Sean Kleefeld's Far Arden Review

Sean Kleefeld has a review of Far Arden up on his "Kleefeld on Comics" blog. In it, he struggles with the same problem I've had recently: trying to explain what the hell the book is about. My attempts at summarizing FA usually melt into a babbling mess, so as of this morning I'm just going to start saying it's "Jack London meets James Bond" and leave it at that.

Warning, Kleefeld's review has a few spoilers.

Thanks for the review, Sean!

Thanks for the link, Steve!

Danno Does Far Arden

The book hasn't been optioned, but already there's a movie poster! Thanks to Dank! aka Danno for this amazing 11x17" poster of Far Arden.

Click on image for larger version!

Doc Pop Delivers Far Arden Cameo

San Francisco conspirator Doc Pop has a great stop-motion experimental film on his flickr site ... and ol' Far Arden is in there. Check it out:



Also, Doc's blog turned me onto a ridiculously addictive blog, photoshopdisasters.com. Half of me says "I'm horrified" and the other half says "Yeah, YOU try doing some of this stuff on deadline!"

Far Arden Cover

Aside from a few tweaks here is the cover for Far Arden:

"Far Arden" pre-orders...

Here's a map I made this weekend. It'll be nestled in the front pages of the Far Arden paperback. The current plan is to print up 100 copies and have them for sale ($20) at the May 2nd Lutefisk Sushi show.

I think 100 copies should do the trick, but if you want to make sure you get a copy -- or if you're out of town and can't make the Sushi show -- send me an email and we'll figure out a pre-order/mail-order thing. Electronic mail is kevin "at" bigtimeattic "dot" com.



Thanks to Steve and Zander for the idea to make a map!

Official Armitage Shanks Fan Club!

Welcome all! Kevin Cannon has finished his latest magnum opus, Far Arden, to rave reviews. Here we can all show our appreciation for his incredible project and steel ourselves for his next one.

Want to submit your own homage to the great lonely pirate? Email it to zander at this url, bigtimeattic.com.



Jason Rainey
jae.imperialotter.com


Dan Boyd
onepoundfire.com


Dan Olson
bewilderedkid.com


Carl Nelson


David Steinlicht
allsmall.net davidsteinlicht.blogspot.com


Bud Burgy
musclesandfights.com


Zander Cannon
bigtimeattic.com


Christopher Coffey


Danno Klonowski
staplegenius.com


Ryan Dow
ryandow.com


Holly


Mike Sgier
msillustration.blogspot.com/


Jon Sloan
sa-bomjimcomic.com/


Steven Stwalley
stwallskull.com soapythechicken.com

Far Arden: Chapter 13 (part two) and Epilogue

Well, completely coincidentally I drew the last line of Far Arden at the stroke of midnight today.

Please enjoy these links:


Read Chapter Thirteen (part two).
Start from the beginning.

Thanks so much to the devoted core of fans who have been reading the book and commenting on the blog. If there's one thing I've learned throughout this nearly two-year project, it's that while I don't need rockstar readership numbers to keep motivated, it is helpful to know that at least one or two people are genuinely looking forward to the next chapter.

I have to say thank you to Steven Stwalley, who initiated this whole project in Fall 2006. There are always a hundred things that COULD occupy my free time, most of them unproductive, so thanks, Steve, for waking up my competitive side by laying down a big fat challenge. I regret not being able to do twelve consecutive 24-hour comic challenges in a row, so I'm hoping the extra 62 pages makes up for it.

For the record, here's the final stack of originals, next to a glass of scotch (for size reference). In honor of finishing Shanks, I stopped by ol' Lowry Hill Liquor and picked up a bottle of Dalwhinnie. I was actually hoping to pick up a bottle of Sheep Dip -- which has overseen much of the creation of Far Arden -- but they were out. Such is life.

Far Arden: Chapter Thirteen (part one)

I'll be the first to admit that I've been a real putz lately when it comes to FA. Chapter Thirteen is a big fatty 48-pager, so I thought I'd post the first half instead of making you wait another month for the whole thing.

If there are any readers left, please enjoy.


Read Chapter Thirteen (part one).
Start from the beginning.

Far Arden: Chapter Twelve

Uh ... please ignore anything I wrote about Far Arden on this blog over the past week and enjoy chapter twelve.

While there are still two chapters to go, this chapter fulfills my challenge from Mr. Steven Stwalley to complete a 288 hour comic book. The book actually stands at 290 pages right now due to a lengthy chapter eleven. So thanks for the prodding and cajoling, Steve!


Read Chapter Twelve.
Start from the beginning.

Far Arden: Chapter Eleven

Witness the latest installment of Far Arden, a novel of love and regret in the Canadian arctic.


Read Chapter Eleven.
Start from the beginning.

Eglinton Island mini-comic

Here's a new Shanks mini on my website:


Click the image.

Russia Conquers North Pole

Dear Russia,

Congratulations on successfully completing the first expedition ever to reach the bottom of the Arctic Ocean at the geographic North Pole. You are truly an inspiration.

Also, thanks for this:

"I am proud our country remains the leader in conquering the Arctic."
-- Boris Gryzlov

Quotes like these ensure that I will have no trouble in coming up with plot lines -- or bad guys -- for future Shanks stories.

Fram,
Kevin Cannon

Far Arden: Chapter Ten

Witness the latest installment of Far Arden, a novel of love and regret in the Canadian arctic.

In chapter ten ... Everyone heads for Boothia College, Shanks gets in a fist fight, Alistair finds a telescope, and Hafley gets hit on by a babe with a beard.


Read Chapter Ten.
Start from the beginning.

Far Arden: Chapter Nine

Witness the latest installment of Far Arden, a novel of love and regret in the Canadian arctic.

In chapter nine ... like a sitcom clips show, chapter nine is all about flashbacks. Three of them to be precise, all floating around in what is hopefully a coherent and somewhat entertaining literary goo.


Read Chapter Nine.
Start from the beginning.

Far Arden: Chapter Eight

Witness the latest installment of Far Arden, a novel of love and regret in the Canadian arctic.

In chapter eight ... discover the secret of Alistair's father, watch Pinho set the Areopagitica on a doomed course, and grab a first row seat for an honest-to-goodness man-on-polar bear fight-to-the-death!


Read Chapter Eight.
Start from the beginning.

Far Arden: Chapter Seven

This chapter's all about deteriorating relationships.... So put on some Bright Eyes, pour a glass of wine, and enjoy the arctic waterworks:


Read Chapter Seven.
Start from the beginning.

Far Arden: Chapter Six

HALF DONE!

Well, here we are at the halfway point. 144 pages in the can ... and so much adventure and intrigue yet to unfold!

A few things have changed since the beginning of the process. I'm no longer doing the monthly 24-hour marathons, as it was starting to kill my hand. Plus, pulling an all-nighter was also affecting my day job by making me spend nearly one week out of every month in a groggy haze. So I work on nights and weekends, usually doing a chapter within a one-week period. But I'm still cranking out a page an hour, so it'll still be a 288 hour book at the end of the day.

Alright, after I hit "publish" I'm going to make some lunch and sit down and read this thing from the beginning. Hopefully it'll make some sense...


Read Chapter Six.
Start from the beginning.

"Far Arden" Chapter Five

Read Chapter Five.
Start from the beginning.

"Far Arden" Chapter Four

Read Chapter Four.
Start from the beginning.

"Far Arden" Chapter Three

288 Hour Comic Book Challenge: Chapter 2

Chapter Two of "Far Arden" is up online after a rough 24 hour period, from 3pm on Tuesday to 3 pm the next day (which gave me just enough time to catch up on sleep for today's Thanksgiving activities).

The 288 Hour Comic Book Challenge Chapter One

Hello, Friends. As millions of you already know, I have accepted a challenge from Steve Stwalley to produce a graphic novel in 288 hours. It's like the 24 Hour Comic Day event, but hurts more. I completed the first chapter over the weekend, from 7pm on Friday, October 20 to 7pm on Saturday, October 21. If all goes according to plan, look for a new chapter around the end of each month. And if all REALLY goes according to plan, I'll draw the final chapter during the 2007 24 Hour comics day event in Minneapolis, shoulder to shoulder with the evil mastermind who concocted this scheme: yes, once again, Steve Stwalley.