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Crowdfunding Spotlight: Frenemies – The Lost Planet by Monty Nero and Yishan Li

By John Freeman on October 14, 2020

An innovative new Kickstarter from Monty Nero (Marvel, Titan, Delcourt) and Yishan Li (Top Cow/Dark Horse) is to fold their just-launched crowdfunder for Frenemies – The Lost Planet into the fictional world of their own sci-fi comic, with daily cliff-hangers expanding the story every day.

“It’s something new for us,” says writer and co-creator Monty Nero. “We’re pushing the boundaries of what Kickstarter can do by turning it into a storytelling medium. The minute you hit the page, you’re inside the Frenemies world, and each daily update expands the sci-fi universe we’ve created.

“I love the pace and action of old sci-fi, like the classic Universal Flash Gordon serials,” he adds, “and this develops that by mixing it with some progressive new ideas.”

But how exactly does it work? “From the backers’ point of view it’s simple,” explains Nero. “You just back our comic at any level and boom – an update appears for you every day. It’s a free story, expanding on what’s happening in the comics, a welcome distraction from doom-scrolling through social media.“

Nero describes Frenemies: The Lost Planet as a rich and complex sci-fi universe that will expand for decades to come. “That’s the beauty of creator owned comics,” he says. “We’ve got an epic four-issue arc prepared but the plan is to nuture this story with great depth and complexity for years to come.”

For all the innovation the main thing Nero wants is for readers to have fun. “There’s a sample from the comic available for everyone to enjoy. Yishan’s an incredible artist, particularly character design and acting, which is why she’s working with the best companies around. She’s already finished the whole thing and it looks stunning.”

Frenemies concerns seven LGBT+ and straight rivals searching for a mysterious Lost Planet that will destroy the solar system unless one of them can find it.

“The aliens are so advanced their quantum technology looks to us like Dark Magic,” says Nero .”We focus on how alien technology transforms our protagonists in their quest. Only one of them can reach The Lost Planet so do they cooperate or subtly f*ck each other up? Or can they do both? Is your best friend your worst enemy when so much is at stake?”

Monty Nero has written the X-Men, X-Men Gold and Hulk for Marvel, as well as the Death Sentence series for Titan and Delcourt, and short comics for 2000AD and DC, among others.

Yishan Li has drawn Buffy and Hellboy for Dark Horse, Blue Beetle for DC, Swing, Sugar and Paradox Girl for Top Cow/Image, plus numerous books and short comics for leading publishers.

• The Kickstarter for Frenemies: The Lost Planet 1 and 2, which starts at 58 pages, can be found here | More information on Frenemies here on Monty Nero’s official site, montynero.com

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.