★ IBERIAN PRESS: News/Message Board ★

2006 is the start of something good!
This page is a news blog about the latest happenings at Iberian Press. Check in to read the real life saga of a small press (that would be us) as it tries to break into the comic/graphic novel market. Our highs and our lows...hopefully more highs than lows.

December 20
I can't believe the end of the year is almost here. We're blown away at how many people are regularly visiting our site from all over the world - it's fantastic! We'dlike to send our heart felt thanks to everyone who has visited our site and made 2006 such a kick ass year!

December 3
We hope you like the new look of the site, including the new Iberian Store and the Links section.

We've continued to get a steady stream of people visiting our site from all over the world. In November, we had hits from 28 countries! Everyone seems to really enjoy our free online version of Samurai Elf™. Thanks for all of your fan mail! Keep it coming, we're always happy to hear from you. We're currently available in stores in the United States, Canada, England, Denmark and Australia. We're also available online at Amazon, Borders, and soon at Barnes & Noble (in stores and online). Click here for details and links.

December 2
Miguel has been getting a steady stream of translation work from the good folks at Heavy Metal. You'll begin to see his work starting in the March '07 issue. He's also deligiently working on Samurai Elf™ (book 2): Gathering Storm. It's looking fantastic! The art is even better than book 1 (Set Apart). Fans will be astounded that he was able to complete a 224 page graphic novel in 9 months. He should have the pencilscompleted by the end of this month. We will definitely have the book ready for it's debut at the San Diego Con next summer, as promised.

November 9
This might not be much, but we got a kick out of being mentioned in the "On-Sale Calendar" section of Publisher's Weekly eNewsletter

November 6
We found out we're available in more countries! Woohoo! We love international fans.

October 20
We just received our first order from Barnes & Noble! Samurai Elf© will officially hit bookstores by the end of the year. As you can guess, Miguel and Suzy are ecstatic. They celebrated at a nice Brooklyn restaurant called Beast. They never thought this would happen within 5 months of getting Samurai Elf back from printer. What a ride!

October 17
Miguel just got his first official translation job for Heavy Metal Magazine! It'll be in the March 2007 issue of Heavy Metal. We'll keep you posted when it hits the stands. Congratulations Miguel!!

October 11
There's so much good news, it's hard to know where to begin. We received our first order from Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. and we were elated. The New York City stores were so friendly that they actually bought the books they promised they would. More reasons to love NY! Store in NYC include such favorites as Forbidden Planet, Midtown Comics and Jim Hanley's Universe.

Samurai Elf gets its first book review and boy is it a beauty! Broken Frontier, an indispensable resource featuring fantastic coverage of the latest in the comic/graphic novel industry, gave us a wonderfully written review by Dave Baxter and a "Sneak Peek," where they included art from the book. An interview is also in the works. Our special thanks to Frederik for arranging everything and to Dave for his generous review. We couldn't have hoped for more.

September
Miguel's designer Munnies are now for sale at the Iberian Store! More will be added for Halloween. Tune in for more info next month.

September 1
It's official! Not only is Samurai Elf: Set Apart on page 294 of the September issue of Previews, but we are Spotlighted! If you are a retailer and would like to carry our book, please order directly from Diamond or from our Book Rep, Tony Shenton. Visit our Wholesale section for more information. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. If you are a reader and would like to buy a copy (in which case, we thank you!), please visit the Iberian Store or ask for Samurai Elf at your local comic book store.

July
Samurai Elf is now available at Comic Relief in Berkley, CA! Samurai Elf: Set Apart was picked up by Diamond Comic Distributors and will be in the September issue of Previews. Thanks to Dylan and Steve at Diamond for all of your help in setting up our account so we make the next issue. Miguel Guerra, our resident artist extraodinaire (actually, our only artist), is currently having fun painting new Munnies and Dunnies, designer toys from Kidrobot. We'll have 3 for sale by the beginning of September. The San Diego Comic-Con was great! We worked hard, had fun, made new friends, and met tons o' people! You can read more about it on our home page IberianPress.com. Click here to see our SDCC photos.

July 19-23
Iberian Press is excited to be a part of the International Comic Con in San Diego in the Small Press section.

Miguel Guerra and Suzy Dias will be there signing books and saying hi to anyone who drops by our table. Miguel is holding 2 draws for his own custom made Munnies, designer toys from Kidrobot.

His hand painted creations are available to anyone who drops by the Iberian Press table 09 in the small press section. Enter for FREE! Winners will be announced Saturday and Sunday afternoon (July 22-23).

The grand unveiling of a new character from Alric the Wild! The e-comic version will be available year end.

The Pub Report just published an extensive interview with our very own Miguel Guerra! The People's Urban Beat Report (P.U.B.) is a bi-monthly magazine with over 30,000 readers nationwide. It is also an online cable news program and popular site with over 700,000 readers and over 2 million hits a month. They highlight independent urban entertainment that's not often covered by the mass media.

June 18
Our shopping cart is here! Please visit our new Store section, where you'll also find a growing list of oustanding comic book stores that carry signed and numbered copies of Samurai Elf: Set Apart.
And don't worry, you can still read all of book 1 in our eComics section, where 2 new pages are posted every Thursday.

June 6
I guess 6/06/06 was a good luck day for Iberian Press. Tony Shenton, an established Book Rep, has agreed to work with us! He represents such heavy hitters as Drawn and Quarterly, Fantagraphics and NBM Publishing (where, coincidentally, Miguel also translates books from Spanish into English). Retailers can get more information from our Wholesale section.

May 29
We launched our first eComic, so why not start with a bang? For all our fans who wanted to read Samurai Elf: Set Apart and couldn't wait to buy it, or anyone looking for something with a solid story and exceptional art, we decided to add the entire 184 page graphic novel to our site for FREE! Just visit our eComics section. We'll add 2 new pages every Wednesday night until the entire book is complete.

May 22
The first store in NYC picks up copies of Samurai Elf. If you're in the area, please be sure to admire the wonderful Empire State Building and then stop by Jim Hanley's Universe. This is one of our favorite stores in the city. They have everything!

May 20-21
Our brand spanking new site was launched this weekend. As of May 29th, we received over 10,000 hits. I never thought I'd advocate violence, but please, hit this site! We appreciate everyone who is looking for something new and different. All are welcome.

May 4
We received our first copies of Samuai Elf: Set Apart from Morgan Printing. We threw the books in the truck of a car and made the drive from Brooklyn to Toronto, where Suzy's from. It was a big hit with the family - thanks everyone! More importantly, we got an enthusiastic response from every store we went to. If you're in Toronto, you can find Samurai Elf in the following comics stores: Hairy Tarantula, The Beguiling, 1,000,000,000 Comix, Gray Region, and 3rd Quadrant.

March - The birth of Samuai Elf
After a year of hard work, late nights, and ditching friends far too often, Miguel and Suzy finished book 1 of Samurai Elf© called Set Apart. Phew! It was quite an undertaking, but worth every minute. What is Samurai Elf you might ask? You can visit the Samurai Elf section for a pretty good synopsis and character descriptions with illustrations. Here's a really quick description:

Imagine one day you discover that you're the last of your kind. That the fate of your world rests on your shoulders and that everything you once knew was a lie. Ardan, a sheltered and naïve teenager, wonders what larger forces beyond his control are pulling the strings. Together with Keegan, his female counterpart, they stumble upon a journey of heart pounding adventures. A world where bounty hunters, Rasta cyborg Dwarfs, alluring heroines, troubled heroes, black market pirate babes, and misunderstood Goblins collide. Where magic and technology clash for supremacy. This beautifully illustrated graphic novel stylistically combines Japanese and European art to create a new fusion style Manga. The fast-paced action is coupled with a good dose of humor that will not disappoint.