Indie Comics Showcase #289: FemBat, Jetta Raye, & Sherlock Holmes: Leviathan

Welcome back to another installment of Indie Comics Showcase, the weekly blog where we signal boost a few truly independent comics that are currently crowdfunding their projects, crowdsourcing their funding in some way, or just completely self-publishing on their own. Every little bit of support for these creators matters, from a single dollar pledge to the twenty-five dollar bundle, and of course the higher tiers are usually fun too! Even if you can’t back a campaign or buy a book, you can share or tweet about these projects to your friends and followers.  

On Indie Comics Showcase, we interview the creators, show off some art, and tell you how you can check out the product for yourself. Below we have some outstanding crowdfunding campaigns this week for you to learn about, enjoy, and hopefully support by backing one or more of them! Thanks for checking these out and for being the best part of Indie Comics Showcase. Let’s jump in!

Check out the campaign here!

Chris Braly: Welcome back to Indie Comics Showcase, Mike. Give our readers the pitch for your latest graphic novel.

Mike Baron: Sherlock Holmes teams up with Captain Nemo to stop a madman from igniting a world war. Two of the greatest Victorian heroes meet and ignite an explosion of cyberpunk excitement. Guest stars that will blow your mind, a globe-spanning adventure. The story is 72 pages, in full color, and it’s illustrated by the great Richard Bonk.

CB: What’s the origin of this story?

MB: I have always been a Sherlock Holmes fan. I wanted to craft an adventure worthy of his skills while incorporating the prescient vision of Jules Verne.  I think that for those who are familiar with my work, a story starring Holmes and Nemo would excite interest.

CB: So it this aimed at Sherlock Holmes fans?

MB: This is aimed at everyone who loves graphic literature from five year olds to retirees. Entertainment is of supreme importance. I’ll grab you by the throat in the first couple of pages and never let go. I write so that the reader becomes so immersed in the story, he will resent any intrusion.

CB: You’re an award-winning veteran of the comics industry, so how would you describe your creative process, and how you approach storytelling?

MB: I used to just wing it. I begin by making notes in a pad. Names. Situations. History. Anything and everything that could be part of the story. When I hit critical mass, I write an outline. The outline is not just a guide, it must also intrigue readers. I want them to put that outline down and say, “Where do I get it?”  I invariably veer away from the outline. As all good writes know, if you create a fully rounded character, at some point he’ll turn around and tell you what happens next. My workflow is never ending. I love to create.

CB: What can you tell our readers about your creative team?

MB: Richard Bonk is the rare artist who’s both fast and good. The book was fully illustrated before we launched this campaign. I wrote about it on my Substack, and it’s true. On colors we’re working with Gabe Eltaib and Robb Epps, who I worked with on Bronze Star. For letters, we’ve engaged Carlos Mangual, who handled letters for Florida Man vs. Hogzilla. As of today, Leviathan is completely done, finished, and coloring and lettering are underway.

CB: What’s compelled you to go the crowdfunding route over the last few years?

MB: There’s a market out there for compelling stories outside the mainstream. Marvel and DC have screwed the pooch. They forgot their job was to entertain. I never forget. I also learned I can’t do it alone. Were it not for people like you, I’d be living in a fishing shack in Manitoba eating raw pike.

CB: I know you had fun with this story. You’re a long time Holmes fan. Do you have more adventures in mind for the “world’s greatest detective”?

MB: There are always more stories to tell. I have thought of several Holmes scenarios if this one does well, each featuring another great hero from Victorian literature.

CB: You’re running simultaneous campaigns on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and FundMyComic. Which one is your favorite and are there any special features on your campaigns?

MB: Hands down Fund My Comic is the platform of choice, but there are backers on all of them that I love. You can access them all at BaronComics.com. As far as the campaigns, there are variant covers, a hardcover edition, we will even enlist Rich to “draw you in” to the story itself. Incredible. There may even be a hidden code that leads to a priceless treasure in the jungles of Yucatan…

CB: It’s been great working with you, Mike. Any final comments for our readers?

MB: I have two moments of joy when I create a story. The first is when I write something I know is a bullseye. The second is when I hold the finished product in my hand. I leave it to readers to decide if I hit the bullseye. I encourage them to search for reviews for my two most recent crowd-funded graphic novels, Bronze Star with the great artist Pat Broderick, and Nexus: Scourge with the brilliant Kelsey Shannon.

CB: Both excellent, Mike. Talk to you soon.

Check out the campaign here!

Check out the campaign here!

Chris Braly: Welcome to Indie Comics Showcase, Jimmy! Tell our readers about the Jetta Raye mini-series!

Jimmy Tournas: Jetta Raye, a teenage smart teenage girl from Neutron city in the 2255,in the 22nd century, and her Neutron high classmates and friends are always on wild alien intergalactic adventures  with, Arky, jetta’s klutzy jock boyfriend, Hilaria, Jetta’s brunette haired friend, Biff, Arky’s friend and fellow jock who is a prankster, and Gizmo, the genius oof Neutron high, who has a full lab and space cruiser, and Zilch their green friend from Andromeda galaxy who visits as well, zilch loves to tell crazy jokes. All ages really but the stories look a hundred years in the future from a 1950’s perspective.

CB: Where did the idea for this comic come from, and made you decide to self-publish it?

JT: A fellow from a couple towns over created the character when I was born but only did three issues and dropped it.  I always loved the character and idea along with Rich Maurizio who spurred me on to make new stories. Dan DeCarlo penciled some of the main stories and got hired by Archie comics, where he brought his style of art.

CB: Looks a lot like DeCarlo’s work. Who is on your creative team? 

JT: Jeff Shultz worked with Dan DeCarlo at Archie, and came onboard penciling in Dan’s fun style.  Pat and Tim Kennedy came on with and older style Archie look and then took it to a tad older look of the characters after high school.  Sadly Tim passed a couple of years ago, and Pat came back on for more great story art.  We have Rich Maurizio inking along with Joe Sinnot’s son, and one of my brother from another mother, Mark Sinnott.  Ken Wheaton (Popeye & Simpsons) will also be back.

CB: How far along is the project?

JT: We actually finished early and as of October 25, the book is going to print so people can get their crowdfunding back before Christmas.

CB: What have you been learning from self-publishing / crowdfunding and creating through this process?

JT: Constant advertising to try to meet goals is tough as I am alone in this and not experienced at the online part.

CB: What are your plans beyond this book? More Jetta Raye?

JT: Yes some really neat stories, we have Jetta Raye Adventures numbers one and two out.  We have pencils for issue three and I am inking them as well.

CB: Any special items we can find on the campaign page?

JT: We have original archie art pages an complete story from Jeff Shultz and a couple of variant Archie covers I did as well as cover from Jetta.  I use full color acetate over original art and ready to frame.  they make a great addition to home or office wall or as a gift.

CB: It looks great, Jimmy. Any last words?

JT: Yes, keep up with the series by checking out the site jettaraye.com or our official Jetta Raye page on Facebook. You can get info there, or ask me anything or give suggestions there.

CB: Good luck, Jimmy!

Check out the campaign here!

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Check out the campaign here!

Chris Braly: Welcome to Indie Comics Showcase, Brett. Hit me with your elevator pitch for FemBat!

Brett Cantrell: Olivia Del Ray, Go-Go dancer in 1968 gets seduced & bit by a tall, dark, mysterious stranger at the club she dances. Olivia slowly becomes a vampire and she can’t experience daylight, nor attend Catholic Mass anymore, and she doesn’t want to kill people for blood. Legend say if you kill the vampire who bit you, you can regain your mortality. Olivia spent over 50 years roaming the world in search of her attacker. She finally finds help from Professor Nigel Emory who creates a sexy, vampire battle suit with gold flying wings and gadgets. Oliva becomes FemBat to fight supernatural creatures that go “bump” in the night and search for her attacker. It will be a 56 page book with color, once I’m funded.

CB: Where did the idea for this comic come from, and made you decide to self-publish it?

BC: I wanted to create a vampire hero character with a sexy costume that would fight supernatural monsters in a Hammer horror film. I created FemBat in 1998. Instead of a bat symbol, she will have big, golden, armored globes on her chest. At first, I wanted FemBat to be a weekly, one page comic strip released in The Stranger and other free local magazines. I never got around to submitting it, because I was working 2 jobs and hardly any time to work on comics. I created many other IP’s throughout the decades and I was sorting through my art files. I rediscovered FemBat and revived her by spending 3 years of writing, drawing, and lettering my book and finally release it on FundMyComic.

CB: What kind of comic readers is this suited for and who is it aimed at?

BC: This book is for everyone who loves horror and sexy superheroes fighting evil, supernatural creatures. This book is loaded with action and humor.

CB: What’s your experience with comics?

BC: I started drawing comic strips from the newspapers around 6 years old. I evolved drawing and creating comic book characters when I was 10. I collected comics back then when they were .25 cents each. I mainly collected Marvel and some DC. I created my own version of Avengers from the late 1980’s based in San Diego called Enforcer, Inc. which is available in a mini-comic in my FemBat campaign. I randomly create and produced ashcan comics of my different characters with a low print run and sell them through PayPal.

CB: Is this a solo effort you’re doing yourself? How far along is the book?

BC: Yes, I am hoping to hire a digital colorist, but the pencils, inks, and letters of 56 pages are complete. I just need the book colored. I anticipate about two months for complete coloring and editing.

CB: What have you been learning from self-publishing through this process?

BC: I’ve been self-publishing on and off since 1996. Back then, we self-publishers had to go through Diamond Distributing to be approved to get our books out. I wasn’t that lucky at the time. My first book, Executor/Femme Fatale flip book only printed less than 50 copies from a printer friend I knew from church. I had to consign my books to different comic shops throughout Seattle and different locations. I had spotty sales, but no big success. I continued with issue 2 a year later using Small Publishers Co-op in Florida with a 1,000 book print run. I advertised in different small publisher fanzines and word of mouth before the internet took off. I’m still an active part-time comic creator with more IP’s to release.

CB: Do you have more stories to tell?

BC: I have several cool characters and stories to tell from my own sandbox. After FemBat, I will release a 24 page horror villain story called The CREEP, 100 Feet of Pink Perversion! It’s what if Basil Wolverton were alive today and what story will he write and draw?  After that, I plan to write and draw the third installment of Executor/Femme Fatale flip book and republish the first 2 issues of that comic and crowdfund it.

CB: Sounds good, Brett. Good luck on the campaign!

Check out the campaign here!

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That’s it for this installment. If you’re a creator ramping up your own campaign or have a comic available for purchase online and you want to be featured in our weekly column, click here. And follow Indie Comics Showcase on Twitter at @Indie_Comics and reach out to them for more eyes on YOUR crowdfunding comic project. Until next time, support indie comics!