Crowdfunding Spotlight: Darkboy & Adler #1

By John Freeman on May 1, 2018

Here’s a nifty looking comic with LGBT themes that’s currently seeking backing on Kickstarter. Be advised, Darkboy & Adler #1 is very definitely for mature readers, but from the samples available and art on the crowdfunding page, this is a project that is clearly the result of a lot of hard work – and this shows.

Darkboy & Adler is a 32-page LGBTQ horror comedy, the story following the day to day exploits of a typical teenage boy, who’s struggling with the typical teenage things like unrequited love, uninterested parents, bullying… and voodoo curses. It’s a story about love and the crazy journey that ensues when external forces take hold and push a young boy to the dark side of his love sick brain.

The story from Daniel Earey (co-creator and penciller), Edward Bentley (c0-creator, script, inks, colour) and Rob Jones (letters) starts with a boy named Adler, just a typical teenager with typical teenage problems and an all-consuming crush on the Nowheresville Darkboys wrestling squad team captain: Jock. We join the story as Adler and his friends – Claudia, Darleen and Ho – are watching (and swooning) as Jock tramples the competition on another Friday night wrestling date night.

Jock is all to familiar with Adler;s crush and shortly afterwards decides to confront Adler – and his lovely eyes – with his fists, humiliating him in front of the whole school. In a petulant rage but no less hopeful, Adler marches home, piecing together the events in his mind when he stumbles upon a strange and magical voodoo book. The book seems to be enticing him with promises of power and of getting Jock to fall in love with him, Adler snatches it up and returns home. Perhaps it’s all just a joke, perhaps Adler is mad, perhaps this crazy voodoo book really will bring him all his heart desires… or maybe it will cause catastrophic zombie voodoo craziness and unleash the monster known only as DARKBOY into the world.

“This is a semi-autobiographical piece, which is very personal to us both,” says co-creator, painter, animator and sculptor Edward Bentley. “We would love you to join us as we bring this wild and unhinged love story to fruition.”

It’s a project which has git some deserved kudos from fellow creators, including Shaky Kane, co-creator of The Bulletproof Coffin.

“Every now and then a comic book comes along, seemingly out of the blue, which restores your faith in the medium,” he enthuses, “and Darkboy & Adler ticks all the boxes. Every panel pops with kinetic energy, panel after panel crammed with so much detail it leaves the mind reeling. An immersive tale of unrequited love, high school sass and a malevolent voodoo doll. Five Stars.”

The project, as of writing is just £400 short of its £2500 target. I’ve had a read of the preview (which you can view here – as noted above be advised by the creators this is for mature readers, although aside from swearing there’s nothing in these pages to alarm the horses) and both script and art are great, well worth your attention.

• Check out Darkboy & Adler #1 on Kickstarter here | Darkboy & Adler on Facebook

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.