Writer Adam Cheal (Redemption Heights, Toxic Storm) and best-selling artist Amrit Birdi (Joe Sugg’s Username:Evie, F2’s Galaxy of Football, Assassins Creed) have teamed up to deliver a great-looking new horror comic, Borough of Churches, which is fast approaching its initial funding target on the crowdfunding web site Kickstarter – raising 50 per cent of monies required in its first twelve hours.
The project began a few years back as an ongoing issue-based series, but the creative team have decided the best way to present the tale is in a collected edition format. Book one will feature the first three chapters of the Borough of Churches saga – 66 pages of full-colour sequential comic art, presented in a 76 page graphic novel format, and complete with a signed collectors edition cover exclusive to the Kickstarter campaign.
For generations, the Borough of Churches has been the last line in defence against the ruthless vampire Lord Brother Marcus and his blood thirsty horde.
Charlie Swanson is the latest recruit to join the fight. The trouble is, she doesn’t give a damn about the Borough of Churches or what it fights for… yet!
Full of action, horror and comedy, and a wise-cracking badass female lead with a tortured past who will be sure to keep you entertained along the way, this looks like a lot of fun.
“Essentially, it’s about family heritage,” says Adam, “and all the crap that comes with it. Our protagonist is next in line to head up the Borough of Churches – an ancient and secret order of vampire hunters. Basically, protectors of humanity from the scum of the Earth.
“How did she get this gig? Simple: the short story is – she’s cursed!
“Borough of Churches: The Beginning reveals the one moment that changed Charlie’s life as a normal Brooklyn cop and catapults her into the world of battling the undead, delves into her family dark family heritage and challenges her to step into battle to take down Brother Marcus and his vampire Horde.
“Charlie discovers the dark secrets of her heritage and its true intent…with humour, horror and a whole lot of blood! ”
“A few years back, I teamed up with artist Amrit Birdi and together we created the Borough of Churches comic series,” says Adam of the project’s background.
“We had been wanting to work together on a project for a while and this comic played to both our strengths. With the excitement of the project beginning, we quickly started production and got the first two of six planned comics completed.
“Alas, the timing was all wrong and we both had to put the project on hold… After some delay, we are now both in a position to bring this book back to life.”
“With most of book one already complete, we’re looking for support to bring this book from concept to reality,” says Amrit.
Adam Cheal has written many comics and graphic novels including Toxic Storm, Terminus at Fenton’s Green, Slowheart, Family Tree and is the editor of the British Showcase Anthology.
“At its core, Borough of Churches is the story of good versus evil, just like nearly every single other comic you’ve read,” Adam told A Place to Hang Your Cape last year. “The goal here was not to come up with the next new original concept, but to take themes and genres we are all familiar with and to make the heart and soul of the book to be about the characters.
Amrit Birdi should need no introduction to longtime downthetubes readers. Best knon for his work on the top-selling Joe Sugg’s Username:Series and more recently on F2’s Galaxy of Football written by Alex Paknadel and Dan Watters, he’s delivered comic art, concept design, cover art, storyboards and commercial illustration end-clients such as Netflix, Square Enix, SKY, Porsche, Universal, Hachette, Pepsi Co, ITV, Ubisoft, Nike, Warner Bros and Titan Comics.
“Borough of Churches was my first project back when I started making comics back in 2013, so I’m very excited to be continuing work on the series,” he says.
They’re joined in the fray against the forces of darkness by colourist Mike Summers and letterer Mindy Lopkin, who’s worked on many titles from Adam and Amrit – including Username: Evie and Redemption Heights.
Offering a variety of rewards for backers and a fast-paced action-filled story, this looks like a smashing manga-style inspired, vampire-butt kicking tale to warm the blood… quite literally!
• Check out the Borough of Churches Kickstarter here
• Want a FREE PREVIEW? Check out this link to download a five-page PDF preview (approx 3mb)
• Follow the Borough of Churches on Facebook
• Follow Adam Cheal on Twitter @adamcheal
• Amrit Birdi (and his studio) are online at www.amritbirdi.co.uk
• Read an interview with Adam Cheal about Borough of Churches on A Place to Hang Your Cape
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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.
Categories: Crowd Funding Projects, downthetubes News