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Crowdfunding Spotlight: The United: Going Underground by Jonny Cannon

By John Freeman on August 11, 2023 • ( 1 )

The United: Going Underground by Jonny Cannon - Cover

A crowdfunding campaign for The United: Going Underground, intended for mature readers, has recently launched on Kickstarter from Scottish cartoonist Jonny Cannon.

“This comic crosses genres, blending superhero action-adventure, suspense, crime noir, horror and romance,” says Johnny. “A satirical streak and dark humour runs through the story.

There’s a large cast of weird and wonderful characters, some of whom appeared in Cannon’s previous comic book, The United: Welcome to the Sh!tshow, which was the focus of a successful Kickstarter back in 2020, and earned him plenty of praise from other independent comic creators, including Tom Ward, writer/co-creator of Merrick the Sensational Elephant Man.

The United: Going Underground by Jonny Cannon - Sample Art

“Is this the best British superhero comic? I think it might be,” said Tom. “I could certainly read a lot more in this world.”

“The United: Welcome to the Sh!tshow [is] a clever, post-modern mix of Excalibur and the modern, cynical, violent and sexual world of superhero-ing,” said Tony Esmond, cohost of the Awesome Comics Podcast and publisher of Tribute Press. “An absolutely gorgeous hardcover…”

“It’s not often that a superhero comic works outside the major publishers but The United seems to buck that trend quite easy,” says Gary Watson of Comics Anoymous, “keeping in with current events and trends helps elevate it from a throwaway title and make it more of an interesting read.”

The United: Going Underground tells the story of two detectives, a retired superhero turned celebrity yogi and a man with a magical chimpanzee costume all trying to solve a murder. What seems a straightforward case spirals downwards rapidly into a sinister, psychedelic nightmare.

“This is a self-contained, complete story set in a turbulent Britain and Republic of Scotland after the break-up of the United Kingdom,” Jonny expands. “It’s a weird place with superheroes, druidic science-magic, aristocratic revolutionaries, hipster gangsters and duplicitous politicians. (At least one of those things exists in real life.)

The campaign aims to fund the printing of a 144-page, black and white hardback comic book, and digital copies of the comic are also available. The reward tiers include sketches, commissions and original art.

Jonny Cannon is the creator of The United: Welcome to the Sh!tshow, artist/co-creator of Transylvanian Knights and artist on “Chrissy” in Hidden Lives and “Adventures of Woodlore” in DUI2. He has also designed record covers for the Scottish band Voldo, including Melting Pot, recently nominated for Scottish Album of the Year.

The book also contains a back-up feature written by Cannon and drawn by Steven Ingram, the creator of Holly, Left, Burn with Me and Old Man Grey, which are available at his independent distribution site, thirdbearpress.com.

• Check out The United: Going Underground here on Kickstarter

• Jonny’s other work, including Welcome to the Sh!tshow, is available at cannonhillcomics.bigcartel.com

• You can see more examples of Jonny Cannon’s sketches and commissions at his Instagram page

All international orders (outside UK) of the hard copy reward tiers will receive a free A5 illustration. This is to offset higher shipping rates

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.