BREAKING: My Comic is Available For Pre-Order!
Everything you need to know to get your copy!
Greetings Explorers of the Unknown!
My comic book, The Airship, is FINALLY—finally, finally, finally—available for… PRE-ORDER!!! The official release date will be October 30th, 2024, so any pre-orders made now should be available around that time to hold in your hand, flip through, laugh at, cry at, just stare at with a blank face—however you feel compelled to react, that journey awaits you, my friend.
I know, it’s not as exciting as me handing you a physical copy, but if you want a copy, you should order it now! As a first time writer getting published, the number of comics printed will greatly depend on YOU—my loyal, beloved fan who is actually kind enough to be reading this now—ordering the comic and making comic shops aware that people want to buy it!
What is the Airship about?
In 1897, sisters Melanie and Beth spot a mysterious airship flying over their farm. When Melanie climbs aboard for a tour, it takes off toward a city in the clouds never to return. Traumatized by Melanie’s shocking disappearance, Beth grows up determined to find her sister by becoming one of the first women to pilot airplanes during the dawn of aviation.
How ordering the comic works:
So, the comic is now “live” to the two largest comic book distributors, Diamond and Lunar. This means that it is in a comic book catalog that goes out to comic book retailers for a limited time to order for their shop. These are the codes that shop owners can look up to order the comic:
Diamond
Cover A: JUL241492
Cover B: JUL241493
Lunar
Cover A: 0724CX456
Cover B: 0724CX457
The window for ordering is usually a short time, between a month to two months, so my job right now is to try to get as many shops interested in buying comics as possible. I believe the cut-off for this one is in early August. (I saw August 11th at one place, but I’m not certain that is true for both distributors.)
I don’t know where a comic shop is near me!
The internet has you covered. Just go to this website to find the closest shop to you:
What’s the difference between covers A and B?
Cover A is by the artist who did all of the interior art and lettering, Nico Longoria. Cover B is by Karen Hallion who has become a well-known artist at comic conventions for her “She” series and creating official prints for Star Wars and other well-known IP’s. The interior content is exactly the same for both versions, so you can buy one or the other or both!
How you can help most to make my comic successful:
Right now, the best way to support my comic is to tell shop owners and retailers that you are interested in buying it with these codes. Later, depending on how many I am able to print and how many stores actually buy copies, there may be other ways to buy a copy in stores and online. However, that is not guaranteed.
If there is not much interest or orders now, that may limit how much my publisher, CEX, is willing to print, and your chances of buying 10 copies for yourself and your loved ones may be limited to one measly Cover A that your friends and relatives must all share—or no copy at all! (No one wants that for you.)
So I am reaching out to you now, as a supporter who showed enough interest to sign up for my emails, and asking if you can do me this HUGE favor to help grow interest in my comic. This has been a long time dream of mine to publish my own stories, and I hope if this is successful that I will be able to continue publishing new stories for years to come.
Thank you, as always, for your support!
Sterling
Want to learn more about the development of The Airship, making comics, and mysterious paranormal lore? Then if you are not a member, sign up for my Substack newsletter! This newsletter is completely free, so go back through my archives and you can find a ton of great information on writing, drawing, and even my passion for Japanese culture. I hope to see you there!
Sterling Martin is a writer, artist, and designer living in Chicago, IL. His background includes drawing, writing, theatre, teaching, improv & sketch comedy, and whatever else he can get his hands on to be creative. You can find him on the internet at:
Instagram: @sterfest.art
Website: sterlingmartin.design
Cara: sterfest@sterlingmartin
Threads (well, I’m on it): @sterfest
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