Kickstarter Korner - MEGA RAN Documentary & CYBERINES #1 - AT FORCES OF GEEK

Two talented artists have some campaigning ending really soon so I grabbed them to tell us about their projects.  

 One is more familiar to this column — a comic book project from Joe Martino (Shadowflame, The Mighty Titan).

The other is only a household name to those hyped on the nerdcore rap scene.

Random aka Mega Ran aka Raheem is a former teacher who tours the world rapping about life, but also he is the only rapper to be officially endorsed by Capcom.

Following the footsteps of his friend Damien Hess also known as MC Frontalot’s Nerdcore Rising, Random is Kickstarting a documentary Mega Lo Mania - Director’s Cut for full distribution.

Joe even has some Kickstarter tips as well, so keep your eyes peeled, creative types. 

If you have a few dollars or a dollar to spare, consider backing these hard working gentlemen! If you can’t spare anything but you like what you see, spread the word. They will be grateful!


Mega Lo Mania - A Nerd Rap Documentary

FOG!: Ran, we’re excited about your Kickstarter. What can fans expect from Mega Lo Mania - A Nerd Rap Documentary?

Mega Ran: The doc got such great reviews that all we needed was more, quite frankly.. I went and found old footage, interviewed some of my heroes in the scene and I think it ties up the Mega Ran story, that’s so hard to explain to people most times, perfectly!

Maybe we should back up. What is it you do for those unfamiliar out there? You rap about video games, right?

I rap about life, mostly, but from a few unique perspectives, most notably, the eyes of video game characters. 

A lot of what I do is video game related for sure, It’s probably where I feel most comfortable.

… 

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To support the Kickstarter, Click HERE!

For more details visit MegaRan.com and on Twitter @MegaRan

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Cyberines #1

FOG!: Tell us about Cyberines #1!

Joe Martino: Well, I created Cyberine before Shadowflame. I always liked patriotic characters like Captain America so I wanted to create one like that. But I didn’t want him to look like a flag. 

I figured what’s better than Marines Red and Gold? Originally he was in Vietnam and he got blown up on his way home. But, as time went on Desert Storm made more sense and then Afghanistan. In Shadowflame I actually call it the Second Gulf War meaning the 2004 Afghanistan war.  

In issue 4 I added a few characters to the team. Crimson, Caress and Barrel. Along with Cyberine and Agent Napalm, they make the core of the group. There are others that we will see later and some that really aren’t very nice. 

To me it is a bit like The Avengers if they were formed by the government and run by Professor Xavier. The Marine part of the group is very boot camp/Danger Room and we will see the group go through some serious issues. 

To support the Kickstarter, Click HERE!

For more details visit Red Anvil Comics and on Twitter @jgmcomics and@RedAnvilComics

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EARTH PRIME TIME: KEY KICKSTARTER COMIC PROJECTS

Some of our friends are hard at work cutting out the middle man by raising money for their own comic book projects directly from fans on the popular Kickstarter platform. Here’s a preview of some funded projects that we will be learning more about in 2013.

Back in July, we gave you a heads up about Joe Martino’s The Mighty Titan comic miniseries where a superhero’s alter-ego is stricken with cancer. A cancer survivor himself, Joe’s comic is much a story of support from his friends, family and the comic book community at large.

In a little over a month this summer, his $12,500 goal was achieved and the fans will get some great bonus material when the book comes out.

The Mighty Titan - art by Luca Cicchitti

August gave us the incredible oversized multi-media experience TOME from super art collective 44 Flood. While many of the creators using Kickstarter also make a living off of comics professionally for large companies, the artistic vision of a Kickstarter project remains pure and authentic by bypassing outside input.

One of the projects we are highlighting today was created by Renae De Liz, who is responsible forWomanthology (now an ongoing series smartly scooped up by IDW). The Womanthology book has given the opportunity for over 140 female creators to see print, all from a successful grassroots Kickstarter campaign.

Peter Pan: The Graphic Novel — Vol. 1 is a fully funded project, with just hours left on the countdown at the time of publication. Renae De Liz and husband Ray Dillon are known for a variety of projects together, but most famously their New York Times Bestselling adaptation of Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn also published by IDW.

[READ MORE at DIGBOSTON.COM]

EARTH PRIME TIME: THE MIGHTY TITAN COMIC KICKS AT CANCER

Kickstarter is getting loads of projects off the ground—from the OUYA to Amanda Palmer—the fundraising platform provides a diverse spectrum of ventures. Joe Martino is heading the first Earth Prime Time endorsed Kickstarter for comics. The Mighty Titan is the story of a superhero from a two-time cancer survivor and Dad. We talk to our hero Joe in a week where the world can use a powerful example of hope from the men and women in capes.

Thanks for taking the time, Joe!

 We met at our party at Boston Comic Con this year and you signed my Shadowflame book. Thanks for that! Did you have a good time at theLeague party?
I had a great time at the party. Boston Comic Con was a blast and I can’t wait until next year! I felt very welcome and it was really fun. If all goes well, The Mighty Titan #1 will have it’s real world debut there this year.

The Mighty Titan covers were blowing up my Facebook feed and I thought, “Whoa, cool — those look awesome, I’ll check that out later.” And when I did—I saw there was more to this story than your typical superhero story. You are a cancer survivor and you want to share the story of survival. Care to tell us the origin of the Mighty Titan?

The real world origin of Titan is a sad one I guess. I found out I had kidney cancer at an early age. I was 33.

I was waiting to hear about orders for the Chanting Monks release of Ripperman and went to a new doctor. A routine ultrasound of my liver showed that I had a tumor on my right kidney. I was floored. I mean, I had kids, I was married, I had a great day job and was living my dream of writing and drawing comics at night. My whole life fell apart and only until 2 years ago have the pieces been picked up. While I was home from surgery (Incidentally, the original Ripperman Graphic Novel came out the Day of my first cancer surgery, October 20th, 2004) I was thinking about wanting an outlet for all this angst. I was going to write a story where Shadowflame gets cancer. But that didn’t work for me. Shadowflame didn’t have any support structure or family to play off of. I decided to create a new hero. Titan was born of that. I still have the drawing that I did in front of my TV back in December of 2004. Time passed and I put out Shadowflame and Ripperman through Arcana and the Titan thing kept gnawing at me. So, last year I started jotting down ideas. Ideas turned into plot and plot turned into script.

[READ MORE at DIGBOSTON.COM]