The Vi Empire

Week Three: new rewards unleashed!
over 3 years ago – Tue, Jun 01, 2021 at 10:10:30 AM

Warriors Of The Vi Empire!

We're making strong progress towards our initial funding goal so far this week (thanks, PM, Ron is looking forward to working with you)! To keep the train moving (and kick off week three in style), we're adding some more super cool stuff to the page this morning. Check it out!

First up, Val Semeik's original cover sketch for single issue #3 of Vi Empire! If you compare to the finished art, it's kind of amazing to see how Val nailed the various facets of the cover in this one simple sketch.

We're also listing the original cover art for Vi Empire #5 by Val and Keith Champagne; a beautiful, dynamic composition of 'Nia and some of her really good looking friends!

And finally today, the last of the original sketches Val has donated to the campaign, his cover rough for Vi Empire #4. Again, like in the sketch to #2, he nailed this composition down in the sketch stage.  It's always amazing to see the thought behind the work so clearly represented. I'm sure all the other process junkies out there agree!

Let's all keep making some noise together, warriors! We're SO CLOSE to hitting the mark on this campaign with two weeks left to make it happen.  Warriors Of The Vi Empire...UNITE!

Dictated (not read) by Ron Marz to your pals at Ominous Press/Creation.Ink

Memorial Day message from Ron Marz himself
over 3 years ago – Mon, May 31, 2021 at 02:23:15 PM

Warriors Of The Vi Empire!

It's Memorial Day here in the states and while the much of the country pauses to honor our fallen, The Vi Empire marches on.  We made some solid progress towards our funding goal this weekend and are getting closer to unlocking our first stretch reward (spoiler alert: signed prints of Paul Pelletier's Vi Empire cover). Here with a few words towards those ends is our very own RON MARZ (who even shaved for his video message)!

We'll be adding more original art rewards, sketches, and cover art this week and, as Ron says, sharing is caring. Let's do this together. 

While we've got your attention, we wanted to direct your eyeballs to a very cool Kickstarter project that's ending TODAY: The Scintillating Spider-Squirrel #1 by former American Ninja Warrior competitor CHARLIE MCELVY!

SPIDER-SQUIRREL #1 is a 40-page, Teen+ rated comic book produced with a light-hearted script, incredibly dynamic art, and some really fun characters. It’s classic superhero comics and even some of the stereotypical tropes that comes with them. We fell in love with it at first sight and backed it this weekend.

This book is Charlie’s dream project in and his inspirations are obvious. If you enjoy Spider-man, Nightwing, Blue Beetle & Booster Gold and Invincible, there's a good chance Spider-Squirrel is your cup of tea.  Written by Charlie, with the main story art handled by DC Stuelpner (lines), John Rauch (colors), HdE (letters), and edited by Vito Delsante (Stray), you're in for a well-written, well-drawn treat and best thing of all: THE BOOK IS ALREADY DONE. 

The digital reward goes out immediately when the campaign ends, with printed copies soon to follow. Check it out HERE and tell Charlie and friends The Vi Empire sent you. You'll be glad you did!

That's all for today, my friends. Take a minute to remember our heroes.

Your pals at Ominous Press/Creation.Ink 

Val Semeiks joins the war!
over 3 years ago – Fri, May 28, 2021 at 12:42:21 PM

Warriors Of The Vi Empire!

We've added something special to the campaign page this afternoon. Val Semeiks himself has gone through his Vi Empire archives and offered up several of his original character sketches/studies as rewards for the campaign! We've added a couple (there are four in total) to the Kickstarter page this afternoon, take a look at the first two!

Sketches like this are a great way to pick up original art (and support the campaign), at a lower price point than the finished pieces. If you have friends that are collectors, let them know! These rewards are a great way to help the project!

The campaign itself has been quieter than expected this week. We still feel confident that The Vi Empire will reach its funding goal over the next twenty days; and we're still hopeful to reach the stretch goal phase of the campaign, where we have some really fun surprises planned for our backers.  Let's all keep fighting the good fight; together, The Vi Empire will live and breathe in the format it deserves!

Have a great weekend! More news Monday.

As dictated to your pals at Ominous Press/Creation.Ink by that scoundrel Ron Marz

Have you heard about our raffle?
over 3 years ago – Wed, May 26, 2021 at 10:32:11 AM

Warriors Of The Vi Empire!

Our friends at Ahoy Comics (the Stuart Moore connection pays off) gave The Vi Empire a nice mention in their newsletter today, so we wanted to return the favor. If you haven't checked out Ahoy, they're consistently putting out some of the best, off-center comics on the racks today,  stuff like Dragonfly and DragonflyMan. Their new book, Snelson: Comedy is Dying looks like a blast too. Check out what they offer RIGHT HERE AND TELL THEM THE VI EMPIRE SENT YOU! 

So... have you guys heard about the raffle we're doing? We may have mentioned it once or twice.  All you have to do to enter is share the Vi Empire campaign out to your Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Weebo (if you're in China)/whatever, and add the hashtag #theviempire to your post (so we can keep track).

On the final day of the campaign, we'll pick a winner at random to receive this page of Vi Empire original art by Val Semeiks and Kim Demulder.

Pretty easy, right? Right now, Stuart Moore has a wide lead over the rest of the pack but we may disqualify him for being a part of the creative team (sorry, Stu). So the field is wide open and this campaign is going to live or die on getting the word out to the masses. Every mention helps!

Speaking of getting the word out, another project that caught our eye on Kickstarter is the 10th anniversary celebration of EL PESO HERO! 

El PESO HERO is the acclaimed neo-western series collected into one massive paperback collection! The trade paperback collects El Peso Hero #1-6, Legend of El Peso Hero #1-3, El Peso Hero Border Stories, El Peso Hero Borderland, and El Peso Hero The Essentials. This is the perfect collection for any fan of the award-winning comic book series: over four hundred pages chronicling the beginning of Hector Rodriguez's world-renowned continuing story of the border hero, El Peso Hero: Defender of immigrants, a hero to the disenfranchised and growing vexation for Mexican cartels, corrupt officials, and human traffickers. It's a really cool series with a lot of heart and well worth your time.  SO CHECK IT OUT! 

Back tomorrow. Keep fighting the good fight!

Ron Marz and your pals at Ominous Press/Creation.Ink

Week Two: Sketch cards and retailer level are now live!
over 3 years ago – Tue, May 25, 2021 at 09:00:37 AM

Warriors Of The Vi Empire!

Week two of the campaign is officially off to the races and to celebrate, we've added five exclusive, hand drawn, full color sketch cards by "friend of Ominous" and fan favorite artist/inker TOM NGUYEN to the campaign. Take a look!

We've also added our RETAILER REWARD TIER to the campaign today. As mentioned yesterday, if you think your local comic shop might find The Vi Empire a worthwhile addition to their shelves, by all means let them know about this campaign. Our retailer terms are VERY favorable towards stores and we appreciate your help in spreading the word!

Finally today, our friend Stu Taylor is running a campaign for the greatest superhero you've never heard of: OCTOBRIANA, to celebrate the character's 50th anniversary.  A favorite of people like David Bowie and Billy Idol, OCTOBRIANA WITH LOVE is crammed to the gills with top comic talent (Stephanie Phillips, Marc Laming, Marguerite Sauvage and MANY more!), in a beautiful 64-page adventure. Funded in two hours, the campaign ends tomorrow so by all means, check it our while you can at this link: OCTOBRIANA WITH LOVE.

That's all for today, gang. Let's hope Week Two brings us closer to our funding goal! 

Your pals at Ominous Press/Creation.Ink, fearlessly led by Ron Marz