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Illustration of a cool, anthropomorphic book with muscular arms, wearing sunglasses and fishnet tights, flexing its biceps in front of a blurred bookstore background. The bold, hand-drawn text reads: 'Preordering Books Matters,' emphasizing the importance of preordering books to support authors and retailers.

Imagine a world where books you love magically appear in abundance, where your favorite authors are given the green light to write more, and where indie bookstores stay alive and well. That world exists – it just requires a little thing called preordering.

Here’s why that’s a great idea:

1. Shelf it up

When you preorder a book, you’re doing more than just guaranteeing that a fresh copy will land in your eager hands within a couple of days of its release. You are also whispering – no, shouting – into the capitalist void: Hey, we care about this book. Stock this book. Give this book a fighting chance.

Retailers respond to numbers. If a book gets a lot of preorders, bookstores order more copies, ensuring it doesn’t vegetate away in a dark warehouse next to unsold Ayurveda diet guides. If preorders are bad, that book might be DOA before it even gets a chance to charm (or traumatize) readers.

2. Signal to the Publisher

Strong pre-order sales send a signal to the publisher that the book might be thriving and not being avalanched by self-published werewolf romances. The publishing house can now increase the marketing budget and adjust the print run to meet the demands.

3. The self-fulfilling prophecy of lists

Let’s talk about bestseller lists. They don’t just add up what’s sold after release – it’s mostly about preorders. A book with strong preorder numbers can land on Amazon’s “Best in Category XYZ” lists or even make its way onto those prestigious bestseller lists that determine what gets splashed across airport newsstands. In short: preordering isn’t just buying a book – it’s voting for it.

Witch reading a book

Try it out now

Does that all sound like exactly the world you want to live in? Then we have a recommendation that you can pre-order right now: Our new book HI, EARTH comes out on April 1 (no joke but still a lot of jokes) and we love every single page of it.

It contains our best comics about our favorite planet and its inhabitants.

Get it via Amazon, Barnes & Noble or BAM.

Promotional image for the book 'Hi, Earth' by Elizabeth Pich and Jonathan Kunz (War and Peas). The book cover features a cartoon Earth with large, worried eyes, sitting on a wooden chair while surrounded by flames, wearing a fedora. The title is in bold, blocky letters. To the right, a quote describes the book as 'bittersweet but lighthearted,' roasting human folly while appreciating the planet. The text at the bottom announces the release date: 'Available April 1st. Wherever books are sold!'

Something Else

We get it: clicking preorder on a big retailer’s website is easy and requires no human interaction. But if you want to be a true literary champion, preorder from your local bookstore. It keeps them thriving, fosters community, and lets you pick up your book in an actual store, where you can also impulsively buy a tote bag you definitely need.

Find your local bookstore:

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"The Artist's Lament" "Hours and hours of work lay behind you. Your weary bones ache and your head does, too. There’s crumpling and cramping in your legs, in your hand. You risk falling over that old canvas stand." Visual: The artist stands near the canvas with scattered paint supplies around. Text: "It’s time to take a step back and look at your jewel. But you gasp out in horror, oh, you’ve been such a fool! The trees look like trolls and the dogs look like sheep. ‘Everything’s come out wrong!’ you slump down and weep." Visual: The artist gazes at their canvas in dismay, head in hand, with discarded art materials on the ground. Text: "Now it’s all over! It’s over, indeed! When they said study law, you should have paid heed. You’ve toiled away, all those years were in vain! You might as well lay down and wait for the train." Visual: The artist stands, defeated, by an easel with an empty canvas, with a paintbrush and palette discarded at their feet. Text: "You schlep yourself to bed, try to think of something nice. But you see that ugly artwork every time you close your eyes. Tomorrow you’ll apply for that data-entry job. Suffering in silence, like all those other sobs." Visual: The artist lies face down in bed, wrapped in a blanket. The room is littered with scattered tools and slippers by the bed. Text: "Sleep won’t find you now, you’re full of self-pity. In vain you try to meditate, read comics, pet your kitty. So you get yourself up and—now you’re feeling brash— Those stupid inks and brushes are going straight into the trash." Visual: The artist walks with their cat, holding a canister in one hand, as they contemplate throwing away their art supplies. Text: "But wait, what’s that there? A mysterious pling. A small silent chirp, a crisp ringing ring. That corner right there, slightly catching my eye doesn’t make me want to douse my whole place in lye." Visual: The artist, now intrigued, stands at their easel holding a watering can, with the canvas in the background.
Text: "That brushstroke up here, that’s quite all right, too. You don’t outright love it, but it’s not a pile of stinking poo. You’re sure you can mend it and make it great art! You feel a fervent warmth warming up your heart." Visual: The artist, encouraged, examines the canvas with a sense of cautious optimism. Text (in a thought bubble): "You’re right back on track, an unstoppable art machine. Everybody will want to meet you— The Pope and The Queen!" Visual: The artist imagines themselves standing victorious on stage, being celebrated by a crowd. Text: "This painting will sell for millions, your parents will be proud. You can already hear the cheering and chanting of the crowd." Visual: The artist imagines their masterpiece being admired and praised by the masses. Text: "Now now there, young master. Don’t get ahead of yourself! You snicker, once again taking your brushes off the shelf. Put your favorite record on, pour the coffee and the paint. Let your thoughts flow with abandon, free of every constraint." Visual: The artist, now motivated, begins working again on the painting with fresh enthusiasm. Text: "This project will take ages and your mind will feel vile. But each grueling second will be worth your while. If art is a scripture and you are its priest, Then ideas are the flour and the grind is its yeast." Visual: The artist, fully absorbed in their work, continues painting with dedication. Text: "One hour later, the sun’s coming out. Your eyes are all crunchy, you’re sure you’ve got gout. Time to inspect your epic brushstroke ballet! You take a look at your canvas and simply think: Meh." Visual: The artist stands in front of the canvas, staring blankly at their work as the cat looks on. Text: "You sink down the wall, time to hoist the white flag. Maybe art is the boxer and you’re the punching bag? Now you’re being dramatic, you must hit the brakes. You’re done for the day and it’s time for pancakes." Visual: The artist, slumped against the wall in exhaustion, finally gives up, lying down in defeat.


Once Upon a Workday

This is one of the stories from our new book “Once Upon a Workday”. It’s available wherever books are sold but you can also get a signed copy from our online shop!

Cover Reveal of "Once Upon a Workday – Encouraging Tales of Resilience"

About the Book

With this book, we have fulfilled a dream of our own, to publish a book that is written entirely in rhyme and deals with one of the most important topics in our society:
The relationship between work and leisure. But it also deals with topics such as creative burnout and insecurities about one’s own abilities.

We had a lot of fun writing and drawing this book and are delighted that so many of you enjoyed reading it and writing us letters with your experiences.

It makes an excellent gift for yourself, but also for a friend who is going through a difficult phase. Thank you for reading.

Get a Signed Copy Here

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Friends, Lovers and Comrades,

the capitalist death cult doesn’t stop at our door so we decided take part in the devilish Black Friday tradition. It’s a nice opportunity to get bespoke Christmas presents a bit cheaper, so we’re offering a 20% discount on everything from our shop.

Almost everything! Non-English books have a legally fixed price so we’re not allowed to sell them out cheaper. There’s also one last collab with the Wir sind die Toten dark lords (before they close their gates for good) where the discount doesn’t apply.

Use the code COMICLOVER to get 20% off on almost all things in our shop.

Before getting too much into details, here’s a run-down on our new stuff:

  • We have 100 signed copies of our just-released French book “Salut la Terre” here. This is probably the only batch we’ll sell ourselves!

  • The WSDT Collab is preorder-only – to ensure sustainable production. The screenprinting starts after the preorder has ended so everything will take a while. The design is based on one of our Love Letter poems!

  • We have a postcard set now in the shop!
  • We’re starting to list Elizabeth’s solo project FUNGIRL in the shop as a War and Peas brand. Our patrons got the chance to get the Vulva Viking book early so were sold out at the moment. But there’s more on its way and you can get a notification once it’s back!

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Holiday season is around the corner and especially during this time, shipments often delay. That’s why we want to encourage you to order your gifts early!
You can learn more about our shipping prices and durations, right here.

Here’s some inspiration for your Chistmas gifts:

You’re looking for the perfect gift for a hopeless art student or philosophy major? Search no longer! We got you with this inspiring and positive Pencil Set.

Five Inspiring Pencils

We offer signed & dedicated copies of our book War and Peas – Funny Comics for Dirty Lovers. This means you can order the book and we will sign it, doodle a little original drawing and write in the name of your presentee. Also available in German!

War and Peas - Funny Comics for Dirty Lovers - Elizabeth Pich and Jonathan Kunz

Always a good idea: funny art prints. We’ve got framed options for every comic and if you want something very special, choose any comic from our website or social media and get a Special Request Print for your beloved one.

War and Peas Secret Agent Print

Humans Suck – Planet Earth – Iron On Patch

We also offer warm shirts and sweaters, a large variety of accessories and much more. To visit our store, click here.

Sincerely,
Jonathan and Elizabeth

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War and Peas - Slutty Witch 2020 - Elizabeth Pich and Jonathan Kunz

We added some new self-produced articles to our shop!
Check them out here :)

War and Peas - A Job Is A Job - Elizabeth Pich and Jonathan Kunz

Due to popular demands, we decided to turn our comic “A Job Is A Job” into a comic zine, so you can have it by your side whenever you need it. You can also give it to a friend, meditate over it or use it as a sled.

War and Peas - This is for grandma - Elizabeth Pich and Jonathan Kunz

War and Peas - Postcard Series - Elizabeth Pich and Jonathan Kunz

Every new order come with this set of postcards. Offer good while supplies last!

Link to the store