Kick-It! Episode 1: Dogs & Aliens

Welcome to Kick-It!, a new series that highlights projects from crowd-funding platforms. For our inaugural episode, I’ve decided to showcase two comic book titles in the works: Stray and Conquistadores from Beyond.

This project has its own theme song. I’m not kidding.

STRAY is the story of Rodney Weller, formerly known as the Rottweiler, sidekick to the great Doberman… his mentor. It’s been five years since he’s worn a costume and taken to the rooftops, but he’s back to solve the murder of the person who trained him. In the end, if he survives, he’ll have to decide if he wants to take over his mentor’s mantle, or become something… someone, new. The story is about redemption and finding your own identity in the world… about honoring your past, but forging a new present.

I’m excited about Stray because its story is personal and relatable. We may not all be superheroes, but we’ve each had to establish ourselves as individuals, finding our own paths and differentiating ourselves from our peers and guardians. Doing so can be difficult, and I feel that the added twist of a murder-mystery plus the weight of Rodney’s responsibility make the plot of this comic particularly compelling. The creative team, with comic industry veteran Vito Delsante writing and the talented Sean Izaakse illustrating, means we have a lot to look forward to. Check out the Kickstarter for more images and a list of reward tiers— including the chance to make a cameo in the book!

A legacy continued.

Back in 1939, Nicholas Kenealy was a 20 year old killing time at Ft. MacArthur reading the latest issue of THRILLING WONDER STORIES, when he saw an ad for their January amateur writers’ contest. Quickly he typed off the tale of Pete West, a young soldier stationed as Observer on a United Earth Spaceship, and his first encounter with alien life, the Tripeds of Sereria. He sent it off and thought nothing of it until his new issue followed him to his new base in Hawaii, including his story and his winnings, $50!

Talent seems to run in the Kenealy family because, 72 years later, Nicholas’ granddaughter won a writing contest, too: MTV Geek and POW!Entertainment’s “Stan Lee Presents The Seekers,” to be precise. While her works will debut in November, Heather Kenealy hopes to expand both POW!’s title and another called Bluewater’s Siren into collected volumes to be published through one of the major, mainstream comics companies. In order to accomplish all this, however, she needs your help! You can visit her GoFundMe page to donate (there is no deadline for donations, unlike Kickstarter) and sign up for rewards such as sneak peeks and digital or print copies of the eventual, completed works.

Support the underdogs!

Crowdfunding sites (Kickstarter, GoFundMe, IndieGoGo, etc.) are becoming more and more integral to the indie comic book industry. They offer creators a chance to do what they love, and offer consumers a chance to not only contribute and encourage these “underground” writers and artists, but also to enjoy content that they would have otherwise never been able to access. Win-win for everyone! Stay tuned for more episodes of Kick-It!, and if you have suggestions for features in the future, feel free to comment below or send me a message.