The Terralympus Indiegogo is now LIVE! It’s a shorter campaign and as of right now, it has 23 days left. There’s some amazing original art rewards by Von Randal although they are getting snapped up quickly. Be sure to check it out before it’s too late!
A special thanks to everyone who supported this project on Kickstarter. I am overwhelmed by the final result of 397 backers and just over AU$12K raised. It’s so incredible, I’m planning to take the next few days easy to celebrate!
I am current fundraising for the next phase of Word Smith on the Australia Cultural Fund (ACF). All donations made in Australia will be tax deductible! The ACF will match every $1 for $1 (up to $4000) for all your support will be much appreciated.
The monies raised from your kind donations will help to get the illustrations done for the next volume of Word Smith and assist with future costs. This will allow me to get the next volume of Word Smith out much quicker! I know this is a difficult time with COVID-19 but any support is much appreciated.
The Terralympus Kickstarter is now LIVE! Be sure to check it out and watch the video. Thanks to everyone who has already supported this project. It’s been incredible to get your help to bring the next volume of Terralympus to life. With the all uncertainty in the world right now, your backing is very much appreciated.
The Terralympus Kickstarter Pre-Launch is now up and we’re hoping to launch this Sunday 29th March 10pm AEST. Sign up now and be notified as soon as the campaign goes live! Check out the amazing variant cover by artist Sebastian Navas.
There was a lot of thought put into whether this would be the right time to launch a campaign especially with all the uncertainty in the world currently with COVID-19. Unfortunately I don’t think anyone has the answer. With news of vaccine human trials starting in April for the UK and other medical breakthroughs there is a glimmer a hope for the world that things will hopefully get back to normal sooner rather than later. The decision was ultimately made to launch the Kickstarter and I hope you will be able to support and help share the link around.
The Word Smith 2 IndieGoGo is now finished! Thanks for all your support and it did much better than I expected. I’m taking a short break over the weekend but will be back on track next week to continue finishing up the second volume. It’s currently going lettering and dialogue review.
Word Smith Volume 2 bubbling away on IndieGoGo! We’re down to one last piece of original and I can’t thank everyone enough for their support. There’s still some to go if you still you a copy! I’d like to share some amazing Word Smith 2 sketches from P.R. Dedelis.
Word Smith Volume 2 is now FUNDED on IndieGoGo! Thanks for everyone’s support. Now that fun starts, I’ll be excited to see how much can be raised on this campaign. I hope y’all can help to get spread the word (pun intended) about this project.
Word Smith Volume 2 is now funding on IndieGoGo! If you missed out on the Kickstarter campaign, this is your opportunity to still be one of the first to get a copy of this graphic novel.
Tina Yap (Librarian Technician at Deepdene and Kew East Primary School) asked some of her students to review Word Smith. It’s always great to read what people think about your work. Thanks Tina for organising this and thanks to the students for your time to put your thoughts into words.
I love it when people can relate to the story and the characters! It’s very encouraging to see schools starting to embrace graphic novels as part of their library collection. Graphic Novels are a fantastic story telling medium merging words and pictures.
Let’s get to work!
Word Smith was an interesting and engaging book to read. I would recommend it for years 4 and 5’s and potentially for those year 3’s who are looking for a challenge. Personally, this is a book I would not usually pick up in the Library as I prefer to read fiction novels but I am glad that I got to read this book. I am sure that many people at our school would enjoy it.
Zoe – Grade 6 – Deepdene Primary School
This comic was illustrated with a colourful array of drawings that filled the pages with a fun and lively theme and would have immediately attracted a large audience. The storyline itself was interesting to follow and pursued a cleverly thought out idea that kept the reader intertwined between the animated characters and the story itself. The tale on the other hand was short and sharp but nevertheless left the reader with a satisfied feeling as the journey ended on a cheerful and contented note.
As a reader of this comic I would recommend it for children the ages of 9+. Many alike would have enjoyed this story but my rating is based on whether the children themselves would have been able to follow the storyline. If this book is in considered for the Victorian’s Premier Reading Challenge, I would sit it in the category for 3-4 because it may prove a little less challenging for grades 5-6 although the storyline itself may be liked between those grades as well.
Riya – Grade 6 – Deepdene Primary School
The attention to detail in the illustrations is sensational. The bubble positions make it easy to read and contribute to the overall look. The story move quickly and is easy to follow. I like the creativity of the story line. How the author tied the characters together is clever. The emotions are well conveyed. Overall it is a well-produced story.
Gem – Grade 6 – Kew East Primary School
‘Word Smith’ was an engaging and entertaining graphic novel about the importance of words. It was about a baker named Bonnie who asked the word smith, Victoria, to craft a word for Bonnie’s husband, George. When Victoria’s word, dream, made George pursue his dream of exploring the Misty Forest, she knew that another word could change George’s mind. I admired the message; “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me. Words can be much worse than sticks and stones. Words have an unseen power to them. The wrong word at the wrong time can destroy, while the right word at the right time can change the world” because it was very inspirational to me. It also linked to the text really well, and how it explains how one word can change someone’s life.
Along with that, the story line always kept me interested. When parts got intense, I kept on reading to find out what would happen next. The illustrations were also made a big impact because the physical actions and emotions were shown. It was easy to feel empathy for most of the characters by their movements/quotes. Overall, I enjoyed reading ‘Word Smith’ because of its powerful message, suspense, words and illustrations put into the graphic novel.
There’s less than 3 days to go on the Word Smith 2 Kickstarter. The final $10,000 Stretch Goal is below and there’s a chance to get more great looking business cards! So close to doing better than the first Word Smith Kickstarter of 274 backers and $8008.
