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Sidekicks: Dedicated – Dependable – Disrespected.

Published Sat, 14 Mar 2015 13:00:22 -0500

Last updated Sat, 14 Mar 2015 13:17:46 -0500

Sidekicks: Dedicated – Dependable – Disrespected. Russell Brettholtz and Miguel Mendonça. Bong Dazo (Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth; Avengers: The Initiative). Rick Ketcham (Runaway; Conan/Red Sonja). Sara Machajewski (Dynamite). HdE (Big Dog Ink). Project Fund Date: Sunday, April 5, 2015, 11:59 PM. Projected Publication Date: June 2015

In a world where Super-Heroes are celebrities, egos rampage out of control. Five of Chicago's most dependable Sidekicks are faced with the reality that despite their dedication, they will invariably be disrespected by the Heroes they work with and the citizens they protect. Taken for granted by society and ignored by the media, how much can the Sidekicks endure before they decide they've had enough?

Russell Brettholtz writes

"Fellow Sidekicks… We're going on STRIKE!"

This is the line that concludes issue #1 of Sidekicks. An issue that introduces us to Phantasm, Mustang, Jolt, Atlas and Frostbite: Five super-hero sidekicks who have had enough. While their struggles with their respective heroes vary, they all boil down to the same theme: The sidekicks are not respected for their hard work. Something many of us can relate to.

Sidekicks is a four issue mini-series that was inspired by my experience getting fired from my job as an assistant to a financial planner (you can read all about it in this Bleeding Cool article from February 22, 2014..

The rest of the four issue mini-series deals with the fallout from that line. How will the Heroes respond? Will anyone even notice? What about the villains?

Ahh, yes. The villains. I'll admit it. My favorite characters tend to be villains. Magneto, Lex Luthor, Kingpin. These are not your grandfather's mustache twirling, monocle wearing, trying to take over the world villains of yore. The best villains have a plan. They're smart, ambitious, and have well defined goals. Villains understand that with great power comes great opportunity.

Enter the Board of Directors. A secret cabal of five of Chicago's most notorious villains, they work in unison to control Chicago's underworld. An undertaking which proves quite profitable for their legitimate and illegitimate businesses alike.

If the Sidekicks are analogous for all those who work in auxiliary roles (assistants, secretaries, nurses, paralegals, etc…), and the Heroes their bosses, then that makes the Villains the executives. The people at the top who control everything. It's really not much of a stretch given the recent global economic meltdown.

I've always been intrigued by people who seem to have it all but get caught breaking the law or act recklessly trying to attain more. Bernie Madoff ran a billion dollar Ponzi scheme until it came crashing down on his head. Dick Fuld, as the CEO of Lehman Brothers, leveraged the company 30 to 1 (meaning for every $1 it owned it borrowed $30), before it collapsed into bankruptcy. These were otherwise intelligent, successful men who used their vast power and wealth to improve their own financial well-being at the expense of others.

It's not something that makes sense to me, but can be easily explained: power and greed. Most people don't need much more motivation than that, and neither do the villains in Sidekicks. They're not trying to take over the world, or eradicate mankind, and they're not just bat-crap crazy. They have a plan: use their super-powers to increase their wealth and attain more power.

The Sidekicks Strike is a game changer. It is an opportunity for the Villains to exploit the situation. Crime rises. Heroes fall. Will the Sidekicks save the day? Or will they turn their backs on the city and its people?

I have spent the last two years selling my personal comic book collection to pay an art team to complete Sidekicks. That money, along with the funds raised during last year's successful Kickstarter for Issue #1, allowed me to not only complete Sidekicks #1 (along with printing and shipping costs), but to also pay for the pencils for the remaining three issues in the series (by the incredible Bong Dazo). Those pages are now complete and are currently being inked (by the amazing Rick Ketcham).

Now I have run out of money. To that end, I am running another Kickstarter campaign to complete the series.

If Bleeding Cool readers can help push funding for Sidekicks above the $4,000 mark within 48 hours of the posting of this article, I will provide a link for a special one-shot digital comic called The Super-Hero's Nightmare (written by Russell Brettholtz with Art by Peter Sefcik), exclusively to those Backers. Simply send me a message to let me know you discovered the comic on Bleeding Cool.

Please consider pledging your support to funding the completion of Sidekicks. Facebook, Twitter, e-mail.