Time Bomb Comics has launched a crowdfunding campaign for the second issue of its brilliant anthology Brawler, and it’s looking great.
Brawler #1 was published after a successful pre-order campaign on Kickstarter last year, a title taking inspiration from the 1980’s anthology Warrior, featuring a mix of new and established characters from some truly talented writers and artists.
With Brawler’s sensational second issue #2 the plan is to do that once again, offering a 56-page, perfect bound, full-colour anthology of strange tales and amazing stories.
Here’s what’s on offer…
“Wolfheart” by Ferg Handley, James Devlin & Bolt-01: Mercenary Karn Wolfheart struggles to survive in the brutal years that followed the collapse of the once mighty Roman Empire. By
“Major Rakhana” by Steve Tanner, Pete Woods & Bolt-01: The steampunk space-ace that calls the shots, Major Rakhana is our Glorious Empire’s staunch defender against the wicked alien hordes in our outermost colonies. B.
“The Killing Stroke” By Gary Crutchley & Matt Soffe: Feudal Japan, a lone Samurai, and actions that speak louder than words. .
“Space Banshee Exorcist” by Katie Cunningham, Danielle Wiebe & Bolt-01: Fanshaw is a banshee who’s moved into space and become an exorcist. Undead in the space age, she makes a ‘living’ travelling between moon colonies and star stations, helping hapless humans rid themselves of the spectres and ghouls they’ve brought with them from Earth.
“Karl Kampe, Monster Hunter” by Jorgen Karlsson, Hakan Aydin & Ichsan Ansori: The hit Swedish adventure comics character makes his British comics debut!
“Amnesia Agents” by Jason Cobley and James Gray: There is a physical place where your memories go. You forget a person, a place or even your keys, they end up in Echo. Sometimes, evil forces led by the Forget Foxes steal memories and hide them, and it’s the job of the Amnesia Agents to get them back…
“Helga Frankenstein” by John A. Short, Gabrielle Noble & Bolt-01: Amongst the high mountains at the heart of Europe lies a haven for ungodly creatures of every shape and kind, including a woman made from the dead remains of others: The daughter of infamous Victor Frankenstein!
“Keiko Panda” by Jason Cobley, Andrew Richmond & Bolt-01: Turn left, and the world is different. Humans live and fight alongside and against Mammalians and Arboreans, intelligent animals and vegetables! Samurai Commander Keiko Panda of Nippon investigates strange events and crimes in the mountains and mists of the east.
“Brawler #2 features a diverse range of ideas with truly eclectic characters from some top-drawer talent,” enthuses flamboyant editor and publisher Steve Tanner. “There’s no ‘lead’ story in Brawler – we think each one could hold their own against the next – and that’s one of Brawler‘s key strengths.
“There’s no filler here, just cover to cover strange tales and amazing stories, with one or two surprises along the way that you’ll discover when you enjoy the book!”
This Kickstarter isn’t your traditional all-or-nothing plea for funding. Each of the stories in Brawler #2 is already completed, and will be going to print in January 2021. But as with their other campaigns, Time Bomb Comics want to use this one to make Brawler available to everyone in the Kickstarter community the world over – and provide an opportunity to receive some great exclusive extras by pre-ordering.
Enhanced reward options include a limited edition variant cover by James Devlin, original artwork in the form of 15 exclusive and limited sketches, produced by some of of the Brawler artists including 2000AD artist David Millgate, and signed scripts offering a unique behind the curtain insight to how a comic script is written.
If you missed out on Brawler #1 – why!? – there are a number of pledge options that also include a first print copy of the first issue, but you can also choose to add a Brawler #1 to your pledge as an add-on – ideal if you’ve selected one of the limited main rewards.
I really enjoyed Brawler #1, which we talked to Steve Tanner about last year, although of course there’s an element of sadness to the fact that it did feature one of the last outings for the late Nigel Dobbyn. This is a great new anthology and I backed the new issue myself almost immediately as I heard about it – and it seems I wasn’t alone, as it’s already achieved its modest £1000 target in under 24 hours of launch!
Time Bomb Comics has been publishing quality one-shots and graphic novels in the UK since 2007. From historical horror to mind-bending science-fiction each Time Bomb Comic is a complete story that has only one restriction: the imagination of the creative teams. Recent projects alongside Brawler include the terrific historical adventure series Flintlock, the recently-funded Harker, and more.
• Check out the kickstarter for Brawler #2 from Time Bomb Comics here
• Time Bomb Comics is online at timebombcomics.com | Facebook | Twitter
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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, Crowd Funding Projects, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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