Ennead: The Rule of Nine | An Epic Trade Paperback
Created by J. L. Johnson Jr.
Collect issues 1-7 in this ongoing series full of deep lore, grandiose world building, and classic high fantasy trappings.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
C'est La Vie
almost 3 years ago
– Mon, Apr 11, 2022 at 09:12:48 AM
Happy Thursday!
WHAT. A. WEEK. I'd written out all my updates for the week but I wanted to check in "live" today. Funny thing, what I typed on Monday actually fits the reason for my check in perfectly. See what I mean below:
...
"Let me stop myself. I'm totally writing this on Monday night because I plan on being steeped in "staycation" fun by the time you're reading this. I'm going to "click and go" when I post this thing and likely not going to add anything unless it's "news worthy." So rather than try to predict the future here at 9:52pm on Monday night, I'm just going to share two really cool projects with you!"
...
I'll still share those project with you, but first a word on the funding total. The nature of crowdfunding is that things ebb and flow. As a creator who relies heavily on folks like yourselves to believe in and then commit to my work I can't take it personally when your financial circumstances change. This week started off with a big influx of pledges but what most of you likely didn't notice is that there were also a fair number of cancellations and adjustments.
I am gratefully for each and every one of the pledges that come in, no matter the amount. So although we are now a bit further from that all time high I know we will still get there! Check out the new add ons if you haven't yet and keep following along here for more.
Now, back to my "staycation" and those two projects I promised up there!
WODIR is an episodic story about a nomadic warrior seeking redemption and adventure in a strange medieval world. WODIR launched in December 2021, and is written and illustrated by Trent Rommel. I absolutely love Trent's art style and I think it would be a great fit for Ennead!
*Cough*
According to Trent, WODIR is the result of reading a great deal of sword and sorcery novels, daydreaming about fantasy adventure, countless hours drawing Dungeons & Dragons characters, and swinging sticks like they’re swords. New pages are added each Thursday (you know, like today!) so you can click here to get caught up now!
Ronin Digital Express is a webcomic about a nameless ronin quietly facing an existential crisis, and searching for meaning in his life.
Sound familiar?
Written and illustrated by Renton Hawkey, Ronin Digital Express takes place hundreds of years into our future, long after an unspecified cataclysm ended society as we know it. The story occurs on the continent of Sheji (mainland China). All that remains of the Old World are its massive, brutalist city structures — shielded, walled off, and abandoned. The people of Sheji are superstitious and fearful of the ruins of the Old World. They live in smaller, walled cities and towns that are largely independent and decentralized.
Both of these stories are amazing! They are both super high quality and definitely deserve more eyes.Check them out!
JL
Two Weeks and Counting
almost 3 years ago
– Fri, Apr 08, 2022 at 06:38:59 PM
I've got to say, this campaign is blowing my mind. 3 stretch goals down, highest funding total to date in sight, amazing sense of community with all the returning backers so far, and we have a little more than two weeks still to go! I'm feeling very good about our chances to crack the 5-digit threshold!
In case you missed it, here's where things stand:
Journey map, an extra scene (7 pages), and a holographic chromed out cover option have all been added.
Two add on items are now available: Kickstarter Exclusive t-shirt and Limited Edition Run of Book 1 in Full Color (only the first 50 of 250 are available).
Two commission based tiers were added with art to come from CJ Oechsle. Get a sketch cover or 11 x 17 custom piece along with the black and white trade!
One slot remains to get the opportunity to design a minor character with me. This character will play an actual role, be it friend or foe, to one of the main characters in Volume 2! You'll also receive everything but the kitchen sink (and the Limited Run Book 1, sorry) with this tier! Exclusive stickers and prints too!
I'm very excited for this next stretch goal that comes with breaking the $8,000 mark! Check it out:
Make sure you adjust your pledge and secure one of these!
FrankensteintheUnconquered is a story about violence as a mode of survival, the destructive inertia of revenge, and how toxicmasculinity damages individuals and the environment around them. It's a love letter to pulpy adventure comics and films like ConantheBarbarian and MadMax as well as Universal Horror Monsters and the literature that inspired them.
The art in this book looks amazing and this variant cover is spectacular! Check this one out folks!
Beback tomorrow with our next addition of Writer's Corner!
JL
$7K in 14 Days!
almost 3 years ago
– Mon, Apr 04, 2022 at 06:25:42 PM
We did it folks!
$7k in 14 days is an amazing milestone for Ennead here on Kickstarter. With just over half of the campaign left to go we are just $963 away from Ennead's best campaign yet! If any of you are interested in helping to design a minor character then you can always adjust your pledge and take a nice chunk out of that number! Just saying...
Before I get ahead of myself I teased an announcement today... I'll get to that in a bit.
By passing $7k we've unlocked the Holo Chrome Version of the Liana Kangas Cover! Now for just an additional $10 those of you who picked up the color trade can upgrade to this Kickstarter Exclusive! There will only be 1 print run of these so get 1 while you can!
As for that announcement:
That Liana Kangas Holo Chrome Cover won't be the only 1 time only print run this campaign! The colors for book 1 are complete and they are phenomenal. Bea Navarro is working hard to get these pages colored as fast as she can and she is hitting home runs with every page. I can't sit on them until November.
I'll be doing a limited print run of Book 1, Not Too Far From Home, in FULL COLOR! They'll each be numbered and I have zero intentions to ever print more. After this campaign my goal is to move Ennead into DC "Black Label" territory and only print 60ish page books from now on. I'm planning on printing 250 copies so I can have some for trade shows later this year. I'd also like to keep a few for myself, like #9, that one is mine people!
These are available as "add ons" right now! Though I won't be posting it to the campaign page for another hour or so to give you a head start! These are first come first serve! If you want # 1 you'd better move fast.
I'm only making the first 50 available during the campaign. Another 50 will be made available post campaign. I'll be saving the rest for Cons later this year. This is a special moment for Ennead. I want to commemorate this with those of you who've been here from the beginning!
The Gods Are Running the Show in New York City Gangland.
The FALLEN series is back with it's 4th issue in a 6 part series. FALLEN blends the genres of mystery and fantasy by creating a thrilling mythological noir story for mature readers. The story takes place in the vibrant, synth-pop filled era of the 1980's in the loud, crowded streets of New York City.
This project has a great genre blend going for it as well as top notch art. Check it out!
Beback tomorrow with more!
JL
It Was a Good Day
almost 3 years ago
– Mon, Apr 04, 2022 at 10:36:39 AM
Happy Friday!
I gotta say, it was a good day today. No static from the cowards, no AKs, no helicopters looking for a murder... my mom didn't cook me breakfast though. I digress, though for the record, this is arguably my favorite hip hop song of all time.
No spotlight today, just a simple thank you to everyone who backed these first 12 days and got us this close to our 3rd stretch goal already! We are just about $1K away from this becoming Ennead's best Kickstarter yet! And for that very reason I'm going to be announcing something very special in Monday's update!
Special and limited.
And just so I'm not announcing too many things at once come then, here are the next 3 stretch goals!
Ready for 5 digits?! I know I am! Let's make it happen. See you Monday for the big news!
JL
Can I Be Honest?
almost 3 years ago
– Sat, Apr 02, 2022 at 08:32:33 AM
I mentioned yesterday that Kickstarter campaigns can get monotonous, they can also be a mindf**k. What do I mean? Well this campaign is shaping up to be Ennead's best in each way possible yet I find myself wondering if I did "enough" before it began.
Should I have waited for more prelaunch sign ups?
Could I have given away more free samples leading up to the campaign?
How sustainable is this? Will I get to finish the story?
No matter what you do I'm sure you suffer from good old fashioned self-doubt from time to time. Me too. None of us are immune. I've learned that when it creeps up it's best to be grateful for small victories than to wallow in self-pity. So I decided to go back and look at the 10 day mark in each of my previous 30 day campaigns to see if I had anything to complain about (spoiler alert, I don't):
Campaign #1 - $4,218
Campaign #2 - $3,706
Campaign #4 - $4,328
Campaign#5 - $6,484
Why am I sharing this? A few reasons:
I needed to see this today so I didn't fall victim to envy.
For anyone who is reading this who happens to run Kickstarters, I need you to know that even those of us who are "successful" still struggle to make sense of it all.
I wanted to celebrate a small victory. Big wins are nothing but small victories stacked on top of one another.
So I could remind you to focus on the things you can control. Also, never forget that another's success doesn't equate to your failure.
Ennead is still growing, both as a comic series and as a fantasy setting. I'm broadening the scope of the story weekly over on Substack. I just released a new post today where I discuss the creation of "The Rule of Nine" in depth. Not the series, but the legal document that was responsible for the formation of The Republic Kingdom of Athea. You should check it out.
We've got a long way to go so don't forget to check out the new t-shirt add on option. The art on it is amazing. And if you dig the art but don't enjoy graphic t's make sure you check out the tiers featuring commissions from the artist responsible, CJ Oechsle.
Final Boy is a thrilling horror story, tongue-in-cheek comedy, and exciting adventure all in one.
When a slasher begins piling up victims at Genesee University, Isaac Lambert must survive a single night of terror as he uncovers an insidious mystery. But who can he trust when everyone is a suspect?
If you're into slasher films (they scare me to be honest, most of the horror genre does) then Samuel is a creator worthyof support. Be back tomorrow with more!
