First Clean Up Crew #1 Preview Revealed!

This week was heavy on fulfillment. Since I got more bags and boards, I was able to pack up the rest of Feed Them to the Crows #1. I also prepared packages for my collaborators, including the creative team for the backup story we featured in the comic so everyone will get some comp copies. I’m happy to say that there are only 3 people that still need to complete their surveys in order to receive their reward. Everyone else has a package in the mail if not already at their doorstep.

I find the process of Kickstarter fulfillment to be a calming one. I set up an assembly line on my dining room table with the comic, bags, boards, and packing materials along with my laptop connected to my trusty label printer and I set everything up. The whole process took a few hours. It breezed by with an audio book playing in my ears.

There’s a major sense of accomplishment with it too. Yes, it’s exciting to make a comic book, but to actually print it and hold it in your hands is a whole other level. To then send it out into the world for 100-ish people to read is even better.

We’ll be wrapping up Feed Them to the Crows #2 soon so that will be following shortly, however before we get there, Clean Up Crew #1 will launch later this summer. I sent out some notes to creators I admire to ask for some pull quotes. I was really nervous about this. I had built up a lot of good will in the industry covering comics for Horror DNA and Comicon, but I haven’t written anything for either site in five years. I figured everyone would forget about me in that time. I sent out five emails and to my surprise and delight, I heard back from all five with enthusiasm.

So, to celebrate, do you want to see something cool? Here’s a few pages of Clean Up Crew #1. These haven’t been shared anywhere else yet. I’ve only shown select panels so far, but never full pages and nothing lettered so this is a little exclusive just for the subscribers to my newsletter. Note: These are not the very first pages of the book. There are a few establishing pages just before this.

This last page is my personal favorite in the issue. Samir Samao perfectly captured the trigger of the vampires, sending the fangs flying and the action into high gear. Colin Johnson amplified that energy with the red colors that really make the page pop. Micah Myers rounded everything out with his letters, turning our big bad Bruce into his vampire form.

I’ll share more of the comic soon including some cool variant covers that I’m really excited about. In the meantime, if you haven’t already, please sign up to be notified when the campaign launches later this summer. Just hit the button below to do so!

Follow Clean Up Crew #1

I will continue to sing the praises of Hoopla for giving me the chance to check out new comics thanks to my local library. I read Kloud 9: Book One - The Star Soldier from AJ O. Mason and Dominic Bustamante and immediately ordered a physical copy. This book is an absolute joy.

Kloud 9 follows two young men who have had a rough go of life. Kal has bounced between over a dozen foster homes, never finding a place where he fit in. Cosmoturr was raised by a heinous overlord trying to get him to develop powers he’s destined to have as a Star Soldier. The two cross paths after an accident sends Cosmo crashing to earth and quickly connect. Cosmo’s past comes back to haunt him and the two end up on an adventure through space, flirting quite a bit along the way.

There’s much more to the story than this. I got the sense that there’s a lot of lore left to explore. Some things are hinted at, such as Superiors who oversee all of the Star Soldiers and how Cosmo will come into conflict with them as a result of his actions. It definitely left me wanting more from that aspect.

While I loved the deep lore, it was the characters that really pulled me into Kloud 9. This extends beyond Kal and Cosmo to the supporting cast as well. They all have interesting personalities and quirks. You can’t help but cheer them on as they face insurmountable odds. The story has some great themes at play too, including one of my favorites about finding your place in the world. More importantly, it shows the power of love and just plain kindness. I know that can sound a little cheesy, but it’s true. You’re not hit over the head with the idea in this book. You just feel it. It’s so good.