FUTURE HITS FROM THE KICK(starter)

What’s Up CHU? Mel V. here with a new segment that I think you guys will enjoy, I call it Future Hits from The Kick(starter). The goal of this is to give the readers of CHU a chance to follow books that I think will have a bright future from the start. Also this will give creators more exposure and more possible donations, which will in turn help the creators put out more great books that we, the readers, will benefit from. I hope you guys like it…so without further ado welcome to the inaugural edition of:
FUTURE HITS FROM THE KICK(starter)

It doesn’t take much for me to check out something someone sends me and asks me for feedback, but if I really like it I will most definitely write about it. This was the case when my buddy Toby Quested told me about Is’nana the Werespider by Greg Anderson-Elysee. Gregory Anderson-Elysee is a Brooklyn born and based filmmaker (director and editor), playwright, comic book writer, model, and part time actor. Greg has been working on the project for about a year and just recently put up and reached his Kickstarter goal in just 2 days.

IS’NANA: THE WERE-SPIDER: FORGOTTEN STORIES, is the first comic of an on-going series of one-shots about the son of ANANSI the Spider-God of Stories from West African lore. Accidentally breaking a barrier between our world and theirs (called THE MOTHER KINGDOM), Is’nana, the son of Anansi, accepts the responsibility for releasing creatures of horror into our world, villains who want nothing more but to cause chaos and mayhem to achieve their own diabolical or selfish goals. With guidance from his father, Is’nana not only strives to live up to his father’s name but to also reach his own potential while he seeks to discover his individuality and place in the world.

I spoke with Greg about the book and how he came up with Is’nana and other topics
Mel V.: How did you come up with the idea for Is’nana?
Greg-Anderson Elysee- When I was a kid, I was introduced to Clash of the Titans by my mother and I was a huge Hercules and Xena fanatic. That started my love and obsession with Greek mythology. As I got older, I grew an interest in learning about some Black deities and folklore characters and Anansi is probably the most well-known among them. Sadly, I feel that a lot of people, including many Black people I’ve personally asked, lost touch of this character and some have never even heard of him! Is’nana eventually came to my mind after reading some Anansi tales and he became the legacy of Anansi, wanting to keep his father’s lifeline alive. I’m also a fan of horror, so doing some body horror with Is’nana shape shifting and transforming into a spider just seemed like a great visual.

MV: Roughly what will be the print run of the 1st Issue?
GAE- Right now I’m not entirely sure given the Kickstarter is still going on. Right now I’m at 250 backers, most of them getting physical copies. Passing my initial goal has allowed me the chance to print a lot more copies than originally planned, so I’m very grateful and excited for that! I may be aiming for about 500 or so copies, that way I can have some at conventions and give to shops.
MV: Nice. What upcoming conventions do you plan on doing?
GAE- I definitely plan to hit up MECCACon in Detroit. When I get the book printed. I’ve always wanted to be a check out that convention and this would be the best way to. Also, the Kid’s Comic Con in the Bronx and East Coast Black Age Comics Convention would be dope! The Black Comic Fest in NYC just passed and it was awesome. I hope to finally get a table there next year!
 

MV: Your book looks visually amazing as well, how did meet your artist Walter Ostlie?
GAE- I met Walter Ostle after placing ads for artists at various sites and forums. Walter was one of my top favorites and I instantly fell in love with what I saw on his book Shiver Bureau. He has this great sense of fun with his work and it’s very dynamic. I reached out to him after he sent his submission and we hit it off so well. We started bonding over our favorite comic creators and joking around. From there I knew we’d have a great working relationship and I’ve been right to this day. He introduced me to Lee Milewski, the colorist who brought a whole new dimension to the look and I think they make the perfect team together. I hope to see them working together again. I eventually reached out to Joshua Cozine’s lettering team and he quickly jumped on board. I absolutely loved his lettering style and it really helped bring everything home. I won’t forget Walt Msonza Barna on the cover! Have you seen how badass it is?! Haha. As you could tell, I really love my team. I feel like I lucked out.
MV: How long has your Kickstarter been up and how long did it take to reach your Goals
GAE- It’s been up since January 10th, last week Monday and I was able to reach my goal towards the end of the second day! The response has been insanely overwhelmingly positive. I’m still wondering if this is a fluke and how I got so lucky! (Laughs)
MV: Where can fans find you?
GAE- People can find me on Facebook. They can find my comic column here my twitter is @GregAndElysee
This book looks absolutely fantastic and I cannot wait to read the 1st issue which is slated to be released in June. With the emergence of a new generation of younger talent ready to break through in the comic industry I can see some of the major studios picking up on this book, I recommend getting this now.
The Second Kickstarter project I had my eye on for a while, and it’s READY TO EXPLODE
Tuskegee Heirs by Greg Burnham
The Kickstarter went up on January 15th and has already doubled their initial goal and are well on their way to the goal of 75k for an animated short. This book has a ton of serious potential to see TV as well as other media markets such as Video Games.
517 Backers
$28,307 Pledged of $10,000 goal
26 Days to Go
 

What is Tuskegee Heirs?: From the minds of illustrator Marcus Williams (Hero Cats, Super Natural and D.M.C) and children’s book author Greg Burnham (Broken Glass and Grandpa’s Shoes) comes the “Tuskegee Heirs: Flames of Destiny” series. Tuskegee Heirs is a futuristic sci-fi adventure that follows a squadron of young, gifted aviators who are forced to become Earth’s last line of defense against a menacing race of artificially intelligent villains bent on destroying civilization.

The Tuskegee Heirs will be set 80 years in the future where a world sculpted by rapid progressing technology will come to ban human pilots from operating aircraft and go as far as to criminalize the act of even training pilots. Our young pilots, however, have found a secret training facility and refuge in the historical airfield once used by the fabled WWII War Heroes, the Tuskegee Airmen. Under the careful guidance of Col. Mars, a long retired veteran pilot, the team of young hopefuls are trained and educated about the strong ethics that made the classic airmen the formidable unit that they were. Not long into their training, a mysterious military force composed of highly advanced self-aware war machines fixated on destroying civilization as they know it, declares war on all societies. Suddenly the teens are thrust into the middle of a war for humanities’ right to exist. They will have to use their training as pilots, knowledge of history, and unique skill sets to defeat this fearsome enemy.

 
Illustrator Marcus Williams really nails the look and feel of a futuristic world while paying homage to the original Tuskegee pilots. I really am looking forward to this Graphic Novel when it’s released to Kickstarter backers in July
That’s it for this edition of Future Hits from The Kick, I hope you guys enjoyed the 1st edition, let me know how I can make this segment better, and let me know how you liked it in the comments below. Thank you for reading and Big thanks to Greg Anderson-Elysee and also the fine people at Tuskegee Heirs for their time.