NOW IN SOLICITATION: Rob Hanes Adventures #12

The following announcement was recently distributed to my e-newsletter list:

The 12th issue of the long-running, critically acclaimed action-adventure series, Rob Hanes Adventures, is now in solicitation from Haven Distributors and scheduled for release to retail comic-book stores in July! (Haven item #ROHAWCG012.)

Purchase the issue at your local comic-book store by asking your retailer to order Rob Hanes Adventures #12 through Haven Distributors. (Note: To encourage readers to order the issue through their local retailer, the issue's availability online at the WCG Comics website and other sources will be delayed by at least a month.)

In the self-contained full-length issue, Justice International agent Rob Hanes is hired to extradite a beautiful female felon back to the U.S. and becomes stranded with her on a desert island after their plane goes down in the Pacific. High adventure is alive and well in the 21st century—complete story every issue! Cover by guest artist Benton Jew.

The issue features a full-color cover, 24 black-and-white pages, and a $2.99 cover price.

For a preview of the issue, click here.

As always, thanks for your support! There is plenty of exciting new developments slated for the series coming soon that will be announced shortly after San Diego Comic-Con, where WCG Comics will again be making an appearance.

---------
ABOUT ROB HANES ADVENTURES:

Rob Hanes Adventures is an all-ages comic-book series about a modern-day globetrotting troubleshooter and soldier of fortune. Under the auspices of worldwide Justice International—a worldwide private investigations and security agency—Rob travels the world on assignment, facing adventure, intrigue and romance at every turn! Every adventure is complete and self-contained every issue which allows readers to jump in with any issue!

Inspired by the pioneering adventure work of Milton Caniff’s Terry and the Pirates and Will Eisner’s Spirit, Rob Hanes Adventures brings a fresh, modern-day spin to the classic adventure serial strip genre. Comics veteran Kurt Busiek, a fan of the series from the beginning, says, “Randy has done a great job of keeping alive the legacy of sophisticated high adventure that artists like Milton Caniff and Alex Toth created and perfected in comics. And he’s managed to do it by developing his own style and voice, and by keeping it fresh and modern, without making it feel or look old fashioned or out of touch.”

Series writer-artist-creator Randy Reynaldo is a Xeric Foundation grant recipient and a Russ Manning Award for Most Promising Newcomer nominee. The series debuted as Adventure Strip Digest in 1994, running for four issues until being re-booted in 2000 as Rob Hanes Adventures. A Xeric Award supported trade paperback, the Rob Hanes Archives, compiled the series' original run as a small press zine in 1996.

RHA News Roundup

(Note: These news items will appear shortly in the next edition of my e-newsletter, Rob Hanes Adventures Update!)

Though it's been awhile since I last posted (sorry 'bout that!), there is a lot of new developments to report that I thought I'd capture in this single blog entry. So without further ado...

Rob Hanes Adventures #12 Completed!
The art to the next issue of Rob Hanes Adventures #12—pencils and inks—is now complete! I can't yet claim that the issue is fully ready to be "put to bed," but as I write this, with the exception of the very last page of the 20-page story, the issue is also already fully halftoned and lettered!

All that remains is some art and lettering/scripting changes and corrections. While it's a godsend that so much of my work on the series is now done in a digital environment which makes these kinds of corrections fairly straightforward and less labor-intensive, on the flip side it's a curse because the convenience of working digitally makes me more prone to going back to tinker and "fix" things. Oh, well, all that counts I guess is a better final product!!

Confirmed for the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con
It's official: I just received confirmation that WCG Comics will be making its TWELFTH appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con this July! Of course I'll make the usual promotional announcements about the location of my table in the small press pavilion as the date gets closer.

Release Date for RHA #12
When the completion of RHA #12 was immenent, I announced July 2009 as the release date for the issue. That date was chosen, of course, to coincide with the San Diego Comic-Con where I usually officially debut new issues of the title.

These announcements have also mentioned that the book will be made available to retailers through Haven Distributors, as part of a renewed push to get the series into retail stores.

Please note that as part of this effort, other than at San Diego, the availability of the issue by direct-mail order at the WCG Comics website may be delayed for a brief time. The purpose of this delay is to encourage readers to order the book from their retailer, and to ensure retailers are the first to have the book available for sale.

Expect more details about this shortly. In the meantime, if anyone has any concerns or questions about this policy, let me know!

--------
That should hold you RHA fans for now! There are a few additional exciting new announcements I have waiting in the hopper regarding future projects, but rather than risk information overload, I'll save them for now for future posts!

As always, thanks for everyone's continued support.

Rob Hanes Adventures #12 Scheduled for July 2009 Release!

Rob Hanes Adventures #12 is close to completion and now scheduled for release in July 2009!

To see newly completed pages from the story, visit my preview page for the issue here.

In the issue, Rob is hired to extradite a beautiful felon back to the United States from Japan, but becomes stranded alone with her on a desert island after their plane goes down over the Pacific. In addition, for the first time ever, the cover features a guest artist: storyboard and comic-book artist Benton Jew.

I'm also pleased to announce that retail comic-book stores can now order the series through Haven Distributors.

To show your support for the series, we hope readers will consider asking their stores to order issue 12 of Rob Hanes Adventures from Haven.

I'll let readers know in the next edition of this email newsletter when issue 12 is available from Haven for retailers to order for their stores and customers!