(UPDATE: THERE’S A NEW, MORE USER-FRIENDLY WAY TO GET THE COMIC THAN REGISTERING. SEE BELOW OR JUST FILL OUT THE FORM OVER ON THE FREE COMIC PAGE.)
Well, howdy!
So let me tell you, we’ve been awful busy lately putting together the book — super busy, crazy busy, so busy, in fact, that I haven’t had a chance to mention yet that the first story in the book. “A Shot in the Dark,” is completely finished and ready for public consumption. Well, all that is going to change right now. I’ll be posting its final pages up here (like I’ve done with its in-production pages ) sometime soon, but in the meantime, I’d like to give out a preview PDF of this complete full-color yaoi comic to those readers who’ve registered their email address with this blog. Just as a special treat. 
Now, like I said, I’m going to post it up here anyway — so if you’re squeamish about registering, don’t sweat it, you’ll be able to read it here soon enough — but I promised to offer special promotions to registered members and until I have something to sell, giving members first dibs at a free yaoi comic seems like a nice way to say “thank you.”
UPDATE (8/5/07): So I’ve now sent out the download link to all registered members of this blog. I had to use a new email address — yaoi911@gmail.com at gmail — because my web provider has a very strict anti-spam policy and wouldn’t let me send out more than a few emails at a time. This, I suppose, is a good thing — and I support them in their anti-spamming goals. And it got me thinking that sending emails out to my registered users probably isn’t the best policy.
Even though I’d like to be able to communicate (and give free comics!) to the community of Registered Members, seeing as we are living in the Age of Spam, the last thing I want to do is send email to folks who don’t want it. Instead, if you want the link to the comic, you should sign up for the Announce List which you can see over there in the right sidebar (”Send me a free full color yaoi comic!”). (Or, alternatively, just fill out the form on the Free Comic page — it’s the same thing.)
Using an announce list, I can be absolutely certain that everyone I send an email to — be it with a link to a free comic or a special members-only discount on the ones for sale — honestly will want to get one from me. Living and learning here, friends…
So, to make this clear: If you want the comic, you should click on Free Comic and fill out the form there. Kay?
I hope you enjoy the comic. And I’d sure love to hear what you think about it. Please use the comments section of this post to let us know! 
Alex Woolfson
nicknames-are-troublesome
Khalin
sora-_-
miakakiriki
Comment by laena
1 August 6, 2007, 8:59 am o'clock |
I liked it, the artworks were put up superbly, I liked the soul-full and expressive illustrations. They matched Alex’ description well. The story is too short though but it is a “shot”, so its okay. I really liked it! In fact the idea of having it colored was cool for a change, I mean its all black and white most of the time with the mangas I read but they’re good too, promise! Anyway, I’d be around to see you scale greater heights then. I’ll be waiting for Artifice. In the meantime I’ll be rooting for you! And well, share your work to fellow fangrils. Thank you for the comic by the way!
Comment by Alex Woolfson
2 August 6, 2007, 9:59 am o'clock |
laena,
You’re very welcome! Yeah, “A Shot in the Dark” is kinda short, but you’re right, it is just meant to be a “shot” — a complete story that everyone can sample, even if their Internet is dial-up — the other stories are much longer. I like a good black-and-white manga too — sometimes seeing art in monochrome can really bring out its beauty — but I’m glad you enjoyed the change. And yes, please feel free to share the work with fellow fangirls — and I hope to see you around here more.
Comment by la
3 March 14, 2008, 8:57 pm o'clock |
huh?
Comment by Graham_V.
4 March 19, 2008, 7:00 pm o'clock |
So, I was just recently introduced to yaoi, and I think its interesting, different, but definitely in a good way.
Honestly, I was skeptical at first(towards “yaoi” period), but “Shot In The Dark,” was pretty good, I enjoyed it, and so I’m looking forward to more.
-Graham_V.
Comment by Alex Woolfson
5 March 21, 2008, 1:38 am o'clock |
Graham V.,
Thank you for your kind words — it’s really great to hear when someone’s enjoyed the comic — and hopefully we can continue to chip away at your yaoi skepticism.
And we’re working hard on getting another free comic (and the book) ready for people to enjoy. Everything of course takes longer than you think it will, but I suppose that’s the price you pay for being a bunch of perfectionists.
It’ll all be worth the sweat and tears when it’s done…
Anyway, thank you again for checking out our work. I’ll be eager to hear what you think about our future comics.
Alex
Comment by windriver
6 March 26, 2008, 5:52 am o'clock |
Hi Alex,
I see several posts here with my same problem - no follow up email with link to A Shot in the Dark. I checked my spam folder and nothing there that looks like a yaoi911 email. Could you please send again, thanks.
Comment by Alex Woolfson
7 March 26, 2008, 5:56 pm o'clock |
Hi windriver,
Yep, some folks do seem to be having problems, but whenever I test it, it works for me (sometimes takes an hour or two, but the confirmation email always comes) so it’s hard for me to complain to my web host about it. But I’ll keep testing…
Anyway, thank you very much for your interest. I see your email on the list and I’ve sent the link to you directly.
Hope you enjoy it!
Alex
Comment by ButterflyFomori
8 May 27, 2008, 4:40 pm o'clock |
Loved it! It was captivating. The demon-former-angel man was awesome. I was literally laughing out loud at his comments and uber-arrogance. Super-villians GO!
It wasn’t a particularly smutty oneshot, *tears* but the plot was great.
I thought that the last box on page 15 (where ‘Mouse’ is tearing up) and then the first two boxes on page 16 (where ‘Mouse’ was smiling and completely dry-eyed) were incongruous with one another. The change was too immediate, timeline-speaking. The teary-eyed scene became crocodile. That is my only complaint feedback.
The rest of my feedback is a strong cheer and jump with a click of my heels together for the fab magic you and your team has created with “A Shot in the Dark.”
*Smashing into the ground face-first because in my glee i forgot that I cannot successfully perform a Dick Van Dyke-esque heel click.*
Comment by Alex Woolfson
9 May 27, 2008, 6:05 pm o'clock |
ButterFlyFormori,
Thank you so much for your kind words and detailed and thoughtful review of our work! It put a big smile on my face.
Yes, I think you make a fair point about Ben’s emotional transition between pages 15 and 16. For printing reasons, I felt it was very important that I hit exactly 16 pages with this sample comic (the size of a typical printing signature), which meant compressing the drama a bit more than I wanted to. For the most part, I still think the overall effect works, but I would’ve loved to take more time with that ending… The good news is that I was able to spend more time developing things in the other two stories — and I think the pacing for those are more satisfying.
I’m delighted you enjoyed the Demon’s dialogue. I had a lot of fun writing it and his snark is one of my favorite parts of the story.
As for the smut, yes, alas, in this one it is minimal — “A Shot in the Dark” is more about the sweet than the hot. But the next two stories in the book really turn up the heat. Winona’s work on “Artifice” is particularly smoking — and the pencils for that are almost complete. Once they are finalized, I’ll be posting some pages from that one up here.
Thank you so much again for taking the time to let me know what you thought. I hope you’ll continue to follow our work. Please be sure to tell all your friends.
Alex
Comment by Samiki
10 June 10, 2008, 1:05 pm o'clock |
Good Luck on all current and future projects!
Comment by Alex Woolfson
11 June 10, 2008, 1:16 pm o'clock |
Samiki,
Thank you for your kind words. There is the possibility of more stories with these characters (and in this world) — both a prequel and the aftermath of what happens in “A Shot in the Dark” — if there is enough interest. I’m curious to hear how folks react to this story and the others in the book. The ones that people like the most I’ll revisit.
And hey, if you want to help support this work, please be sure to tell all your friends — obscurity is the biggest challenge a small publisher faces, although there are others…
Take care!
Alex
Comment by sora-_-
12 August 22, 2008, 8:16 pm o'clock |
heyy… i didnt get any emails about the comic….. i even signed up for a account and also gave my email for a free comic… can i get a link or something? >__<
Comment by Alex Woolfson
13 August 22, 2008, 8:25 pm o'clock |
@sora-_- -
Hello sora-_-
I see your email on the list and I’ve sent you the link directly. I hope you enjoy the comic!
Alex