Half Lives, or Ernest Oliver Wineberg's Book of Necessary Knowledge, is a 252 page, full color comic book published in June 2022. A collaboration years in the making, it is written and lettered by Barbara K Begley and illustrated by J Brooks Robinson and Shakhed Hadaya, with additional art by Begley and Kimrea. It comes with an embedded original soundtrack by rustic Brooklyn electropunk outfit Gandor Chorale, with hand lettering of the lyrics by Moli Liu.
Half Lives follows ten year old J Starr, nine and a half year old Ernest Oliver Wineberg, and Ernest's turtle Raymond in an alternate universe version of Mill Valley, California, circa 2001. Over the course of the book J and Ernest become friends, fight nebulously evil Shadow Monsters in multiple dimensions on J's magic flying bike, and ultimately have their relationship and dimension-hopping abilities tested when they embark on a great Quest to find J's missing father. Soft sci-fi hijinks, alternate universe theory, and Too Many Milkshakes ensue.
Interspersed throughout the book are selections from Ernest's Book of Necessary Knowledge, an ever-expanding collection of everything Ernest needs to know (in case he one day succumbs to complete amnesia). Ernest's mini essays on topics such as Your Hometown, People You Definitely Know, and Berserk Llama Syndrome are lushly illustrated by Shakhed Hadaya, whose meditative pencil line art provides a counterpoint to Brooks Robinson's more traditional comic style.
Half Lives is entirely self-published. Thanks to a 2016 crowdfunding campaign we were able to raise funds for a limited print run of 150 copies, of which about 70 are earmarked as Kickstarter backer rewards. Remaining copies are available for order here. Proceeds will go to cover printing overages due to pandemic inflation, and then be split equally between Begley, Robinson, and Hadaya.
The printed books measure 8.5" by 11," and are laser printed in glorious full color by Tristar Offset Printing in Maspeth, New York. The book is also available as a downloadable PDF.
