Black and white magazines are almost ready!

Hey all! Just a quick note that the black and white magazine, with character design sketchbook, Issue #1 development art and behind-the-scenes notes and interviews is just about ready! We'll be mailing them out to those Kickstarter backers who got them included in their reward in the next week or two. Take a look at the cover below!

We are still missing shipping info from one or two of you backers, so if you haven't filled out your survey yet, now's the time. Also if any of you have changed your address since filling out the survey, send us a message and let us know so you can be sure to get your reward sent to the right place.

A new episode of our Darkhan City Podcast will be up soon with Robert's and my review of Avengers! Plus you can read a 5-page Elders of the RuneStone story called "Loose Ends" via the links on the right side of this blog.

Lastly, here are a couple new Kickstarter projects you might be interested in checking out and supporting:

THROWDOWN Card Game--Robot Cowboy Samurai Edition http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2124589346/throwdown-card-game-robot-cowboy-samurai-edition

The Uncanny Hardcover Collection  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/williamhodge/the-uncanny-hardcover-collection

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Thank You to All Our Kickstarter Backers

The official THANK YOU LIST for our Kickstarter Team is here! This list will have a permanent place on this website, as well as be included in the back of Elders of the RuneStone #1 and the collected four-issue graphic novel.

Thank you all again from the bottom of our hearts. We are working hard on Issue #2 right now, as well as finishing up Issue #1. More on that soon!

And in case you missed it, here's the link to our official Kickstarter page!

Kickstarter Update #16: A Special Message for All Our Wonderful Backers

Thank you.

For the last several years, Robert Atkins and I have put our hearts and souls into Elders of the RuneStone because we believed in the story. It's been my life's work, my passion and ultimate dream for so long, and now because of you, it's a reality.

In the months of preparation leading up to launching on Kickstarter, Robert and I had faith but still had the lingering anxiety of "What if this doesn't work? What if people don't catch our vision and excitement? What if..." Less than 24 hours after we launched, we were over $1600. (I was in somewhat of a daze at that point.) As this last exhausting month has gone by, we've watched that number grow and grow until we smashed our original goal of $9000 that would make the project, its funding and rewards, official. The outpouring of generous support from family, friends, and new friends from all over the world has been nothing short of astounding and incredibly humbling. You don't know how deeply our hearts have been touched by this great kindness and generosity. It means more than you'll ever know.

And now because of you we've shattered our stretch goal of $12,000--we hit $12,597!!! This means that we'll be able to produce Issue #5 in addition to the first 4-issue miniseries we were originally shooting for. It also means that every one of you who have pledged $5 or more will soon be enjoying the bonus reward of a PDF of Issue #2!! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I'd like to take this time to also thank the phenomenal creative team, past and present, we've been blessed to worked with: Dan Glasl, Juan Castro, Bob Pedroza, Jonas Trindade, Joey Stone, Rick Ketcham, Troy Johnson, Elaine Atkins Manley, Brian Atkins, Ben Johnson...and many more. You guys are incredible.

We still have many challenges ahead of us as we brave the difficult path of (currently) independent comics creators and sharing our series Elders of the RuneStone with the world. But as mentioned before, it's a story we've long believed in that is worth all the hard work. You've all become the grassroots, ground-level champions of something special, helping blast it forward and upward in a way we never in a thousand years could have done ourselves. We'll definitely be keeping you in the know as things continue to fall into place!

A few great ways to keep up with all the exciting developments for the series are to subscribe to our official website and blog at http://RuneStoneComic.com, and to subscribe to our show, the Darkhan City Podcast, which can be found on iTunes, Zune.net, and on our main website. We'd also love to have you "Like" our Elders of the RuneStone/Darkhan City Podcast Facebook page! In addition, our personal websites are http://robertatkinsart.blogspot.com and http://mrwonderfulproductions.com, and our Twitter names are @robertatkinsart and @quinnmjohnson.

To send you your well-deserved rewards, in the coming weeks and months we'll be sending out requests for your information through Kickstarter, including email addresses (for the Issues #1 & #2 PDFs), mailing addresses, photos (for those who are being drawn into the story) and what name you'd like us to use for the Thank You page for inclusion in the collected graphic novel and for our website (and for those whose names will be inserted into the story)! Your prompt response will be greatly appreciated!

Last of all and most importantly, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Lord, for guiding us to this wonderful Kickstarter opportunity and for giving us the strength to keep going through the years when things looked impossible. He has sustained and blessed us every step of the way.

Thank you all again. We're honored to have you on the team.

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Kickstarter Update #15: It's the FINAL COUNTDOWN! Only 29 hours left!!

Go to our Kickstarter page at the link below and join the team!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1337098590/elders-of-the-runestone

Well, it's been a crazy, incredible and exhausting (physically and emotionally) month! We've blasted past our original goal of raising $9000 thanks to all of you who have been so incredibly supportive and generous. We're excited to send out your rewards in the coming months! This dream has come true because of YOU. We cannot thank you enough.

With that being said, here are the final rewards we'll highlight before this Kickstarter campaign officially ends tomorrow night, April 7th at midnight! Until the funding is closed, the remaining rewards are still up for grabs before they're GONE FOR GOOD. Don't let them go to waste!

And enjoy one more sneak peek of Issue #1--thought we'd end the preview pages with a BANG!

Pledge $200 or more (3 remaining): Get a 9” x 12” inked and full color marker commission of a character of your choice by series artist Robert Atkins (G.I. Joe, X-Men Forever, Amazing Spider-man)! AND get a copy of the collected graphic novel, hand-numbered by series writer Quinn Johnson (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kung Fu Panda, Megamind) and signed by Quinn and Robert! AND get a PDF (special “Kickstarter Team” edition) of the double-sized first issue, AND get your name printed in the “Thank You’s” at the end of the book and on the Elders of the RuneStone website under the “Gold Contributors” section!

Pledge $130 or more (7 remaining): Get a copy of the collected graphic novel AND a limited black & white sketchbook with Elders of the RuneStone art, story notes and interviews! Sketchbook includes pre-production art from both series artist Robert Atkins (G.I. Joe, X-Men Forever, Amazing Spider-man) and series writer Quinn Johnson (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kung Fu Panda, Megamind) that established the look of the series, with revealing behind-the-scenes commentary! Both the graphic novel and the sketchbook are hand-numbered by Quinn, and both are signed by Robert, Quinn, and artist Dan Glasl (Elders of the RuneStone, Foster Broussard)! AND you will get two head sketches of (characters of your choice), one by Robert and one by Dan! AND get a PDF (special “Kickstarter Team” edition) of the double-sized first issue, AND get your name printed in the “Thank You’s” at the end of the book and on the Elders of the RuneStone website under the “Gold Contributors” section!

Pledge $75 or more (1 remaining): The artist will hand-draw you into at least one panel of an issue of Elders of the RuneStone! AND you’ll get a copy of the collected graphic novel, hand-numbered and signed by series writer Quinn Johnson (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kung Fu Panda, Megamind)! AND get a PDF (special “Kickstarter Team” edition) of the double-sized first issue, AND get your name printed in the “Thank You’s” at the end of the book and on the Elders of the RuneStone website under the “Gold Contributors” section!

Pledge $60 or more (7 remaining): Your name (not likeness) will be used for a minor character that appears briefly in Elders of the RuneStone before getting killed! AND you’ll get a copy of the collected graphic novel, hand-numbered and signed by series writer Quinn Johnson (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kung Fu Panda, Megamind)! AND get a PDF (special “Kickstarter Team” edition) of the double-sized first issue, AND get your name printed in the “Thank You’s” at the end of the book and on the Elders of the RuneStone website under the “Silver Contributors” section!

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