Welcome back to another installment of Indie Comics Showcase, the weekly blog where we signal boost a few truly independent comics that are currently crowdfunding their projects, crowdsourcing their funding in some way, or just completely self-publishing on their own. Every little bit of support for these creators matters, from a single dollar pledge to the twenty-five dollar bundle, and of course the higher tiers are usually fun too! Even if you can’t back a campaign or buy a book, you can share or tweet about these projects to your friends and followers.
On Indie Comics Showcase, we interview the creators, show off some art, and tell you how you can check out the product for yourself. Below we have some outstanding crowdfunding campaigns this week for you to learn about, enjoy, and hopefully support by backing one or more of them! Thanks for checking these out and for being the best part of Indie Comics Showcase. Let’s jump in!
Check out the campaign page here!
Chris Braly: Welcome to Indie Comics Showcase, Monty! What’s your pitch for Death Sentence Cyberpunk?
Monty Nero: An outcast detective and punk vigilante team up to investigate a strange string of murders linked to a deadly pandemic told in three prestige format books of 48 pages each.
CB: Where did the idea for this comic come from?
MN: It’s a development of my Death Sentence comic, which I’ve been self publishing for ten years. It’s being collected by Titan Comics into a 500 page definitive edition later this year. Death Sentence Cyberpunk shows happens to the world in 100 years. I’ve always wanted to do a cyberpunk book and, as a writer, I’ve been noting down interesting ideas about the future to include in this for years. It’s a little different from other cyberpunk books.
CB: Who is it material aimed at?
MN: Adults, who are into cyberpunk, sci-fi, action, film noir, detective fiction and murder mysteries. Fans of Blade Runner, Hellboy, Akira, The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, Killtopia, The Future is Now.
CB: Talk about your creative team that contributed to this project
MN: It’s all me on this cyberpunk book. I hand draw everything with pencil, ink, copics, acrylic paint and airbrush. I was involved in a high speed crash last February and drawing this was a very healing experience. I also wrote and drew the last three issues of Death Sentence liberty (the third Death Sentence graphic novel) The other half of that was drawn/painted by Martin Simmonds (Dept of Truth) who also did all the art for book 2 Death Sentence London (156 pages) The first book Death Sentence (168 pages) was drawn by the series co-creator Mike Dowling who now works for Marvel.
CB: How far along is the book?
MN: The first book is nearly finished and all the scripts are written. I write a full script for each page with dialogue. Then thumbnails and drawing, inking, painting before scanning in. I often change the action or location to make the story more visually interesting as I draw it. For instance a scene that was set in an old factory now takes vertically in a zero G pleasure dome. Just because it looks better and the action is more interesting.
Check out the campaign page here!
Chris Braly: Welcome back to Indie Comics Showcase, Roland! What’s the pitch for Beah?
Roland Mann: When the kid disappears from the playhouse, chaos goes wild with all the toys. Except for one. Beah tells the toys that the kid told him he was going to come back and take them all to the big house once he’d finished building the room for them. Thing is, most of the toys don’t believe him, and chaos reigns without the kid to maintain the law.
CB: What’s the genesis of this story?
RM: It started out as a straight Winnie the Pooh parody of what happens to Pooh, Piglet, and the gang when Christopher Robin gets older and leaves. Then it turned into something of its own, the way a lot of parodies do. I wanted to self-publish it because I get to make all the decisions about what to do with it.
CB: What kind of comic readers is this suited for?
RM: All ages. The art makes people think it’s a “kid’s book,” and while kids CAN read it, there’s more there for adults than for kids. Fans of classic cartoons would probably like this, as there are nods from Winnie the Pooh to TMNT.
Check out the campaign page here!
Chris Braly: Welcome to Indie Comics Showcase, Ron. Tell me the pitch for Beyond the Stars!
Ron Fortier: In the far future the empire of man is threatened by a galactic size black cloud that devours everything in its path. First line of defenses is the Empire’s Corp of Science Warriors. Six issues, full color.
CB: Where did the idea for this comic come from?
RF: Idea was born after I saw six pages done by the artist without any captions or dialogs. Had to create a story from the images, and work backwards to develop a plot, characters etc. As an original concept, Silverline was our first choice to publish.
CB: What kind of comic readers is Beyond the Stars aimed at?
RF: Lovers of all sci-fi from Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers to Star Trek and Star Wars.
CB: How did you develop your creative style, Ron?
RF: I love comics as they are limited only by one’s imagination. Creatively I develop learning their strengths and weaknesses. Then I create a conflict that challenges who they are. That’s the crux of any good story. Writing is a gift from God and I do my best to honor it.
Check out the campaign here!
