About
The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal Omnibus!
$65,601
1,409
In the span of a single day, Amal Chakravarthy calls off his arranged marriage, comes out to his conservative parents, promptly gets disowned, goes on a bender . . . and wakes up the next morning to find TJ—a lanky, dreadlocked vagrant—frying eggs and singing Paul Simon in his kitchen.
TJ claims that the two have made a drunken pact to drive all the way from Berkeley to Providence. As it happens, Amal promised his sister he'd be there for her graduation from Brown University. And TJ, well . . . TJ has his own reasons.
The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal omnibus collects the full 2009-2014 run of E.K. Weaver's critically acclaimed road trip romance, with brand new full-color inserts. this Iron Circus comics' first third-party book, and we couldn't be prouder to publish the definitive edition of one of our favorite webcomics of all time.
So glad you asked!
The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal omnibus is the whole enchilada. The complete and perfect story, from beginning to end, with lush scenery spreads printed in glorious full color! Due to content, Less Than Epic is meant for mature readers.
TJ and Amal will also be available as a limited edition hardcover, complete with dust jacket and end papers!
The Epilogue Comic is a 32-page, black-and-white, softbound comic, featuring three alternate universe outcomes for the end of TJ & Amal: one where they live together as a couple, one where their relationship persists long-distance, and one where they've gone their separate ways. Choose your favorite ending, or regard them all as non-canon character studies! 750 copies of this epilogue comic will be made available through this Kickstarter.
Whisper Grass is a 24 page, black-and-white, softbound comic, a "missing scene" between between Chapter 24 and Chapter 25. TJ and Amal smoke up, talk, joke around, and get busy. The content is adults-only. A limited edition, digitally-printed run, only 20 copies of Whisper Grass remain.
Kung Fu Hustlers originally appeared in the 2012 edition of Smut Peddler, a now sold-out anthology of comic erotica published by Iron Circus Comics (Hey, that's us!). A short, funny, and sexy side story, Kung Fu Hustlers is black-and-white, 20 pages, and softbound, and recounts how TJ met and hooked up with his last girlfriend. It takes place in the October of 2005, 3 years before TJ met Amal. Like Whisper Grass, Kung Fu Hustlers is adults-only.
The Tribute Album is a full-color, softbound, 68-page, fan-produced and creator-authorized art book with comics and illustrations by 62 cartoonists, celebrating The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal. You can download a PDF copy here for absolutely free, but the 20 books available through this Kickstarter are the last available print copies.
The bookplate on offer will be a small, adhesive label meant to be stuck to the inside front cover of the TJ & Amal omnibus, to indicate its owner. It'll feature an area to record the name of the book's owner, and a bit of decorative illustration by E.K. Weaver herself!. The bookplates will be shipped unaffixed to the book, so backers can decide where to put it themselves.
TJ & Amal original art is drawn in Col-Erase Pink, Col-Erase Carmine Red, mechanical pencil and ink, and shaded with 2B and 3B soft pencil lead. Each panel is on a separate sheet of bright white paper. (Panel borders, word balloons, and dialog is added in digitally after scanning.) Pledging at the $250 original art level gets you five panels of art, five sheets of paper!
Commissions are just what they sound like: the ultra-rare opportunity for a piece of custom, one-of-a-kind art from E.K. Weaver herself! These are rarely on offer, and only three spaces will be made available.
The omnibus edition of Less Than Epic won't just feature retouched art from the original trade paperbacks, but eight pages converted to full-color special inserts. E.K. and Iron Circus consider this TJ & A as it was meant to be read!
Still on the fence? Wanna try before you buy?
Less Than Epic is available to read online at tjandamal.com. The whole darn thing. Head on over, and check out why Iron Circus is so thrilled to take on TJ & A as our very first third-party comic.
Promo video created by Matt Sheridan and C. Spike Trotman.
Music: "Beach Bum" by Kevin MacLeod
TJ & Amal art: E.K. Weaver
Sky backgrounds: Rin-Shiba
Sound effects: YouTube Audio Library
Risks and challenges
This is Iron Circus Comics' SIXTH Kickstarter comic project. Four of our previous projects have been fulfilled and completed, and the fifth is half-completed. Our track record speaks for itself!
There's always the danger of past-due fulfillment, printing disasters, and other small hurdles. But rest assured: this ain't our first rodeo.
Learn about accountability on Kickstarter