Squatch Kick! - LEGENDS OF LOG giant size annual

LEGENDS OF LOG giant size annual
Project Creator: D.L. Suharski

What can I say? I love the imaginative! That lies at the very core of why I was attracted to this project in the first place.

There are all kinds of different comic book projects on Kickstarter, at any given moment. Long has been the virtual parade of comic book projects to come down the pike. It's not everyday, though, that one gets treated to the visual delight that is an ax-wielding log come to life.

Meet the hero and defender of the North Woods - meet Log.

I am a long time fan of the old Savage Sword of Conan and Conan magazines. The artwork on display for this Kickstarter project harkens back to those many tales of the most famous Cimmerian barbarian of all. Log lights the fires of imagination that burn deep within me. This is a project that I yearn to back - both heart and soul!

This comic book will feature this magnificent invention of the human mind - a log, as drawn by a variety of different artists and presented in story form, a variety of tales to regale the reader with the legends of Log.

Log is, I believe, the best thing to happen to trees since Treebeard in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

As a kid growing up, I fell in love with comic books at an early age. Now, all these many years later, I find that comic books still form solid entertainment. They are, after all, storytelling via a combination of visual and narrative modes.

Log is a literary work of value, one that is served up with a degree of seriousness, as befits this creature of which I know very little about.

But, that's part of what makes things like this fun - the finding out.

It's is a great thing, to me, for a story to beckon unto me, to attract my eye in the first place, and to make me crave more. Log accomplishes that. There's so much out there that doesn't appeal to me, at all, which makes Legends of Log all that more notable.

When I browse the Legends of Log project page on the Kickstarter website, my eye drowns in the visuals. This kind of artistic eye-candy is addictive! The more that I see, the more that I want to see.

His mere presence on the page, alone, is more than sufficient for me to want to trek unto this place called the North Woods, that I might join Log in these tales, that I might get lost in the narrative that such fiction brings to life.

 

I think that this project creator knew exactly what he was doing, when he opted to not depict Log as a silly, humorous character. This character - this grand protector of the North Woods - deserved better than that.

And, he got it!

The end result of it all is that it is this serious treatment, itself, that makes me - as a reader - want to take this character and his legends seriously. It is one of the things that I think that this character has in common with Conan, as given to the world by sword and sorcery author Robert E. Howard.

How seriously can one take a living log, though?

At least as seriously as one can take any countless number of different characters that have appeared in tropes of fantasy writing down through the years.

Independent comic book creators always seem to reside somewhere between the proverbial rock and a hard place. They are a mother lode of imaginative writing, and all too often, the world ends up not seeing what they have to offer us.

Legends of Log is something that I think deserves to see the light of day, which crowd funding can make possible. In simplest terms, I chose to back this project for the very simple reason that I fell in love with the character of Log at first sight.

One of Log's foes, the Worm of Doom, strikes me as a very Lovecraftian type of creature. Surely, H.P. Lovecraft would be proud.

Not because Legends of Log is a descent into horror of a mind-boggling level, but rather, because it somehow manages to expand the Lovecraftian mythos, indirectly.

That's a very gritty Log who is just about to face off against this Worm of Doom, over on the left hand side of this article. Each bit, each piece, each nugget, each morsel of literary invention taps into - and expands - the mythos.

Yet, the trap that author Dave Suharski managed to avoid was the error of trying to emulate or to duplicate any existing mythos. Suharski isn't trying to take the reader anywhere except someplace new. It's a place that harkens back unto other places, unto other legends, involving other characters.

Which probably accounts for why I find Log to be so refreshing a character.

Why a log? Perhaps that question is best answered by asking, instead, why not?

This defender of the North Woods isn't perfect, by any stretch of the imagination. But, he seems to be hewn out of imagination of substance.

And that, my fine Kickstarter friend, is why I am Squatch Kicking the defender of the North Woods!

Log, consider yourself Squatch Kicked!

LEGENDS OF LOG giant size annual
Project Creator: D.L. Suharski

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Squatch Kick! - Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter Print Run

Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter Print Run

Project Creator: Russell Nohelty

It's late at night, approximately 1:30 a.m. in the morning, and I should be in bed. But, what am I doing, instead?

For some seemingly inexplicable reason, I found it "necessary" to back a Kickstarter graphic novel project called Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter. Apparently, Ichabod Jones isn't the only one who's gone crazy.

This one had me at the video. Damn that project creator, Russell Nohelty, and his artist sidekick, Renzo Podesta for putting this thing together! Ultimately, though, it was listening to Russell in the video talking about the comic book that really commandeered my attention and made me want to support this project.

The combination of Russell narrating what this book was about, while simultaneously showing us the pages from the book, was more than I could resist. What can I say? I'm just the latest victim of this Ichabod Jones fellow. He didn't kill me, but he is apparently Hell bent on killing my wallet.

But, honest-to-God, I've been trying to do better, about not backing so many Kickstarter projects. My pledges are always low amounts, anyway, but my wife has started quizzing me about what all these Kickstarter charges are. They just keep showing up on our electronic statement, apparently. Fortunately, this experience has provided me an excellent opportunity to practice my mumbling skills

Ichabod Jones is a murderer. He's been sentenced to an insane asylum. Really, this is not the kind of person that I should be hanging out with, but I keep reassuring myself that he's only a fictional character. It's just a comic book. OK, OK, so technically speaking, it's a graphic novel. Far be it from me to deny a psycho-killer in comic form his due.

Did I mention that Issue # 1 is available to read for free, online?

Personally, I hate reading comic books in this manner. But, I just had to check this one out. I was curious, see, and you would think that at some point, I would learn my lesson about checking out interesting sounding comic books. Quickly, this graphic novel had me in a visual stranglehold!

As a gesture to my wife, I decided that I would only pledge the bare minimum to this crowd funding campaign. It was either that or nothing, and I really think that this project deserves to be funded. So, while my wife slept peacefully in our bed, I hit the pledge button ever so quietly.

Ichabod Jones is a psycho-killer, one who apparently finds himself in the Apocalypse. In a sharp and strange twist of fate, this inhumane monster of a man becomes the monster hunter. And to think, all this time you've been wondering why they say that fate is fickle.

The art has a gritty feeling to it, but the coloring is solid, and it helps to set the mood for this graphic novel.

The characters have a bit of a cartoony feel to them, but they are portrayed in a serious vein, so the end result is that with each turn of the page, you want to find out what happened.

Issue # 1 is a solid read, or it was for me, anyway. This is a nice little product that Russel Nohelty has put together for us. It is so much better than a lot of stuff that is on the market, these days. It truly is!

If this book was lying around on a coffee table, people would pick it up. They would do so, just to see what it was about. Ichabod standing there, knife in hand, just staring back at the reader. You only find out about Ichabod's history as a murderer after you turn the page - or, unless you stumble across the Kickstarter project page for this project.

Like any good book, if you pick this one up, it will be hard to put down, until you've finished it. It's a fast read, and it gets into the action quickly and effectively.

These days, there's a lot of competition amongst various Kickstarter projects from all kinds of different categories, all competing for attention and support. I can honestly say that I think that this project deserves to be looked at, deserves to be supported

Of course, what caused the Apocalypse to come about, I don't know, yet. Dangle that fruit of interest right under our noses, leaving us wanting to know, wanting to find out what happens to Ichabod and to everyone else.

Russell Nohelty shamelessly plugs this book, and I find his own enthusiasm for this item to be contagious.

Or, maybe it's just the voice inside of me going to all kinds of lengths to persuade me to up my ante, and pony up some additional pledge dollars. Did I mention that Russell has created a ten dollar pledge level, if you prefer PDF format to print format?

That's for ALL FOUR ISSUES, too!

Damn that Russell Nohelty! Confound his hide! There's something more sinister afoot, here, than just a psychotic murderer transforming into a savior during the Apocalypse. Russell knows EXACTLY what he's doing - He's tempting me, just like he's going to tempt you.

The real question, of course, is whether Ichabod ends up killing monsters, or whether it's all in his mind, and he's just brutally killing other people?

Again, Russell Nohelty is bent on keeping us in suspense. How brazenly he milks the Cow of Suspense! How dare he make it so enticing!

Yet, I'm glad that he did make it enticing. I like comic books. I like them, a lot. I also like what I am seeing, where Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter is concerned.

I joined in, becoming Backer # 89 for this project, and bringing the fund pledge total to $2,818 on a goal of $3,500. With twenty-six days left to go in this crowd funding campaign, I simply can't imagine this particular project not meeting it's funding goal. Like Ichabod would do to one of his victims, I can easily envision this Kickstarter butchering its funding goal, and fleeing well into stretch goal territory.

Regardless of what you're drawn to, reading-wise, I would encourage you to drop by this Kickstarter's project page, and at least give it a quick look-see. But, be forewarned!

You, too, might just become a victim, Ichabod Jones' latest, as this item lulls you in, only to then go in for the kill on your wallet or purse, as the desire to see what happens begins to grow.

But, to be absolutely certain, there are far worse fates in life than to fall prey to reading Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter.

Indeed, fate being what it is, backing this project and reading this graphic novel (the first chapter, if nothing else) might just turn out to be a true pleasure in life.

Check it out! Me? I'm still struggling to not take that ten buck pledge plunge, and sacrifice a little more moolah, so that I won't be left in the lurch with having read only that very first issue! A little voice inside my head keeps assuring me that it will be OK, if I do that.

Surely, my wife will understand?! Whether she does or not, I'm Squatch Kicking this project!

Take that, Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter!!

Project: Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter Print Run
Project Creator: Russell Nohelty
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Kickstarter project: SQUARRIORS: Teeth & Nails

This is a project that has quality written all over it. From concept to realization to execution, Squarriors just oozes quality at every turn.

Squarriors: Teeth & Nails is a Kickstarter project that I have visited on multiple different occasions. It appealed to me, the very first time that I laid eyes on it, and it still appeals to me, even now, well after that first encounter.

This is a tale that takes place in a post-human world. Gulp!!

Yep, that means that you and I are no more, and in this tale, animals have developed intellect with the capacity to reason. Thus, human qualities combined with savage instinct, all presented in a cute - yet serious - style.

Imagine a world where there are thousands upon thousands of kingdoms - kingdoms comprised of animal life, scattered across a world where they war with both other animals and with their own kind.

The art is beautifully rendered. These are squirrels that you can cheer for - on looks, alone, if not in spirit. Lush details for their fur help to bring these animals alive. The artistic details set the stage for suspension of disbelief.

It's this very same quality that brings alive magical places within great tomes of fiction, including J.R.R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth and Robert E. Howard's Hyboria.

Because these animals are imbued with human qualities, they become all the easier to relate to. Thus, it makes the journey with them through their tale - and through all of the adventure and dangers that such entails - all the more possible.

There's just so much to love, here. Everywhere that my eye darts across the artwork, it finds pleasing things to see. Already, I find myself wanting to take sides, to join the Tin Kin tribe in their struggle. It's a wonderful thing, to feel that kind of connection to a work of fiction, especially fiction crafted in the modern day.

That tells me that there's something quintessentially right about this project. Squarriors call out to me, they summon me, through their beautiful palette of colors and their intricate attention to detail. The story appeals to me on multiple levels. It harkens to my sense of adventure!

On my treks across the Kickstarter website, I encounter all kinds of projects. Squarriors: Teeth & Nails is a stark reminder of why I gravitate towards the comics section of Kickstarter.

Ideas like this, concepts of such a grand scale as this, deserve our support. They warrant our backing.

Here, we have a world fleshed out, one populated with all sorts of new characters - characters that we can fall in love with, characters that we can sympathize with, characters that we can relate to.

Thousands of people have launched projects on Kickstarter, in the time span that Kickstarter has been in existence. In that amount of time, many very deserving projects have come about, because of support from the public masses. This project is already well on its way to becoming the next in a line of great and worthwhile undertakings.

To behold it is to realize what success is! I encourage you, in these remaining hours that remain on this Kickstarter project's campaign cycle, to give it a look. I believe that you, like myself, will find very much to admire!

I am one with the Tin Kin, as I Squatch Kick the Squarriors!

Project: SQUARRIORS: Teeth & Nails
Project Creator: Devil's Due Entertainment
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Kickstarter project: Tales of the good, the bad and the ugly

The primary interest of mine that attracted me to Kickstarter in the first place was comic books - and one extension of that is the art associated with comic books. One project that has caught my eye is Tales of the good, the bad and the ugly.

This project is an anthology created by the trio of Eric Allard, Julie Ferron, and Lydia Ferron. My first impression of this project is that it is a quality production.

One of the things that this particular anthology has going for it is the variety of the individual tales that collectively comprise the anthology. An anthology is a collection, and what this collection forebodes is a visual delight.

Three separate stories form this comic anthology. One is about Bluebeard, another is about HP Lovecraft, and the third one is about a little boy that makes an amazing discovery.

I really like the diversity of styles that under gird these stories. Each style is delightful, in their own way, and they are simultaneously diverse, yet cute.

It was less than a week ago (5 days) that another HP Lovecraft Kickstarter program that I was tracking ended. That one was HP Lovecraft Versus Aleister Crowley, and its creator was Monty Borror. So, as I began to scroll this other Kickstarter project page, the Lovecraftian element reached out and grabbed my eye. I was immediately struck by how Eric Allard crafted his version of Lovecraft, compared to how Monty Borror had crafted his.

The project page for Tales of the good, the bad and the ugly features a video that is interesting. Eric Allard retained my interest for the duration of the video. The start of the video, especially, grabbed my eye, and it set the stage for me to want to see the rest of what Eric had to say. Disappointingly, the two ladies associated with this project were nowhere to be found in the project video, but Eric got the job done, anyway. If I wore a hat, it would be off to him for a job well done. The video quality was a tad off, but the content was there, and I think that it will get the job done for this trio of artists and this anthology.

From the sequentials on display on the project page, the Bluebeard tale features a heavy reliance upon the color blue, with the background being saturated with it. Even the characters are imbued with their own fair share of blue, but beholding it as it has been rendered, I don't think that Julie Ferron's artistic touch is anything to be blue about.

Eric Allard has opted to give HP Lovecraft a talking cat. I really love his rendering of that cat, with ears of exaggerated length. If you're a cat lover, then you really need to check this out!

And did I mention the automobile that HP Lovecraft gets around in? I'm liking what I see, Eric! The artist crafts a ethereal look for the outside scenes of this tale, from what little that I have browsed on their Kickstarter project page. It is a very nice visual treatment of fog, and it retains a light-hearted look with a touch of eerie.

I have a feeling, though, that the cat will steal the show. Heck, it's already stealing my attention, and I think that Eric Allard is spot on with how he has approached the whole look of this setting. I will say this for Allard's Lovecraft - he certainly strikes a dashing pose!

But, whatever compliments that I might toss out about the first two tales, the third tale by Lydia Ferron is not overshadowed by what precedes her moment in the spotlight of this undertaking.

Lydia Ferron has presented a wonderful page of sequentials on the Kickstarter page for this project, one that is a cornucopia of panels that immediately leave me wanting more.

She does a fine job of making her work stand out in this anthology, and I get the feeling that her tale will end up being a bodacious tale of adventure, as the reader follows along with the telling of this story.

If you're looking for a good project to back, then you could certainly do a lot worse than give this project a look.

Project: Tales of the good, the bad and the ugly
Project Creators:  Eric Allard, Julie Ferron, and Lydia Ferron
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