Forgotten Planet promotional art by Giancarlo Caracuzzo
In 2006, scientists announced Pluto was to be de-classified as a planet, and many felt a slight pang of disappointment as our Solar System lost its little Ice baby.
But what if there was a darker reason behind this cosmic realignment? That’s the premise behind Scar Comics latest title, Forgotten Planet, revealing the sinister history of the downgraded planetoid in a newgraphic novel.
Unknown to the population of Earth a secret war raged on Pluto over 30 years ago and the small number of former mercenaries who are aware of this is about to get even smaller, as, one by one, they are picked off by government assassins.
The new book from award-winning publisher Scar Comics, by hot indy writer Peter Rogers and acclaimed Italian artist Giancarlo Caracuzzo, reveals a dark alternative history and takes the reader on a retro science fiction adventure from the 1970s to the point when Pluto‘s status as a planet is revoked.
Only one of the mercenaries, Cale Beckett, has survived the assassinations, and after a visit to Area 51 he is forced to return to Pluto to uncover what has unfolded in the 30 years since he left.
With stunning artwork and a hard hitting character driven story Forgotten Planet delivers a pulpy Science Fiction flavour, combined with sharp modern edge.
Pete Rogers is an award-winning British writer, who came to comics via a series of screenwriting courses at Raindance in London. In 2007 he co-founded Orang Utan Comics, publishing anthology title Eleventh Hour, featuring his own short stories, alongside the work of other rising talent. Within a year the book had been nominated for an Eagle award. His first graphic novel The Interactives was released in 2011 to critical acclaim, with art by Luciano Vecchio (Beware the Batman). The first title from his new imprint, Dapper Chimp Press, ‘Chris Smith and the Nazi Zombies from Hell’, was released earlier this year, which he edited.
Giancarlo Carcuzzo has worked for most of the major European and American comics publishers, since his first work was published in 1982 in his native Italy. His bold, energetic artwork has been seen in the likes of Jonah Hex, Gorilla Man, Iron Man, Spider-Man and Random Acts of Violence, and, most recently, Master Merlini for ROK Comics with Cy Dethan. A superb adventure comics artist, he’s a welcome part of the team and his work is terrific.
“Doing a book with Kickstarter means we can offer our creators some payment for their hard work and dedication,” explains editor and co-pubisher Shane Chebsey. “As an Indy publisher (and I’m sure most other small publishers will agree) it can be a real struggle to finance the production of a book while also doing right by our creators. However we hope a successful Kickstarter campaign will not only allow us to reward our creators’ dedication and talent, but also allow us to offer our readers a really high end collectible version of the book.”
The campaign has already seen support from high profile creators such as Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, Ivan Brandon, Si Spurrier and Rob Williams.
• To make a pledge to get your limited edition of the new book, as well as lots of other exclusive collectible goodies on offer, check out the Kickstarter campaign now at: www.kickstarter.com/projects/339233852/forgotten-planet-by-peter-rogers-and-giancarlo-car
• To find out more about Scar Comics and its creators visit their main website at: www.scarcomics.com
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.
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