Two Panel Patter favorites come together in a new Kickstarter project, as Spike Trotman's Iron Circus Comics works to fund its first-ever color trade paperback for Sophie Campbell's Shadoweyes webcomic.
Trotman is well known as being one of the most successful publishers to use Kickstarter, having successfully published everything from two editions of lady-friendly erotic comics (Smut Peddler) to a horror collection (The Sleep of Reason). Now she's out to bring some of Sophie Campbell's lesser-known work to a wider audience that may already be familiar with her from her work on the reboot of Glory, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Jem, just to name a few.
Shadoweyes clocks in at an amazing 370 pages, collecting the first part of a massive story that began back in 2010. It's been retouched by Campbell as well, making this an improved edition over the one that you may have read previously as a webcomic.
So what is this story, anyway? Here's the description from the Kickstarter page:
It stars Scout Montana, a slight and fragile teenage girl with dreams of defending her city as a masked vigilante. But one night, close on the heels of her cruelest defeat in the streets, her body inexplicably changes shape, becoming tiny, blue, super-strong, super-fast, and utterly un-human.Amazed and intrigued by her powers, Scout embraces her strength and new-found ability to fight for good... but things get complicated when she becomes stuck in her new, monstrous form.
One of Campbell's strengths of an artist is her ability to draw women that look real, with different shapes and sizes. She's also been ahead of the curve in terms of using people of color in her comics, which is a bit sad (given we're in the 2010s here), but it's true. Her art has a warmth that I've always found appealing. There's a bit of a rougher, less polished edge her from her current work, but all of the things that make her current comics work so well--especially the interplay between characters--is present here. A few samples were provided on the KS page, which I re-present here:
Note the way that the figures, even when they're just sitting and talking, move, shift, and actually make eye contact with each other. It's really great craft work!
The pledge levels this time, as is to be expected with a 370-page, full color book, are a bit higher than usual, but still very much in line with other projects. It takes $15 to get the digital edition, and $30 for the softcover (plus shipping). For perspective here, $15 would get you five of the lower-tier Image books, for a rough total of 110 pages. Here, it's getting you almost 400.
At higher tiers, you can get an illustrated bookplate from Campbell and/or original art from Campbell's other work (Shadoweyes was drawn entirely digitally). There's also a retailer package for those who run comic shops.
As of this writing, which is a few days before this will appear, the KS is about 75% funded, with a Black Friday ending. It would be great to see this one get funded early, so Trotman and Campbell can look at stretch goals.
I love Sophie's linework, and I'm really excited to see this project get off the ground. If you like Campbell's licensed work, please consider backing this Kickstarter so you can see the great work she does on her own solo projects, not just that of others.
