Sunnyville Stories To Finish

Posted on August 1, 2022 by Max West

Today is the twelfth anniversary of the Sunnyville Stories blog. This blog dedicated to my creation – alternative comic book series Sunnyville Stories – is now 12 years old. It was 12 years ago today that I launched officially.

Today seems like an appropriate day to unveil this news.

I’ve decided that I will be formally ending Sunnyville Stories and will bring the series to a finish.

Now hold on. Before you fans start contacting me with angry rants, please read on.

I can’t go on with this comic forever and I really don’t want to try. I feel like it is time for me to move on. It’s also because I want to move onto other agendas – I’ve found my calling with children’s books. My first two Hilda & Richie books have done okay for me and a third book is planned (with more).

Once Sunnyville Stories ends, this will NOT be the end of our adventures with Rusty & Sam. I may do more comics with them. Plus there’s the spin-off of Dominic & Claire that I plan to draw more.

Now it is time to clarify some more. I am NOT ending the story of Sunnyville right away. My plan is from now through 2024 is to wrap up the series. Not counting the planned redrawing of Sunnyville Stories episode 1, I’m planning six more stories to end everything.

Episode 18 will be titled “the Great Escape” and will be a dramatic story. It involves Rusty lying and sneaking out to Samantha’s birthday party.

Episode 19 will take place immediately after and it’s a rather wacky episode in contrast; the title is “the Ghost in the Machine”. It’s a homage to a favorite episode of mine from the Generation 1 Transformers called Kremzeek! Rusty, Sam and Sam’s little brother Jason have to deal with an energy-based creature that runs loose in town.

Episode 20 has not been titled yet. The plot is going to be a crossover as Dominic will visit Rusty in Sunnyville; that means Sam gets to meet Rusty’s cousins…did I mention Claire will be there too? There’s also the possibility that Hilda and Richie (from my children’s books) might appear in Sunnyville, meeting Rusty and friends. That has not yet been decided.

Episodes 21, 22 and 23 will be a grand finale titled “Change of Address”. I will not reveal what will happen but it is meant to conclude the story.

Stay tuned for more news. I am going to try to have regular updates once more.

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Want new Sunnyville Stories comics?

Posted on June 11, 2022 by Max West

Hey, you.

Yeah, you! Want some brand new Sunnyville Stories comics?

As you know, I’m running a Kickstarter for my webcomic Poison Ivy Gulch and it has been doing well. At the time of this writing, it has reached 25% funding and even won a big honor of being a “Project We Love” on Kickstarter!

That is quite an accomplishment! None of my other Kickstarters like Sunnyville Stories, Dominic & Claire or Hilda & Richie ever got that honor. Only some Kickstarters get “Project We Love” status and that means I get more exposure on Kickstarter.

Some of you reading that last passage are scratching your head right about now. I said Sunnyville…you are wondering what this Old West comic strip has to do with Sunnyville comics.

Since we hit our first funding milestone at 25%, a special reward for backers only has just dropped. And that is THE FIRST PAGE of Sunnyville Stories #0, a new prequel meant to be in the planned Sunnyville Stories reprint next year. (As you know, in the spring of 2023, I plan to Kickstart a new edition of the Sunnyville Stories trade paperbacks. But that’s a whole other post.) On hitting 40% and 50%, more pages will be dropped for backers only as a reward for hitting those milestones.

So do you want to read Sunnyville Stories #0? There is a way you can do that.

Just go back Poison Ivy Gulch Saddles Up! Whether you pledge $1 or $1000, you’ll get a peek at this brand new comic and sneak preview of the new edition of Sunnyville Stories.

Well…what are you waiting for?

Go back Poison Ivy Gulch now on Kickstarter!

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Poison Ivy Gulch Saddles Up is live!!

Posted on June 8, 2022 by Max West

The next Kickstarter of mine, Poison Ivy Gulch Saddles Up, has launched!

This is connected to Sunnyville Stories in two ways. First, this is part of a test run to see if I can fund a book; I aim to reprint Sunnyville Stores next year and want to make sure I can crowdfund a book’s print run.

Second, during the campaign, as a reward to backers only on hitting certain funding milestones, I will be unveiling page of Sunnyville Stories episode zero to backers. That’s a new prequel that will be in the upcoming reprint book.

Make sure you go back Poison Ivy Gulch Saddles Up!

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Status of Sunnyville Stories this year and next year

Posted on May 12, 2022 by Max West

Hello, Sunnyville fans. I apologize for not updating recently.

I’m very busy right now with the upcoming Kickstarter on June 1 for my webcomic, Poison Ivy Gulch, as well as selling my Hilda & Richie picture books. In fact, this weekend will see me travelling to places in North Dakota; I will be selling copies of both picture books (Hilda & Richie plus Hilda & Richie’s Wizard) to some independent bookstores along with donating copies to local libraries.

The Kickstarters for Poison Ivy Gulch and my picture books are part of my master plan for Sunnyville Stories. Funding $2000-5000 is something I need to learn doing so I have the capacity to crowdfund new Sunnyville Stories reprints.

Anyway, this site will be getting a tune-up as I plan to rework some of the pages now that the original three volumes of Sunnyville Stories are going out of print. The planned redrawing of Sunnyville Stories episode 1 will be going ahead. I hope to get started on it once the Poison Ivy Gulch Kickstarter launches.

Watch for more news; stay tuned to this blog for more updates!

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Redrawing of Sunnyville Episode 1 Starting!

Posted on April 10, 2022 by Max West

Hello, Sunnyville fans!

It’s been awhile. Now that the Kickstarter for my second picture book has ended, it is time to move onto other things. One of the big items on my to-do list (besides the planned Kickstarter for Poison Ivy Gulch) will be the long-awaited redrawing of Sunnyville Stories episode 1.

My plan is to redraw all the pages from Sunnyville Stories episode 1 now that my drawing skills are far superior to what they once were. The approach though is going to be different.

My original idea was to completely redraw everything, write a whole new script, etc. But that is too much work and I have other obligations. I will be using the original comics as a blueprint and this new episode will be semi-improvised as I will be drawing a whole new page based on the old ones, but with updated art and some edits.

One of the key items was to have Rusty mention his cousin Dominic (from the spin-off Dominic & Claire) and his hometown of New Gestad a few times as a way to cement the Sunnyville canon.

The redrawing will start later today; I’ll even have a teaser or two to share with you once I get done.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Sunnyville blog and (somewhat) new Sunnyville comics!

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Last Day for Hilda and Richie’s Wizard

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Max West

The Kickstarter for my second picture book Hilda & Richie’s Wizard ends today.

It runs until 11:58PM Central Time tonight. We are only less than $400 from the goal.

If you are one of those types who like to wait until the last minute…well, this is it.

Also keep in mind that Hilda & Richie’s Wizard is part of the Sunnyville universe; this book’s funding will help pave the way for the planned Sunnyville Stories reprint.

Go back Hilda & Richie’s Wizard now!

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Hilda and Richie’s Wizard Almost Halfway Finished

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Max West

It is day 14 of my Kickstarter to fund Hilda & Richie’s Wizard, my second picture book.

We are nearing the halfway point of the campaign. The book is 37% funded so far. Despite the fact that I am down, I am not out. I’ve gotten out of worse situations and gotten Kickstarters funded.

So this is a reminder to go back Hilda & Richie’s Wizard. Besides allowing more picture books to be produced and paving the way for the Sunnyville Stories reprint (more on that in the future), tons of rewards are left.

Pledging just $5 gets you a digital copy of Hilda & Richie’s Wizard!

Pledging $17 gets you a print copy of Hilda & Richie’s Wizard.

Pledging $27 gets you both of my picture books.

Pledging $37 gets you a print copy plus an artist’s edition; this is an extra copy of the book that will have a custom message and/or drawing inside the book.

Pledging $99 gets you one piece of original art, out of 39 different illustrations.

Hilda & Richie’s Wizard sample page

If you pledge $399, you get a ton of rewards but most of all you get to appear as a cameo in the third book planned for next year, Hilda & Richie’s Wizard! You can appear as a character in that book; I’ve had one backer pick that reward already. Only two slots remain so if you want this, you’d better act now!

Make sure you go back Hilda & Richie’s Wizard now on Kickstarter!

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Hilda and Richie’s Wizard Update

Posted on January 12, 2022 by Max West

So far, the Kickstarter for my second picture book – Hilda & Richie’s Wizard – is off to a good start after one full week.

We are one-third funded. While that is good, there is still a long way to go.

If you haven’t done so, make sure you go back Hilda & Richie’s Wizard now!

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Hilda and Richie’s Wizard Press Release

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Max West

FUNNY FOX DUO ARE BACK FOR SECOND BOOK!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hilda and Richie’s Wizard, the sequel to Hilda and Richie (2021), comes to crowdfunding platform Kickstarter this Wednesday January 5, 2022. Created by Max West and being published by Different Mousetrap Press, this incredible book continues the charming adventures of the two foxes.

In their second adventure together, the wealthy Hilda gives her young ward Richie a priceless heirloom: an exquisite silver pendant. Unfortunately, Richie loses the pendant while playing outside. The enigmatic Mr. Abra, a wizard, helps Richie by returning the pendant with magic…but only on the condition that Richie tells Hilda what happened. When Richie hesitates, the wizard teaches Richie and young readers a lesson about doing what is right.

“The first book, while it didn’t set the world on fire, sold fairly well and won praise from readers,” author Max West says, “This next adventure won’t be their last. We’ll be seeing a lot more Hilda & Richie books in the future!”

The Kickstarter is slated to run from Jan. 5, 2022 to Feb. 4, 2022 with a funding goal of US$2,400. The funds will print and ship the book, currently planned for a 1,000-copy print run.

The publisher, Different Mousetrap Press LLC, is a small press based in North Dakota in the United States.

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The Sunnyville Stories Master Plan 2021-2023

Posted on December 25, 2021 by Max West

Merry Christmas everyone!

It’s been a while. As you know, I’ve been busy lately; besides the demands of my webcomic Poison Ivy Gulch, my second picture book Hilda & Richie’s Wizard is coming out next year. The Kickstarter to fund this is about 12 days from now, set to launch on early Wednesday morning January 5. I will have regular updates here about that as well as Hilda & Richie’s own blog. (Keep in mind that these two foxes are part of Sunnyville’s universe.) But that’s not what I want to talk to you about today.

Today, I want to outline the “master plan” for Sunnyville Stories. The first phase is already underway: the announcement and preparation. As you recall, I announced earlier this year that I will be completely redrawing Sunnyville Stories episode 1. This is also meant to tie in to my further plans to reprint the Sunnyville comics in book format but I’ll get to that in a bit.

The second phase of my plan will get underway in the first half of 2022. During this time, I will start drawing the new, remastered episode 1. (There’ll be details on that in a future update.)

The third phase will be in the second half of 2022. From there, I’ll be planning out the first new book collecting the first few stories; all the meanwhile, I’ll be liquidating the old books (volumes 1, 2 and 3) and listing them as “out of print”. This book will be titled Sunnyville Stories: Beginnings and is planned to have the first four stories collected (Beginnings, Multiball Madness, The Train Robbers and Don’t Answer Me). Future books will be similar, having titles of the first story contained therein. Also as part of my plan, the Kickstarters I plan for 2022 will be a good testing ground to make sure I can raise the large amount of dollars to fund print books. During 2022, I will be funding my second picture book in January and the first book collection of Poison Ivy Gulch in June.

The fourth and final phase will be in 2023. During this year, I will be using Kickstarter again to fund my third picture book Hilda & Richie’s Sandwich and the new Sunnyville Stories book. Other pages and panels in the other Sunnyville comics will need to be redone and I’ll have to secure new ISBNs for that book.

And that is my plan. Sunnyville Stories will LIVE again. Stay tuned to this blog as there should be regular updates again in 2022 on my progress and my other works.

Also don’t forget to follow the pre-launch page on Kickstarter for Hilda & Richie’s Wizard!

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