My First Mini Comic, Mandala, Now Online!

Yesterday, I came upon an old digital treasure trove of work. One of those gems was my very first (and only) mini comic, Mandala, from 2007. Above is a sample of one of Mandala's single panel pages. The entire story is told as a narrative loop that can go on for as long as your attention span allows. Thanks to the beauty of web technology you can meditate on the nature of life and loss here.

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Mandala

Mandala (2007) was the very first story I wrote and published entirely on my own. The project's conceit was that it could only be enjoyed in a cyclical manner if it was read in book form. The reader was instructed to read all the pages on the right hand side until they would return to the beginning of the book reading only the left hand pages. The whole thing created a mandala in book form. I would even go so far that I conceived of it as an art object in the form of a book. I didn't give too much consideration to adding the lettering and sound effects into the book's layout because this material wasn't supposed to be in any other form! That explains why the images included here are taken from the book and not from scans of the art alone.

The story follows a young boy as he's swept up in a larger metaphorical process that might be mistaken for his life.

Some of the characters that appear here also make an appearance in my next major project, the Process. After selling out as a mini comic, Mandala was included in the fantasy anthology, Fablewood published by Ape Entertainment.

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Fablewood in Stores This Week!

This week the much anticipated anthology of fantasy comics, Fablewood, hits store shelves! The book is edited by William Ward and features work by luminaries, Ryan Ottley, JP Ahonen, Daniel Lafrance and many, many more. In it you'll also find my out of print minicomic, Mandala! The reviews are already hitting the web and the word is that Fablewood is not to be missed. Ambush Bug at Ain't it Cool News had this to say about the book:

FABLEWOOD is a feast for the eyes, the heart, and the mind. This fantasy anthology is done by a handful of talented artists and writers, all fully capable of telling the type of story that stretches the imagination. I found this book to be a real showcase of talent. I’ll go over the entire book briefly, but my observations don’t do this book justice

In his review of Mandala, Ambush Bug wrote this:

Due to the stylized font, I may misspell the writer/artist behind the wonderful reading experiment that is “Mandala”, but Joe Thfurhart’s story is one of the book’s highlights both in its mandala-shaped storytelling style and the cool mix of cavemen and giant robots.

Don't sweat it! The name mistake is a common one. It's the handle that I use on the Erotic Nights of the Norse Gods Bulletin Boards most weekends. Regardless, the compliments are greatly appreciated. Congratulations are in order for all involved and many thanks to editor, William Ward, for assembly such a talented roster of writers and artists.

Now what are you all waiting for!? Go out there and get yourself a copy! I promise you won't be disappointed.