Alexis E. Fajardo's Blog, page 7
March 8, 2017
INTERVIEW – Comics Manifest
I had a fun time chatting with Aaron Williams on his most excellent podcast Comics Manifest. Aaron has a deep and impressive archive of cartoonists to listen too (which I often do while drawing) so I was glad to be added to the roster. Listen below or in the links!
March 2, 2017
INTERVIEW – Professor Awesome
Long time KidB. fan and advocate, Richard “Professor Awesome” Scott Nokes, invited me onto his podcast to chat up the new edition of Kid Beowulf: The Song of Roland. Prof. Awesome has seen Kid Beowulf since the beginning (both he and his daughter have a blurb in the first BW edition) so this was a rare opportunity to dive deep into the making of the graphic novel and especially fun since Scott is a professor of Old English and nerd-dom in general, so our world views align quite nicely! There are two way to enjoy the show, either via the audio podcast or his youtube channel below.
February 27, 2017
TRAILER – The Song of Roland
A trailer for the graphic novel!
February 21, 2017
PREVIEW – The Song of Roland
Giants! Elephants! Roller Coasters?
That’s just some of the mayhem twin brothers Beowulf and Grendel discover in their second adventure! Banished from their homeland, the brothers seek refuge with their Uncle Holger in far-off France, but by the time they arrive, the kingdom is in shambles: King Charlemagne is ailing; his knights have been exiled; and France’s hero, Roland, needs a kick in the pants. It’s up to Beowulf and Grendel to unite the country before it’s taken over by an invading Saracen horde!
Here’s a special sneak-peek of the book available in just one short week – pre-order it today!
Kid Beowulf: The Song of Roland is 280 pages of full color action and adventure and also includes “More To Explore” back matter featuring maps, a character glossary, bibliography, and making-of material. I think old fans will appreciate the remastered artwork (which features over 20 pages of newly drawn material) and new fans will revel in the adventures of Beowulf and Grendel to come. If you have read and enjoyed the book please consider reviewing it on Amazon and Goodreads – the more reviews it gets the more people will find it!
February 10, 2017
TRAILER – Paladins Tale
A trailer for the new short story Kid Beowulf Eddas: Paladins Tale!
Paladins Tale Trailer
A trailer for the new short story Kid Beowulf Eddas: Paladins Tale!
January 31, 2017
#28DaysofRoland
To get primed for its arrival February 28th, I’m doing a month long behind-the-scenes look at book two, Kid Beowulf: The Song of Roland. I’ll be posting all sorts of fun tid-bits from the making of the graphic novel including: history, character bios, fun facts, and whatever else comes to mind. The posts will be available on my Instagram page and the Kid Beowulf Facebook page so be sure to follow the hashtag #28DaysofRoland on your favorite channel.
January 9, 2017
PREVIEW – Paladins Tale
I’m excited to announce a new short story debuting today called, Paladins Tale! I teased the story awhile back when I was still in the throes of penciling and inking but had to put the story on hold while I worked on the KidB mobile game. Now though, I’m happy to report the story is done and I really like how this one turned out! Here’s the cover…
Part of the Kid Beowulf Eddas series, Paladins Tale is a short story that takes place during the events of book two, The Song of Roland. There is a one page sequence in the book when Ogier the Dane tells his nephews, Beowulf and Grendel how he and the other Peers were betrayed, ambushed, and eventually thrown in prison for high treason.
Ogier’s retelling from Kid Beowulf: The Song of RolandI wanted to write the story of how the Peers broke out of prison and went into exile together. Paladins Tale opens after Ganelon has locked each Peer away in separate prisons across Francia. Through the course of the story we watch each Peer contrive to bust out in his own inimitable fashion. The story is 45 pages full of daring escapes, bar-room brawls, high adventure, and beautiful colors by Jose Flores.
The story begins online today, at the newly revamped GoComics and will run four days a week through March. On January 24th it will be available to download as a full issue on Comixology and Kindle and to order as a print version through Amazon. I will also have copies available to purchase at conventions, beginning this weekend at Lumacon in Petaluma, California.
Below is a preview of the first five pages. Enjoy!
Paladins Tale is a great companion to Kid Beowulf: The Song of Roland and gives us even more backstory on some of my favorite characters, and with the newly colored Roland debuting in March, it’s the perfect segue into that big adventure. You can subscribe to Kid Beowulf at GoComics for the rest of the story, and find it at Comixology, Kindle, or Amazon in two short weeks! Finally, here’s a trailer…
January 8, 2017
Review – The Roarbots
Writer, editor, reviewer, and podcaster, Jamie Greene of The Roarbots took a leap into the unknown recently and reviewed The Blood-Bound Oath. Mr. Greene admits to not being a ready-made fan of the original epic…
For whatever reason, I just couldn’t sink my teeth into it like I could with other myths and legends. King Arthur? Sure. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight? Yep. Edith Wharton’s Mythology? Why not? But Beowulf? Just didn’t do it for me.
So when Kid Beowulf appeared on my radar, I’d be lying if I said it immediately rose to the top of my reading pile. I liked the twist of making the story accessible to young readers, but…well, it was still Beowulf.
But I’m here to tell you I wish I had read this a lot sooner.
Thankfully he stuck with the story, enjoyed it, and thinks others will too…
Young readers who are interested in history or fantasy settings will eat this up, and those who are already familiar with long-from graphic novel storytelling (through books such as Bone or Amulet) shouldn’t be put off by the length or depth of this story.
Let yourself fall into the story, and there’s a lot to enjoy here. Remember my distaste for the original epic poem? It’s not even a strike against Kid Beowulf, and I’m eagerly looking forward to the second book in the series. Beowulf and Grendel in France and dealing with Roland and Charlemagne? Yes, please.
He has a full in-depth review on his site and I’m thankful he took the time to read and write about the book. In fact, after reading Kid Beowulf, he might consider giving the original Beowulf another try which, for me, is the best news of all.
December 13, 2016
Preview – Lookin’ For Lingonberries!
The new short story I did for the Kid Beowulf mobile game Lookin’ For Lingonberries is now available to read in full this month at GoComics and Comixology!
Issue Synopsis: When 12-year-old Beowulf dreams of lingonberries the only thing to do is go and look for some, but what he finds is a whole mess of trouble! Can Beowulf survive a day out in the wild or will he and his pig Hama become a Heathobard’s breakfast?
This story takes place shortly after the events of book one and explains why the Heathobards, Emer and Ermlaf hold such a grudge against Beowulf and Grendel. Check out the preview pages below…
You can read the rest of the story four days a week through December at GoComics or hop over to Comixology and download the full issue right now! And don’t forget: the incredibly clever and highly addictive mobile game is also available to download at iTunes and Googleplay FOR FREE. It’s a festivus miracle.
