project-image

Butts In Seats: The Tony Schiavone Story

Created by Travis McIntire

A biographical journey through the career of legendary wrestling color commentator, Tony Schiavone, as told through comics!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

ARN ANDERSON. November 15th. Click now for instant notification!
over 1 year ago – Mon, Oct 24, 2022 at 06:45:51 AM

Get ready, friends...

Happy Monday!

At long last, ARN ANDERSON: MY LIFE AS THE ENFORCER launches on Kickstarter Tuesday, November 15th!

Go here and click "Notify Me On Launch" to get a one-time email notification the moment the campaign goes live:

www.ArnComic.com

I hope we'll be setting some more records together with this one, we'll be sharing more details on this one soon!

Your friend in comics,

Dirk Manning

Tony Schiavone Free Comic Book Day Signing! New KS opportunity available!
almost 2 years ago – Fri, May 06, 2022 at 05:04:41 AM

Want to join us in Columbus, Ohio this Saturday for FCBD?

Hey all! First, this is a quick reminder that Tony Schiavone and I will both be appearing at the Eisner Award-winning  Packrat Comics in Hilliard, Ohio (just outside Columbus, Ohio) for Free Comic Book Day this Saturday!

Admission to all the FCBD events on Saturday are free for all -- click the pic for details on Saturday's signing and the special Friday night event!

If you can't make it to this signing event in the Buckeye State this weekend, fear not, there are other upcoming signing appearances actively being planned, and they will of course be mentioned on Tony's social media... and mine, should I be there too! 


The newest Kickstarter graphic novel is monstrous fun for all ages...

Work on the Arn Anderson graphic novel is continuing to move right along, and, yes, we will indeed be bringing that book to Kickstarter/crowdfunding so that we can again unlock all kinds of great free upgrades and bonuses... and you can plan on that dropping late this fall.

In the meantime, I'm excited to announce that I just launched my latest graphic novel on Kickstarter with Source Point Press yesterday... and it's quite a fun one! Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to...

THE ADVENTURES OF CTHULHU JR. AND FRUENDS is an all-ages horror graphic novel -- and yes, there's a 12" plushie, too! Click the pic to check out the campaign!

THE ADVENTURE OF CTHULHU JR. AND FRIENDS (now live at www.CthulhuJr.com) is an all-ages horror comic about a wannabe supervillain who has to capture the son of Cthulhu to be admitted into the League of E.V.I.L. Written by me, illustrated by Scott McMahon (who drew the Tony and Lois pin-up in BUTTS IN SEATS), colored by Sean Burres (who colored many of the chapters in BUTTS IN SEATS), edited by Leah Lederman, and published by Source Point Press! We just launched the book yesterday and we are already:

  • Fully Funded
  • Designated a "Project We Love" by Kickstarter
  • Halfway to unlocking the *SECOND* Stretch Goal as of this writing with 30 more days in the campaign!

Oh... and as you can see in the graphic above, yes, we're also offering a 12" Cthulhu plushie as part of the campaign, because how could we not, right? He's so cute!

This is not a wrestling graphic novel, of course, but it does contain a lot of the dynamic energy and fun we see on programs like ALL ELITE WRESTLING every week if I do say so myself, and I'd appreciate it you'd be willing to check it out and consider supporting this campaign, too! You can see all the details HERE: www.CthulhuJr.com -- and, again, all pledges that include a book include FREE U.S. SHIPPING with no hidden fees! What you see is what you pledge to get what you want!


Thanks all! I look forward to seeing some of you this weekend, we will otherwise talk soon, and I look forward to your thoughts on THE ADVENTURES OF CTHULHU JR. AND FRIENDS!

Your friend in comics,

Dirk Manning

Award season is here... want to help us out?
almost 2 years ago – Sat, Apr 23, 2022 at 11:55:06 PM

Hey all!

I hope this message finds you all doing well!

It's certainly been a wild time in the world of professional wrestling -- and comics -- and I hope you're all enjoying a lot of quality entertainment in both!

We're entering awards season in the comic industry, starting with the prestigious Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards. The "Ringo Awards" are an annual celebration of the creativity, skill and fun of comics where the nomination ballot is determined by fans and pros alike. To that end, we're hoping you won't mind taking a moment to nominate Butts in Seats and our team in the following categories at www.RingoAwards.com:

(You'll notice that we're also asking for nominations for Twiztid Haunted High-Ons as well, as you can nominate in as many or few categories as you would like, and we have a lot of crossover talent on the two books -- myself included!)

Thanks everyone! We all really appreciate it and will keep you posted, of course!

Repping team Butts in Seats,

Dirk Manning

P.S. -- Keep an eye on both Tony's social media, as well as mine, for an upcoming comic-based appearance in the Columbus area soon!

P.P.S. -- Work on the Arn Anderson graphic novel is moving along well as well, and I'll keep you all posted on that, too!

Shipping is completed! Here's what's next...
about 2 years ago – Wed, Feb 23, 2022 at 12:17:02 PM

All possible shipping has completed!

Hey all!

At this point all the BUTTS IN SEATS packages that can be shipped have been shipped! Huzzah! Thank you all for your support on this campaign!

If you don’t have your package yet, please take a moment to log into your BackerKit, as your Tracking Number will be available there. If you don’t see a tracking number, please reach out to [email protected] and they can help you out! (NOTE: This is different than the previous email address, so if you have any concerns, please direct your inquiries to this one to get the fastest reply.)

Also, to those of you who’ve been sharing your praise of the comic on social media while tagging me, Tony, and Source Point Press – we see you and we thank you! It’s very appreciated!

If you're now in the mood for more comics...

Comics (and especially graphic novels) are pretty darn great, and now that the majority of you have received your books (and the last few packages are in transit), I wanted to direct your attention to the current graphic novel sale Source Point Press is running at www.TalesOfMrRhee.com.

If you’re a fan of horror (especially) you’ll find a lot to love, including deep discounts on some of SPP’s classic horror graphic novel offerings, but I would of course be remiss if I didn’t draw attention to the titles I’ve written:

  •  TALES OF MR. RHEE is my horror noir magnum opus. Finding a new home at Source Point Press, we’re offering a massive 550+ page TALES OF MR. RHEE OMNIBUS: ACT ONE that collects the first four volumes in a new collection (with a cover by James O’Barr of THE CROW fame) as well as the brand new TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume 5: “Rockstar Paranoia” which begins “Act Two” of the series and is a perfect jumping-on point for new readers interested in reading the adventures of a street-level magician trying to convince the world that a demonic Armageddon is on the horizon – again!
     
  • If you’re looking for something funny to read, TWIZTID HAUNTED HIGH-ONS is a supernatural comedy about fake ghost hunters who get called to a real haunted house. This graphic novel was nominated for “Best Humor Comic of 2020” in the prestigious Ringo Awards, and is masterfully illustrated by Marianna Pescosta, who illustrated the TPB cover to BUTTS IN SEATS.
     
  • If you enjoyed the anthology-style format of BUTTS IN SEATS, consider checking out BURIED BUT NOT DEAD, a collection of heartfelt horror-adjacent stories illustrated by several of the artists also in BUTTS IN SEATS including Sally Scott, Jan Apple,  and Austin McKinley!
     
  • Finally, if you’re interested in a superhero-based story unlike any other, we’re offering limited copies of the Kickstarter Exclusive Hardcover Edition of HOPE. This is a story about a mom who secretly moonlights as a superhero and what happens when her secret identity is revealed to the world. This is a book that has proved a massive entry-point to my work for non-horror fans and also is genuinely a superhero book unlike any other.
     

All of that being said, all the books being offered at www.TalesOfMrRhee.com get my highest endorsement, so I hope you’ll consider checking them out before the sale ends!

Thanks, all! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get back to these scripts for the ARN ANDERSON graphic novel, which we’re planning on launching with Source Point Press before the end of the year. We’ll be in touch about that closer to launch, too!


On behalf of all of us, thanks again for everything, friends. Truly!

Your friend in comics,
Dirk Manning

We're about 99% Shipped!
about 2 years ago – Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 05:00:37 AM

Hello everyone!

At this point the vast majority of the packages have been shipped from Source Point Press, and yesterday everyone who has a package in transit (or reported as delivered) should have received a tracking number via BackerKit. There are still a VERY small amount of packages that haven't shipped yet... so here's the breakdown on everything:

International Backers

You can plug your USPS tracking number into https://www.goglobalpost.com/track to keep track of your package as it leaves the United States. We all know that overseas shipping is taking a little time, but this way you can watch your package (which may be labeled as coming from our parent company Ox Eye Media) from door-to-door!

No tracking number yet?

There are a very small amount of packages that haven't gone out yet, mainly because we had to order some more of the lithographs since some were damaged when they got to the warehouse. The replacement lithographs arrived TODAY and packages will be shipping out by the end of the week pending anything completely extraordinary, so keep your eyes peeled for your tracking number, which should arrive soon after your package leaves the warehouse! Yay!

Damaged Product

Every product is hand-packaged by our amazing Ox Eye Media staff, in house, and they take great pride in doing everything they can to make sure your packages arrive safely and in "Like New" condition. That being said, sometimes damages happen during the shipping process. As mentioned in the last update, in the event that you received a damaged item or there is another issue with your order's delivery, please contact the shipping department (email in the last update) and they will get back to you ASAP. Please keep in mind we had blizzard conditions here in the Midwest last week, so the staff is still working their way through messages (they do fulfillment and shipping for NUMEROUS outside companies too), but rest assured if you've sent a message, it will be answered and addressed. We appreciate your support, and will make every reasonable attempt to address any reasonable issues in a reasonable fashion... because, hey, we're reasonable people. (Remember, if you have a damaged product, sending a clear photo of the damaged product in question with your initial message will help the replacement process go faster!)


Finally, we hope you like everything!

As I've said a few times (at least) over the course of this campaign, none of us expected all the obstacles in regards to printing and shipping that were impacted by the global supply chain issues when we started this campaign, so we most sincerely appreciate your patience. The day the books arrived at the warehouse shipping began, and -- real talk -- our "internal team" hasn't even gotten our copies yet, as our priority was making sure you got YOURS first, as you're the ones who made this book possible.

If you've enjoyed the book, and are so inclined, feel free to leave a review on Amazon, GoodReads, or wherever else you may choose to leave a review. Also feel free to let Tony, Source Point Press, and I know you got your books on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media outlets, too! We love seeing pictures of your books as they arrive, friends!

And again, thank you for everything. We appreciate you so much! Happy reading! Now, if you're excuse me, I've got some Arn Anderson scripts to deliver to the man himself  to approve once AEW Dynamite is over...

Your friend in comics,

Dirk Manning