Stumptown Angel is a short story by Amber J. Keyser. The story follows Mara Layil, the central heroine of the Angel Punk saga, for a few brief moments as she explores the streets of NW Portland and the powers beginning to surface within her.

On the timeline of Mara’s Story, she is younger, 16 and hasn’t yet done her stint in juvie. It’s our first glance into Mara’s world when she still thought she was human. Silly sixteen-year-old Mara.

In Issue 0 of the comic series, we see Mara as she is released. The feature film dives deeper into Mara life after release as she confronts her own fears, powers and the Nephilim lord, Sinioch.

Amber originally wrote Stumptown Angel as an audition piece. Clearly, she won us over and what we’ve been reading from Book 1 has been bowling us over as well. We can’t wait to share.

Amber updated the original Stumptown Angel story to ensure it fit with Mara’s overall story arc, and now it’s even better.

What are you waiting for? Click HERE to read Part 1 of Stumptown Angel.

Welcome and thanks for checking out the new Angel Punk website. With the film, comics and novel all underway, we’ve streamlined our site to give you exactly what you want. All posts related to the film will be in the film section. The same goes for comics and the Angel Punk novel from writer Amber Keyser. If you still want a taste of every flavor Angel Punk and Mara have to offer, this is the page to bookmark. It’s the catch all. The net. The upside down umbrella. If it’s Angel Punk and we post it anywhere on the site, you’ll find it here.

We’re so excited about the new launch that we can’t hold onto our comics and movie posters. The excitement has literally caused us to shake loose a few sets of the comic series and movie posters, and they’re yours for the taking.

Between now and Monday, anyone who leaves a legit comment with their thoughts on the new website will entered into a drawing for either a comic set or an autographed movie poster. There will be FIVE winners but only one entry per person.

Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered into an additional extra special cool drawing that will go on throughout the year and be a part of future. We’re still working out the details (the legal stuff) and can’t say too much about it yet, but it will likely be something in relation to the Angel Punk film and meeting some actors. You know, the boring stuff.</h2><br><br>

Early next week, we will post a short story called Stumptown Angel written by Amber Keyser. The story will give you a great introduction to her writing and Mara’s character. This will also kick off a month-long fan fiction contest. So check back early next week!

• Click Here to Preview Issue #0 – Genesis (Part 1)
• View the story’s characters
• Behind the Scenes of Making of the Comic
• Shop Online for Angel Punk Comics and Pre-Order upcoming issues!

With only two and a half weeks of preproduction, we were able to cobble together a tremendous team of film industry professionals that executed near flawlessly. You can take a look for yourself. The first image is from the Issue 0 of the comic.

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The second is from the set of the film. Tu’Rel laying in a state of eternal sleep being mourned by Armaros, Dahnay (the young woman) and a handful of additional Nephilim. The image also captures some of the rigging needed to pull off the skylight in the ceiling effect.

This scene is actually a flashback to the 1890s where Mara’s grandfather, Christopher, has traveled across the globe to pay his respects. Tu’Rel is one of the original 12 angels who chose mortality and as far as the supernatural community is concerned, Armaros is now the only surviving member of the Sovereign Council. The dialogue between Christopher and the young woman, Dahnay, leaves us with a sense that there may be another, just lost in a world of uncertainty.

To be honest, this was one of the most trying shoots that I’ve been a part of. Due to limitations in permitting with the Forest Service (who was actually great to work with), we could only have 30 people in the cave at once. That may seem like a lot but when you have seven different departments, not including actors and extras, the amount of available man (and woman) power is throttled considerably. So I have to tip my hat to our outstanding crew who made it happen.

The least glamorous side of filmmaking is carrying out 100lb strands of power cord from 700 feet inside of the cave, up the equivalent of three stories worth of stairs to the grip truck at 6:30am, after already having been on set for 15 hours. I am just glad our Behind the Scenes (BTS) cameraman Levy Moroshan wasn’t still on set at that hour. It wouldn’t have been pretty. Those shots would have been immediately put in the archive bin.

Day 1 one of many to come is now in the can (in the hard drive just doesn’t sound as cool). All of us on the production team could not be happier with the outcome. We’re looking forward to putting the rest of Mara’s origin story on film and getting to share what we’ve been working on for the last year. Make sure to check into the galleries to see all the BTS photos from this shoot and those upcoming.

Click HERE to RSVP to the party!

Issue No. 1 Release Party Contest
We’ve got a special offer gor those of you who plan to attend. Check in to the event “Angel Punk #1 Release Party” via Facebook mobile. Show us the check in and you’ll get $1 off each copy of any issue that you purchase.

Twitter & Facebook Contests
If you can’t make it to the event, we will be giving away two sets of the 1st three issues of Angel Punk signed by the writers as well as Val Mayerik and Tom Orzechowski. We’ll ship them to you! Here is how to enter:

Twitter – Tweet the following phrase then paste a link to your Twitter profile in to the comments section below (you must be a registered user on angelpunk.co).

“Mara Layil is the future of rockin girl superheroes. Enter the @AngelPunkComic autographed Issue 1 giveaway! #Comics http://bit.ly/qVcs62”

Facebook – Type the following phrase into your status update. You must link “Angel Punk” to the Angel Punk Facebook fan page. Then paste a link to your Facebook profile link into the comments section below (you must be a registered user on angelpunk.co).

“Mara Layil is the future of rockin girl superheroes. Enter the Angel Punk autographed Issue No. 1 comic giveaway. http://bit.ly/qVcs62”

We will announce the winners the morning of October 6th at 10am PST.

Issue No. 1 is so boss, even my boss wants to win this contest.

Rules
- You can enter twice by posting on both Twitter and Facebook, but only one entry per platform.
- Contest is open to U.S. residents only.

Despite the pretty picture of Jake to the upper left, this is Amber posting my recap of the KidLitosphere Conference.

KidLitCon 2011 was all about CONNECTION and AUTHENTICITY.

Unlike many writers’ conferences, which are tinged with an air of desperation, the path to publication was NOT the focus. Instead KidLitCon attendees are primarily bloggers focused on connecting authors and their books to readers. Not as marketers (though some authors assume that every blog is a lightly veiled form of advertisement) but as matchmakers devoted to getting the right book in the right hands. Need proof? Take the passionate conversation with Colleen Mondor about how her review of a book she loved could “best serve the book.” Inspiring!

Inspiring like this killer mural I passed in Seattle.

Perhaps the best gift of KidLitCon 2011 was the synergy with Angel Punk. Devon Lyon, Matthew Wilson, Jake Rossman, and I presented a panel entitled The Future of Transmedia Storytelling: Angel Punk, Pottermore, and Skeleton Creek. (For those of you who weren’t there, transmedia tells interwoven but non-overlapping story lines through multiple forms of media. In our case, film, comics, novel, and online.) Transmedia is about CONNECTION because of fan participation in the story-telling process and because each form of media engages and unites a different set of fans. It was exciting to see the enthusiasm of other KidLitCon attendees for both our approach to story-telling and the heart of our story itself. (Thanks, you guys!) Video highlights of the presentation will be available at the www.reliummedia.com website.

It was deeply satisfying for me to meet others (in person, since I had connected with many via Twitter) who are committed to the tripartite nature of story-telling. There must be a story, a teller, and an audience. CONNECTION—I love it!

Another key take home for me was that these connections had to be AUTHENTIC. Truth starts with the story. The panel on diversity (Lee Wind, Sarah Stevenson, Brent Hartinger, Sara Ryan, Justina Chen) reminded us that the heart of the story is inhabited by authentic, non-stereotypical characters whatever their ethnicity and orientation. Writers (no matter their ethnicity or orientation) must get it right for truth to infuse the story.

Much discussion on authenticity circled around how we review books. Bloggers make many choices about their own process and the key is transparency. If you only discuss books you like (book recommendations vs. critical book reviews) then say so on your blog. If you’re taking on the crucial job of true book reviews, remember that critique is not a litany of failures.

Authenticity was also a theme of Holly and Shiraz Cupala’s presentation on DIY marketing. They urged authors to focus on giving value to bloggers, potential readers, book store buyers, and librarians. We shouldn’t be trying to trick people into switching tooth paste brands. We should be trying to fill a need. Shiraz shared a quote from Simon Sinek: “People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.” Isn’t that another way of saying we all want the heart of the story?

I’m still flying high from KidLitCon 2011. I left with real, true, new friends—CONNECTION and AUTHENTICITY.

You can follow my personal scribblings HERE!

“Shannon Wheeler is a funny man and great comic artist. And now, with his win for Best Humor Publication at the 2011 Eisner Awards, even more people know,” said Kevin Curry, CEO of Relium Media and co-writer on Relium’s Angel Punk comics. “Relium Media is proud to have Shannon on board as our publishing adviser on the Angel Punk comic.” 

“I laughed. I cried. I kissed everyone at my table,” Shannon said. “Winning that award is forcing me to re-define my identity of low self-esteem.”

The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are given out annually at San Diego Comic-Con. This year’s awards were given out on Friday, July 22.

Wheeler is the multiple Eisner Award–winning creator of Too Much Coffee Man, who has appeared internationally in newspapers, magazines, comic books and opera houses. He has contributed to a variety of publications that include The Onion newspaper and The New Yorker magazine. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon with his cats, chickens, bees, girlfriend and children. Learn more about Shannon at www.tmcm.com.

A little Con-education for all first time attendees, if you want to attend panels, plan on spending at least two hours in line. For the hottest entertainment properties like Harry Potter, Twilight, Cowboys and Aliens, and Captain America, there is a banquet hall that is the size of Texas. Not quite, but it holds 6,500 fans! Many of the Hall H people actually camped out overnight to get in the next morning. That’s what we call ultracore. Fingers crossed, Angel Punk will be in Hall H one day. Next time someone asks what our end goal is for the Angel Punk franchise, my reply, “To deliver a panel in Hall H.”

Out of the seven panels that we attended, there were three that really stuck out, “Oh, You Sexy Geek,” “Adapting Comics to the Screen” and “Is the Comic Book Doomed?” As this was primarily a networking trip for Devon and me, most of the panels we attended were centered on our universe of comics, YA novels and film. A full write-up on these panels will be coming in our post tomorrow.

Had this trip been purely about letting loose my inner fanboy, the only panel that I would have stood in line more than an hour for would have been Game of Thrones. If you haven’t read the books or watched the HBO series, you are seriously missing out. The day before we left Portland, one of our summer interns, Morgan came up to me with a copy of A Dance With Dragons and very politely asked if I could get it signed. Sure, I said. I can fit a massive hardback book in my suitcase right next to the 80 pounds of Angel Punk comics that I’m lugging down there. I replied, “How about I get you a bookmark.” I’m a jerk but we did get her an autographed print of a Todd Lockwood elf. She was ok with that, bless her little fantasy loving heart.

Morgan, was however, helping us out in a big way heading into Comic-Con. Angel Punk and the retailer Things From Another World (We Love Them!) were running a contest to put up to four fans on a 150-ft yacht, where we were hosting a private Angel Punk party. It was a twitter campaign and Morgan was tracking the hundreds of twitter followers that were playing in the contest.

I’m dating myself a little, but do you remember Robin Leach? For all you younger peeps, it was the equivalent to MTV Cribs. I didn’t get cable growing up because my parents were oppressive communists. Ok, not really, but not having cable was a serious detriment to popularity in middle and high school. Boarding the Leight Star was like walking into an episode from one of those shows. Our little dinghy had four stories, a hot tub and a helicopter pad. This party was going to be wicked awesome – and, it was!

Leight Star – Euguene, OR. Yeah…we don't know why either.

We had some serious comic heavyweights represented at the party and we really appreciated everyone making it out to the marina. Peeps showed up from Dark Horse, DC, Marvel, Image, Legendary, Blind Ferret, Dynamite, Oni, Top Cow, Comics Alliance, SDCC Survival Guide, Bleeding Cool and Comixology just to name a few. A whole slew of pics are going to be up in the party gallery soon.

More on the panels Monday!

Using some Jedi mind tricks, we convinced the registrar at Comic-Con that our presence was needed for SDCC11 to be a success. *Snark* They bought it. Two badges, one for me and one for Devon Lyon, as well as two guest passes. I’m thinking, we don’t have that much geek cred yet, do we? It must be the tuft from the beard of Zues that I keep in my sock drawer. On top of that the clouds of Portland parted and we even scored a condo five blocks from the convention center. We’re in!

I had seen pictures of the thousands of fans in cosplay and heard the stories of Comic-Con setting the entertainment industry abuzz. Shannon warned of the chaos but our inner geeks, con-less and chaste, set our hearts to countless panel attendances and meetings galore.

Devon and I arrived on Wednesday afternoon. After waiting in line 15 minutes to get our industry badges, we thought, OK, this isn’t so bad. We then waited another 30 minutes to get into the main floor. Our first steps onto the exhibition hall floor was like being hit by a tsunami of fellow rabid geeks, pressed shoulder to shoulder, decked to the nines in their favorite cosplay, all seeking out their favorite books and Comic-Com exclusives. Twenty minutes later, we had moved about twenty feet but hadn’t spoke a word. The pure, unadulterated awesomeness had rendered us speechless. And, this was just the preview night.

After barely surviving Wednesday, see how the adventure continues the next day.