Jon Del Arroz has launched a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund the next volume in his Flying Sparks superhero comic, which will be published by Dark Legion Comics. He was interviewed about the campaign by Bounding Into Comics:
BIC: What do you want readers to take away from Flying Sparks Vol. 2?
Jon: I want them to have fun! My goal is to present the feeling you’d get from like an 80s or 90s Spider-Man or Batman comic. You get the personal relationships that actually develop and are tense, you get the cool intricate plots that are weaving around each other and building for the mega-arc, and yet each chapter has its own storyline.
BIC: Are there any specific Spider-Man or Batman comics from the 80s and 90s that you look to for inspiration?
Jon: I would say the biggest influences on me were Detective Comics #647-649 with Spoiler’s (Stephanie Brown) first appearance. The concept of having family as a villain has some similarities to the dating a villain that we have with Meta-Girl, and Stephanie Brown and Chloe Anderson share some similar traits as characters (mainly because Stephanie is one of my favorite characters). Chuck Dixon knocked it out of the park with that story, and really all of his stuff holds big influence on my comic work. On the Spider-Man side definitely the era of the Alien Costume Saga with the Kingpin and Rose battling for control of the underworld with Spider-Man and Black Cat caught in the middle. Tom DeFalco is also a huge influence in the way he does things.
Check out the new artwork at the campaign. I think it’s an observable improvement on the first one.
O Death, where is thy general? Confederate general Stonewall Jackson has fallen, mortally wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville. Taken from the battlefield to his deathbed, he is not afraid to die, but Satan has different plans for him. Playing on the vanity of an aged voodoo priestess, the Devil decides to raise Stonewall from the grave and place the greatest tactical commander of the Civil War at the head of an evil army of angry dead.
This is the biggest comic project that Dark Legion has published yet, a 340-page masterpiece written and illustrated by Savage Sword of Conan illustrator Gary Kwapisz. It is available in a stunning 10×7 edition for $34.99 from the Castalia Direct store, and it will probably NOT be available in a digital edition for reasons of your hard drive is not big enough.
If you’re not prepared to dive in all the way, a 42-page first chapter is also available.
Dark Legion Comics is pleased to announce FLYING SPARKS: Meta-Man Special by Jon Del Arroz is now available in both digital and print editions. While it is in Kindle format on Amazon, for those who prefer better digital quality, Meta-Man Special is available in high-resolution CBZ format at Arkhaven for $4.99.
For the last fifty years, Meta-Man has been an enigma—a reclusive hero who does his duty but shies away from the public eye. What happened? Who is he? Unlocked from the archives for the first time, you can dive into one of Meta-Man’s early adventures and get a glimpse into his heroic world as he works to stave off a plot from his nemesis Dr. Malicious and his communist commandos! Can Meta-Man prevail, or will the U.S.S.R. interfere with the American presidential election and spread the reach of the Iron Curtain across the globe? Read this action-packed superhero comic and find out! The print edition also sells for $4.99 and it is notable for being the first standard size comic book (6.625 x 10.25) ever produced by the Ingram system. Both Arkhaven and Dark Legion are gradually making the transition to this traditional size, which Ingram added to their production system in response to our requests. This is the culmination of a long effort on the part of a number of people at Ingram and Arkahven, so we’re very pleased to be able to finally be able to offer traditionally-sized comic books.
While we will complete the sixth issue of Alt-Hero in the smaller royal octavo format, all subsequent single issues across both Arkhaven and Dark Legion lines will be produced in the standard size, although the price of $2.99 for Alt-Hero and Chuck Dixon’s Avalon will be retained.
Jon Del Arroz’s superhero romance comic FLYING SPARKS is now available in high-resolution CBZ format at the Arkhaven Comics store.
Due to many requests from our readers for higher-resolution digital comics than the 1280×800 resolution utilized by Amazon Kindle format, Arkhaven and Dark Legion Comics will be releasing all of their new digital editions in 2048+ resolution DRM-free CBZ format for better-quality reading on tablets and smartphones.
Unfortunately, due to Amazon’s requirement of exclusivity for Kindle Select, this means that our digital editions will no longer be available on Kindle Unlimited. They will still be available on Amazon as regular Kindle ebooks.
In other Arkhaven news, the AH:Q 2.1 campaign has been very successfully concluded with 279 new backers. Thanks to all of you who force-multiplied the project. We anticipate the initial release of AH:Q #1 to all the backers by the end of the month. We can also announce that 176 of the original AH:Q backers will submit their joint request for arbitration to Indiegogo next week. The rubble will be bouncing.
The initial conclusion of Will Caligan’s illustrated story of a supernatural search for justice comes with Gun Ghoul #4.
The Crimson Hood, a psychopath Meta Prime hired by Chicago crime lord Mr. Steele, has proven to be more powerful than the Gun Ghoul and revealed him to be little more than an ordinary man. But the FBI is still on the case, and the agency has a Meta Prime of its own in play. The fourth and final issue of Gun Ghoul: Raising the Dead is packed full of surprising twists and unexpected revelations.
From the reviews of the previous issue:
Gun Ghoul 3 kicks it up a notch by introducing a new awesome villain. This issue keeps the action, suspense, and intrigue going. I can’t wait for the 4th issue!
Keeps getting better! Suspense is killing me, need to make these issues longer! Very well done story and art, Can’t wait till #4.
So by this point in the arc we meet Gun Ghoul’s match, and he is one twisted mother. Definitely shades of Joker and Carnage to this guy. Lots of good action and more is revealed in this issue. I’m just sad that Gun Ghoul is soon ending, I want to see more of him and could see an ongoing series.
Crimson Hood steals the show! We are introduced to the meta prime Crimson Hood who is full on psycho with a dark sense of humor. I look forward to how GG will deal with something way more challenging than the various humans he has tangled with.
Comic books like bullets on autofire. And it continues to be good fun with a freaky villain introduced.
And there will be a further twist, a very much unexpected one, when the print edition comes out soon. Think back to the green-and-purple days, my friends.
Dark Legion Comics is pleased to announce the release of the digital edition of Gun Ghoul #2 by Will Caligan. In their search for the mysterious killer who is wreaking havoc on the crime lords of Chicago, Agent Justice of the FBI and Detective Callahan of the Chicago Police Department recreate a gun battle that took place at a restaurant in Chinatown. What they learn leads them to the killer’s next target, where they find themselves face-to-face with the ruthless, relentless being itself.
Will they survive the encounter? And is it possible there is more to the story than a simple revenge tale?
Great right out of the gate! This new title by Will Caligan grabs your attention right away, and keeps it from start to finish. The characters seem compelling and the plot is engaging, a mix that is sure to keep people turning Gun Ghouls pages. On a scale of Squirrel Girl to 10, I’d rate the artwork and coloring pretty high, definitely no less than 8.
Very intriguing comic. The main character is a suitably terrifying visage of death and justice. There’s a lot of intrigue as well as a lot of action. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Punisher meets Ghost Rider. This comic was like a fun throwback to comics that I read in the 90’s as a kid. The premise is cool and promises a lot of intrigue to come. Just a good old fashioned romp all around. Congratulations to Will Caligan for getting it off the ground.
This comic reads like the first stage of a timed 3-Gun match. Over all too quickly after the adrenaline rush of pumping rounds downrange in a flurry and a hurry. Great start.
A rousing start to what looks to be a great series. Opens strong and goes up from there. Highly recommended.
But while the Dark Legion has been advancing, Arkhaven has not been standing pat despite a few unexpected curve balls slowing it down. The answer to last week’s oft-heard question, “when will Alt-Hero #3 be available on the Arkhaven Direct store?” turns out to be “today”. We had a bizarre problem where entering the ISBN number to load the book into our inventory produced a book called Adam Bede by V.A. Sutton instead of the expected Arkhaven comic, but the problem has been resolved and the gold logo edition of Alt-Hero #3: Reprisal is now available for $2.99 from the Arkhaven Direct store.
In other Arkhaven news, we are very close to finishing Alt-Hero #4: The War in Paris. We will probably release it the first week of September. We have also decided to produce premium editions of all the Alt-Hero comics for the comic book stores, which will retail for $4.99, feature alternate covers, be printed on heavier 70-pound paper, and have a larger, more conventional 10×7 store-friendly form factor. The premium editions will be available from Arkhaven Direct as well. The first alternate cover has been commissioned, will feature Dynamique in Paris, and is being drawn by one of our new Alt-Hero artists.
Castalia reader opinion poll: if you could have one Castalia-published title or series turned into a graphic novel series, which would it be? Moth & Cobweb is not in the running, since we’re already doing Swan Knight Saga, and we’re not ready to contemplate tackling Arts of Dark and Light yet. Nothing is definite, I’m just interested in getting people’s opinions now that we’ve got a number of very good artists interested in working with us.
Someone – or something – is taking out the crime lords of Chicago.
Agent Justice of the FBI is on the case. She is a Meta Prime, with the ability to see into the past. But not even her ability to see what happened allows her to explain the impossible. And the FBI is not the only agency that is interested in learning more about the new player in town. Will Caligan is the military veteran who was deplatformed by SJWs at his publisher earlier this year. He is now publishing with Dark Legion Comics, which will be releasing his Gun Ghoul and Techlore comics this fall as well as working with him on his new projects.
To the horror of his loyal servant, Jim, Confederate general Stonewall Jackson has been summoned back from the grave to lead Satan’s army of ravenous undead. But the great general’s arm is missing, and the Devil is sending out his undead minions to find scour the land in order to find it.
The South rises again in REBEL DEAD REVENGE! From the reviews: As much as I enjoy the drawing & coloring I’m hooked by the story this is telling. Great comic book series.
We made a minor error and a slightly more serious one on the initial printing of the Rebel Dead Revenge teaser. You can see the former in this photo from a happy Arkhaven supporter. Another Arkhaven supporter shared his thoughts.
The postman took his sweet time, but I am finally able to comment on the second issue of Arkhaven’s Dixon/Kwapisz adaptation of Wodehouse, and I continue to be impressed. Margins are better this time out (my only quibble last time, IIRC), coloring remains marvelous (no page 1 credit for the colorist, or is that Gary doing double duty?), Chuck’s script hits all the right notes, and Gary’s art is absolutely delightful. I think I may prefer Cartoony Gary to Representational Gary – the exaggerated body language is fantastic. There’s a meatiness to these comics – I don’t sail through them like I used to with a Mark Millar Wolverine (a three-minute read, maybe), and they’re worth going back over. And of course – Gold Logo. Can’t beat owning a collector’s item. Or three.
Now, if you look at the gold logo on RDR in the picture linked above, you can see there is a sliver of the main image in between it and the black border. That is a mistake and we corrected it almost immediately, but 64 copies were sold and shipped before we caught it. The image now on the store, and on Amazon, correctly displays the cover the way it is now.
That initial set also printed with a slightly higher than optimal ink density, which can cause some very slight warping or wrinkling on the interior pages. This has also been fixed. In any event, if you’ve got one of them, you now have confirmation that you own one of the first 64 copies of Rebel Dead Revenge.
Dark Legion Comics is very pleased to announce that the 42-page teaser for Rebel Dead Revenge is now in print. This will be the only single-issue print comic from the series, as the rest will be either digital or one of the two trade paperbacks. The idea is to have something inexpensive that can introduce the trade paperbacks to readers in comic book stores.
Stonewall’s Arm is a 42-page, 10×7 Gold Logo edition that retails for $4.99. It is available now at Castalia Books Direct and is supposed to be in stock later this week on Amazon. However, Amazon’s track record in this regard has been spotty at best, so the Castalia option is the safer one.
We are hoping to have an Arkhaven announcement later today, but the proof has not yet been approved by the printer, so that may take place later this week. Just to be clear, it is not Alt-Hero-related. The first issues of AH and CDA are expected to be out later this month.
