Magical Girls fanart contest

We're having a Spera: Magical Girls fanart contest!

Want to win a copy of Spera: Volume I, signed by Kyla Vanderklugt, Hwei, Emily Carroll, Jordyn F. Bochon, Luke Pearson and me? How about a copy of the print edition of Magical Girls to go with it, signed by Victoria Grace Elliott, cover artist Hwei and me? One artist will be selected to receive both of these prizes, while two others will receive signed copies of Magical Girls.

All you have to do to enter is create some snazzy Magical Girls fanart, post it online and send the link to josh.will.tierney@gmail.com. The three winning pieces will also be featured on Spera-Comic.com. The deadline for this contest is April 9th, though it's possible it'll change to a slightly later date.

Magical Girls!

Frilly costumes! Ornate attack shouts! Magical activation jewellery! All 24 pages of Magical Girls are now online, and it’s probably the world Lono wishes the main Spera story was. Follow high school students Pira and Lono as they uncover the nefarious schemes of the Starless, all while studying for tests and reading comic books.

Magical Girls was illustrated by Victoria Grace Elliott, who is part of a magical girl group project called Pretty Clover Knights. If you like shoujo, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura and other cartoons and comics in the magical girl genre, we hope you’ll check out Magical Girls!

As a special bonus you can download a wallpaper from the comic's first page.

Clothes Shopping

Clothes Shopping, a two-page Spera short illustrated by HamletMachine, is now online. Clothes Shopping was written in 2010 as my first attempt at a gag comic.

Sun Dog

Sun Dog is up on Spera-Comic.com! The story for this five-page comic was written by Bobby Myers in 2010 as the last of the 'random encounter' series of shorts -- basically, comics where Pira, Lono and Yonder beat up monsters to level up. Disa Wallander brings this particular battle to life with her strong sense of atmosphere and beautiful blue palette. I wrote the dialogue.

TCAF 2012

Spera is coming to TCAF! Kyla Vanderklugt, Hwei and I will be promoting Spera: Volume I at the Toronto Comics Art Festival on the weekend of May 5th and 6th. Also in attendance will be Vol. I artists Emily Carroll, Jordyn Bochon and Luke Pearson. Admission to TCAF is free.

5 Favourite Games Of 2011

All right, here we go: my five favourite games from 2011.

1. Yakuza 4 - CS1 Team

Players into Japanese gangster dramas and RPG/beat-'em-up hybrids should really check out the Yakuza series (starting with 3 if you prefer drama, and 4 if you prefer beating people up). Yakuza 4 has a story for thinking, feeling adults that http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifblends themes of brotherhood and honour with absurd humour. Exploring the city is always atmospheric, and beating up thugs (yet never killing anyone!) is always a treat.

2. Sonic CD - Christian Whitehead (port)

I've played through this game 10 times since it's been out on PSN. It's a game I've been wanting to play since 1993 but never had the hardware -- the only Sonic similar to the first game, where platforming and exploration are as important as speed. The 90s neon colours are the best kind of gaudy. Also, this level theme.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Nintendo EAD
4. Dark Souls - From Software
5. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 - Eighting

SPERA Now In Stores

The first book from Archaia is officially out in stores today. If your local comic shop or bookstore doesn't have a copy, they should be able to order one in. If you don't have a comic store near you, you can order a copy from most online retailers.