Hey, everyone!

For those of you who've been reading the JanerBlog you'll know that I've been talking about my new Seekrit Project. Well, it's April Fool's Day, but this announcement is no joke! I'll be starting a new webcomic today!

http://www.clockworkgame.com

It's called Clockwork Game, and it's a true story of a chess-playing automaton that actually existed in the 18th and 19th centuries. The series will run weekly, with a new update every Thursday.

If you have an RSS feed reader, or a LiveJournal Friends page, you can receive each week's update just by following these links:

RSS

LiveJournal

Here's the press release I'm sending out; feel free to circulate it!

**************************
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


VÖGELEIN CREATOR JANE IRWIN LAUNCHES NEW WEBCOMIC

KALAMAZOO, MI – April 1st, 2008 – Self-publisher Jane Irwin, known for her black-and-white painted series Vögelein, has chosen April Fool's Day to begin her newest project, Clockwork Game. Based on the true history of a world-renowned 18th century hoax, commonly known as The Turk, the new story will be released in its entirety as a webcomic, updating each Thursday.

Originally designed to amuse the Empress Maria Theresa, The Turk was a machine that could play chess with the skill and originality of a grandmaster. It captivated audiences all over Europe and the United States, playing against many well-known rulers and dignitaries throughout its long and astonishing career. "I was inspired to retell the incredible story of The Turk because it seems far too fantastic to actually be true, and yet with each new book and article I uncovered, the facts became much more captivating than any fiction I could have created," Irwin said. "Clockwork Game is a mostly-true dramatization of historical events, told with as little conjecture as possible."

Drawn in a crosshatched pen-and-ink style, Clockwork Game marks a major shift in both medium and presentation from Irwin's earlier work, though the subject matter shares many similarities with her previous graphic novels, which told the story of an automaton brought to life. Vögelein: Clockwork Faerie and Vögelein: Old Ghosts were released to widespread critical acclaim, including Clockwork Faerie's inclusion on Booklist's 2003 Top Ten Graphic Novels for Youth.

In addition to her own projects, Irwin teaches several workshops each year at schools and libraries, showing creators of all ages how to tell their own stories through the medium of comics. She lives and works in Kalamazoo, Michigan with her husband, Paul Sizer, creator of the standalone graphic novels BPM and Moped Army and the series Little White Mouse, which currently runs on WebComicsNation.com.

Clockwork Game can be found at [link] or via the front page of Irwin's hub site, [link]

Sample art from the comic is available upon request.


###

For further information contact:

Jane Irwin
PO Box 51595
Kalamazoo, MI 49005
fierystudios@hotmail.com
www.clockworkgame.com
www.vogelein.com