Dusk: Vol. 3 - A Kickstarter

My friend and colleague David Doub is currently Kickstarting a third volume of his amazing supernatural graphic-novel series Dusk.

As a battered wife, Eve’s only concern was keeping her marriage together. But when she is kidnapped into the sordid supernatural world of vampires and foul magic, Eve finds she doesn’t want to leave. Her mysterious benefactor, the Vampire Lord Ash, wishes her to have a normal life, but Eve chooses to stay in his service. Dusk is the story of Eve's challenges living in the darkness - a supernatural action-drama told through a dynamic blend of the sequential art styles of American comics and Japanese manga. Several artists help tell these stark noir tales of vampires and unrequited love.

Twilight: The Graphic Novel this ain't, folks!

If this sounds like the sort of thing you might be interested in - and I don't know why you wouldn't be - $10 will get your name in the book and a PDF of the book.  $20 will get your name in the book, the PDF and a physical copy.  That's a bargain even before the sense of satisfaction you'll get from supporting independent comics!

Click here to become a patron of the arts!

Bizenghast - The Game!

  
Bizenghast is a wonderful American manga by the amazing M. Alice LeGrow. Delightfully disturbing and gothic, it centers upon a young woman named Dinah who has the power to see ghosts.  She puts this power to work, trying to put lost souls to rest at the risk of becoming eternally trapped between life and death herself.

Now, M. Alice LeGrow is trying to develop Bizenghast into a video game.  The work thus far looks promising even if you aren't a fan of the original comics.  And if you are a fan of the original comics, it looks even more amazing to see the world of Bizenghast animated.

A Kickstarter for the game has been launched and will continue for the next month. $10 will snag you a copy of the game for portable devices and a number of special wallpapers.  $15 will get you the same for PC, Mac or UNIX desktops.  $25 will get you all that and your name in the credits! 

Of course there's a host of other more expensive options with ever more impressive rewards for those who wish a producer credit or dinner with the creative team... but $15 for a copy of a brand new game is a bargain these days and well worth it when you know you're supporting an independent project.  At least, I think it is.

Leaving Megalopolis, Volume 1 - A Review

Once, Megalopolis was a shining beacon of hope - home to many of the world's greatest superheroes. Fleet. Southern Belle. Tom-O-Hawk. The Red Flame. And the mightiest of them all - Overlord, The Man Of Granite! All of them called Megalopolis home and Megalopolis was rightly called the safest city in the world.

That was then. Now, nobody in Megalopolis is safe. Something has cause the most powerful beings on Earth to go mad. And as a Congressional sub-committee seeks a scapegoat for the disaster, the dwindling civilian population of Megalopolis must find a way to survive... or a way out.


Leaving Megalopolis is quite easily the most twisted thing Gail Simone has ever written.  It is also one of the best things she has ever written and easily the best "superbeings as the monster" story written in recent memory.  I think this is because it is the first story of this kind to truly examine the horror of being without power in a world full of mad gods.  Even Mark Waid's excellent Irredeemable was more concerned with deconstructing the Superman than in analyzing the human factor.  Simone keeps the focus purely upon her small group of survivors and I think this series is the better one for that reason.  The connections the reader makes to the characters is much stronger, for most of us can sympathize with the idea of feeling powerless in a bad situation - albeit ones less fantastic than being hunted by an army of superhumans!

The artwork is equally excellent, detailed without being muddied.  Artist Jim Calafiore is a tremendous visual choreographer.  The action of the issue is clearly depicted and Calafiore's character designs are distinct and memorable, leaving no doubt who each character is despite a large and varied cast.  Colorist Jason Wright and letterer Dave Sharpe also add their talents to the final product, as they did on Secret Six.

Alas, as amazing as this book is, you'll probably never get a chance to read it.  At the time of this writing, the plans are for this book to only be offered to those who funded it during its original Kickstarter campaign.  And yet, there is hope.  For the hardcover edition does feature a "1" on it's spine. 

Does this mean there is a chance of Volume 2 in the future and perhaps a second printing of volume 1 for those who sponsor a future Kickstarter?  Anything is possible.  Regardless, I highly recommend this book and suggest you make offers of cash, first-born children and sexual favors to ensure your chance to read it.   

'Order Of The Stick' Creator Rich Burlew Raises over $500,000 On Kickstarter

SOURCE: The Order of the Stick Reprint Drive






The Order of the Stick is easily my favorite fantasy gaming-themed comic. So it pleases me to note that a recent effort by OOTS author Rich Burlew to gather the funds to reprint the TPB collections of the comic have paid off. Literally!

As of this writing, Burlew has raised over $548,000 - an impressive sum even before you consider that he was only trying to raise $57,750. With 12 days left before his drive ends, Burlew seems to be poised to not only become one of Kickstarter's Top-5 Most Successful Projects but he may well make over 10 times what he'd hope to.

So please, if you're a fan of Order of the Stick, head on over to the link above, chip in a few bucks and become a part of comic history. You'll also get some festive OOTS swag depending on the size of your donation. And if you're not a fan of Order of the Stick, click on the link in the first paragraph and see what you've been missing!