Dreadstar Returns!

New Papal t-shirt plus Ron Marz reflects...and MORE!
over 4 years ago – Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 09:19:32 AM

Looks like we made it to another Friday, DreadSTARS!

We made some great progress yesterday towards unlocking that second set of Dreadstar trading cards, thanks for all that you've done to help us along the way. To continue fighting the good fight from our end, today we're introducing our third Dreadstar T-shirt design: The High Lord Papal "BELIEVE" Tee!

Unlike our first two Dreadstar tees, Papal here is available all by itself on the campaign page. So if you already have the books and just want to add the shirt, all you need to do is contact us through the comments section about adjusting your pledge accordingly. New backers who pick up the shirt can also add the books the same way. We're listening and trying to make it easier for everyone to get any items they want; although for those that have inquired, we can't offer individual slipcases at this time, unfortunately. 

Our fearless leader, Jim Starlin himself, did a podcast interview where he speaks about a variety of topics, including Dreadstar Returns. If you want to give it a listen, all you need to do is click  HERE! 

We were chatting around the office the other day (virtually, of course. We're comic book people, we were born to be socially distant), reflecting actually, about our favorite Dreadstar moments/characters/issues from Starlin's original run. To close out this week's updates, here's Ominous Press' Editor-In-Chief Ron Marz sharing some of his own history and thoughts about Jim Starlin and Dreadstar. Take it away, Ron!

"I first encountered Dreadstar … or what would become Dreadstar … in the pages of Epic Illustrated magazine. I’d fallen out of the habit of reading comics by then; comics were for kids, obviously, and I’d moved on to “mature” pursuits like Epic Illustrated and Savage Sword of Conan. 

I loved the story, loved the painted art, loved everything Jim Starlin was doing, and I followed as it unfolded through a series of stories and graphic novels. When it turned into a regular comic series, I was there for every issue. Dreadstar gave me the space opera fix I craved. I followed the series from Epic to First, though I have to admit my interest waned when Jim stepped away from the writing duties. 

Jim Starlin got me my start in the business, and taught me how to write comic scripts. I wouldn’t have a career without Jim Starlin. So I’m especially proud of playing even a small part in bringing Dreadstar Returns to fruition. Dreadstar is, to great extent, Jim’s most personal saga. Now he’s returning to it, and returning to the drawing board. Watching this all come together has been my privilege. Reading it will be your privilege. "

--Ron Marz

Well said, Ron. You've got a nice way with words; maybe you should be a writer!

Exciting things coming down the pike as we gear up for week 3 of the campaign. Have a great weekend, wash your hands and please don't mainline any Lysol. Andy Smith did that once as part of a college dare and he's never been the same.

Your pals at Ominous/Creation.Ink

Rick Leonardi returns! Plus...Dreadstar continuity update
over 4 years ago – Thu, Apr 23, 2020 at 10:58:58 AM

Hey DreadSTARS-

There have been more than a few questions and comments wondering where in continuity Dreadstar Returns falls. Does it pick up immediately after Starlin's run concluded? Does it take into account Peter David's take on the property? The only answer I've really been able to say is, "I'm not allowed to say!" BUT... Mr. Starlin himself has loosened his lips a bit in terms of when the story takes place in his latest interview with SyFy. So if you're one of the many looking for some insight (and it's a very insightful interview), you can read the Syfy article here! 

We're continuing to make progress towards unlocking the second set of Dreadstar Trading Cards, almost halfway to that next threshold (and seriously, guys, they'll all be thoroughly proofread before they're printed, relax!) at this point. By popular demand, and to help us hit our next stretch goal, the great Rick Leonardi has returned with his second sketch cover!

Rick's first sketch cover was snapped up almost instantly and we're pretty sure this one will be too. Ron Marz was making some noise about snatching it up himself but I'll hold him off as long as possible. But if you've got a pal who's a fan of Rick Leonardi, let them know it's available before they miss out and hate you forever. 

Back to the never ending battle. Stay safe out there, keep washing your hands!

Your pals at Ominous/Creation.ink

Darick Robertson returns, guidebook info...plus more!
over 4 years ago – Wed, Apr 22, 2020 at 09:17:37 AM

 My dear DreadSTARS-

There's a lot of ground to cover but before we start today's update, I want to take a second to welcome all our new friends who have backed the campaign in the last 24 hours. No one told you that in addition to the books and rewards you pledged for, you also get A FREE EMAIL every day, did they? BONUS! Anyway, it's great to have you all aboard the Dreadstar train. In particular, a big thank you to Mike Conroy who really went above and beyond to support this project. 

Are you like me, sleeplessly staring at the ceiling at night and just wondering what the Dreadstar Guidebook is gonna be like? Well, say goodbye to that curiosity-induced insomnia because our good pal, comics historian and Guidebook author Bob Greenberger has filled in some blanks in his new interview with 13th Dimension. Want to learn more about the guidebook? Click here!

By the way, have you guys ever heard of this Jim Starlin fella? Turns out that not only is he the creator of Dreadstar, he also created some little known character named Thanos who had a background role in some little movie or something last year. If you want to learn more about Dreadstar Returns, the MCU and possible future movie plans for Thanos straight from the horse's mouth, Mr. Starlin speaks Here! 

We hope you guys liked the Dreadstar trading cards we gave you a full peak at yesterday because this morning, we officially hit our initial trading card stretch goal and unlocked the first three: Manalo, Skeevo and (my personal favorite), Tueton. Anything you guys can do to help us over the next tier, mainly sharing and spreading the word about this campaign, is always hugely appreciated!

And finally today, Darick Roberton's second Dreadstar sketch cover has been unlocked and is now live. Have a peek!

In more exciting sketch cover news, there was such a great response to Ron Lim's cover yesterday that he's agreed to do a second one, this time of Lord High Papal. It's gonna be another stunner!

That's all for today, friends. Keep safe, keep washing those hands and hang in there. We appreciate all that you do.

Your pals at Ominous

Dreadstar ART DROP... kinda
over 4 years ago – Tue, Apr 21, 2020 at 11:23:50 AM

What's shaking, DreadSTARS? 

I wanted to share the art for the two new sketch covers we've added to the campaign this week, pieces by a couple of guys you may have heard of: Darick Robertson (co-creator of The Boys) and frequent Jim Starlin-collaborator and all-around nice guy, Ron Lim. You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? I'd say these are worth about ten thousand words each.

Dreadstar is definitely a character that lends himself well to artistic interpretation and both our superstar guest artists really knocked their respective covers out of the park, don't you think? Both these sketch covers are now live and available on the campaign page but intuition says they won't be sticking around for long.

Don't worry though! We've got more waiting in the wings, including a second cover from Darick, this time a group shot of Willow, Syzygy and Oedi, that is equally stunning to his Dreadstar cover. 

Oh, and while you're reading this anyway, many of you amateur sleuths deduced from yesterday's clues that we'll be doing Dreadstar trading cards as our next series of stretch goals (and people say Batman is the world's greatest detective? He's got nothing on you guys!). Nine cards in total, released in three waves until we build up to the full set.  We pulled together this nifty little graphic to help explain which characters belong to which set and how they'll all come together (and don't lose any sleep, Dreadstar won't have blonde eyes in the finished set).

Remember, every time you back and share, Lord Papal gets his wings...or something like that. But thanks for all your help and support in making Dreadstar history. Let's all keep pushing this rock up the hill together; there are a lot more surprises yet to come.

Stay safe and wash your hands!

Your pals at Ominous/Creation.Ink

Mystery stretch goal revealed, surprise 1000 backer reward and...ANOTHER MYSTERY?
over 4 years ago – Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 08:22:17 AM

Happy Monday, DreadSTARS!

For those keeping score at home, at midnight tonight we'll officially begin week 2 of the Dreadstar Returns campaign. Fasten your seat belts, it's gonna be a wild ride!

Because you guys are AMAZING, over the weekend we crested past our mystery stretch goal much, much sooner than we ever anticipated (and none of us were sure we were ever going to reach it at all). So without further ado, let the mystery stretch goal be revealed (and for those of you hoping it was going to be an omnibus of the Peter David Dreadstar run, sorry. But we're working on that!).

Thanks to all of you, we'll be able to include some extra content in the Dreadstar Guidebook, a gallery of the sketch covers by our guest artists produced for this campaign! There's some really stunning work coming up that you guys are going to love and once you see it all, we're preeeeetty sure you'll be glad to have them all collected and presented together. 

We also wanted to recognize another landmark that we reached over the weekend: 1000 backers! That's a pretty special milestone and we wanted to thank you all for climbing aboard this Dreadstar train the best way we know how: by giving you all more free stuff. So all backers, physical and digital reward levels, will be receiving a digital download of of the Epic Comics Dreadstar #1 along with the rest of their swag. We like the symmetry of it; as the future of Dreadstar comes to life, everyone also gets to go back to where it all began. 

Now, you might be thinking, "hey, these losers are all out of stretch goals now," and we wouldn't blame you. We did run out of our INITIAL wave of stretch goals but... we'll be releasing our next batch this week. It's all pretty mysterious right now but how about a couple of hints? Rhymes with "Breadstar Brading Bards" and looks something like this:

Any guesses? More coming soon.

Your pals at Ominous.