Hilaritas Press, the publishing company started by Illuminatus! co-author (and Boing Boing Patron Saint) Robert Anton Wilson's daughter Christina and Bob's friend Rasa, have been doing a wonderful job re-releasing much of Wilson's back catalog under the new imprint. But they've hit a snag. New Falcon Publications, RAW's previous publisher, claims to own the Israel Regardie intro and the comic illustrations in Bob's popular title Prometheus Rising and they're apparently not interested in negotiating with Hilaritas on a license to use them. So, Christina and Rasa are turning to RAW's fanbase and the online art community in search of worthy new illustrations to replace the existing ones. Rasa writes:
I have mixed feelings about this whole endeavor. I've always loved the cartoons in Prometheus Rising, and I really hate to see them go, but the previous publisher's poor printing in subsequent editions of Prometheus Rising left a lot of the images in a very poor state – something we lamented in putting together our new edition. However, Bob was an optimist, and in that same spirit, both Christina and I are looking forward to this opportunity to update this amazingly relevant book for the delight of both new and old readers.
They only have until November 15th to replace the art (37 pieces!) and the introduction. A tall order. I would love to see a pie in the face of this flapdoodled foolishness and see RAW's optimism properly served with a new introduction by someone equally as iconic as Israel Regardie and a new set of incredible cartoons. Remember how inspired John Thompson's illustrations were in Cosmic Trigger? Let's shoot for that!
If you're interested in submitting some art samples, see the Hilaritas press release for all of the details.
