British independent comic publisher Scratch Comics is currently seeking support for its latest title, Spearpoint, a World War Two fantasy horror adventure written and coloured by Matt Soffe with art by Benito Gallego, lettered by Rob Jones, and edited by Paul H. Birch.
If you enjoyed their recent release, Dinosaurs vs. Cowboys, or their other titles such as Claudia Christian’s Dark Legacies, then you should definitely check this out.
Summer, 1940. France has fallen. The Third Reich now has its sights firmly set on Britain. Wehrmacht divisions are massed along the coast of Northern France, poised to strike as soon as the Luftwaffe establishes air superiority.
As The Battle of Britain rages in the skies overhead, a young witch named Bridie Montgomery stands bravely ready to do her part. Together with local oddball Gerald Gardner, her coven gathers deep in The New Forest to enact a powerful ritual, “the “Cone of Power”, aimed at dissuading The Fuhrer from enacting “Operation Sea Lion”.
However, the Luftwaffe are not the only foe our heroes have to contend with – in his lair at Wewelsburg Castle, the diabolical Heinrich Himmler calls on both the occult powers of his ‘Thule Society’, and even darker forces, which may or may not be ultimately beyond his control, to counter the power of The New Forest Coven.
Can Bridie and her friends summon the courage to defeat the combined forces of The Third Reich and this mysterious and seemingly unstoppable race of subterranean creatures known only as the Vril-ya?
Spearpoint is a thrilling tale of heroic resistance in the face of insurmountable odds, combining elements of pulp adventure, action, fantasy and horror in equal measure, all set against the real world backdrop of the Second World War.
The Kickstarter offers all the incentives you’d expect from Scratch Comics, including a variant covers by 2000AD ace Staz Johnson.
The art looks terrific, and I think it’s safe to say a story combining World War Two action with the supernatural, while a frequent playground for British horror comics, should prove a potent mix.
To find out more Spearpoint or back the project check out the campaign here on Kickstarter
Meet the Creators…
Matt Soffe will be a name familiar to regular downthetubes readers as an accomplished comics artist, colourist and illustrator, but Spearpoint is the first comic series he’s written, the result he says “of years of work, a little blood, lots of sweat and a fair few tears.”. In addition to colouring work for Scratch Comics, his work has appeared in many publications spanning two decades, including 2000AD, Judge Dredd Megazine and Heavy Metal magazine, as well as with publishers such as HarperCollins, Z2 Comics, Soaring Penguin and Accent UK.
Benito Gallego was born in Madrid, Spain. He started providing comics and pin-ups for fanzines while attending the Faculty of Fine Arts in Madrid. His first professional assignments were working with Roy Thomas on his series Anthem and Captain Thunder, published by Heroic Publishing.
In 2010 he started doing the art for Apama The Undiscovered Animal, a comic series created by Milo Miller and Ted Sikora. Bebpnito also provided the art for Work Up & Live!, a graphic novel about Bob Marley written by Jim McCarthy. He started working for ERB Inc. In 2016 at their online comics site with art for The New Adventures of Tarzan with Roy Thomas (the first published in collection by Dark Horse Comics in 2022) and, in 2020 adapting the historical novel The Outlaw of Torn with Tom Simmons.
His many other credits include art for Warrant Publishing, for their horror magazines The Creeps, Shudder and Vampiress Carmilla; Seis Cuerdas, a three-issue series published by Source Point Press, with art by Benito, written by Anthony Rella; and Lord of the Jungle, a miniseries for Dynamite with writer Dan Jurgens. He is currently working on the graphic novel, Vultures’ Sanctuary, based on a script by Ángel García Nieto adapting the story by Robert E. Howard.
Rob Jones is a writer and letterer of comics who has worked for Image, Penguin Publishing, Humanoids, Heavy Metal, Schoolastic, Scout, Behemoth, A Wave Blue World, Shift, DC Thomson, BHP Comics, Comicscene, Comichaus, B7 Media, IdeasAndInks and also on just about every Scratch Comics title as a letterer.
Accomplished editor Paul H. Birch – also writer, consultant and project manager for assorted multi-media enterprises – is known in comics for his role on the horror tome Bomb Scares, where his reputation brought on board the likes of Jimmy Broxton, Mike Perkins, Liam Sharp and Phil Winslade among others. His other comic writings, alongside his feature work for the Birmingham Mail newspaper group, include bringing about the return of classic character, Werewilf, to Toxic magazine, writing graphic novels for India, creating licensed books for the USA, co-creating the six issue Becoming Frankenstein series, and more ghost work than he cares to recall.
Recent years have seen him project managing long-term projects intended for film, theatre, animation and record; Trapeze – Lost Tapes having become an annual best seller in the latter category.
Scratch Comics was founded in April 2022 by Publisher and EIC Shane Chebsey. Shane has been publishing comics since 1994 and in 2006 also started running major comic conventions.
The aim of Scratch Comics is to work with creators from every part of the comic industry and beyond to produce high quality comic books and graphic novels for your enjoyment… and they are certainly doing that!
• To find out more Spearpoint or back the project check out the campaign here on Kickstarter
• Scratch Comics are online at scratchcomics.co.uk
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
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, Comic Previews, Comics, Creating Comics, Crowd Funding Projects, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
Ian Richardson, Mark Farmer drafted for Scratch Comics’ “Spearpoint” mini series 
Crowdfunding Spotlight: Sentinel – “They Call Her Trinity” (An Advance Review)