Ukiyoe Heroes Subscription Sets

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can we see what images are coming up in the current series?
You can't! Jed is making these things up as we go along, and even we here at the workshop side in Tokyo don't know what we will be making more than a few weeks in advance. Don't worry about it - just enjoy the surprise every month when you open the envelope!
Well OK ... but what sort of thing should we expect?
Jed has a bottomless 'to do' list when it comes to designs for both his Ukiyoe Heroes work and these Portraits. (If you are unfamiliar with his work please peruse the images in the Ukiyoe Heroes or the Portraits sets.) He ranges far and wide across the world of video games, sketching whatever takes his fancy. For these Portraits, he is going to stick to games that have enjoyed wide popularity, so if you have a basic familiarity with the genre, you should recognize most of the characters that will be included in the series.
Do you take requests?
Jed certainly takes suggestions. It doesn't take much to get him excited about something, and if you make your 'pitch' interesting enough, you may indeed get exactly what you want!
Are these only by subscription? Can't I buy just the ones I like?
Our subscription series are only available as complete sets. Our larger Ukiyoe Heroes are available for purchase one-by-one ...
I missed the original Chibi (or Portraits) subscriptions. Can I still get these prints?
The cherry blocks used to create these prints are very hard and long-lasting, and our printers are frequently pulling new batches. We intend to keep all of our subscription sets available ...
$35 seems pretty cheap - are these really handmade woodblock prints?
You bet. Each print is carved on cherryblocks (a key block and accompanying set of colour blocks) and then printed by hand by Dave and his staff on the type of washi known as Echizen hosho. This is one of the finest papers available here in Japan, and these prints will last for literally (real literally!) hundreds of years. Here are images of two of the blocks for the first print in the first Portraits series:


Over on our YouTube channel, you can see this video of some of those prints being made, start to finish.
How does the Henry Manga book subscription work?
It's available two ways: 1) as a set of single sheet colour prints, month by month (no book), or 2) as a set of single sheet (B&W) prints, month by month, with the full-coloured bound book sent together (at no extra charge) with the final print.
Are gift subscriptions available?
This is no problem at all. We can send the invoice information to you, and the prints themselves to somebody else. Just let us know the two names/addresses in the Comments section when you send in the subscription form. (And we can of course print out and include a letter/message from you in the first package, letting the recipient know what is going on.)
Are you going to use current Japanese commemorative stamps when you ship the prints, the way you do with your other print subscriptions?
Of course! we've learned over the years that this is a big attraction for our collectors - at the same time that they build their print collection, they are adding to their (or their nephew's) stamp collection too!