Dukeshire’s Fist of Justice Returns With the Help of Kickstarter
Ed Dukeshire and Mike Imboden recently launched their Kickstarter campaign to fund a 128 page graphic novel which will collect the stories of Fist of Justice, a character created by the team over five years ago. This collection features stories written by Imboden (FUBAR), co-plotted/lettered by Dukeshire (Hulk) and illustrated by an array of artists including Chad Hardin (Harley Quinn), Yildiray Cinar (Supergirl), Anthony Castrillo (Bloodshot), Dario Carrasco, Jr. (The Flash), Andre Coelho and Pow Rodrix (Justice League America). We recently caught up with Ed to talk about the process of putting this trade paperback together, and find out more about his experience with Kickstarter.
1) Ed, your project revolves around the character Fist of Justice. What makes him unique?
Fist of Justice was originally a homage to classic comic books, like those Mike Imboden (writer and co-creator) and I grew up reading. Originally his story was squeezed into a short 7-pager with a twist ending. Reaction towards him was really positive, so, we wanted to figure out a way to “spin” that ending, and keep the character out there. Luckily, Mike and I were able to devise a way to do it. So, now we have this character from the 1970s experiencing what life is like in the 21st century; a superhero out of his time. Fist of Justice discovers that while he was “gone,” a different, more aggressive Fist of Justice is using his name. This trade paperback tells that story.
2) Why is it important to you to tell this story?
I believe there’s an audience out there for retro-style comics. A superhero who is 100% heroic, one who would never cross the line and take someone’s life. He’s even a little campy and the villains he faces are equally so. But, there are also some real bad-asses running around the city ready to give ol’ Fist a challenge.
It’s been 5 years since we last published any issues, so this trade will help bring everyone up to speed when we start releasing new stories again. Plus I’m getting to a point in my career where I want to start putting out creator-owned projects. I have a bunch of ideas and friends who can help me get those ideas out there. Fist of Justice, is only just the beginning.
3) In your opinion, what is the most unique opportunity that Kickstarter offers creators?
There’s no question Kickstarter has opened doors between creators and fans, and it allows them to see projects become a reality. In the past, creators would have to create a pitch, and get the “okay” from a publisher in order to move forward with a project. Now, with Kickstarter, a creator can get the “okay” from the fans themselves through their support.
4) What was the most challenging element of putting this collection together?
Finding all the original digital files. LOL. I had them scattered all over the place; on external hard drives, different computers, CDs, DVDs, etc. Once I found it all, everything else pretty much fell into place. I used to publish comics under the Digital Webbing name, so, it was easy enough to reconnect with my old printer. I still had emails and phone numbers for creators who worked on the stories so I notified them that this was happening and they got pretty excited. Lots of people really love this character, and they offered to help in any way they could.
5) All the stories in this collection were written by the same person, but illustrated by different artists, did that make it easier to see each contributor’s individual style?
I was publishing an anthology titled Digital Webbing Presents which showcased the talent that hung out on the Digital Webbing forums. Most of the stories were short 6-8 pagers. So by the time Mike and I debuted Fist of Justice, the anthology was running full length feature stories. I still wanted to showcase as much different talent as possible so we assigned different chapters to different guys to keep that formula going.
6) Your site, Digital Webbing is a great resource for creators. What are some of the features there you’re most proud of? And what’s your best advice to someone just starting out on a comic book project of their own?
I’m most proud of the talent search classifieds. I always hear stories from creators who have built solid teams for their projects because of the huge response to their ad postings. I’ve even seen some people get overwhelmed by it. LOL. The forums are still very active, even in this Twitter/Facebook age. Tomorrow’s major talent is posting in there RIGHT now.
I recently ran a talent search with First Comics which kinda crashed my site one day way too much traffic. It ended up being an excellent experience for everyone involved because talent was found, whom are now working on a monthly series for them.
Advice to creators starting out? Get out there and network. Build those Twitter and Facebook connections and relationships. Start showing off your work. Just don’t mass email editors or publishers. Don’t link their names to your work just so they’ll see it, because they won’t see it. Instead they’ll just remove you from their profiles. If you keep posting, and you’re good; eventually the right person will come knocking. Most of all, support other indy creators. You’ll be surprised at the relationships that start from that alone.
7) Any closing thoughts?
Yeah! With this Kickstarter we’re also relaunching the series, continuing with issue #6, right where we left off five years ago. We plan to release 4-6 new issues each year. Which will all be self-distributed and made available only through Kickstarter, ComiXology, online, and conventions sales, in addition to some retailers who we will supply directly. Our first show will be Boston Comic Con, so, I hope to see everyone there!
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We look forward to catching up with Ed at Boston Comic Con, too, and hope to see the funded Fist of Justice trade on his table. Check it out on Kickstarter.
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Category: Trenches
