Updated the most recent print update post (Print Update #3) with additional photos from the main book (as well as the bonus booklet)!
May 28, 2026: Updated with book specs.
Earlier this month, after finalizing the main print book for The Harbinger’s Path, I was contemplating whether it was possible to put together a “bonus booklet” with some extra material I ran out of space for in the main print volume.
I thought it was a low possibility, because ~1 month before the convention was a little too close scheduling-wise for my taste. However, thanks to fellow artists also tabling at Manga Ichiba later this month, I learned about a new printing company, MCE Printing. Like my main printer I used for the The Harbinger’s Path (Fireball Printing, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), MCE is also a domestic, NA-based print shop.
MCE prints from Kirkland, Washington, and they have a specific focus on NA-made doujinshi! How cool is that!
To my amazement, they were able to both print and ship my “bonus booklets” in record time. Even better, I am so pleased with their print quality. Thank you so much again to Mike for shipping my booklets out in record time, and with such beautiful print quality! I am beyond pleased with their print quality, especially as this was the first time printing with them, and there wasn’t time for me to check a physical proof before having them printed.
Above are two preview photos!
More photos (including the front cover) + info added to the full post for the interest-check group from earlier this month! (Scroll down to the new “Bonus Booklet” section.)
May 28, 2026: Added booklet specifications.
I spent much of the tail end of April finalizing The Harbinger’s Path print version, and wanted to share some photos of one of the book’s proofs from during this time! I ended up spending much more time than I’d planned refining the print version, and despite telling myself not to do this excessively – I ended up manually adjusting or making art refinements to every single page, haha. On the plus side, I’m pleased with how it’s turned out! I think the extra time was worth it, and I hope this comes across to anyone who holds the final book in their hands!
All photos in this post are graciously taken by my printer (many, many thanks to them again for being so wonderful to work with!).
The rest of the photos & post are below, along with one or two higher-resolution photos:
My time has been occupied by trying to squeeze in as many final edits to the book as I’m able to – which has involved some painting, and made me feel like like doing a small paintover of one of my older Laranthir artworks today. I’m not sure if I’ve ever posted the original before, because I wasn’t happy with how it turned out. Above is the paintover from this morning, and the original version is in the full post below:
Finished my circle cut for Manga Ichiba! These are used as a way for the convention organizers to show who the participating doujin tables are. It’s carried over from Comiket (“comic markets”) in Japan. In JP, doujinshi are much more commonly created and shared – compared to here in NA, where we don’t have an established doujin culture (…yet!).
I spent far too long deliberating on which artwork to use for my circle cut. I tried several, before ending up doing the least efficient option – refining a very messy sketch from this past October. I saved it knowing I’d like to refine it at some point, but hadn’t until now. This isn’t finished – it’s still quite messy in places – but perhaps that is even more appropriate for a circle cut. From my understanding, they are often sketches done for the specific convention (though correct me if I’m mistaken).
I wanted to do something a little more playful, without being misleading about what the doujin is about. This is what I landed on – hopefully it’s a good compromise! :p
Oh! And as you can read from the image, this also shows info about where and when I will be at the convention. The convention is 3 days, but every doujin table will only be tabling 1 of the 3 days (unlike traditional artist alleys). Below’s the summarized info:
Table Number: B16
Tabling Date: Saturday May 23, 2026
Time: Day slot, 10 am – 4 pm (“General Audiences”)
I’ll have with me The Harbinger’s Path, of course!
I saw a very insightful post on Bluesky the other day, linking to resources detailing the history and ethos of how Comikets in Japan were first established. Much is new information to me! I wanted to link it here, both as a reminder to myself to peruse more leisurely when I have a chance, and in case you might also be interested in reading.
Let me also link directly to the sources, in case Bluesky ever vanishes in the future. Posted originally by the user “saba sabaton” (sabato-n.bsky.social):
Comiket slide deck presentation from 2007/2008
“Comic Market’s Ideals and Vision”
May 4, 2026: Slightly updated the the circle cut art!