Start Me Up!

Welcome back to our new (somewhat) weekly feature, Start Me Up! Every week we’re going to feature a different comic book or comic book based Kickstarter project that we find interesting. We are going to include all genres and all types of projects, from low goal Indie books to high goal books and projects from well known creators. Our purpose is to clue you in on some cool books that we think deserve your attention and could use your funding dollars. We will also review the rewards and products that we receive from successfully funded Kickstarters that we contribute to, and we encourage you to send us your own reviews as well. Remember, we are only giving our opinions on what Kickstarter projects we think look interesting, and we can’t guarantee any certain outcome or satisfaction for any project that you decide to help fund.

Welcome back, boys and girls! Due to some unforeseen personal circumstances, I had to skip last week’s column, and I apologize. But, to make up for it, I come to you this week with five, count ’em FIVE new Kickstarters for you to feast upon! I’ll be much briefer with each one, since there are so many, but I assure you, they are well worth your time and money!

Weapon of Godweaponofgod

First off, we have Weapon of God, from the illustrious writing duo Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. Jimmy and Justin are two of the finest writers to ever contribute to the comic book industry, and two of my absolute favorites. They have many credits to their name, from many different companies, but they are most well known over the past few years for writing Jonah Hex for the old DC Comics, and are the current writers for both All Star Western and Batwing in the New 52.

Weapon of God is a mature audiences book, and is the 4th Kickstarter project from Paperfilms, which is made up of Justin, Jimmy, and the amazing artist (and wife of Mr. Palmiotti) Amanda Palmer. It is an 80 page graphic novel about the Vatican’s secret warrior, the Weapon of God, as he is sent to battle a terrorist that is wreaking havoc in America. The exclusive Kickstarter edition will have a cover by Amanda Palmer, and interior art by Giancarlo Caracuzzo. The book was originally slated to be only 60 pages, but it has already achieved it’s goal and even broken the first stretch goal, so now it will be 80 pages as well as square bound. There are 21 days left, and stretch goals are being added all the time. There are a multitude of reward tiers to choose from, starting at $5, which gets you a digital copy of the book, all the way up to the $300 tier, which gets you a mystery box full of signed goodies as well as a copy of the book, plus whatever else they want to throw in! I chose the $25 level, which gets you a physical copy of the exclusive book, signed by Jimmy Palmiotti, and your name printed on the thank you page! This book promises to be amazing, so make sure you get in on it while you can. You won’t be sorry.

Rocket Girl

Next up, we have Rocket Girl, by Eisner Award nominated artist Amy Reeder and accomplished writer and rockstgirleditor Brandon Montclare . Rocket Girl is about a teenage cop from the future, who is sent back to 1986 to investigate crimes against time by an evil mega-corporation. Along the way, she discovers that things aren’t what they seem, and that the time she is from shouldn’t even exist at all. The art is spectacular, and the plot is incredibly interesting. Rocket Girl is a wholly creator-owned ongoing series, and this Kickstarter is being used to fund and promote the book, as well as provide some cool stuff to all the backers. They will be announcing a publisher to help them distribute the series later this summer, but since it is creator owned, they are responsible for all costs. That’s where we come in, folks. This book looks like a lot of fun, so go take a look. The goal has been reached, but there are nearly 3 weeks left, and the more money they raise, the more they can make happen. For as little as $1, you get a weekly behind the scenes insider update on the process of creating the book, with great stuff like sneak peek art, scripts, and podcasts. for $9 you get a full digital insider package, which includes a PDF of the book, and over 100 pages of extra digital material, such as concept art, the full script, and more. If you’d like a physical copy of issue #1, it’s only $10, and comes signed by Amy and Brandon, and comes with a Kickstarter exclusive double sided 6″x9″ full color print! This book looks really cool, so don’t miss out!

Hinges Book 1: Clockwork Cityhinges

Now we have a really interesting and different sort of book for you. It’s called Hinges, by Meredith McClaren. Hinges is about a doll named Orio and her companion familiar Bauble, and their struggles to survive in the clockwork city of Cobble. (Yes, I may have a particular interest in reading a book set in Cobble.) Hinges is currently a webcomic that you can read for free on Meredith’s blog right here, and the goal of this Kickstarter is to print the first arc as a 109 page hardcover book. I can’t even begin to describe this comic, but it’s beautiful and interesting and unique, and you should really go read it right now. Since it’s already available online for free, you can see what you’re helping fund, before you decide to do it. But I assure you, after you read it, you won’t hesitate to contribute. You can get a .pdf of the book for $10, and a digital and physical copy together is only $30. The goal hasn’t been reached yet, but there are 4 days left and it’s SO CLOSE! So I urge you to go right now and help make this project happen. This is what Kickstarter is all about, people!

Lady Sabre & The Pirates of the Ineffable Aether Vol. 1

Our fourth Kickstarter of the day is Lady Sabre & The Pirates of the Ineffable Aether Vol. 1, by Eisner Award winners Greg Rucka and Rick Burchett. Greg is a prolific and highly decorated writer, with a slew of spectacular books on his resume, including his Atticus Kodiak novels, Whiteout for Oni Press, Gotham Central, 52, and a fantastic run on Wonder Woman for DC Comics. Rick is known for tons of excellent work for indie companies like First, Pacific, and AC, and eventually found great success at DC comics, becoming a multiple Eisner winner for his work on The Batman & Robin Adventures and Batman: The Gotham Adventures.

Lady Sabre is a grand, swashbuckling epic set in a world that combines Victorian England, 19th century Europe, and the Old West. Now fill that world with pirates, magic, zeppelins, guns, monsters, heroes, and ladysabre2villains, along with all of the wonderment that comes with a good old fashioned steampunk adventure. What more could you possibly ask for? Nothing, I tell you! It’s perfect! And you can go read it for free, right now, at www.ineffableaether.com, just to see how utterly amazing that it is.  This project is being used to fund an exclusive Kickstarter-only physical hardcover edition that will contain the entire first volume of Lady Sabre, and it is going to be a masterpiece. Coming in at a whopping 192 foil stamped cloth-bound pages, this jacketed, landscape oriented tome will be a beautiful centerpiece to any book collection. The Burchett’s full color art is breathtaking, and Rucka is one of the finest writers to ever put pen to paper. I can not say enough good things about this project. If you haven’t done a Kickstarter before, then this is the one to start with. This edition will contain Kickstarter-only material, including a new short story by Rucka, and pin-ups by other well known artists. You can get a DRM-free .pdf version of this for a paltry $10 pledge, but I went with the $30 level, which gets you all of the digital content,  plus a wallpaper and icon pack, plus a physical copy of the book itself. I challenge you to find a book this nice ANYWHERE for $30. It can’t be done. The rewards keep getting more and more generous from there, up to and including some really cool art, patches, dog tags, signatures, and even being drawn into the story! This is truly a wonderful project, and I urge you to be one of the lucky ones that helps make this project happen.

The Good, The Bad, and The Monkey

Finally, we have a wacky little book that I know very little about, but it looks pretty darned cool, and it has monkeys. How can you not love monkeys? The Good, The Bad, and The Monkey is pretty much what it sounds like: a Sergio Leone-style spaghetti western, where all of the characters are primates. And the hero isgoodbadmonkey The Ape With No Name. Seriously. That’s awesome! The creator is hoping to fund a 100+ page hardcover with this Kickstarter, and he’s very, very close, with about a week and a half left to go. The only problem that some of you might have is that the project is being done in England, so if you get a physical copy of the book, you’ll have to tack on shipping in addition to your pledge. It’s still not so bad, though. A physical copy of the book comes to about $38, plus about $8 more for shipping to the U.S. So for $46 bucks you get a physical copy of a really freaking cool primate spaghetti western, all the way from  the U.K., along with a bunch of digital extras. If that’s too rich for your blood, then you can get a digital copy of the book, along with some screen savers, for around $12, and you don’t have to worry about shipping. There are some really cool higher level rewards as well, including a chance to be drawn into the book as a primate! Hell yeah! So, go take a look at the project and see what you think. The art is really cool, and the concept is great, and it has gunfighting primates, for god’s sake! Why aren’t you pledging already?

-Shaun Cobble

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