While Koko continues to work on TOTD, I’ll be posting additional content here, including plenty more dragon sketch covers. With con season in full effect, I’ve been cranking out a ton of these for fans at shows. Speaking of shows this summer, I’ll be attending the big Baltimore Comic-Con in August. Make sure to pick one up if you’re there.
And if you can’t get to a con, but want to support Tears of the Dragon, please (please!) order one of these artist’s edition versions of Chapter 1. The more of these I sell, the quicker Tears of the Dragon comes out. Thanks!

Tears of the Dragon #1 – Artist’s Edition

The one-of-a-kind Artist’s edition to the first chapter of Tears of the Dragon!

• A signed, numbered edition, limited to 100 copies!
• Original , one-of-a-kind dragon sketch cover drawn by Tyler James!
• Full Color!
• Cardstock cover!

Tears of the Dragon is a fantasy comic written by Tyler James, drawn by Koko Amboro and colored by Paul Little.

Book One: To Become King, the first chapter in the TOTD saga, begins with the tale of Torvuld, a young nobleman with his eyes on the crown. Evoking an old rite of passage, Torvuld sets out to slay a dragon to prove his valor, earning the wrath of the mighty dragon Sythic.

16 pages, color, cardstock cover, 6.625 x 10.25

$15.00 + $1.50 shipping

I’m pleased to announce that my comics are now available for the iPhone and iPad!

Tyler James Comics has partnered with brand spanking new mobile comics publisher Oxicomics to distribute a selection of books in a format tailor made for the iPhone, and sold through the App Store.

Tears of the Dragon #1 is now available for purchase, one of the inaugural handful of comics released during Oxicomics soft-launch kick-off.  (In fact, Oxicomics has been using Tears images in the promotional images of their new app…which is fine by me!)

TOTD #1 is on sale for just $0.99 at the app store, and can be found easily by searching either “Tears of the Dragon” or “Oxicomics” or simply by following THIS LINK.

Also available FOR FREE is Tyler James Comics Presents…Vol. 1.  Yup, that’s right.  FREE!  So, please, download and let me know what you think!

In the coming weeks and months, I’ll be adding new titles to the Oxicomics Catalogue, including Tears of the Dragon #2 and the complete OVER series, with all new, mobile-only covers.

One of my biggest goals of this year was to get my comics on the iPhone and iPad.  Partnering with Oxicomics, a new kid on the block whose comics reader rivals the best apps out there, made a lot of sense, and it will hopefully be a win-win for both of us.  Though I’ve been drooling over the iPhone for a long time, I refused to allow myself to purchase one until I was selling comics through it.

Well, looks like I’ll be hitting the Apple store, soon!

AVAILABLE NOW AT OXICOMICS

Hey everybody!  This TOTD hiatus has gone a little longer than anticipated unfortunately.  There has actually been quite a bit going on behind the scenes, but that hasn’t translated into updates for you guys. (Sorry!)

Koko is back hard at work on pages, and I’m planning on stockpiling a nice batch of pages before we go live again, to ensure consistent updates on schedule.  One thing I’ve asked him to do is to create a new cover image/pin-up for Tears.  Here’s some back and forth between Koko and I, taking you behind the scenes of the creation of the book.

My Initial Concept…

Hey, Koko, here is my idea for the cover:

What I’d like to see for this cover is to have a nice big shot of Princess Yordania at age 9 or so….still a little girl.  However, she’s wearing a soldier’s battle armor that’s way too big for her.  She’s got a very tough, fierce look on her face like “I’m the toughest little girl you’ve ever seen” and she is holding a sword that is way too big for her.  There might also be some knives or other weapons hanging from the armor she’s wearing.  A little girl that looks like she’s ready to go off to war…but it’s clear she’s wearing armor and clothes that’s way too big for her and she’s not ready.

She’s also looking right at the reader, in sort of a “I dare you to mess with me” kind of look.

If in the background, we could tie in some sort of image of a dragon, and leave enough room at the top for the Tears of the Dragon logo, that would definitely do the trick.

Anyway, this is my idea.  If you have any other ideas for images that you think would make for cool covers/promo images, I’m open to hearing your ideas.  I’d love to see some potential layouts/quick sketches before committing to doing one of them.

A few weeks later, here’s what Koko came up with…

A good start, but I had a few notes for him…

- I think we should get rid of the helmet on her, and show her long hair.  Otherwise, we can’t really tell that she’s a little girl.
- May won’t to soften her features just a bit…she looks angry and evil.  We don’t want her to look evil.  She should looks serious, but still cute.
- When drawn on the comic art board paper, make sure you leave enough dead/unimportant space at the top for the Tears of the Dragon LOGO.  It will be bad if the Dragon head gets cut off by the logo.
- I might try to exhaggerate the size of the armor she’s wearing even more.  Make it clear that belt is too big for her as well, and make those boots she’s wearing a little bigger too.

Koko came back the next day with a new approach to Yordania…

Much better.  I had a few more notes for him, based on this new approach…

Yeah, I like that better, especially around the face.

I think the Sword should be bigger, she’s just a little girl here, the Sword she’s holding should be too big for her, and she should be having trouble lifting it.

I think in the final drawing you should try to make sure to get her whole body in the image, including her feet.  I like how your have her knees bent to show that she’s weighed down by the heavy sword and armor…I might even bend them a little more, and spread the feet out a bit more.

Good progress!

Yesterday, Koko came back was this revamped sketch!

And the finished product…

This just gives you a little glimpse into the process of creating TOTD.  Obviously, you can see why I enjoy working with Koko.

Great news!

Tears of the Dragon – Volume 1 is now available for pre-order!  This is the first landscape format print collection of TOTD, containing the first two chapters of the fantasy epic.

I’m running a special Pre-Order Campaign between now and May 15, 2011, with a number of great incentives for readers who choose to support the campaign.  This book has been a labor of love, and I’m really excited to be releasing this new volume.

Pre-order now and receive:

- FREE Shipping!*

- Artist Edition Upgrade! Original sketch in the book by series creator Tyler James!

- Free Bonus Digital PDF Copy !

Pre-ordered books will ship 5/15/11.

Order Here!

About Tears of the Dragon

To entertain his grandchildren while on a pilgrimage, a well-traveled Old Man spins a grand tale of swords and sorcery, dragons and demons, revenge, regret and redemption, and above all…love. His story begins with a young nobleman with eyes on the crown. To prove his valor, the would-be king sets out to slay a dragon, earning the undying wrath of the mighty Sythic.

Volume I collects the first two chapters of the Tears of the Dragon saga!

Writer – Tyler James

Artist – Koko Amboro

Color Artists - Paul Little, Miguel Marques, Evan Surya Nugraha

56 pages, Full Color

Contains Mild-Fantasy Violence.  Appropriate for pre-teen and up.

8.5″ x 6″ Perfect Bound Trade

www.totdcomic.com

* Free shipping to US/CA. Add $5 international orders.

Tears of the Dragon has received a strong reception by a number of reviewers from popular comics news sites around the interwebs.  I’m happy to be able to share some of this praise with you here, and please feel free to read the entire reviews at the corresponding websites.

Stephen Jondrew, Project Fanboy

This book is nothing like many previous fantasy books that I’ve read…Even if you don’t like fantasy stories, you should check out the art as I would describe it as incredible. It’s crisp, it’s clean, it’s vibrant and it has a nice warm tone to it. There are a lot of artists that should take notes from this book as it really is a perfect example of what I like to see it comic book art.

Just like the art, other fantasy writers should take note of how Tears of the Dragon was written. Where I feel most fantasy writers often fail is in the exaggeration of old-english use. I understand that writers feel that it adds effect; however, I’ve always found it extremely distraction. The writing in this book, however, uses the perfect balance of both – just enough to keep your mindset in the times, but also little enough so that it’s an easy read…Overall I think this is an excellently written story and I can’t wait to see more of it – great writing, beautiful art and just a fun read.

Read the complete review at Project Fanboy.

Tom Feazell, Omnicomic.com

I love the range of colors used and obviously feel that the book is a value coming in at a hefty 58 pages. Tears of the Dragon Vol. I feels similar to Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard in format, only instead of multiple stories there’s one story continuing throughout.

It also reads like a graphic novel and has the twists and turns of A Song of Fire and Ice – orGame of Thrones if you’ve recently discovered the series on HBO – with betrayal and mystical creatures returning to haunt the main characters. Everything about the book is solid but the writing is what really drew me in to the story.

Read the complete review at Omnicomic.com.

Alex Widen, Brooklyn Comic Books Examiner, Examiner.com

The story takes place in a world of dragons, armored knights, swords and sorcery. The backdrop is that most of the action is revealed by an old grandfather who is taking his two grandkids on a pilgrimage; his stories are treated as being history of the past of their realm, but his involvement is unknown. The artwork by Amboro is fine; neither explosive or difficult to follow – he an artist with a strong grasp of the fundamentals who likely needs more experience before he truly erupts as a talent. He does, at least, draw some solid dragons and battle armor. The color work is quite capable, and of professional quality…
The cliffhanger will be followed up on and the characters in “the grandfather’s story” should develop as well, as James clearly has bigger things in mind for his saga. There is a gap in the market for fantasy comic books that aren’t parodies or genre deconstructions, and TEARS OF THE DRAGON should fill it for fan of dungeons and dragons.

Read the rest of the review on Examiner.com

 

Want a print copy of Tears of the Dragon – Volume 1?

Order NOW from Amazon!

Or get a signed volume with an artist’s edition sketch here!

About Tears of the Dragon

To entertain his grandchildren while on a pilgrimage, a well-traveled Old Man spins a grand tale of swords and sorcery, dragons and demons, revenge, regret and redemption, and above all…love. His story begins with a young nobleman with eyes on the crown. To prove his valor, the would-be king sets out to slay a dragon, earning the undying wrath of the mighty Sythic.

Volume I collects the first two chapters of the Tears of the Dragon saga!

Writer – Tyler James

Artist – Koko Amboro

Color Artists - Paul Little, Miguel Marques, Evan Surya Nugraha

56 pages, Full Color

Contains Mild-Fantasy Violence.  Appropriate for pre-teen and up.

8.5″ x 6″ Perfect Bound Trade

www.totdcomic.com

* Free shipping to US/CA. Add $5 international orders.