EFJI#3 Geeky Variant cover unveiled!

We are a whole lot of psyched to show off Mortimer Glum’s latest twisted creation, the Geeky Variant cover for Escape From Jesus Island #3! This cover featuring Vatican Black Ops badass Oleg “Barracuda” Arlovski spending some quality time with the brothers Christ and Antichrist will be available in June exclusively through Geeky Comics at UK conventions, at our online store and at select US retailers.

This joins our main cover, below, giving you the option of a cover that is Not Safe For Work or one that is Really Not Safe For Work. Both covers go the printers in one week and will be hitting store shelves next month. Buckle up, kids. Episode 3 is a wild ride.

Episode 1 of Escape From Jesus Island will be released as a Phantom Variant!

Behold, the very first cover for Escape From Jesus Island!

Which leads us to the big news that’s been brewing behind the scenes. I am super psyched to announce that the premiere issue of Escape From Jesus Island will be released this Christmas as part of the Phantom Variant program!

We’ll be kicking off our comic book with a 30-day exclusive run at Phantom Retailers worldwide. The Phantom Variant version of Episode 1 will have different front and back covers, and will be the only place you can get EFJI with the kickass cover art seen above.

At the end of our 30-day exclusive period, we’ll launch our Issue 1 with a different cover and then we’re off and running as a monthly series.

The Phantom Variant series includes Deadpool, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Fantastic Four and soon Escape From Jesus Island. This is obviously a big pile of win for an independent comic like ours and we are a whole lot of excited about this opportunity.

So what does this mean for Kickstarter supporters? Not a thing. We have a Kickstarter exemption worked into the deal, so this won’t delay the Christmas delivery of your first issue.

To find a Phantom Retailer near you, point your browser at: www.phantomvariant.com/blog/?page_id=7

You can check out the other titles in the Phantom Variant series here: www.phantomvariant.com/blog/?page_id=5

Thank you all so much for your support. Big things lie ahead for our little comic and we wouldn’t be able to do it without you.

Shawn
The word guy

And the Winners are…

We were completely blown away by the entries in our first annual Escape From Jesus Island Halloween Art Contest. First and foremost, we want to thank everyone who took the time to bring one of our characters to life with your artwork. Due to the tremendous quality of your work, we’ve decided to include the top three entries in print in our first issue as opposed to just the winner, as previously planned.

Everyone who submitted an entry will receive a PDF copy of our premiere issue and their names will be etched into the Wall of Silence alongside all the ReGen staff who lost their lives at the Malsum Island Research Facility. The Wall of Silence will appear in Issue 1 of EFJI, as well as on our site.

Now to the awards…

FIRST PLACE PRIZE: An original, signed sketch by Mortimer Glum. Contest entry is included in our premiere issue.

WINNER: Lawton Mann

ABOUT THE ENTRY: Lawton’s interpretation of Damien earned three of four first-place votes and was our clear winner in this contest. Sure, the artwork is awesome, but what really put this entry over the edge was how Lawton perfectly captured the vibe and style of our comics. The Church of Latter Day Mutants card is a wonderful touch that feels very Mortimer Glum-esque, and Lawton’s fantastic choice of scripture to include displayed a whole lot of familiarity with how we do things. Fantastic work, Lawton!

 

 

SECOND PLACE PRIZE: Be turned into a mutant by Mortimer Glum. Contest entry is included in our premiere issue.

WINNER: Kylea Draper

ABOUT THE ENTRY: When submitting her entry, Kylea mentioned that she didn’t really draw horror stuff, but wanted to take part, so she drew the Antichrist eating ice cream at the beach in the improbably awesome entry entitled, “Yeshua indulges in the sin of ice-cream.” We have been laughing ourselves silly since this entry arrived. It’s so deliciously random and every member of our crew included this as one of their top three picks.

 

 

THIRD PLACE PRIZE: Escape From Jesus Island mini-poster. Contest entry is included in our premiere issue.

WINNER: Kenny Harris

ABOUT THE ENTRY: One of my favorites from the start, there’s so much to love about this artwork. It fits the vibe of our comic perfectly, right down to the inclusion of the cross from our logo. Pariah looks badass and I love the various expressions on his faces. Just a fantastic entry.

 

 

And yes, I know we said we were only doing three prizes, but two super entries missed third place by the narrowest possible margin, so…

FOURTH PLACE PRIZE: Signed copy of Issue 1 of Escape From Jesus Island.

WINNERS (TIE): Ninna Hellman and Aaron Morgan

ABOUT THE ENTRIES: Ninna’s depiction of Damien may be the single best likeness in the competition. I deeply love the malevolent gleam in Damien’s eyes. And Aaron’s twisted take on Mother Superior is another big favorite. There’s something mesmerizing about this image.

 

 

Now let’s take a peek at the rest of the fantastic entries…

One of the crew favorites was the Lollipope entry from Mama Wulf Shado. Jesus licking the empty eye socket of the Pope’s severed head while flashing a peace sign. In terms of sheer WTF-itude, this is our clear winner.

Big Gore from the metal band Coffin Syrup submitted our very first entry with his kickass take on Pariah and Meatwagon.

Wayne Kew rocks it with this take on Meatwagon. I love the claws and the skeleton on this one.

And Julio Mariscal drew up a kickass trio of entries. I love the vibe of these. It’s like Escape From Jesus Island meets Beavis and Butthead. Great work, Julio!
ENORMOUS thanks to everyone who took part and made our first annual Halloween Art Contest such a big success. I can’t wait to see what next year’s competition will yield!

EFJI writer Shawn French

The Kickstarter Wrap Up

Some words on the conclusion of our Kickstarter by EFJI creator and writer, Shawn French (from  his final update post to the Kickstarter page)

The Escape From Jesus Island Kickstarter campaign raised $15,899, nearly doubling our initial goal!

This will allow us to print the first six issues, as well as get an EFJI clothing line up and running. On behalf of the Escape From Jesus Island team (myself, illustrator Mortimer Glum, editor Shawn Greenleaf and letterist Peeter Parkker), thank you so much for your support during this past month. Thank you for giving us this opportunity. 

It’s been an incredibly stressful, but fascinating process, seeing which rewards most appealed to our fans. The signed and numbered Kickstarter-exclusive copies of Issue 1 with an alternate cover may be the steal of the campaign. 37 were claimed, plus one for each of the crew, so there will be 41 of these special issues in existence. Ever. 

Overwhelmingly, the reward that you folks most wanted was to appear in the comics. The first role was claimed less than a minute into the campaign. Only 12 of the 39 available roles remained when the dust settled last night. I love this aspect of the project so much. I love that our fans are a part of the story. That so many of the people who helped us in this critical early stage will be immortalized in Act One (Issues 1-8). 

Bridget McGraw, Daniel Brochs, Jason McCutcheon, Sean Savoy, CPJ van der Velden, Lawton Mann and the lucky person receiving this as a gift from user Spongefile will each die horrible deaths in Escape From Jesus Island. Each will appear as either a ReGen Corp employee or Vatican Black Ops agent who gets up close and personal with a mutant in a very bad way. 

Chris Lyford and Big Gore (from the metal band Coffin Syrup) will die at the hands of the Antichrist himself after claiming the Death By Damien reward. Cheryl Parisi and Kimberly Lynn Campbell will come face to face with the Unholy Abbess as our Death By Mother Superior backers. That is not going to end well for them. 

Charles Stephen Mineo will be torn apart by the seven-headed monster Pariah, played by fans Bryan Sinagra, Leo Beaucage, Dylan Gemmell, Juan Ayala, Jr., Jennifer Hagopian and Daniel Lovasz. Carlos Macera and John Plumley will get Hulk-smashed in brutal fashion for their Death By Goliath pledge. Jamar Green, Michael Estes and Jonathan White will be transformed into mutants who wreak a little havoc, and Charles Vorhees Krueger will be a featured mutant, the first ReGen test subject we meet up close and personal in Issue 1. 

Paul Coward will be Frankensteined together with a friend or loved one into a Combo Mutant which first appears in Issue 3. I love this reward so much. This creature makes a very memorable first appearance. 

Dave Rambo claimed The One Who Got Away, and will appear in our series as the Head of Security for ReGen Corp’s Malsum Island Research Facility, a badass mutant-wrangler with a knack for emerging from chaotic situations unscathed. 

And Steven N. Long will be a staple in this franchise, playing the Antichrist’s personal bodyguard, Inquisition. This is a tremendous role and you’ll be seeing a whole lot of Steven’s face (sans skin) in the pages of our comic and on our merchandise. We’ll also flash back to tell Inquisition’s story, showing him before he became so horrifically burnt. Steven’s son will also have a small, but kickass cameo in our early issues. 

Why settle for being a character in our story when you can have the Jesus Island team create something specifically for you? That was approach by Bud Wellington and Tim Stiles, who each claimed the Creator Reward. Our team will work with Bud on a non-fiction project and we’ll be creating a 12-page section for Tim for his upcoming comic Cthulhu Williams: Weird Tales. 

Again, thank you all so much. We have such big plans ahead and you’ve allowed us to take this giant first step. 

If you haven’t yet joined the EFJI online community, we’re 2,500 strong at:www.facebook.com/jesusisland
And you can always learn more about the project here, at our official site.

Back to work I go. This thing isn’t going to write itself. 

Shawn

I’d like to echo Mr. French’s sentiments, because this was a wild ride! Highs and lows with a WHOLE lot of work in between. But it’s also been an amazing adventure and one hell of a rewarding learning experience.

I can only truly speak for myself, but I’m pretty sure the rest of the EFJI crew feels the same.

Now, back to work I go. This thing isn’t going to edit itself ya’know.  ;)~

Art the World (with #EFJI !!!)
Savage1

Steven N. Long is Inquisition!

One of the biggest characters up for grabs in our (or any other) Kickstarter campaign was Inquisition, Damien’s personal bodyguard. The Shadow of the Antichrist. This character will be a staple in the Jesus Island franchise, always at his master’s side and ready to dish out some carnage.

We are happy to announce that Steven N. Long, an active duty sergeant in the U.S. Army, will be playing the role of Inquisition in the Escape From Jesus Island comic book series. Using reference photos, Mortimer Glum will recreate this major character, building a posable 3D model of Steven as Inquisition. This allows for the most accurate possible likeness by providing a consistent reference model at any angle.

Inquisition makes his first appearance in Issue 1 and we’ll learn more about how he became the way he is as the story unfolds. Thanks so much for your support, Steve! We are thrilled to have you as a character who plays such a major role in this story.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1254797765/escape-from-jesus-island-comic-book-series