Comic Transcripts

The Reader, BRINDLA, a woman with a book in her hand last seen being overwhelmed by books in the previous comic, is now speaking with a new friend, KYLEEN, who is sprawled casually over a park bench.

BRINDLA: So now I’ve read HEADSTABBERS: FATHOMS, but I’m unsure if I want to read any more of the series.

KYLEEN: I’ve read them ALL. Here’s the lowdown:

(Kyleen then starts an exhaustive recap of the series as men in the background lug huge piles of tottering books around. What’s their deal? We will never know)

KYLEEN: After FATHOMS, read LOWDOWN DEEP and CONTINENTAL SHELF OF DECEPTION.

Only the first half of WHALEFAULT is relevant. The second half is part of the Dreamvoid, which sucks.

Then: Skip the first nine in the CYANIDE ARMADA subsaga, but come back to the tenth after you’ve read DROWN BABY DROWN. It fills in the backstory of the Trench Butler, who goes on to play a big role in DEPTHS OF DESPAIR.

All the ones with sharks in the title are Kazunaga’s childhood fables. You can read them if you want, but they don’t relate to the main saga except alegorically.

HAMMERHEAD SPRING is the best of them, but it all takes place on a planet we never hear about again. It’s set a thousand years in the past.

QUEEN OF LONELY ISLES is the first one by the original author’s SON. THAT guy has some VERY odd ideas about what headstabbing is all about.

BRINDLA: Which ones have the most cute stuff with Vertebrakz?

KYLEEN: Oh, HONEY. Vertebrakz… Well, I’ll just say DO NOT read CORRUPTION OF SIRENS.

BRINDLA: I’m not sure if I should read ANY of them.

KYLEEN: AH. Yes. I remember back when that was still a choice before me

#1563; A Cold Stare From a Tall Bookshelf (Part 2 of 4) transcribed by in

The Reader, BRINDLA, a woman with a book in her hand last seen being overwhelmed by books in the previous comic, is now speaking with a new friend, KYLEEN, who is sprawled casually over a park bench.

BRINDLA: So now I've read HEADSTABBERS: FATHOMS, but I'm unsure if I want to read any more of the series.

KYLEEN: I've read them ALL. Here's the lowdown:

(Kyleen then starts an exhaustive recap of the series as men in the background lug huge piles of tottering books around. What's their deal? We will never know)

KYLEEN: After FATHOMS, read LOWDOWN DEEP and CONTINENTAL SHELF OF DECEPTION.

Only the first half of WHALEFAULT is relevant. The second half is part of the Dreamvoid, which sucks.

Then: Skip the first nine in the CYANIDE ARMADA subsaga, but come back to the tenth after you've read DROWN BABY DROWN. It fills in the backstory of the Trench Butler, who goes on to play a big role in DEPTHS OF DESPAIR.

All the ones with sharks in the title are Kazunaga's childhood fables. You can read them if you want, but they don't relate to the main saga except alegorically.

HAMMERHEAD SPRING is the best of them, but it all takes place on a planet we never hear about again. It's set a thousand years in the past.

QUEEN OF LONELY ISLES is the first one by the original author's SON. THAT guy has some VERY odd ideas about what headstabbing is all about.

BRINDLA: Which ones have the most cute stuff with Vertebrakz?

KYLEEN: Oh, HONEY. Vertebrakz... Well, I'll just say DO NOT read CORRUPTION OF SIRENS.

BRINDLA: I'm not sure if I should read ANY of them.

KYLEEN: AH. Yes. I remember back when that was still a choice before me

If you're ever in a situation in which you're unsure what headstabbing is all about, or maybe you've just forgotten or gotten lost in the details, there's an easy mnemonic to remind you: HEAD...STABBING

#1563; A Cold Stare From a Tall Bookshelf (Part 2 of 4)

  — April 5th, 2025

[ Tags: , , ]       Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/1563/

Continued from Part 1.

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Bolted! Shipping is UNDERWAY

April 4, 2026 by David Malki !

Bolted! games have been shipping to backers over the last couple of weeks! The non-US orders are (mostly) done and some folks have been reporting receiving them already!

@davidmalki.com My game arrived today!! It looks gorgeous 🙂 Hope you are well 🙂

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— Lar deSouza (@lartist.bsky.social) April 2, 2026 at 2:52 PM

My US inventory of games is now in-country, but still being staged at the fulfillment centers. It’s being distributed to regional warehouses, so the actual shipping to backers happens more efficiently. I hope the bulk of US shipping will start next week.

These are what the cartons (and games) look like!

bolted! games BOLTED! GAMES (pounding the table) B O L T E D ! G A M E S

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— david malki ! (@davidmalki.com) April 3, 2026 at 10:37 AM

I am also waiting on the bonus cards to be finished printing! I ended up needing many more of those than I had anticipated, so I decided to have the game factory print those too, for perfect matching with the base game cards.

Most people will be receiving two separate mailings: the game itself, and “anything else” (bonus cards and/or add-ons) which will be sent by me personally.

As of today, 86% of backers have completed their surveys so far! That’s pretty good, but it’s not everyone. I know YOU PERSONALLY have already completed YOURS though, so no worries!!

We have now moved OFF of Kickstarter and ONTO BackerKit for any new orders. You can bundle a game with basically anything else I sell on that there website, it’s pretty nuts!


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