Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, cosmic, kickstarter

The Cosmic Code Authority

Published Sun, 18 Aug 2013 09:00:26 -0500

Salvatore Brucculeri writes;

Do you have any idea what it's like to have $124,000 of student loan debt dwindling over your head? The pressure and overall misery it takes to go onto the internet log on to five different student loan websites and click on a tab that will deduct hundreds of dollars out of your bank account until it accumulates to $1226 a month, is something I deal with… well, monthly. But it's a decision I made right? It's my fault that college costs that much, I'm the one who decided to teach kids from a young age that college is important and with a degree you could go anywhere, me. Sense the sarcasm. Honestly, I could say that most of that is a lie. With the unemployment rate currently at one of its highest in the history in this country it will only get higher as college students graduate. Sure, a rare few get the job they prepared for through college but what about the others? What about the people who worked just as hard and now work in something completely different than what their "major" prepared them for? As the old expression goes, "You don't always get what you want, you get what you need", right?

I'm a dreamer. I'm a believer. I believe if you dream enough, and if you are crazy enough to believe your dream will come true then it will. I have been writing stories for as long as I could remember and I have been reading comics for just as long. I went to college and graduated with a degree in Communications: Radio and TV, but all my life I have dreamed of being a comic writer. I figured being that comic writing isn't a "major" I had to make it a major on my own. Nobody can teach creativity, that has to come naturally. What you do need to learn is structure and being that I was forced to go to college I decided I might as well do something I would enjoy. I took classes to learn how to write scripts, I took marketing classes so I could tell the world about what I do, I took digital design classes to see how cover layouts should look, I even took a class that teaches you how to setup for the launch of a company and I took a theatre and acting just to figure out how to play a character's voice in my head. Every class I attended, I attended because I was working toward my goal of becoming a professional comic book writer. Unfortunately for me, when I graduated I didn't find a career in comic book writing, nor did I find a career in television, or film, and radio is pretty much the titanic at this point. I did find a job but it was one I fell into and not something I desired. At least I could pay off my student loans and save a few bucks after that to help support my budding family (wife and dog).

Now for the comic writing. Now for COSMIC. COSMIC is a comic series that will be published through ALTERNA COMICS in January of 2014. It is about Landon Debson, a college graduate with a degree in Acting sinking in student loan debt. Luckily for Landon, he did find a job. Landon is one of those college grads who did not find a career in his major. In fact, Landon works for the "Universal Protection Agency" as COSMIC, Earth's protector from alien invasions.

The idea for COSMIC has marinated in my head after countless conversations with my five closest friends –all who I met in college– talking about our student loan debt. As we always put it, we are our "$124,000 friends". One night I had a really bad fever and in a dream I was trying to put on this armored suit because aliens were invading Earth. I couldn't figure out how to put the suit on but I had a group of people trying to help me. Eventually, I got the suit on and I flew up towards the sky to fight the aliens. The dream was really weird and when I woke up at 9am and my wife had already gone to work, so I had nobody I could talk to about this crazy dream. Naturally, I got to my laptop and began typing. First, it was only going to be an explanation of my dream because I didn't want to forget anything. But my fingers kept typing and before I knew it my wife walked in the door and it was 5pm. I looked at her and she said, "How you feeling?" My response was, "Done." I had spent my entire day writing the first issue of COSMIC and the rest is history.

A few months pass by and now here we are. COSMIC has come to life with the awesome art of Chandra Kelly and the amazing colors of Victoria Pittman. Luckily, COSMIC also found a home with ALTERNA COMICS and is now officially on Indiegogo.

The Indiegogo is to help print the first two issues of COSMIC as individual comics and especially as a Vol. 1, TPB, as well as future issues. With the help of generous backers COSMIC will have more issues secured and a healthy life-span. If readers are looking for a new style of superhero, who isn't as "dark" as most of the other comics that come out today, this is definitely a comic they shouldn't miss.

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