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Kickstart From The Heart: Westward, Citizen Of The Galaxy, And Henchmen

Published Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:00:32 -0500

Last updated Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:04:43 -0500

Bleeding Cool's Kickstarter Correspondent, Shawn Demumbrum has lead three Kickstarter campaigns to launch comic books, two successfully funded and one that wasn't. Each week he will point out some of the unique Kickstarter projects that wouldn't normally be published by the big comic book companies, but deserve your attention. Shawn is the Manager of Comic Book Programming for the Phoenix Comicon. He is currently working on the Nothing Can Stop Me Now: Stories Inspired by the Songs of Nine Inch Nails.

Project: Westward: A Steampunk Mystery

Creator: Ken Krekeler

Concept: "The latest title from Kinetic Press, Westward is a new steampunk mystery series from Ken Krekeler, writer and illustrator of The Colodin Project and Dry Spell. Played against a semi-Victorian background of corporate espionage and technological revolution, Westward follows the ongoing themes of individual achievement and the essence of human happiness."

Sweet Spot: Pledge $25 or more. "You will receive a signed copy of "Westward: Volume 1." Inserted into each book will be a special art print and stickers, available only to Kickstarter backers. A digital package will also be mailed to you, containing a PDF of the book and the 5 digital backgrounds. Finally, your name will be included in a special "thank you" shout-out page, dedicated to all Kickstarter contributors."

Cool Zone: Pledge $50 or more: "You'll have access to a full-length video tutorial from Ken Krekeler, artist and author of "Westward." For the first time, these never-before-seen tips and tricks will show you how the lineart, colors and text effects are produced using a graphics tablet and Photoshop."

Tipping point: I really like Ken artwork and his unique, use of color.

So far: $5,757 of $5,000

Project: Robert A. Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy

Creator: Eric R Gignac

Concept: "Citizen of the Galaxy will be the first graphic novel adapted from Robert Heinlein's Virginia Edition, which is the complete and definitive 46 volume collector's set of all of Heinlein's works. This project is approved by the copyright owner, the Heinlein Prize Trust and will be produced with the support of the Virginia Edition Publishing Company. The purpose of the Heinlein Prize is to encourage and reward progress in commercial space activities that advances Robert and his wife Virginia's dream of humanity's future in space. The Virginia Edition Publishing Company is responsible for the production and distribution of the authoritative text of all of Robert Heinlein's published fiction and non-fiction – The Robert A. Heinlein: Virginia Edition Collection."

Sweet Spot: Pledge $20 or more. "Hard Cover copy of the Graphic Novel."

Tipping point: Some of us like reading comics more than novels.

So far: $31,919 of $26,400

hench Project: Henchmen

Creator: Brian Wyrick

Concept: "Henchmen is a comic book about the other guys. Gary is struggling to get by. Too old to learn a new trade, too young to retire. Then he finds a mysterious classified ad. When he applies in person, he finds a subversive world of henchmen for hire. Readers will see the familiar superhero landscape from the unique perspective of those who rarely get a voice but are always present… the Henchmen.While the superhero is battling the super-villain the henchmen are the ones loading the loot into the van. They all have stories, they all have fears. Gary is a good man driven to do terrible things."

Sweet Spot: Pledge $10 or more. Henchmen sticker, PDF copy of issue one, physical print copy of issue 1.

Tipping point: Everyone knows that supervillains can't rule the world on their own. They need infrastructure. This seems like an interesting comic that looks at the behind the scenes of being a henchmen.

So far: $5,299 of $5,000

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