independent graphic novel

During our recent live discussion with Kevin Eastman, he hinted at a lot of big things coming in the near future. We’re not sure if he was talking about this project, but it’s definitely nice to see that after all these years, he still has the heart of an indie comic creator. Although it hasn’t gone live yet, Eastman recently announced plans for a Kickstarter to help him create and publish a new graphic novel entitled Drawing Blood. Although the name might not sound like a TMNT project, the synopsis appears to reference his history with the franchise.

“In 1992, Shane ‘Books’ Bookman, and his brother Paul, released their scrappy indie creation on the unsuspecting comic book universe: The Radically Rearranged Ronin Ragdolls. To their great surprise, everyone went wild for the adventures of three feline Katana wielding mutant cats, and a multi-million dollar franchise was born.

After more than a decade and a half of global success – comics/action figures/movies and just about anything else you could sell with a Ragdoll on it — the creators imploded. Too young and too naïve to know how to handle the sudden pressures of wealth and fame, they split up, and the franchise eventually sold.

Now “Books” is hitting his forties (hard), his money all gone, his artistic inspiration tapped out, and his very life in danger from the loan sharks his crooked business partner failed to tell him about before committing suicide. It’s hard enough to recover from a catastrophic encounter with the hit and run driver called ‘early success,’ without having to worry about killers chasing you all over town.”

Needless to say, there are a lot of parallels to be drawn between Kevin Eastman’s history in the industry and the plot of this graphic novel. That being said, it would only be fair to call this semi-autobiographical at best, as there are plenty of differences suggesting that Eastman’s story was not the only influence. Regardless, it’s difficult to see a name like “Radically Rearranged Ronin Ragdolls and think of something other than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

According to the press release, Drawing Blood was co-created by both Kevin Eastman and David Avallone. For those unaware, Avallone has written for comics such as The Twilight Zone and The Shadow. Something tells me his expertise will help to make this graphic novel even more dark and disturbing. Ben Bishop (cover artist for TMNT) and Troy Little (cover artist for Powerpuff Girls) will be providing artwork for the project, ensuring fairly unique results once the product is finished.

Unfortunately, we don’t yet know how much they will need in order to complete Drawing Blood. That information will most likely be made available once the Kickstarter goes live on August 1st. Until then, we can only speculate about what the crowdfunding will look like. One thing is for sure: you can definitely expect some interesting stretch goals and rewards for fans who choose to support this project!

What do you think? Will you be supporting the Drawing Blood graphic novel from Kevin Eastman and David Avallone? Share your thoughts and plans either in the comments below or on Facebook/Twitter.