Sunday, January 5, 2014

Erstwhile 2 (Uncommon Fairy Tale Comics) Kickstarter Needs Your Help (And There's Only 3, 2.. Days To Go!)

I am doing a large "cut-n-'paste" type repost from Tumblr & Kickstarter in the interest of getting this news out ASAP because it just came to my attention that Erstwhile isn't close to reaching their goal to produce a second volume of lesser known fairy tale comics - even after the first volume was well received and reviewed.
So here goes the info:

An anthology series adapting six rare Grimm's Fairy Tales into comic form. Three artists, six complete stories!
(FTNH: Here's the Kickstarter promo video.)
ERSTWHILE is an anthology project adapting the lesser-known GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES. That means you won't be seeing the same old-same old when you open this book. The tales are not watered down versions, but the real deal. The dark stuff is not edited out for mass consumption, but it is illustrated in a tasteful way to make the comics suitable for both kids and adults. There are three artists on this collaborative project, Gina Biggs, Louisa Roy, and Elle Skinner. Each have their own distinctive style and each of these ladies takes a turn at illustrating one of the tales.
Those of you who are new to Erstwhile please feel free to read the ENTIRE series online for FREE! If you like what you see, come on back and support our kickstarter.
Erstwhile volume 2 is a FULL COLOR HARDCOVER book weighing in at 176 pages. Volume 2 contain six completed tales; Brother & Sister, Iron Hans, Snow White & Rose Red, Death of the Little Hen, Doctor Know-It-All, and The Worn-out Dancing Shoes (aka The 12 Dancing Princesses). Each volume of Erstwhile contains its own set of completed stories, so you can jump in at any time to enjoy. And if you want to get the first volume, we have that offered in our pledge levels as well!

Snow White & Rose Red introduces us to two sisters who are as different as night and day, but love each other dearly and always promise to share everything between them. Everything goes as planned until a kindly talking bear and an evil dwarf change their lives completely.

Brother & Sister tells the tale of two abused children who run away from home. Once alone in an enchanted forest the brother falls under a curse, transforming him into a wild creature, and the sister finds herself wooed by a king.

Iron Hans is a story of growing up. A young spoiled prince accidentally frees the wild man, Iron Hans, while selfishly trying to acquire his lost golden ball. He runs away from home, fearful of punishment, but once on his own finds both pride in his work and meaning to his life.

Death of the Little Hen follows the hilariously morbid tale of a Rooster and his selfish wife, Hen. The biggest nut on Nut Mountain is greedily gobbled up by Hen and leads to her death, but the tragedy only leads to more mayhem as Rooster and friends travel to the funeral.

Doctor Know-It-All is a man who knows everything, or at least appears that way. The poor farmer in disguise finds himself in over his head when a wealthy merchant hires him to discover the mystery behind the thefts in his household.

The Worn-out Dancing Shoes (aka The 12 Dancing Princesses) tells of twelve royal sisters who awake each morning with their shoes worn to shreds and their bodies worn to exhaustion. The king declares whomever solves the mystery will succeed him to the throne, but whomever fails will get the axe.
The first volume of Erstwhile included the following tales:
   

If you'd like to read a non-affiliated write-up and review, please check out Heidi's posts over at the SurLaLune blog HERE.

We're all thrilled that the lesser known tales are getting some attention and that people are making an effort to bring them to the public again but being an independent group of artists they do need help to make it a reality. The artwork and writing is just about complete so it's not a matter of concern over the substance of the project at this point, so much as getting it properly published. If you're able, please consider sending some dollars their way and let's see how close we can get them to their goal.

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