On June 26th, Villard Books will publish Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened, a collection of stories inspired by editor Jason Rodriguez’s used, antique postcards. The book features tales of romance, adventure, hardship, and mystery from over 30 creators, including Harvey Pekar, Phil Hester, Tom Beland, Michael Gaydos, Antony Johnston, and Matt Kindt.

The team behind Postcards is offering you an opportunity to win a page from Stuart Moore and Michael Gaydos’ “Tic-Tac-Bang-Bang.” Neatly framed and delivered to your door, this wonderful work of original art from the illustrator of Marvel’s Alias and The Pulse can be the centerpiece of your collection – if you tell us a good story, first.

On September 27, 1909, Charley Frost of Mandale, Ohio, sent a postcard to Mrs. Eva Billman of Muskingum County, Ohio. Charley wrote:

Dear friend

Where did mother go when she left your place? We have not heard from her for over three weeks & we did not know where to write to. We thought likely you would know.

Charley Frost


Do you think you know where Charley’s mother went? If so, tell the Postcards’ team in 100 words or less before April 18th by sending an email to [email protected]. Jason Rodriguez (and his right-hand-man assistant editor, James W. Powell) will pick the best of the bunch and send the entrant his or her well deserved page of Michael Gaydos art.

Feel free to visit the contest page at http://www.postcardsanthology.com/contest to view the artwork you can win and a copy of the postcard that’ll be inspiring your story. There will also be updates every Friday when Jason and James discuss the more…interesting…entries. And then come back to the contest page on Friday, April 20th, when we’ll be announcing the winner.

So get creative and send us your tale. Impress us with your true story that never happened and we’ll send you a fantastic piece of original art.

Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened is coming June 26, 2006, from Villard Books, a division of the Random House Publishing Group (Previews Order #APR074039). It collects 16 stories inspired by antique postcards and is edited by Jason Rodriguez, the editor behind Elk’s Run and the cult indie hit Western Tales of Terror. You can read more about the anthology and its creators at http://www.postcardsanthology.com.