Birthday
A birthday present that is actually about them
Most birthday presents are things the person could have bought themselves and didn't, which is usually a sign they did not want it. The ones people keep are the ones that could only have been given to them.
This is a comic book where they are the main character. Their real face, drawn into the story, on every page — not a caricature, and not a cartoon that sort of looks like them. They open it and find themselves in the middle of an adventure.
Why it works as a birthday present specifically
A birthday is the one day a year that is about one person, and most gifts quietly ignore that: a bottle of something, a voucher, a jumper. A comic starring them cannot be given to anybody else, which is the whole point of it.
It also works for the people who are impossible to buy for — the ones who already own everything, or who say they want nothing and mean it. They are not short of objects. They have just never been handed a story with themselves in it.
And it scales with the birthday. A 7th and a 40th want very different books, so each story is written at three reading levels: the plot holds, the tone changes.
How it works
- Pick one of the birthday stories below.
- Upload a photo of the birthday person. Add a second face if you want them sharing it — a partner, a best friend, a sibling.
- Read the first pages free, before paying anything, so you can see the likeness for yourself.
- Choose 20, 30 or 40 pages, then softcover or hardcover. We print it and post it, to you or straight to them.
20, 30 or 40 pages. Price depends on length; hardcover needs at least 24 pages.
How far ahead to order
| Delivering to | Allow |
|---|---|
| United States | 1–3 weeks |
| Europe | 2–4 weeks |
| Rest of world | 3–6 weeks |
Each book is made to order, so allow the window above between ordering and the book landing on a doormat. Left it late? The comic itself is finished as soon as you make it, so you can send the digital version on the day and let the printed book turn up afterwards — which is arguably two presents.
The Birthday stories
Who Stole My Birthday?
You wake up on your birthday to find the entire world has forgotten it.
The Birthday Time Machine
You blow out the candles, and wake up in the wrong century.
A Birthday Wish
Your birthday wish is granted exactly as worded, which is the problem.
Questions
Will it actually look like them?
That is the part this is built around, and the part most personalised comics get wrong — the face drifts after a few pages until it is somebody else. Here the likeness holds from the first page to the last. You do not have to trust us on it: the first pages are free to read before you pay.
What age is it for?
Any. Each story is written at three reading levels — kids, teenagers and adults — and you choose which when you make it. The artwork draws whoever is in the photo, so a story told at a kids' reading level can still star a grandmother.
Can I put two people in it?
Yes. Every birthday story works with one person or two, so you can add a partner, a best friend or a sibling. Both appear all the way through.
Is it good for a milestone birthday?
It is the case it makes best. An 18th, a 30th, a 50th — the people around those birthdays usually want to mark the year with something that lasts, and a hardcover book with their name on the spine sits on a shelf long after the cake.
Can it be sent straight to them?
Yes — enter their address at checkout instead of yours, and it goes directly to them.
See the face before you spend anything
Making it is free, and the first pages are free to read. If the likeness is not right, you have lost ten minutes and no money — which is the only honest way to sell something this personal.
Free to start · first pages free to read · no card needed until you order a book