Hello again ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM fans (and curious onlookers). Like many of you out there, I am sheltered in place during this very frightening and extremely sad, Covid-19 global pandemic. I have tried to be productive with my extra downtime — moving forward with various ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM initiatives — and I’m here to fill you in on all the things going on at AFK headquarters in Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey.
ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM #12 IS READY – AND WAITING!
First the good news… The all-new, long-awaited, 24-page ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM #12 is pretty much completed (I only need to get one final proofreading) — Now the bad news… Our printer is currently closed due to the health crisis. This means unfortunately AFK fans will have to wait just a little while longer — until things at the printer can get rolling again — to get their hands on the new issue. — Here’s a sneak peak at the front cover!
WORTH THE WAIT
I’m pretty happy with how AFK#12 turned-out — especially considering how wishy-washy I was at one point, trying to decide which direction to take the story. I am now confident that I made the right decisions along the way. I have to admit, drawing the issue also got off to a shaky start. I hadn’t produced a new issue in a while, and — those of you who do not draw, may not know — it can take some time to “get your hand back.” But I worked diligently at it, and I think the pages came out really solid.
READY TO ROCK?
Previous issue (AFK#11) Spoiler Warning! … The final page of ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM #11 revealed the return of ROCKJACK “The Rock-Control Guy” — who hadn’t been seen since our very first storyline — “Return of the Queen” — told in the pages of AFK#1-4. Besides our first ever, “return of a character,” the new issue also features the first appearances of not one, but two, all-new, ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM characters — including one who I feel is destined for AFK super-stardom (did I hear someone say, “collectors’ item”?). AFK#12 is also filled with the kind of humor everyone expects from our heroes, ACROBOT and SPARKINATOR, and also has a pretty compelling cliffhanger ending – a staple of ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM storylines in progress. Hopefully, when we can finally get it printed, ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM #12 will be worth the long wait between issues — and hopefully, you won’t have to wait so long for the next one.
ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM #13 ALREADY IN PROGRESS!
Shortly after finishing AFK#12, I decided to keep things rolling and sat down to write ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM #13 — from scratch. I kind of knew where I wanted to go with this one, and I also got very lucky at times, coming up with some really good material. The preliminary script only took me a couple of days, and I’m now in the editing process – breaking it down into pages and panels. I can then get started on the page layouts – that part of making a comic is a lot of fun.
As for the story… AFK#13 will wrap-up the “Try-out Issues” storyline — making it the first-ever, ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM three-issue story arc (AFK trivia fans take note!). It’s also going to be the most action-packed AFK issue to date — which will make it much more challenging for me to draw. I like to conclude my storylines with biggest issues of the arc, and AFK#12 will continue that tradition, running about 28-pages.
So… Who will be the newest member of the GOOD GUYS? That question will finally be answered in AFK#13 — hopefully — before the end of 2020.
ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM — NOW ON WEBTOONS!
Since many families are stuck in their homes during this crisis, I thought this would be a good time to make ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM available for everyone to read – for FREE. You can now follow the adventures of ACROBOT and SPARKINATOR on webtoons – one of the leading digital comic book platforms in the world. WEBTOONS has an “episodic” approach to comics, so I’ve been breaking up ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM issues into segments of varying lengths, with each segment becoming an episode. As of this moment, Both AFK#1 and AFK#2 have been posted in their entirety — and I’ve been adding new episodes at least couple of times each week. It’s kind of a cool way to read ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM, which seems well suited for the way webtoons presents it’s content. You can check it out by clicking … HERE!
BTW.. You can also read ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM (issues #1-6 — with the rest coming soon) on Amazon’s digital platform – Comixology. And you can purchase the physical copies of AFK #1-11, at our AFK store right here on this website, as well as on our affiliated local comic shop – FUNNYBOOKS’ – all-new e-commerce platform which you can check out HERE.
THE SEARCH IS OVER!
Even with all the cool AFK news mentioned above, the thing I’m most excited to tell you about is working with our new ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM colorist, Lea Jean Badellas, whose coloring work is so outstanding. – She’s just what I’ve been looking for!
INTRODUCING MY NEW BEST FRIEND… LEA JEAN BADELLAS…
I became aware of Lea Jean’s work last summer, while checking-out Adam Wallenta’s PUNK TACO Hard Cover at Terrificon – my first time at this very cool annual comic con in Northern Connecticut. As I was looking through PUNK TACO – which would later go on to win the 2019 “Ringo Award” for “Best Kid’s Comic or Graphic Novel” — I could tell Lea was extremely well-skilled, and that her eye for color was just on another level. Her bold, colorful, and radient style was also right up my alley. — I was genuinely flattered when she agreed to color my pencils in ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM – I couldn’t believe she was even available. — I have to pat myself on the back just a little for this one… I was very patient, and also extremely picky in my long search for an interior colorist for ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM, and I know that I have found the right one in Lea Jean. I really hope I can keep Lea happy and interested in working with me for the long run, and that we can work together to color the entirety of ACTION FIGURE KINGDOM — as well as what’s to come.
Speaking of which… I better get to work on the new stuff, before Lea catches up to me.
Thanks for reading! And stay safe. – Action Steve