New graphic novel publishers Cosmic Lighthouse are deservedly celebrating the success of their Kickstarter campaign for the first ever graphic novel based on the international bestselling series The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, which reached its £65,000 funding goal in just five hours after launching last Thursday, 15th October.
Funding now sits at £134,000, over double the original goal, at the time of writing, with over 2700 fans backing the new graphic novel.
Paul Cornell, Editor-in-Chief at Cosmic Lighthouse, said: “I’m delighted by how well the campaign has gone. What wonderful people the Murderbot audience are!”
As we previously reported, the book is adapted from the bestselling multi-award-winning novella All Systems Red by Erica Schultz (Daredevil, Moon Knight, Rogue) with artwork by Gary Erskine (Dan Dare, JSA Strange Adventures, Hellblazer), colours by Yel Zamor, and lettering by Simon Bowland. The book will be edited by author Paul Cornell (Wolverine, Action Comics, I Walk With Monsters).
All Systems Red: The Graphic Novel has launched as a Kickstarter Exclusive with retail editions to follow in early 2028. Head to Kickstarter here for more information and to back the project.
The book will also contain a new Murderbot short story by Martha Wells, exclusive to the graphic novel, and an introduction by David Dastmalchian, who plays Gurathin in the Apple TV adaptation of the book. Martha Wells is also acting as the graphic novel’s script consultant.
Cosmic Lighthouse is a new graphic novel company devoted to publishing original works by the greatest modern genre writers, paired with the world’s best artists. Their remit is to “commission great writers to create original graphic novels, pairing them with the best artists, and introducing a number of writers new to the medium along the way.”
Cosmic Lighthouse’s first title, Salvation’s Child by debut comic writer Adrian Tchaikovsky and artist Mike Collins, was published to great acclaim earlier this year.
The Murderbot Diaries (AmazonUK Affiliate Link) is a bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-winning science fiction series by New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author Martha Wells.
In a future run by interstellar corporations, a self-aware security android secretly hacks the governor module meant to control it – freeing itself, but risking destruction if anyone finds out. It calls itself Murderbot, but all it actually wants is to be left alone to watch its favourite soap operas in peace.
Witty, deadpan and unexpectedly moving, the series follows Murderbot as it finds itself reluctantly drawn into protecting the humans around it. Beginning with the multi award-winning novella All Systems Red, it currently spans eight books and was adapted into an Apple TV+ series starring Alexander Skarsgård in 2025, season two of which recently wrapped.
Head to Kickstarter here for more information and to back the project
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Current British Publishers, Comics, Creating Comics, Crowd Funding Projects, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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