Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, Dexter Wee, Donna Gregory, entertainment, Keith Dallas, Kevin Powers, kickstarter, Patriot-1

Patriot-1: The Evolution Of An Indie Comic In Today's Market

Kevin Powers writes for Bleeding Cool:

I'm writer/creator Kevin Powers. I'd like to tell you about the ultimate indie/small press/creator-owned project, Patriot-1. An action-packed graphic novel brought to life with fantastic line art by Dexter Wee and vibrant colors from Donna Gregory. It's also edited by the incomparable Keith Dallas who just wrote the 1970s volume of the American Comic Book Chronicles.

Patriot-1 is the story of Staff Sergeant Ken Baker, a Delta Force operator who is the lone survivor of an attack in Afghanistan. Upon escaping captivity, he finds himself embroiled in a conspiracy that results in a team from the CIA's Special Activities Division seeking his help to unravel the mystery of "Operation Quisling." As the war in Afghanistan has all but ended, the conspiracy reveals a new threat, one that prompts Baker to make a unique statement in "super-heroic" fashion.

Making creator-owned comics on the small press and indie scene is no easy task. When you are the writer, creator and publisher rolled into one, it's that much more difficult.

Why you ask? Because after crafting your script or idea, you have to find an artist. You have to find one that is affordable, understands the pitfalls and tiny budgets of creator-owned/small press books and is also reliable. You also have to find additional artists if you need an inker or colorist. Even with all of that, you have to make sure the art fits your story.

And while you are paying the artist(s), you are likely making nothing.

It's a tough road, an expensive hobby even. But if you are like me, there are just stories you want to tell.

My graphic novel Patriot-1 is the epitome of the creator-owned "struggle."

Quickly about me… I graduated from Ithaca College with a screenwriting degree in 2006. I love movies and I especially love comics. I've worked part time at a retail store since I was 17. I founded my own imprint, TJ Comics, in 2009. While in college, I interned at Marvel Studios a couple years before they became the powerhouse they are now. Yes, Kevin Feige is a great guy and an absolute genius. One day I hope to get back to Marvel, but I had to tell a story of my own first.

At Marvel, Craig Kyle told me, "it doesn't matter where you tell your story – comics, movies, TV – all that matters is that it's a good story." Those words have stuck with me and greatly influenced my passion for writing and crafting this particular story.

Since 2010, while still creating comics and working to make Patriot-1 happen, I've been a writer/content management guy for WWE.com. I've also got a ridiculously beautiful and supportive wife and three kids under two.

I first came up the idea of Patriot-1 in 2007. Though I admittedly never had the stones to serve in the military, my writing is often military-centric and heavily influenced by the late, great, Tom Clancy. I have a very strong interest in Special Operations Forces and consider myself an amateur World, U.S. and Special Forces historian. Thus I wanted to create a story grounded in reality, something that Nathan Edmondson does exceptionally well.

But I didn't create Patriot-1 to be some macho, jingoistic American character. I created Patriot-1 not only because of my interest in the real-world heroes of special operations forces, but also because I wanted to go back to the roots of the superhero movement.

The Golden Age of comics was inundated with patriotic and American superheroes. The Shield, Captain America, The American Crusader are a few of the more recognizable ones, and they stood up to oppression and upheld the values and morals of the time. Sure, times have change and those characters have changed with the times, but they still do what they feel is right. A lot of that is missing in today's pop culture. Captain America is still the upstanding example of the greatest generation, but I also believe there is still room for heroes that do the right thing without the need to be dark and brooding.

Patriot-1 takes this idea and applies it to a modern day special forces soldier. There's a bit of Captain America, Sgt. Rock and Jack Bauer in the main character, and he's supported by a diverse and deep cast of characters who share his moral footing.

In the seven years since the initial creation, there have been a few insanely talented people that have come and gone. I've worked with a few artists but they didn't always work out. Whether it was delays, long development times or they just got better paying gigs, there were some hiccups early on – all part of creator owned books. I spent countless nights perusing deviantArt for the right style but I eventually found the perfect team in Dexter Wee and Donna Gregory.

Originally intended to be a five issue series, I eventually let the story take the helm and it naturally found its way to a 176 page graphic novel. If there's one thing I've learned in the past five years that I have published comics, it's that having the entire story available for readers is insanely important.

For example, two of my other books, Mack Turner: Slayer of the Dead and Steel Creek, are projects that have been halted for a couple of years because the artists got better paying gigs and I shifted focus. There's nothing wrong with that, it's part of small press comics, but it's that much harder to gain an audience when they are waiting for the next installments over long periods of time.

Thus, it was very important to me that Patriot-1 be a complete story. After that earlier five-issue version was rejected by Image, I rewrote it completely and it took on a new life. The core concepts are still the same, but it is now undoubtedly the best thing I have ever written.  It's exciting, the characters are deep and the action is non-stop.

What do I do next? Submit it to more publishers? Take out a loan? Print on-demand? Digital only? Release as a webcomic? Since 2007, the landscape of indie and creator-owned comics has changed drastically.

Seven years ago, Kickstarter wasn't a thing. By the end of 2013, crowd-funding (Kickstarter and Indiegogo) made up 2 percent of the comics market. Considering Marvel consistently owns 40 percent of it… that 2 percent is massive.

As long as campaigns are successful and the people behind them are passionate, Kickstarter is perhaps the single greatest outlet for creator-owned and small press comics.

With all of this in mind, and after years of watching the growth of comics on Kickstarter and seeing the market change first-hand, it only makes sense that it becomes the way for Patriot-1.

There are some really cool incentives for the campaign. An 8 x 10 character key, 11 x 17 prints, a Kickstarter-exclusive print by (the legendary) Drew Johnson, commissions by artist Dexter Wee, a custom cover (your head on Patriot-1's body) and a 50-piece only hand-painted CKRT Lab Vinyl figure. A few of the figures have already been claimed, so you might want to jump on those.

If you couldn't tell by my long-winded diatribe, I truly believe in this project. It's a really good, exciting book and I want to share it with the world.

With that said, if you check it out and pledge soon and I hit my funding goal with 15 days left, I'll axe first two stretch goals and include them no matter what. That's character files and concept art/sketchbook material all included in addition to the alternate cover gallery, without having to stretch the funding.

In fact, if you read this and pledge, send me a message on Kickstarter saying Bleeding Cool sent you and I'll send you the PDF of my first issue of my Eastwood-western Steel Creek – because resuming that is my next project.

Thanks for spending some time with me, I really appreciate it. You can grab all the pertinent links you need here:

Patriot- 1 Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1247701955/patriot-1-an-action-packed-original-graphic-novel

Patriot-1 Website with 23 page preview and more: www.patriot1comic.com

My Imprint, TJ Comics: www.tjcomics.com

RESOLVE, a webcomic that ties in directly to Patriot-1: www.tjcomics.com/resolve

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!