WE DID IT. IT IS DONE.
Thank you so much if you contributed or even were the slightest bit interested! It all came together, and the resultant book, both hard- and paperback, are available HERE.
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Demons. So many.
Hi internet. My name is Lucian and I've made a brand new modern English, fully illustrated edition of the Ars Goetia, an iconic, highly influential text on Demonology from the 17th century. It's basically a list of demons in Hell's hierarchy; their names, descriptions, gorgeous circular seals and various powers. You've definitely heard of some of them. Heard of Asmoday? Astaroth? Bael? Dantalion? Well, they're from this. Now you can know all 72 of them!
I've worked my paws off this year to produce this, drawing more or less constantly (with tea breaks), being up to my eyeballs in texts to hybridise the perfect edition from original sources. The language is accessible, the illustrations my customary mix of beautiful, disgusting and humorous. I will warn you though: this isn't your mum's
Ars Goetia. There is blood and gore and nudity. Nothing tasteless - but these are demons. They're at once whimsical and sweet - and terrifying. What you'd expect, really.
The whole text is ready. All I need to do now is print it. And for that, I need your help!
What We Need & What You Get
This is where your help will be going:
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The entire sum of this funding will be going into the first print run of the book, and, of course on the perks. It'll be A4, paperback, full colour and gorgeous. The sale of the entire run will finance the next, so once one run has been printed, it'll sustain itself!
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You won't ever have seen perks like these. There's prints, signed bits and posters, of course - but there's also hand-made copper wearable amulets (or lamen) of the gorgeous iconic seals on, and, for the truly generous, a drawing of your own personal demon. What would you be like as a ruler of Hell?
- I cannot afford the entire sum for the perks and print run myself, but any money I raise will go towards the first round of books, which will make their debut at London MCM Expo in October. This has been a colossal labour of love and I will not see it die a death just because I couldn't afford to print it!
What's So Special About This Book Anyway?
You literally will not find a good fully-illustrated edition of the Ars Goetia. There are many illustrations of the demons, but they're either really shoddy, or spread throughout the internet as fanart, or only partially in the Dictionnaire Infernal (which isn't the same book, even). Most aren't drawn from the original descriptions. This is all the demons, all taken from descriptions in original sources, all in one place.
It's a book steeped in a colourful, complicated history of translations, versions and revisions. Consolidating all the sources is a big job! I have attempted to make a full, comprehensive version accessible to people who aren't familiar with older English, with accurate illustrations of each demon.
This is my first complete illustrated text - and that's certainly special to me!
But What of the Risks!
What risks? I've done all the creative work already. The book is literally finished. Each drawing drawn, each typo untypo'd. All the prints, postcards, badges and other fun diabolical supplements are ready to roll out the moment I have money to do so.
The only thing I really must mention is that as this will essentially be printed "to demand" with money directly from the campaign, I can only begin production of the physical goods the moment the campaign ends - which in turn means that you will need to wait for the printing turn-around for your goods. The good news is that each of the parts to what I'm offering - the books, the prints and so on - each individually have a quite short turn-around, so the wait won't be horrific. But it will be a matter of weeks, not days.
The other potential problem is that my (small, indie) printer might not print the book due to the gore content. However, this is unlikely (as they've printed other similarly bloody things) and even if they don't, I have alternative printers. Worst case scenario is that I have to use a different printer and they're a bit more expensive. But I don't anticipate this to be a real problem.
Stre-e-etch Go-o-o-al?
I'm raising funds for a paperback run of the Ars Goetia with this £700 - but if we really go wild and raise a staggeringly ambitious £1100, I can do a hardback run as well! Of course, these will retail for higher than the paperbacks (£25) at £45 - but don't worry, the stretch of £1100 means that I'd be doing two prints, one of paperback and one of hardback. So there's demons for everyone's budget :)
In Case of Excess...
So you'll notice I'm on flexible funding. Any money raised - literally anything - will go towards printing this book. I can't afford it alone and I really need your help - hence the campaign! But any contribution goes directly into printing, whatever we raise. If we go over the £700 but are underneath the £1100 stretch goal, I'll just use the extra money to print more paperback books. And if, in the grace of the gods, we raise more than £1100? Then we just get a true blessing: a great gold avalanche of hardback books, showering down upon us like Zeus from on high, getting into shoes and breakfast cereal. Nothing will be wasted! More books for everyone!
Spreade Thou The Word
Sometimes, you just can't money. That's okay - my personal being unable to money is why I'm doing this campaign in the first place! I certainly would appreciate your telling people to come and spend money in your stead though. Here are some ways that you can do that thing:
- Tell Facebook! I don't use Facebook because I hate it. Maybe you don't, though! Tell Facebook, and make people come here from there.
- Get involved on Twitter! Tag #mrlucianarsgoetia and tell the world how excited you are to look at demons.
- Follow misterlucian.tumblr.com for exciting illustration previews, work-in-progress photographs as I accidentally press myself into the badge maker, supplementary art of some of the demons, and general excitable yarpings.
- Use the Indiegogo share tools! Link up with all the mocial sedia bits and twangs that you like using.
- Hire a plane and write "PLEASE BUY LUCIAN'S BOOK HE MIGHT CRY" in the sky over your hometown.
- Paint "DEMONS DEMONS DEMONS" on your naked torso and lie across the entrances of important civic buildings.
- Plenty of things. You can do plenty of things. Get creative! Spread the word!
I cannot thank you enough for your interest. Help me live this incredibly specific dream. You're beautiful and I love you.
Frequently Asked Questions
I'll add these as I get asked them!
1. The funding tiers do not automatically "stack". So, someone who
pre-orders a copy of the book at £25 doesn't also automatically receive
badges. They automatically receive Nathan's essay, but money to cover my producing both a book and a badges isn't in the cost of a book alone. If you want to combine a high tier perk with a lower one, please donate twice, backing both individually. That way, I can keep track!
2. Please put details of your perk (for example, which postcards set, which print, etc.) in the comments section of this page or email me. If you don't get your preferences to me (for prints/postcards/lamens etc.) before the campaign closes, I will randomise your order.
3. The book will be available to purchase online in my shop as well as face-to-face at cons. So don't worry if you can't come and partake in the server-wide event that is meeting me in the flesh - Mr Internet will sort you a copy!
4. Hardcover editions have been added to the perks. Pre-order one straight up using the appropriate perk; upgrade your paperback-containing perk if you'd prefer hardback. Do not purchase the £25 upgrade perk if you have not already bought a perk that contains a paperback edition, as £25 will not cover my printing a hardback!
5. If you want to back two perks, donate twice. And if one of them has a limited quantity, prioritise that one! I can't edit the quantities available once they've been claimed, and I don't want to run out of anything!
6. You will need to buy a shipping perk if you are ordering a book. It's easy! Just buy a perk for either shipping to the UK, Europe or Anywhere Else. You will need one of these if you have ordered a book, or any perk that includes a book (like the Big Box of Bloody Everything). If you live in the UK, you can collect your perks from me in person at two locations - but obviously you'll need to let me know if you want to do this. Check the updates section to find out more!