A gorgeous, elegant volume

Free Planet trades arrived | Twin Cities Con report

My fine-feathered friends, let me tell you: I’ve had a big week. Not only did I have an incredible time at Twin Cities Con (WELCOME to all our new subscribers!) but I just received boxes of the jaw-droppingly gorgeous Free Planet volume 1.

I’ll go into further detail below, but first…

If you love Free Planet as much as I do, if you think its unique blend of geopolitics, military action, and space opera is worth pursuing, its rumination on freedom a rewarding one, here are the absolute best ways to keep the series going strong:

• Subscribe to Free Planet at your local comic shop

  • Don’t have one? Preorder Free Planet #7-14

• Preorder Free Planet volume 1 at a comic shop or independent book store

  • Don’t have one? Preorder Free Planet volume 1

• Review Free Planet volume 1 on Amazon

  • While I’d much rather you order from a local store, good Amazon reviews are essential to the long-term health of Free Planet

Just look at it, would you?

I rushed to crack open the boxes that arrived yesterday because I couldn’t wait to lay my eyes upon these beauties: Free Planet volume 1. Our geopolitical space opera was designed to take full advantage of the print medium, including the presentation of our first collected volume.

In addition to a stunningly beautiful printjob, with deep blacks, rich colors, and crystal clear dialogue, captions, and backmatter essays, Free Planet volume 1 also includes:

• Issues #1-6 of the Shape of Comics to Come

• A foreword by historian Dr. Aldous Foyroushi

• Each issue’s lushly illustrated backmatter essay

• Every cover for the entire series thus far

• Recommended reading pulled from my extensive bibliography

Truly: Free Planet volume 1 is a stunning, elegant package that you’ll be proud to display on your bookshelf. Preorder it at your local comic shop or independent book store ASAP to make sure you don’t have to wait for the restock. If you, poor soul, don’t have a local bookseller, you can order direct from my friends at Collector’s Paradise.

And, if you’ve already read issues #1-6, do us a solid: Leave a Free Planet review on Amazon. It’s always best if you do your actual preordering through a local comic shop or independent bookstore, thereby supporting local businesses and indicating that there’s demand for Free Planet. However, the unavoidable truth is that most books get sold through Amazon, making reviews on the platform absolutely essential.

Twin Cities Con: My best ever…?!

I was last in Minneapolis for the 2022 Twin Cities Con, at which I burned through an outrageous amount of books long before the show’s conclusion. To avoid a repeat, I not only packed my suitcases to the absolute limit, bringing the bare minimum clothing to keep warm, I also had Penguin Random House ship out a box of The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling ahead of time. But nonetheless…

IT STILL WASN’T ENOUGH. Over the course of the three-day show, I sold completely out of Free Planet #1-6 packs, No One Left to Fight, Savage Hearts, The Worst Dudes and even that full box of The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling. Even more impressive, I ran out of much of it on the second day, allowing me to absolutely demolish my previous con sales records.

What’s more, the reception to Free Planet was so outrageous that all it took was flipping through the issues, seeing the charts and graphs, the enveloping spreads, the compelling characters, and complex worldbuilding and folks eagerly snatched up not just the first issue but full packs of Free Planet #1-6!

But what really bowled me over, making me feel so incredibly blessed, was reconnecting with folks who snagged my books when I was last in town and signing books for those who had picked them up elsewhere. As invigorating as it always is to put my books in the hands of new readers (and as nice as it is to make some dough in the process) it’s even more meaningful to chat with folks who have already read and loved the work.

Thank you, Minneapolis. I can’t wait to come back.

If you missed out on getting Free Planet, The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling, No One Left to Fight, Savage Hearts or The Worst Dudes, your local comic shop or independent bookstore can absolutely track them down. If it’s my self-published work you’re after, hit up Power Pulp Comics for BEEF BROS and Stoned Master.

That’s it for me! As always, I’d love to hear from you via email reply or in the comments below. That said, if you have questions about the world of Free Planet, drop them in an email to Dr. Aldous Foyroushi so the good doctor can answer them in an upcoming issue.

Finally, a reminder: Free Planet #7 hits stores December 10. Issues #7-8 are a special interlude featuring guest artists Ilias Kyriazis and Tyrell Cannon and they will not be included in the trades. All the more reason to set up a subscription at your local comic shop toot sweet!

XOXO
Aubrey