Phoenix to rise from Insomnia’s ashes

By John Freeman on August 21, 2010

Comics collective The Sleepless Phoenix is now taking pre-orders for its 192-page black-and-white anthology on creative seed site Kickstarter.com.

The planned collection – born from the demise of British publisher Insomnia Publications – will feature the work of more than 50 up-and-coming creators from the UK and the US including Martin Conaghan (Burke & Hare), Ben Bates (Sonic the Hedgehog), Jim Boswell (KiCk!), Lauren Anne Sharp (Kronos City), Adam Grose (Cosmogenesis), Michael Moreci (Quarantined), Peter Forbes (Oz: Fall of the Scarecrow King) and more.

The collective was born out of the seeming (and abrupt) end to Insomnia earlier this year. On 30th June, Insomnia publisher Crawford Coutts filed to cease trading with the UK Companies House. Coutts never officially informed his creators and, until last week, had remained out of contact.

(On Friday, Coutts sent out an e-mail releasing creators from their Insomnia contracts. Previously, downthetubes understands that anyone who’d signed a contract was still tied to Insomnia due its status as “inactive” rather than insolvent, and couldn’t take their books elsewhere unless the company was formally wound up, or the contracts were officially cancelled. Now that the latter has happened, people can go looking for new publishers).

Rather than allow their work to fall to the wayside, creators banded together, fast building a mutual admiration for the short comics that will appear in this anthology – and everyone involved is determined to see it get the release it deserves, with the project’s Kickstarter appeal pegged at £2320 ($3600) to pay for printing.

Supporters can pledge as little as one dollar to the cause to help get the book printed, although those that pledge more will be entitled to perks such as a limited edition print along with their copy, or an original sketch from one of the artists.

Mike Carey (The Unwritten, Lucifer) has called the book “a kaleidoscope of graphic stories–mostly in the darker colours of the horror palette, but all the better for that”.

In addition to selling signed limited-edition softcover editions of the anthology, The Sleepless Phoenix is offering several unique opportunities for donors to snag original art, have their likeness illustrated in the book, and be acknowledged in a special thank you section.

Money raised from anthology pre-sales will pay for the printing and shipping of the anthology. All profit will go to providing funding for the Comic Book Alliance, an organization that works to settle creator disputes in the comic publishing industry.

• Visit the Sleepless Phoenix page on Kickstarter for all the latest news, previews, and updates

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.