promise if you hang tough with us, you will not go unrewarded. Your loyalty and support not only mean the world to us, but it keeps things afloat here at Eibon. We can’t do this unless you show up for it. And since 2016, when we began this company with just a few grand in startup money and a few big dreams, that is exactly what you guys have done. So we feel it is our duty to continue to earn that support and trust. Shawn and I both guarantee everything we do. We guarantee the best writing and art. We guarantee the best printing and cutting-edge packaging. We guarantee collectability and exclusivity. And we promise that NO OTHER SMALL PRESS OUTFIT WILL EVER WORK AS HARD AS WE DO TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING NEVER SEEN BEFORE IN THIS INDUSTRY. PERIOD.
ZOMBIE Issue #8, which is our final issue of the series, is in the signing and assembly stage now and will start to ship very very soon. Check out our previous news story for more details. This was an especially popular issue and almost sold out, so Shawn is dealing with a massive shipping requirement, and he only has one leg to stand on. He personally assembles, shrink wraps and packages each order BY HAND, and it is this commitment to quality and first-rate customer satisfaction that we cannot skimp on or cut corners to achieve. 
