The Vi Empire

Paul Pelletier cover art!
almost 3 years ago – Mon, May 24, 2021 at 08:45:53 AM

Warriors Of The Vi Empire!

Welcome to Monday, otherwise known as the final day of the first week of the Vi Empire campaign!

One of the very first campaign rewards to get snapped up after The Vi Empire launched last week was Paul Pelletier's original penciled cover art. The inks on this piece were done digitally by Keith Champagne (meaning the pencils are the only piece of physical cover art that exists), making the art even more special.

Unfortunately for the campaign,  that backer canceled his pledge over the weekend and released Paul's cover art back into the wild but you know what they say, right? His loss, someone else's gain. When one door closes, a window opens! Every time a bell rings... oh, wait. That cliche doesn't fit.

Long story short, if you had your eye on Paul's cover art, we just wanted to let you know it's available once again! Who knows how long it'll last so good luck if you decide to grab it, we're rooting for you!

To celebrate the beginning of week two tomorrow, we'll be introducing a new RETAILER pledge level. If you think your comic shop would like to have some copies of The Vi Empire on their shelves come August, please let them know about the campaign. We're a little biased but we feel like this project, produced by such a respected, veteran creative team, will really appeal to comic fans in the direct market. 

We'll also be unveiling some TRADING CARD ART REWARDS by a friend of ours that frequently contributes rewards to our campaigns.  You can look forward to the first of those tomorrow, too!

Let's all help each other get through Monday, push The Vi Empire a little more, and meet back here tomorrow for all the latest news. 

Your pals at Ominous Press/Creation.Ink

Vi Empire War Journal: Update Three
almost 3 years ago – Fri, May 21, 2021 at 07:24:33 AM

Good morning, Warriors Of The Vi Empire!

There's some incredible stuff on Kickstarter right now and, if you don't mind, we'd like to sandwich some VI EMPIRE news between a couple of projects by a couple of friends of ours, leading off with ENCORE: GOLD - THE ART OF LIAM SHARP.

Sharpy's work has always been among the best the industry has to offer and now, this collection highlights many of the amazing pieces and projects that he's produced over the last thirty odd years of comic booking. We can't recommend ENCORE enough. It's a lovely book from an equally lovely chap and you can check it out  RIGHT HERE!  

Before we highlight today's second project, we wanted to once again mention our raffle to win this amazing page of Vi Empire original art by Val Semeiks and Kim Demulder:

Remember, all you have to do is share the project on your Facebook/Twitter/Instagram (bit.ly/theviempire) and add the hashtag #theviempire so we can keep track. On the final day of the campaign, we'll choose a winner at random. Andrew Hoover is off to an early lead (if there can be such a thing as an early lead in a random drawing) but don't let that stop you from jumping in and trying to win.  These campaigns are a "strength in numbers" thing, every mention counts towards one more set of eyes helping us reach our goal!

There are still two official The Vi Empire jackets remaining, size large only, if you'd like to add one to your rewards. All you need to do is adjust your pledge upwards by $60 and leave a comment on this update and we'll happily add it to your package.

Forgive us for mentioning it again. Not everyone reads every update so we want to be sure all backers get a chance.

And finally today,  we'll leave you with our pal John McCrea's project,  THE DEAD EYES ART BOOK.

John is a mad genius of comics. You may know his work (and if you know his work, you love his work) from Hitman (with Garth Ennis) or many other projects over the years, most recently DEAD EYES with Gerry Duggan.  John has eight days remaining in his campaign, which is already funded so you're guaranteed to get a great looking book the moment you pledge! Check out both his and Liam's campaign and tell 'em The Vi Empire sent you!

Back Monday with all the latest Vi Empire news! We'll have some exclusive Vi Empire original art trading cards to introduce for week two, and who knows what other surprises are in store...

We're well over halfway there, let's see what kind of progress the weekend brings.

Your pals at Ominous Press/Creation.Ink

Exclusive Backer Offer!
almost 3 years ago – Thu, May 20, 2021 at 08:54:16 AM

Warriors Of The Vi Empire!

If you're keeping track at home, we've made incredible progress toward our funding goal (thanks Big Tim!), currently at 55% and climbing! We're not there...yet...but to be over halfway to our goal after only two days is an amazing start to this campaign!

Today, we're going to launch a little raffle as a way to thank you guys for helping us share this project on social media to your friends. When you post the link (bit.ly/theviempire), please add the hashtag #theviempire so we can keep track. On the last day of the campaign, we'll choose a winner at random from everyone that's participated.  And, like, real random. Not fake random like most raffles where the prize goes to someone's grandmother. It's going to be completely up to chance.

"Wait!" You might say to yourself. "What are we trying to win?" Glad you asked! The winner of the raffle will receive this stunning page of original Vi Empire art by Val Semeiks and Kim Demulder!

We've also got a special offer ONLY for backers today, too: VI EMPIRE JACKETS!

We have exactly THREE Vi Empire jackets, SIZE LARGE, available and these will NEVER be listed on the page or through our website. They're only available through this offer in today's update. These jackets are first come/first serve; once they're gone, we don't have any more in stock so if you would like one, we'd advise you to act fast.

If you'd like to add one of these jackets to your Vi Empire rewards package, please adjust your pledge by an additional $60 and leave a comment ON THIS UPDATE with the words, "JACKET ME UP!" We'll add one to your account. Pretty easy, right? 

Thanks for reading, warriors, and for your support. Back tomorrow with more news from The Vi Empire!

Your pals at Ominous Press/Creation.Ink (including but not limited to Ron Marz because why should he have all the fun?)

Welcome to The Vi Empire!
almost 3 years ago – Wed, May 19, 2021 at 08:37:08 AM

Warriors Of The Vi Empire!

Thank you for enlisting to help bring this project to full life! We're absolutely thrilled with the initial response to the campaign. On day two, we're already 35% funded thanks to all of you that have jumped aboard the war wagon. With your continued support, we're confident we'll hit our funding goal and,  knock on wood, unleash some very fun stretch goals along the way. 

The Vi Empire is a very special project for several reasons. Obviously, the talent that created the book is literally a who's who of big two creators.  Aside from Max, Stuart and Val, guys like Kim Demulder, Rob Steen, Bob Wiacek, Keith Champagne, Dan Green and Nathan Eyring havebeen creating some of your favorite comics for literally decades. This book is also the first that Ominous Press/Creation.Ink is spotlighting through our new "RON MARZ PRESENTS..." label, where we hope to bring more incredible projects like this one to your attention; and help present them in the deluxe format both the book and its readers deserve.

But the most special aspect of The Vi Empire, and what really sold us on championing the project, is its creator, Max Akbar. 

Max isn't a well-known name in the comic book industry. He's actually a computer programmer and, as he puts it, "a daydreamer," with a compelling life story that eventually led to the creation of The Vi Empire. As a child, Max's family fled from Russian-occupied Afghanistan and eventually settled in America, where his family struggled to build a new life. Through all of the upheaval that accompanied his upbringing, Max's anchor was comic books.

Max's lifelong love affair with the medium of comics and his dream of one day creating his own series, never left his heart. It led him to abandon a very successful construction business he had built from the ground floor up and instead, enroll at The Kubert School to chase his dream. When the responsibilities of life forced Max to leave the school, he rolled up his sleeves and did it himself, creating this project. Through all the twists and turns of life, Max never gave up. After a lifetime of dreaming, he finally brought the dream to life.

It's hard not to respond to passion like that, isn't it? It's a mirror of what so many of us who work in this crazy industry, and those of you who faithfully read the adventures of our four-color heroes, have felt in our hearts for our entire lives too. 

Now that you've joined The Vi Empire, you've already taken a huge step in helping this project reach its funding goal; but we could still use your help! Tell a friend about the book. Share the link (bit.ly/theviempire) on your social media. And read these updates (they won't all be this long, promise), where we'll keep you in the loop on the latest campaign news, additional rewards and where sometimes, we even offer campaign exclusives that are ONLY available through these emails. In fact, we'll have one of those tomorrow...

Thanks again for joining us on this ride.

Your pals at Ominous Press/Creation.Ink