AARDEHN: AWAKENING, a lush oversized illustrated novella!

Aardehn - October Progress Update!
almost 2 years ago – Tue, Oct 15, 2024 at 07:29:03 AM

Though the campaign for Aardehn: Awakening has officially ended, the journey behind the scenes is far from over! Author Sheldon Carter's script is in it's final stages. Meanwhile, Eric Vedder is as focussed as can be in crafting the stunning artwork that will bring this premiere volume to life.

While much of Eric's art for the story revolves around pivotal, dramatic reveals (and we’re keeping those under wraps), we couldn’t resist sharing some behind-the-scenes development sketches to give you a glimpse of what’s to come. The team here is hard at work as we move steadily toward our March 2025 fulfillment, eager to share this world with you!

Meanwhile...

While Aardehn is in its production phase, we here at RAID Press are moving full steam ahead on BARADA and NIKTO, volumes 5 and 6 of our ongoing RAID Anthology series. The Kickstarter campaign launched last week on October 8th and features our 2 books, which showcase 35 stories by 50 international creators - with sizzling cover art by none other than Shawn Crystal and Mike Del Mundo!

Check out BARADA & NIKTO: A RAID COMIC ANTHOLOGY DOUBLE FEATURE NOW!

The RAID Team. 

THANK YOU for making our dream a reality!
almost 2 years ago – Wed, Sep 11, 2024 at 01:39:25 PM

Thank you everyone. We did it!

Eric and I have dreamed of this day for years, and you have made that dream come true. Our first cinematic novella and book one of a long-lasting series, Aardehn: Awakening, is now a reality.

This was an incredible experience for us that spanned the entire spectrum of joy. We can't believe all the upgrades to the book, the gatefold beginning, and the inserted map of Torin. Wow!

We're full of gratitude for all of you and wanted to call out a few very important people, who helped us through this campaign:

First and foremost: Ramón Pérez. Ramón was a fantastic friend to us both, a supporter, a mentor, and our master book designer. We can't tell you how many pieces of art, mockups, ideas, promotions, and just plain hard work that Ramón put in. 

We'd like to extend a massive thanks to our artist friends, who did a killer job with their pinups for the project. Dax Gordine, Derek Laufman, Cary Nord, Joe Vriens, Mike Roberts, Karl Kerschl, Andy Belanger, and Scott Hepburn. You guys were so generous with your time, and your excitement for the project was so easy to see in your work!

We also really appreciate Rob Coughler, Maria Luigia, and Darcy Shea at Raid Press. Thanks for the late-night slacks, the page management, and for being great cheerleaders for us. And a shout out to Studio Jean-Guy, for their excellent promotional work and putting up with us in front of the camera.

We also want to call out our colleagues from Digital Extremes and The Raid Studio, who supported the book and lent all their social media muscle to this campaign.

Last, a special thanks to our families for putting up with us! Annette and Samantha were creative springboards, idea validators, and fountains of never-ending encouragement.

Again, our biggest thanks to you, the backers. We're eternally grateful for your support and enthusiasm for the project. We cannot wait for you to experience it! 

Cheers,

S. M. Carter & Eric Vedder

PS/ Kickstarter is currently processing credit card payments for your pledges, so please take a moment to double-check that your payment information is up to date and correct to avoid any issues. If there’s any problem with your payment, Kickstarter will notify you, and you'll have a window of time to correct it.

STRETCH GOALS ACHIEVED & NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS!
almost 2 years ago – Tue, Sep 03, 2024 at 07:28:01 AM

PLUS... T-SHIRTS!

We're thrilled to announce the addition of a variety of Aardehn T-Shirts to the campaign! These shirts will be available in unisex sizes, with sizing details collected post-campaign. We've got a classic Aardehn Logo Tee, and Sigil Tee, plus an all-new Celeste Tee featuring Celeste on the front and a retro-80s style Aardehn logo on the back. And because we love pushing boundaries, we've also designed a full cut-and-sew print, showcasing the now-infamous Celeste poster image on the front, with Skar and a stylized Aardehn logo on the back. (Please note that the back design is still in progress, but we wanted to share this exciting news with you ASAP!)

All T-Shirts are available in the Add-Ons section of the campaign and can be added to any physical tier!

A lastly we have a new print available in the add-ons! Celeste by Fol'Klor creator Cary Nord (Conan the Barbarian, XO MAnowar, Daredevil).

We are one week away from wrapping up this campaign and we couldn't be more excited to be on this journey with you all.

Thank you all again for your continued support!

Cheers!!

Eric

Stretch Goals and meet the Obelite Edition Tier!
almost 2 years ago – Tue, Aug 27, 2024 at 09:40:03 AM

Hello Backers,

It's been one week since the campaign launched, and Eric and I are thrilled with the results! 

Aardehn: Awakening is presently 197% Funded with 241 backers, including you!

We managed to bring a preview of the book to Fanexpo Canada over the weekend – it was only 1/3rd of the book with lots of unfinished bits – and the reactions were overwhelmingly positive. 

Honestly, we’re trying something quite NEW here blending a novella, illustrations, and comics as the cherry on the top.

Many of you have been messaging us about stretch goals and today, I get to unveil them. These honestly should be really easy to hit and it's mainly just things we want to give you to say how much we appreciate the support!

250 backers — Sticker 3-Pack to all Physical Backers.

Show your love for Cyberpunk Blood Thrillers (haha) by sticking these on your laptop, tablet, or cellphone case. 

We tested a prototype of these at our Fanexpo table and people kept asking to buy them. 

"Sorry guys, these are just for backers!"

$22,000 — Aardehn Sigil Magnet to all Physical Backers

This symbol is an overarching Aardehn image. It’s stunning, of course, and contains all the elements of the massive epic we’ve awoken with this first book. Can’t wait for you guys to get it.

Lastly, I want to unveil…

The Obelite Edition

With the Earlybird selling out, many have asked where they could get the THP items and the Limited Edition Blood Credit, as well as the elusive Obelite Slipcase Edition only available in The Empress Tier!

Well, now we have all those things in one wonderful tier, please welcome to the gorgeous Obelite Edition as an option for you to upgrade to dropping tomorrow at 10am EST. 

Thank you again. I hope your having fun and enjoying the campaign. I’m sure we’ll crush the stretch goals, and have new ones soon!

S. M. Carter

THANK YOU!
almost 2 years ago – Wed, Aug 21, 2024 at 10:40:43 AM

Yesterday our Aardehn: Awakening campaign reached its funding goal within the first 7 hours of launch - the book, is going to be made, thanks to YOU!I can’t express how great this feels and this wouldn’t have happened without everyone’s support and dedication to independent creators, and what, Sheldon, and the RAID family are building.

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart!! Sheldon and I have been working away tirelessly on Aardehn: Awakening for years now. It has evolved over the years, seen many forms, and changed shape and size, but we are elated to get our vision into your hands! I want to give a heartfelt shout-out to my main man Ramón Pérez who always kills himself for these projects and well let’s face it, every project that runs through RAID. Without his help, this Kickstarter wouldn’t have been as successful as it has been. Thanks, brother! Also a big shout-out to the Aardehn crack team behind the scenes – Rob, Maria, and Darcy. Thank you all for the continuous support and help now, and moving moving forward. YOU ALL ROCK!

Finally, to my creative soulmate, Sheldon or rather S.M. Carter. We got here brother! Thank you for believing in my weird and wild ideas and putting up with my charming naivete. I can’t wait to keep exploring this wonderful world we’re building together!

Okay, I think that about sums it up for now.

Stay tuned as we tackle the next 20 days and share more goodies along the way!

I will never forget you all and one last time – THANK YOU!!!

Eric Vedder