New Alternate Cover!

Hi everyone: exciting news! We have a new alternate cover in the works, drawn by none other than Matt Schofield. Make your pledge to our Kickstarter campaign to pick up your copy. You may remember him from when I gave his superhero parody comic a glowing review on my blog Zip Lines. If you don’t remember reading that, you’ve definitely seen his work at some point, because he’s currently the storyboard director on The Simpsons, with animation credits on some real classics, stretching back to the late 90s.

Reading Matt’s work, it’s clear that he adores the superhero genre. Despite being a spoof, his own comic is a thrilling adventure in its own right, and shows a genuine love of 60s superhero comics in particular. 

 Despite Zip having more of a modern sensibility for genre deconstruction, I’ve always thought of Zip as a lover of those old conventions herself.

To her, the trappings of a superhero are a way to carve out a sense of meaning in a life that’s dealt her a tough hand. Plus, the comic’s focus on her day-to-day life drama are very much inspired by Silver Age classic hero: Spider-Man (who incidentally, gets a nod or too in Steamroller Man). 

 After hiring Matt for our alt cover, he quickly affirmed that I’d made a good choice when he showed such careful attention to the details of making Zip and Mr Untouchable’s costumes accurate. And just look at those Kirby Dots! I can’t wait to see this thing coloured, and I hope you all can’t wait either: 

So once again, head over to our Kickstarter campaign and check it out!

Indie Comics Showcase: The Followers # 1 ‘A Monumental Killing’ 

 Funny story about this comic: I was looking through comic Kickstarters which might pique my interest, and found one that was actually made in my home city of Bristol. Reading through the story, I found that it was black and white, like Zip, and also had a wider message about political issues, again like Zip!

So from then on I knew I had to pledge. Anyway, turns out, the creator of this project already pledged to us! So thanks again to series writer Darius Greasley! I’ll let you take it away from here: 

 Amber, a self-professed ‘influencer’ with mixed motivations joins her friends in a protest that targets racist 18th century statues, resulting in the stealing of a stone head and the heroes being chased by a cult of vampires who want the head back.

The Followers is a modern social horror inspired by recent, true events. Spread over 8 chapters in crisp black and white, the story has a John Carpenter horror tone whilst simultaneously maintaining a British comic book sensibility. The first chapter ‘A Monumental Killing’ begins with a cold open: Two jaded school cleaners begin their shift at the gothic Mabes Academy “For Gifted Young Souls” with one of them making a horrific discovery. We’re also introduced to our heroes, Amber and Maud, as they attend an anti-racist protest in their native anonymous British city.

 The first 10 pages of the first chapter (The Prologue) is available to backers as soon as the Kickstarter campaign ends successfully. The full first chapter of The Followers will be released in early 2024.

And finally: press for Zip!

Zip not only is Zip explosive in her second issue…

But she’s also recently blown up in terms of the press coverage she’s been getting!

Comics website Nerdanatix recently reached out to me to ask if I’d like to feature Zip on their website, and of course, I said yes!

Comics crowdfunding podcast Comix Launch were also kind enough to reach out to us with an offer to feature a promo for Zip in one of their episodes. Our promo features at the end of their 05/11/23 episode guest starring Ryan Claytor, who was on talking about the important of celebrating your milestones as a creative. Give the episode a listen here.

And last but not least: comics blog Graphic Policy, which focuses on work with political messages, published a piece on us today.

More updates to follow, so stay tuned!