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EARTHWORM JIM the Comic Book!

The epic comic book story of Earthworm Jim told for the first time by the creator of Earthworm Jim!

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EARTHWORM JIM the Comic Book!

EARTHWORM JIM the Comic Book!

EARTHWORM JIM the Comic Book!

EARTHWORM JIM the Comic Book!

EARTHWORM JIM the Comic Book!

The epic comic book story of Earthworm Jim told for the first time by the creator of Earthworm Jim!

The epic comic book story of Earthworm Jim told for the first time by the creator of Earthworm Jim!

The epic comic book story of Earthworm Jim told for the first time by the creator of Earthworm Jim!

The epic comic book story of Earthworm Jim told for the first time by the creator of Earthworm Jim!

Doug TenNapel
Doug TenNapel
Doug TenNapel
Doug TenNapel
4 Campaigns |
Franklin, United States
$815,676 USD by 9,074 backers
$696,831 USD by 7,652 backers on Jul 13, 2019
Highlights
Mountain Filled 4 Projects Mountain Filled 4 Projects
Overview
The Earthworm Jim: Launch The Cow comic store is CLOSED! I'm still not only the creator of Earthworm Jim, but I've spent the last 20 years making 18 graphic novels! EARTHWORM JIM is about the world's most unlikely hero... a worm! The evil Queen of Insectica has a super-suit invented that is capable of altering the universe when it is stolen by her ugly sister, Princess What's-Her-Name...

You Missed out on the Earthworm Jim Comic, but you can sign up for the Mailing List to find out about my next campaign here: http://earthwormjimcomic.com/!

My name is Doug TenNapel and I created Earthworm Jim 26 years ago. Though "EWJ" appeared in award winning video games, an animated series and a toy line, his epic story has yet to be told! We all know the character, but none of us know the story. This deficit in the universe ends NOW!

(P.S. Do sign up for the Earthworm Jim Comic mailing list! http://earthwormjimcomic.com/ )

For the first time in 27 years I am crafting an epic graphic novel worthy of the true fans of Earthworm Jim in a multi-book set! Let's launch the cow!

                  

My last Indiegogo campaign was for a comic book called Bigfoot Bill and my backers blew me away by providing $196k in funding! Together, we were able to make a hard bound, giant book with over-the-top gold-leafing and embossing on the cover. With your help, we can make Earthworm Jim: LAUNCH THE COW a beautiful volume that is a work of art unto itself. It goes on the coffee table, not some box of wrinkled, floppy comics in the basement. This story will be a sprawling love letter to the fans of Earthworm Jim!

LATEST STRETCH GOAL: 


COMPLETED STRETCH GOALS:

 

$245k FACT! Add 16 pages to the Making Of EWJ book, form 64 to 80 pages!
$252k FACT! 1 out of every 20 Bigfoot Bill books will get a HEADSKETCH (limited number)!
$285k FACT! Add 16 more pages to the Making of EWJ book, from 80 to 96 pages!
$313k FACT! EVERY BACKER* gets a cloth 3" x 3" GROOVY bomber patch! (*not for BFB)
$320k FACT! Put gold foil on the cover of the EWJ Comic Book!
$325k FACT! Earthworm Jim GROOVY CARDS one FREE pack per Backer! (*not for BFB)
$335k FACT! Add Spot Gloss UV to Comic Cover!
$343k FACT! All books $150 and up get 2 card packs, $500 +10, $1k +30!
$350k FACT! Every Backer* gets an EWJ Blokhedz printed paper craft! (* for BFB)
$360k FACT! EMBOSS THIS BOOK! EWJ Launch the Cow comic gets embossing!
$370k FACT! Every book AND card pack Backer gets + 1 EWJ Groovy Cards PACK!
$420k FACT! Every book Backer gets a free 24 page Bigfoot Bill 2: Finger of Poseidon Comic!
$440k FACT! Giant fold-out 2' x 3' poster by Sebastian Kowoll for every comic book backer!
$450k FACT! Add RED FOIL strike to EWJ Comic Book cover (second color)!
$460k FACT! Add BLUE FOIL on the Making Of EWJ cover!
$470k FACT! Add GOLD FOIL bling on the Making Of EWJ cover!
$480k FACT! Emboss the Making Of EWJ cover!
$490k FACT! Deboss decorations on the EWJ Comic Book cover!
$495k FACT! Deboss the Making Of EWJ cover!
$505k FACT! Put GOLD GILDED EDGES on the EWJ Comic Book!
$515k FACT! EWJ Book gets THREE-PAGE spread!
$525k FACT! Add a Glow-In-The-Dark Page in the Comic Book!
$535k FACT! Gold Foil on Interior End-Sheets of Comic!
$545k FACT! UV Spot Gloss on Comic Book end-sheets!
$555k FACT! Silver Gilding on the edge of Making Of EWJ book!
$565k FACT! Die-Cut the comic book end-sheets (put a window on a page!).
$575k FACT! Add UV spot gloss on the Making Of EWJ end-sheets!
$585k FACT! Add Blue Foil strike to Making Of EWJ end-sheets!
$595k FACT! Add 3 panel fold-out pages to Making of EWJ!
$596,542 FACT! Dye hair KAIJU-Betsy Ross for IGG comic campaign highest raise record!
$600k FACT! Mr. Phillips gets a $1k bonus!
$610k FACT!  Ms. Lynn gets a $1k bonus!
$620k FACT! Mr. Weathers gets a $1k bonus!
$630k FACT! Ms. Kavalcova gets a $1k bonus!
$640k FACT! Colorist Ms. Garner gets a $10k bonus!
$650k FACT! Mr. Potter gets a $2k bonus!
$660k FACT! Mr. Fenton and Mr. Roy get a $1k bonus!
$670k FACT! Print Guy Mr. Smith gets a $1k bonus!
$680k FACT! Shipping/Fulfillment Mr. Rathbun gets a $1k bonus!
$690k FACT! Trading Card Designer 1/4Black Garrett gets a $1k bonus!
$760k FACT!Every Book Backer Gets a Princess What's Her Name trading card in Shiny Foil!
$770k FACT! Every Book Backer Gets an animated EWJ trading card by Mike Dietz!
$780k FACT! Every Book Backer Gets an EWJ temp tattoo by Yoshi Vu!
$785k FACT! Every Beale A.F.B. Backer gets and Original Panel of art!
$800k FACT! Make poster reversible!

Finished two-page spread:



The Making Of EARTHWORM JIM Book!

Your Earthworm Jim: Launch the Cow comic is lonely and needs a companion...

The "Making Of The Earthworm Jim Book" is a perfect companion to the comic book. It will also be a 96 page, hardbound, 9" x 12" BEAST! It has a comprehensive backstory on all of the main characters and villains. I think it's tacky to have too much expository dialogue on everyone's past, so it's better to unfurl that in this book. I give you the why behind the entire Earthworm Jim universe... and yes, I'm building a universe!

I recently had a reunion with the whole Earthworm Jim game team and I gotta interview everyone. We talked about how Earthworm Jim came to be and I will document that many close calls and freak accidents that had to fall into place for it to happen. There will be team bios, and a catch up on what everyone has been doing over the last 25 years since we got together.

The Shiny Team section of the book has portraits of the talented artists, programmers and musician and the photos were even taken by David Perry the Earthworm Jim programmer!

I'll show every step of the comic book's production, from raw ideas on the white board to printing every notecard I used in breaking down the story. You'll see the raw pencilled pages, inked pages with washes applied and I even scan my script pages that are covered in pencil re-writes!

Who remembers this cartridge and packaging art by Mike Koelsch...?




I've asked Mike Koelsch to paint a new "90s-style EWJ cover" for the Making Of book! Koelsch will give a step-by-step story on how he illustrated EWJ including a sneak peek into his studio madness. (Check out Koelsch's website here: http://www.sporkunltd.com/) He has also allowed me to make prints of the cover and the original is available on our highest backer tier. I'll put it in a beautiful frame with matting so it's ready to hang in your home!
Here's Mike giving step by step progress on the cover:



I've got perks where you can own the original comic pages, the book covers and enjoy frame-worthy prints plus a perk where I will draw you an original signed Earthworm Jim head-sketch in your book!

The Earthworm Jim GROOVY Trading Cards are here! Every Backer gets 1 pack of 3 cards and 1 sticker with a chance to win a free original page!



3 ART PRINTS!

I hope to make three collectable prints with each Earthworm Jim book by guest artists, and these are the first three. Note: They will only be offered on this campaign and won't be offered on any future campaigns. The first is by Mike Koelsch, the artist who did all of the cartridge and packaging illustrations for Earthworm Jim 1 and 2. The next two are from the CreatureBox boys Greg and Dave!

Click here to learn more about CreatureBox: http://creaturebox.com/

New Tier: The Super-Deluxe Jim-less Original!

As I was making this book, I thought it would be great for fans to be able to still get a piece of original art from the book, but at a lower price. These are beautiful, fully rendered with ink-and-wash, signed, 11" x 17" pages, but they don't have Earthworm Jim on them. They will still have characters like Psycrow, Princess What's Her Name, Professor Monkey for a Head and more! It comes with everything in the Earthworm Jim Signed with Headsketch tier, so we've got your books covered!
Sample Page:

YOU are my Plan A. There is no other plan!

Making a big, beautiful book requires a lot of funding. Paper costs go up every year, and I only use top quality end sheets, cover stock and print work. It's made in America in my state so I can oversee every step of production. 

The book will start as a handsome hardbound edition, oversized at 9" x 12" and 160 pages long! It documents the origins of the super suit and how it got to earth to make our favorite hero. You'll see some familiar characters ripped straight out of the video game like: Peter Puppy, Princess What's-Her-Name, Psycrow, the hideous Professor Monkey for a Head, Queen Slug-for-a-Butt and Evil the Cat!

FUND THE TEAM:
The funds will go to a costly print run, my letterer Eric Weathers, flatter Radka Kavalcova, my colorist Katherine Garner, book designer Joe Potter and shipping fees. Here's a sampling of the team's test pages so far:



The Art of Bookmaking

I've spent years making graphic novels and Earthworm Jim is probably my most well-known creation, yet his story hasn't been told. This is my chance to do the best job I can to entertain you and your backing will make this book a fantastic work of art.



I don't see comics as disposable rags made to read once then toss aside. I spend a lot of time writing and story and crafting every page and merely reading some thin floppy or a PDF isn't the experience I'm going for. This book will be something you can enjoy for a lifetime, it's literature, not pop-garbage and I want to stand on the tip-toes of my ability to reach for the highest possible craft I can accomplish! 

My track record in this arena has few peers. I Kickstarted two sketchbook archives where we managed leather covers, gold gilded edges and the best printing money can buy. These are one-of-a-kind collector's items that are not available in stores. The book honors the backers who made them happen. I write for the most diverse audience imaginable, and the backers constantly tell me, "I got more than I paid for!" 

If you look at my books that are made outside of Indiegogo, you'll see that they don't have the over-the-top printing production I can pull off through crowd funding. Only through Indiegogo will you find foil-stamped gold cover art, UV gloss coatings, embossing and de-bossing! I hope to explore new printing techniques that make these hard bound books the kind of items you show off to your friends with a durability that ensures a great re-read for the rest of your life!


Now that the $252k stretch goal has been met, 1 out of 20 of these BFB books will get a free Bigfoot Bill HEADSKETCH! For more on the Bigfoot Bill campaign click: here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/doug-tennapel-s-bigfoot-bill-graphic-novel/x/838702#/

I spend a lot of time putting these books together, it's time away from my family and I've dedicated my art philosophy and have the highest commitment to being transparent to my backers, include them in every step of the process and take the moral contract between backer & creator seriously.

Why Beale Air Force Base?

When Crew Chief Matt Konar was allowed to choose any artist to paint the nose art on his KC135 refueling plane he wanted something like his favorite character Earthworm Jim! A friend put us in contact, and I designed the artwork for the plane and attended the commissioning ceremony on May 5th. The whole base came out and I felt so humbled to get to help America's finest that I wanted to do something special for those folks and give YOU that same feeling. 



By backing the Beale Air Force tier, I hope to send one copy of the Earthworm Jim comic to all 800 people on that base just in time for Christmas! As a thank you, I will send you a signed book!

Here's a sample page from the comic:

 

Get the Word Out:

The more you share this campaign, the more backers come in and the more we buff out the book for everyone! Please share the link, let your friends know and use the Indiegogo share tools to push this out to all of your social media outlets.

Thank you! I have the best Backers in the world.

Risks & Challenges

I've had some tight deadlines in my career, and this book will be no different. I will have to pencil and ink one to two pages a day, scan them, get them off to my lettering and coloring crew where they will have to match my schedule to keep up. We're up against Christmas, a nightmare for shipping, so there could be some real delays if I can't get most of these books out to you in November. I'm in close contact with my printer and they are fast and good! Here we are at work on my last campaign: 

 


Making of Images:

Doug T production drawing of Professor Monkey-For-A-Head from the first EWJ game (1994):

Princess What's-Her-Name and the Queen concept art:




Legal:

Earthworm Jim is a registered trademark of Interplay Entertainment Corp in the US and/or other countries. c2019 Interplay

Earthworm Jim was created by Doug TenNapel.

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Choose your Perk

Signed Book Super Fan!
featured

Signed Book Super Fan!

$70 USD
For the Superfans this includes an Earthworm Jim comic book hand signed by Doug TenNapel, the Making Of the Earthworm Jim Comic which includes character profiles, interviews with the original team and a cover by EWJ cartridge artist Mike Koelsch. This tier also features THREE high quality 9" x 12" frameable art prints of everyone's favorite hero!
Included Items
  • Making Of Book
  • Earthworm Jim SIGNED Comic
  • 3 High Quality Prints
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
2840 claimed
Ships worldwide.
Earthworm Jim Comic

Earthworm Jim Comic

$25 USD
One Earthworm Jim comic book please!
Included Items
  • Earthworm Jim Comic
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
2876 claimed
Ships worldwide.
1 Earthworm Jim the Making Of

1 Earthworm Jim the Making Of

$25 USD
A lot of you have asked for just EWJ the Making Of book to add to your tier so here it is! This book starts as a 64 page book but will easily go up to an 80 page book (and maybe more?). I'm excited about this volume because it will be full of my notecards, script pages, thumbnails, penciled pages etc. and interviews with the original EWJ game team!
Included Items
  • Making Of Book
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
127 claimed
Ships worldwide.
+9 Packs of EWJ trading cards!

+9 Packs of EWJ trading cards!

$27 USD
You want to try to chase 90 cards + 9 stickers? Start with these 9 packs, each with 3 cards and 1 sticker! 10% of these cards are "special cards" featuring cards SIGNED by the Shiny team, Mike Dietz, Ed and I are doing SKETCHES and one gold ticket will get you an original page of the EWJ comic! *This perk has no books or stretch perks, just cards!
Included Items
  • + 9 packs of Trading Cards!
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
133 claimed
Ships worldwide.
EWJ Comic & Making Of Book

EWJ Comic & Making Of Book

$50 USD
You get the Earthworm Jim Hardbound Comic and the Making Of Earthworm Jim Launch the Cow Book! What's in this book? A cover by Earthworm Jim cartridge artist Mike Koelsch, interviews with the original team members that made the game, penciled pages, inks and notecards for how Doug made the book and more!
Included Items
  • Earthworm Jim Comic
  • Making Of Book
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
1737 claimed
Ships worldwide.
2 EWJ Comics + 2 Making Of EWJ

2 EWJ Comics + 2 Making Of EWJ

$100 USD
A set for you and a set for your friends. Please note that these are unsigned books.
Included Items
  • 2 EWJ Comics + 2 Making Of EWJ
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
154 claimed
Ships worldwide.
+ 45 Packs EWJ Trading Cards

+ 45 Packs EWJ Trading Cards

$115 USD $140 USD (17% off)
You want to collect 90 cards + 9 stickers? If you're lucky you'll do it with these 45 packs, each with 3 cards + 1 sticker! whopping 10% are "special cards" featuring cards SIGNED by the Shiny team, Mike Dietz, Ed and I are doing SKETCHES and one gold ticket will get you an original page of the EWJ comic! *No books or stretch perks, just cards!
Included Items
  • + 45 packs EWJ GROOVY cards!
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
24 claimed
Ships worldwide.
DOUBLE Signed Book Superfan!

DOUBLE Signed Book Superfan!

$135 USD
By popular demand! You asked for it and we're DOUBLING the Signed Comic Book SUPERFAN! You get two sets of everything: 2 SIGNED EWJ comic books, 2 Making Of EWJ books, 2 Sets of Prints and 2 sets of PERKS (patches, trading cards etc.)! *If you can't refund your last contribution, message me with your IGG name and request it: "I need a refund".
Included Items
  • 2 SIGNED Earthworm Jim Comics!
  • 2 Making Of EWJ books!
  • 2 Sets of 3 HighQuality Prints
  • 2 sets of perks! (patches etc)
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
277 claimed
Ships worldwide.
EWJ Signed W/ HEADSKETCH +MORE

EWJ Signed W/ HEADSKETCH +MORE

$150 USD
This is the Earthworm Jim hardbound comic book, SIGNED by Doug TenNapel with an original EARTHWORM JIM headsketch drawn on the front page!!! This perk also includes the Making Of Earthworm Jim the Comic and 3 high quality framable prints!
Included Items
  • Making Of Book
  • 3 High Quality Prints
  • EWJ Signed Book w/ HEADSKETCH
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
337 claimed
Ships worldwide.
Guaranteed COMPLETE EWJ Cards!

Guaranteed COMPLETE EWJ Cards!

$160 USD
You get the whole EWJ Groovy Card set in 30 sealed packs! It includes 90 cards (10 team cards hand-signed by the original Shiny guys), 9 stickers, 3 hand-drawn sketch-cards by Doug T, Mike Dietz and Ed Schofield + 3 loose packs! One could still have the gold ticket to get an original page of the EWJ comic! *No books or stretch perks, just cards!
Included Items
  • Guaranteed complete EWJ cards!
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
124 claimed
Ships worldwide.
+100 Packs EWJ GROOVY cards!

+100 Packs EWJ GROOVY cards!

$215 USD
You want to collect 90 cards + 9 stickers? You'll have a great chance with 100 packs, each with 3 cards and 1 sticker! 10% of these cards are "special cards" featuring cards SIGNED by the Shiny team, Mike Dietz, Ed and I are doing SKETCHES and one gold ticket will get you an original page of the EWJ comic! *No books or stretch perks, just cards!
Included Items
  • +100 Packs EWJ Groovy cards!
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
23 claimed
Ships worldwide.
10 Books to Beale AirForceBase

10 Books to Beale AirForceBase

$240 USD
I got to design the nose art for a KC125 plane because the captain was a big Earthworm Jim fan! With this tier my patriotic backers will help me send 10 EWJ comics to Beale Air Force Base. I hope we can give all 800 airmen on that base the EWJ book just in time for Christmas! As a Thank You I'll send YOU a signed copy of the book and 3 prints!
Included Items
  • Earthworm Jim SIGNED Comic
  • 3 High Quality Prints
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
30 out of 80 of claimed
Ships worldwide.
SuperDeluxe Jimless Original!

SuperDeluxe Jimless Original!

$500 USD
This reward offers everything from the EWJ Signed W/ HEADSKETCH +MORE tier plus an original production comic page, but it doesn't have Earthworm Jim on it. These are beautiful pages, 11" x 17" ink and wash on paper for collectors who don't need to have EWJ on the page but want some original art! Page ships separate from book!
Included Items
  • Making Of Book
  • 3 High Quality Prints
  • EWJ Signed Book w/ HEADSKETCH
  • Signed Jim-less 11" x 17" Page
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
12 out of 25 of claimed
Ships worldwide.
Orignal Inked EWJ Page + Fame!

Orignal Inked EWJ Page + Fame!

$950 USD
You get a SIGNED Earthworm Jim Comic Book with Headsketch drawn inside, a Making Of the EWJ Comic, 3 framable prints, your name in a special thanks front portion of the book and an original, 11" x 17" ink and ink-wash on paper SIGNED page of the book! (there are no word balloons as those are added in Photoshop later)
Included Items
  • Making Of Book
  • 3 High Quality Prints
  • EWJ Signed Book w/ HEADSKETCH
  • Fame = Your name in the book!
  • Orig. 11" x 17" ink&wash page!
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
44 out of 140 of claimed
Ships worldwide.
BigfootBill Signed 1st Printng
sold out

BigfootBill Signed 1st Printng

$30 USD
Estimated Shipping
October 2019
300 out of 300 of claimed
Ships worldwide.
Original Cover+Alternate Cover
sold out

Original Cover+Alternate Cover

$2,900 USD
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
1 out of 1 of claimed
Ships to United States of America
Mike Koelsch Making Of COVER!
sold out

Mike Koelsch Making Of COVER!

$5,900 USD
Estimated Shipping
December 2019
1 out of 1 of claimed
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