Leia Weathington’s sword-and-sorcery epic The Legend of Bold Riley is illustrated by Leia and a host of talented artists.
“Who is Bold Riley?” you might ask. She has hunted the wildest game and dallied with countless beautiful girls, but still longs to know the world beyond the city walls. Princess Rilavashana SanParite, called Bold Riley, leaves behind her station and sets out to travel through distant lands and find forgotten ruins, fearsome enemies, inscrutable gods and tragic love.
She’s as capable with a sword as she is with her wits—man, does she carve things up when the need arises—and is a strong, beautiful, confident woman who doesn’t wear a bikini into battle. And she always gets the girl!
Created by Leia Weathington, with art by Weathington, Marco Aidala, Vanessa Gillings, Kelly McClellan, Konstantin Pogorelov, Liz Conley, and Jason Thompson. Cover artwork by Brinson Thieme. 232 pages. 7″x10″. Full-color with metallic ink cover.
Retailers! Download a Bold Riley Promotional Display that highlights the foreword by fan-favorite writer Jane Espenson and helps encourage customers to check out the book.
PREVIEWS:
You can download a 67-page preview of the book in PDF or EPUB (iPad-only) format right here on the site. The preview includes excerpts from four of the stories in the book, bonus artwork and more.
Additionally, there’s a ZIP file of preview images available for use in reviews and articles. Download it here. (11MB ZIP file.)
INTERVIEWS:
Feature on Panel Patter by Rob McMonigal — “Ms. Weathington, working with a variety of other artists, has created a fantasy world ripe for exploration, with our guide being Bold Riley, a young woman with royal (but restless) blood. It’s great to see the ‘Uncharted Fantasy World’ idea given a new twist by having a protagonist that’s not only female, but queer as well.”
Feature on Portland Comic Books Examiner by Christian Lipski — “Author Leia Weathington is releasing Bold Riley, her first book, at the end of June, and spoke with the Portland Comic Books Examiner about her own journey.”
Interview on Portland Comics by Doug Dorr — “I worked with 5 other artists for Bold Riley and made the mistake at first of trying to really tightly control the visuals of the comic. That was something I learned to back off from pretty fast. If you are working with artists you probably decided to get into a collaboration with them for a reason. SO TRUST YOUR ARTIST! What I’ve started doing is making model sheets characters, objects and places that must look a certain way to maintain continuity in the story, after that I send photo references, script and descriptions of mood and setting and turn the artist loose to have fun with it.”
Interview on The Hathor Legacy by Maria Velazquez — “Like many creators I started writing the kind of story I always wanted to see. Like most women I was raised with fairy tales and the complex feelings that go with them. Sure they focus primarily on female leads, but those leads tend to be passive objects. The women are what things happen TO not people who make things happen themselves.”
Interview on Sequential Tart by Lee Atchison — “We like the anti-hero right now. And with reason. Things are shit, we’re all pretty jaded. How can you not be when at the click of a button you can see the latest string of atrocities played out before your eyes. I like the anti-hero, but somewhere amid all of the horror and the skepticism, I wanted to place a story about a hero who, while not beyond reproach, is good and wants to do good and tries her hardest.”
Comics Worth Reading –
“Dave Ebersole and Delia Gable have put together a very readable comic. I particularly like Gable’s clean lines and period detail. It’s a clever twist, too, for Dash to be rather insecure about his relationship, given how cocky the traditional noir detective can be. Dash isn’t hiding who he is — although a friendly cop makes it clear his public exercise of his emotions is illegal back then — but he’s not at all sure he can count on Johnny. Plenty of snappy dialogue, too, well-suited to the genre.” Read Johanna Draper-Carlson’s whole review on Comics Worth Reading.
cxPulp –
“This is one of those comics that’s just bound to push all the right buttons for me, as it has several things I like. First of all, the hardboiled detective, which is a trope I love, and it’s set in ’40s Los Angeles, so the art is full of those period details that always look great. Add to this a bombshell female client that he’s sure is lying to him, and a homme fatale boyfriend he’s sure he can’t trust either, and it’s a great read for me.” Read Andrea Speed’s whole review on cxPulp.
Comic Vine –
“Dash puts a spin on the traditional noir tale, keeping the aesthetic (complete with gritty ’40s setting and the femme fatale), but ditching the world-weary hardboiled detective in favor of a trope-busting protagonist.” Read Jen “Miss J” Aprahamanian’s whole review on Comic Vine.
Comic Bastards –
“Really, this story is trying to appeal to fans of the P.I. genre that are looking for a new angle on the well-worn formula. Well, look no further than Dash.” Read Dustin Cabeal’s whole review on Comic Bastards.
The Newest Rant –
“Writer Dave Ebersole gives us a suspenseful story and artist Delia Gable provides artwork that is appropriately moody, with muted colors and a slight feeling of unease that compliments the events of the story perfectly.” Read David Charles Bitterbaum’s whole review on The Newest Rant.
Broken Frontier –
“…an enjoyable and very engaging opener that takes a familiar set-up and gives it a fresh twist. Northwest Press do more than most to embody the mantra they use as their tagline: ‘comics are for everyone’.” Read Tom Murphy’s whole review on Broken Frontier.
Bag & Bored –
“…[Dash] is the story about a gay Private Detective, a mysterious Egyptian woman, a dead antique dealer, and mummies (the walking around kind), but at its heart, it’s a detective story. The rest serves the story to make it more interesting and complex, but if you’re a fan of noir, than Dave Ebersole and Deila Gable have your ticket filled.” Read Brad Gischia’s whole review on Bag & Bored.
ComicBooked.com –
“Writer Dave Ebersole and artist Delia Gable present a new classic in the making with a murder mystery that may or may not have a touch of supernatural… with a twist! Great artwork and honest storytelling create a world that is not unfamiliar to our time period, but perhaps a bit risqué for the one in which it takes place. The main character, Dash, is charming, suave, intelligent, and gay. But this is by no means a ‘gay’ comic. After all, as the publisher openly states on the covers and logos of all of their products: ‘Comics are for Everyone’. This has never been more true. I can’t wait to see how this mystery wraps up, what happens to Dash next, and if everything works out in the end. And after just two short issues, I’m sure you will be wondering the same things.” Read Jeff Hill’s review on ComicBooked.com.
Pulp Cultured –
“A great core and setting has been set up by writer Dave Ebersole and it’s apparent that the book is something that took a great deal of thought to write. Each character that we come across in Dash as their own personality that makes everyone seems authentic and in place for even the smallest bit of dialog. The fine writing is paired with some nice artwork by Delia Gable that sets a young Los Angeles up to be gorgeous.” Read Jordan Cruz’s review on Pulp Cultured.
Foxy Jazzabelle –
“A good mystery is when slowly but surely, you see how occurrences that, at first glance, don’t seem to have any connection to each other connect together in a cohesive way, and that’s what we get with Dash.” Read Foxy Jazzabelle’s full review.
Multiversity Comics –
“Taking a page from the hardboiled detective genre, “Dash” includes an out detective, Egyptian lore, lovers’ quarrels, mysterious artifacts, and a spree of homicides. Dave Ebersole and Delia Grace work together to bring out a fun and thrilling romp through an old-school Los Angeles.” Read Matthew Garcia’s review on Multiversity Comics.
Kleefeld on Comics –
“Dash is a solid story in and of itself. But what I find most intriguing is how the individuals of 1940 act and interact, knowing Dash’s sexual orientation. Who accepts him, who tolerates him, and who actively hates him. The story doesn’t at all revolve around Dash’s homosexuality, and all of the characters seem well-rounded outside of whatever relationship they have with Dash, but that identity Dash brings to the table and how others feel about that make for an interesting undercurrent that runs through the book.” Read Sean Kleefeld’s review on Kleefeld on Comics.