The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Omnibus

Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.

Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, the most renowned 5-book trilogy of all time, gets its own deluxe edition from Wraithmarked!

As with all Kickstarter campaigns, however, we need your help to make this special print run a reality. Our goal of $50,000 covers the manufacturing and fulfillment costs of this project, as well as additional cool art and tidbits you wouldn't usually find in your average book!

Inside the Book

(Yes. You read that right. There are 42 full-color interior illustrations in this book. Not including covers, end sheets, etc. Ahem... anyway!)

We are putting everything we can into making this deluxe omnibus a beautiful addition to your shelf! The base book will printed in a ~6x9 in (~15.2x22.9cm) format, and is designed with top quality in mind with high-end offset printing using acid-free paper, a Smyth-sewn binding, at least one attached ribbon bookmark (with an extra unlocked in the Stretch Goals), and silver metallic gilding of the page edges. 

It has a spot glossed (and embossed) full-wrap dust jacket featuring the art of Chee Fong, a reverse dust jacket illustration by Leon Tukker, and a printed cloth-bound case featuring the art of Tom Kidd.

The interior is even better and unlike anything we've ever done before! Each book includes a custom interior design and embellished chapter headings by STK Kreations! This all provides gorgeous packaging for no less than 42 full-color illustrations of scenes and characters from the books by an incredible crew of artists, including: Alejandro Burdisio, Andrey Surnov, Carlos Cruchaga, Chee Fong, Leon Tukker, Marlowe Doran, Quintin Gleim, Jessica Fong, Heather Shields, and Serena Malyon. Last but not least, the books will feature two unique, full-color illustrated end sheets by Donato Giancola. 

Oh AND, make sure to take a look at our Art Gallery at the bottom of this campaign to see all the art we've revealed so far for this edition! There's... so much. So, so much.

For the first time ever, we are making a slipcase! The walls will be 3mm thick, clothbound with foil stamping, and feature velvet interior lining. While they come included with the $150 tier, extras will be available to purchase for $15 USD + $2 shipping.

To be clear, that means that grabbing the $150 tier saves you an extra $5 on the slipcase, and $2 on shipping!

Deluxe Bookmark

This deluxe bookmark features art of a towel floating in space by Marlowe Doran. As with all our bookmarks, they are printed on double stock and include foiled or colored edges. This particular design will be further enhanced by raised spot gloss elements on both sides.

Stretch Goals

We are excited to finally bring you the deluxe omnibus of The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! In fact, extra funding will allow us to invest right back into the project in the form of Stretch Goals! Below you can see the wonderful things we have planned so far, and as we continue to fund, more may be revealed!

Foreword by John Scalzi

JOHN SCALZI is one of the most popular science fiction authors of his generation. His debut, Old Man's War, won him the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. His New York Times bestsellers include The Last Colony, Fuzzy Nation, Redshirts (which won the Hugo Award for Best Novel), The Last Emperox, The Kaiju Preservation Society, Starter Villain, When the Moon Hits Your Eye, and The Shattering Peace. Material from his blog, Whatever, has earned him two other Hugo Awards. He lives in Ohio with his wife and daughter.

We are so incredibly over the moon that John kindly took the time to provide us with a truly wonderful foreword for this edition and think it makes for a genuinely fantastic, unique addition to the book!

About the Author

DOUGLAS NOEL ADAMS was an English author, humourist, and screenwriter, best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (HHGTTG). Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy developed into a "trilogy" of five books that sold more than 15 million copies in his lifetime. It was further developed into a television series, several stage plays, comics, a video game, and a 2005 feature film. Adams's contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academy's Hall of Fame.

Add-Ons

Did you miss out on the previous Wraithmarked Creative campaign? Maybe just interested in grabbing some additional goodies while you're here?

Every pledge level outside of the "No Reward" Tier gives you access to our Add-Ons! All hardcover books are available as Add-Ons here on Kickstarter while supplies last! The rest of our collection will be available on Backerkit once surveys are out! Just take a look at our Add-On gallery below to see what other excellent Wraithmarked products you might be interested in.

About the Publisher

Wraithmarked Creative, LLC was formed in 2020 around the dream of giving voice to talented fantasy writers who just need a leg up and an audience to speak to. Acquiring The Shattered Reigns and The Wings of War series first, Wraithmarked has since expanded into an ever-growing team of dozens of authors, staffers, and production specialists.

Our hope is to provide not only the best fantasy literature you can get your hands on but to do so in a way that gives up-and-coming writers real assistance in supporting themselves, their passions, and their hopes of working full-time as professional authors in the industry.

In the interest of transparency, it should be noted that we have been given permission from Kickstarter to run a higher frequency of campaigns across our brands as an "experienced creator in good standing". To make sure all current and potential Backers are fully informed of all our ongoing projects, we will be consistently updating our public Project Pipeline Tracker to reflect our most current campaign list and fulfillment level for each and every project!

Shipping & Handling

We've gotten a range of feedback over the last year about how to make our books more accessible to everyone, and one of the most common places we hear we could make a simple change is by charging shipping later, so there's an additional opportunity to split the product costs.

All shipping and handling fees will be processed on BackerKit when you fill out your backer survey, which will be sent out 2-3 weeks after the campaign ends.

THIS WILL NOT CHANGE THE SHIPPING COST. We have outlined what every item's shipping will be post-campaign below so you can account for it immediately!

Pledge Over Time

We are excited to be using Kickstarter's Pledge Over Time feature that allows some backers to split their pledge into 3 equal payments!

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPTION:

• You can access Pledge Over Time once you reach a $125 total pledge minimum (including Add-Ons and shipping).
• After selecting your pledge Tier and Add-Ons, you will be taken to the "Payment" page to confirm your payment method. Once there, you will see an option to “Pledge in full” or “Pledge Over Time”.
• If you elect to pledge over time, your pledge will be divided into 3 equal payments. The first charge will happen when the campaign ends successfully, with the remaining 2 happening once every month after that.

THAT MEANS, FOR THIS CAMPAIGN:

• The first charge will be for 1/3rd of your total pledge and will be charged to your card on or around June 5th.
• The second charge will be for 1/3rd of your total pledge and will be charged to your card on or around July 5th.
• The third charge will be for 1/3rd of your total pledge and will be charged to your card on or around August 5th.

We are excited about this enhanced flexibility for our backers! If you have questions about the Pledge Over Time feature, you can visit this help center article for more information or reach out to Kickstarter’s support team here.

Important note: We love your support in any fashion you deem fit, but we love your health, wellness, and financial stability more. Please do not back any of our campaigns beyond what you are comfortable deeming is safe for you and your finances. We would rather have a little bit less on any given project than risk anyone's comfort or stability.

The Art Gallery

Here's where you can see all the art we've revealed so far! There are 47 illustrations in total before any potential Stretch Goals are added in: 1 dust jacket cover, 1 reverse dust jacket cover, 1 naked hardcover, 2 end sheets, and 42 interiors! 

Check out what we've shown off so far, in no particular order! Oh, and in case it's not obvious: No AI was used in the production of any of this art. Wraithmarked works with real artists only!

Oh and one very special WIP that's not quieeeeet done yet, but we still wanted to show off!

The Use of AI, or Lack Thereof

Wraithmarked Creative does not (and will never) knowingly commission any artist, writer, or creator of any kind who has, is, or is intending to use AI generative elements in the final iteration of their art, creations, or content.

If you use AI in your final works, do not bother contacting us for potential commission, employment, or cross-promotion. We will respond very rudely.