Check Out an Exclusive Sneak Preview for "Tales Across the World," an Anthology Book!

 By: Andrew Bermudez

(Mustache Maniacs Film Co. Headquarters; November 8, 2024)

    While the book itself has been delayed to a future date, today has ushered in an exclusive sneak preview of the book Tales Across the World: A Short Story Collection! Below are all of the details, as well as a closer look at the book as a whole, including an expected release timeframe.

Check Out the Sneak Preview for Tales Across the World: A Short Story Collection!

    Today, one of the book's authors, PeabodySam, has released his own contributions to the book as an exclusive sneak preview of the entire book! It contains four of the stories, which all lean into the concept of the multiverse. This concept is a major part of the book and is only the tip of the iceberg of what you'll find in the book's pages. Get ready for all-new stories from across time, space, and other realities! You'll find the links right here.

• The Multiversal Manifesto
• My Dear Sister from Another Time
• A Costly Price to Pay
• Patrick the Feared

    Content Advisory: These stories contain graphic descriptions of organized crime, violence, child abuse, mental health, corruption, and other sensitive topics. While these stories do not condone any sordid or unacceptable behavior, be advised of these warnings before reading this sneak preview. 

What To Expect in the Final Book

    With these stories comprising only four of what is now twenty stories in this book, there is a lot of variety that will be covered in the final book! It's far from finished (which is why it was delayed), but the stories that will be told here cover a variety of genres, all the while being unified under the common theme of the consequences of our actions. Here is the final list of the stories that will appear in the book, in order of appearance.

1. On The Theory of Cosmic Kinesis as it Relates to Negative Curvature - Dr. Bradford Rant's infamous research paper from 1976 is featured in its entirety here. With the physics of the sun used as a model for explaining the possibility of a multiverse, Dr. Bradford Rant warns that the interactions of these different realities could have disastrous consequences.
2. Adventures of Ice Fisherman and Polar Bear - Now best friends, Ice Fisherman and Polar Bear wander the Arctic Circle for food and shelter. However, when an injured Sled Huskey comes into Ice Fisherman's care, Polar Bear begins to feel like he's being side-lined by his friend, even going as far as to run away. Can anything save this interspecies friendship?
3. Dine at the Submarine Sandwich Restaurant! - This advertisement for this eccentric restaurant in LEGO City recounts the history of how a submarine-shaped restaurant came to be. It's not how you would expect it to go, and don't even get us started on that tap-dancing octopus Pricilla!
4. Deli of Fear - Mary and Leo Rawlins, in their deli in New York City, are being treated to a new dessert by their new head chef Stew LaRoache when a patron insults the dish. Stew retaliates to the insult with one of his own, but soon discovers that his dissatisfied customer is a member of a local mob family. Barbs in the newspaper turn into gunfire in the streets as Mary and Leo find themselves in danger without even leaving their home!
5. An Evening with Immanuel Twarra - This interview with Johnny Thunder's best friend, the African scholar and archaeologist Immanuel Twarra, highlights the career of this prolific scientist. In addition to discussing his past, he also uses the interview to encourage young scholars of color to pursue their passions, no matter what happens in society.
6. After They Found Atlantis - It's the end of the Deep-Sea Salvage Crew's expedition to discover Atlantis, and after they free The Golden King from his imprisonment, their quest is over...or so they think. It turns out that The Golden King might have been in prison for a different reason as he turns on the crew, whom now must search for an unlikely ally! This last leg of their journey is going to be the toughest yet!
7. The Puzzling Prank - Jimmy and Joey Newsprint are on the scene for the LEGO City Times; the Art Museum has been robbed by the criminal Questions! Following the police, the masked crimefighter Legoman is on the scene to solve the case, and to help him in the case, he's enlisted Joey to accompany him. They soon are led throughout LEGO City in multiple twists and turns in order to capture Questions and recover the priceless pilfered painting!
8. Does This Blind Man Now See? - Published by the LEGO City Times, this news article explores an unusual phenomenon: a blind homeless man named Harolld Nelman is claiming to have had his sight restored. However, it appears that he's been apprehended by corrupt cops, possibly for nefarious ends!
9. My Dear Sister from Another Time - In the wake of the death of crime boss Don Bricassius, paleontologist Roger Remous begins to have suspicions that the killer, the feared hired gun Silencia Venomosa, may actually be his long-lost sister Amanda Remous. Determined to pull her out of the abyss, Roger gets pulled into the seedy underbelly of Cairo, Egypt in order to locate her, which ends up bringing him back home, but also threatening to tear apart his marriage.
10. Growing Up Patrick - In the 1970's, Patrick Hooligans was born. Destined to be an only child, Patrick's lack of intelligence was quite apparent from the start, which led to a childhood full of laughter. But as he grows up, he falls in love with his elementary school friend Jamie Bricassius, which leads the dim-witted Patrick into trouble he never could have imagined!
11. Gertrude and Lily - After having been accepted to teach at UCLA after studying under Johnny Thunder, Gertrude Dainman's first semester teaching leads her to butt heads with a driven but headstrong student named Lily Washburn. As their personalities conflict with one another, the pair have to overcome their differences in order to see that they're not that different.
12. The Lost Chronicles of Blake Greenton: The World Compass Travel Guides' (Mis)Adventure - Very few people who work at World Magazine actually like to work with Blake Greenton, the resident travel guide writer, but when an anonymous tip informs him that a clue to a mystical relic has been uncovered in the American Southwest, Blake ends up traveling with the one person that he hates working with - Mike Milward! Together, along with the newcomer Wanda "About" Auburn, the trio sets off for treasure, but some familiar faces catch wind of this new discovery as well.
13. The Last Voyage - This poem recounts the last days of Roger Goodman. Grieved by the death of Sarah Huffington, who left him one daughter, Roger spends his years pillaging as the feared Captain Blood, this time for real. But as old age begins to gnaw at his soul, Roger gathers his crew to investigate a legend from his youth: the legend of the Hidden Mysteries. His crew, however, may not have the same enthusiasm that his has in his final days.
14. A Silent Voice - Two years after defeating The Masked Murderer, Rebecca Fernsworth and Brandon Meyers embark together to college. While they're there, Brandon learns of Rebecca's ability to traverse the multiverse, a thought which terrifies and angers him. His spirit vulnerable, he begins to exhibit erratic behaviors and eating disorders, with Brandon disappearing for days at a time. Soon, Rebecca must face a new horror that can only be stopped with her abilities!
15. The Multiversal Manifesto - When an employee of Lens Pioneers, Ltd. proposes that they help an alternate universe that is afflicted with a polio pandemic, CEO Howard Simmons releases this memo that makes the company's intentions clear: it is nobody's business to interfere with the dealings of other universes, no matter what the outcome may be. Otherwise, far worse ramifications will begin to arise, which could lead to a multiversal conflict.
16. Electric Head in the Digital Cloud - In an alternate universe where Zed was killed in Antarctica, but Alpha Team still manages to stop Ogel's plan, Dash Justice vows to avenge the death of his teammate by scouring the world for Ogel. There are no signs of him from anywhere, and as Dash begins to spiral into madness, he drives the team apart at possibly the worst time possible, as an invisible plot to rule the world begins to arise!
17. Patrick the Feared - In an alternate universe where Patrick Hooligans stayed home, never met Nevada Smith, and continued to pursue Jamie Bricassius, Patrick ends up getting pulled into the sphere of influence of Don Bricassius, who twists this simpleton into a merciless killer! With Patrick by his side, Don Bricassius rises through the public ranks to rule LEGO City and to crush any opposition to his criminal empire. Without any options left, the last honest cop in town, Chase McCain, ends up making a deal with the feared hired gun Silencia Venomosa.
18. Target: Chang Wu - In an alternate universe where Chang Wu won his revolution in China and killed the Adventurers, China collapses into civil war, which plummets the world into The Second Great Depression. As the economy wanes, Sarah Thunder, now a marine biologist, can't hold back her pain and vows to kill Chang Wu. As she assembles a team of misfits on her journey, she discovers that the key to winning this confrontation lies within.
19. Attack of the Zombie Pirates! - In an alternate universe where Roger Goodman's crew never mutinied and ended up discovering the Hidden Mysteries, their materialistic nature caused the Hidden Mysteries to assimilate them into its rotting power. Centuries later, The Adventurers and the Illuminati meet face-to-face with the Hidden Mysteries, only to have a run-in with rotted Roger Goodman and his zombie pirates! How will this upend the Illuminati's plans?
20. A Costly Price to Pay - In an alternate universe where Dr. Wallace Bishop's and Astrid Dunham's experiments in opening portals to other universes ended in catastrophic failure, the resulting rift in reality causes Earth's climate to change at an unprecedented rate. In this changing world, a girl by the name of Amanda Remous discovers the power of helping others, and in spite of the changing weather, looks for ways to help the less fortunate. However, there are secret agents in the background that are convinced that the rift was no mere accident, and as the two realities begin to covertly infiltrate one another, tensions begin to grow.

The book is expected to be out sometime in 2026 (though that may change), but there will be another reveal about this book happening much sooner!

Cover Art Reveal Coming Soon!

    While Mustache Maniacs Film Co.: The Visual Dictionary - 3rd Edition touched on it briefly, this book is going to have an original design for its cover! Unlike the graphic design for Crazy Compendium: The Early Writings of Andrew Bermudez, this book is going to have a comic book look, which will be explored in-depth when the cover art illustration is revealed next year!

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