Kickstarter

INTRODUCTION:

Gunpowder Girl and the Outlaw Squaw: Escape to Mexico is my second full-length graphic novel featuring the unlikely partnership of a fast-talking, faster-shooting teenager, Jill Farmer, known as the infamous Gunpowder Girl, and the renegade Native American woman called Anuteh. This book is the sequel to a western I created 10 years ago, first appearing in an independent comics anthology, and later published as a graphic novel by Active Images.

The first story was about how two female outlaws come together in the male-dominated wild west of the 1890s. In this new adventure, Jill and Anuteh test the resolve of their friendship, as they plan a big heist on their way across the border. Things don't go quite as planned, and the two women get caught up in something much bigger than either could have anticipated.

The new book is even bigger and more exciting than the first. And I think the story is one that will make readers think about the daily hardships that independent women had to face in that era, and the choices they were forced to make--heroic or otherwise. The completed book will be a 96-page graphic novel with 85 pages of story, plus additional "bonus" features showing some of my artistic process.

BACK STORY:

Back in 2002, doing a western graphic novel wasn't the easiest sell. Luckily, I had the support of two forward-thinking independent publishers who believed in me and my vision.

GGATOS was originally serialized in the first two issues of the independent anthology, Comiculture Magazine. The magazine stopped publishing after only two issues, before my story was completed. That was disheartening, but it didn't stop me; I fell in love with writing and drawing these strong female characters and I wanted to finish their story. Fortunately, Richard Starkings offered to publish the complete story in graphic novel form, and the first Gunpowder Girl and the Outlaw Squaw book hit the stands in 2005.

Since then, I have been working on the sequel that I am finishing today. Actually, the bulk of the work is complete. The story and inked artwork for the new 85-page epic is done. It has been a massive undertaking, working on this labor of love, while simultaneously juggling freelance illustration and storyboard work...and starting a new family! Which brings me to the next important subject...


WHO IS DON HUDSON?

That's me! I'm an artist who has worked in comics for over 25 years, starting as an intern at Marvel Comics, and working my way up under the guidance of comic book legend John Romita Sr. Throughout my career I have been fortunate to work for and with some of the best comic book artists in the industry. In the 1990s, I penciled and inked dozens of books like Daredevil, Captain America, G.I. Joe, and Web of Spider-Man. Later, I moved to Los Angeles to work in Animation, where I made a living drawing storyboards and doing 'Cleanup, on shows like Dragon Tales and Godzilla. Today, I'm a freelance Illustrator working in advertising, and I use my spare time drawing what I really want to draw: COMICS.


WHY KICKSTARTER?

In my career I've been lucky to work alongside many great comic book creators, on many of the Marvel and DC books and characters that I love and grew up with. While I still enjoy "mainstream" comics, I'm most interested in creating my own characters and stories. I have a soft-spot for genres and subjects that aren't often considered part of the larger publisher's agendas. I've worked for smaller publishers before, and I've even gone it alone, so I have deep respect for my fellow creators who have used Kickstarter to help their projects see the light of day. It's an exciting time to make one's own way in the comic book industry!

A Kickstarter campaign is a gamble, and a lot of work, but I have never been afraid of hard work. The proof is that I have ALREADY penciled and inked the entire 85-page graphic novel! I've spent several years on this project already, so I am fully invested and committed to getting this book finished and in the hands of readers like you!  I am here on Kickstarter because I need help with the production costs necessary to have the book lettered, colored, designed and print-ready. My goal is to have a print-ready PDF file by the end of this year to be delivered to a publisher. If necessary, I will publish it myself!

Because I'm a professional, and this is a labor of love, I'm committed to creating not only an excellent story, but a beautiful package of the highest quality. To help me with this, I am teaming up with my old collaborator Steve Buccellato, who is an award-winning colorist and artist, and publisher in his own right. His new concern LEGENDHAUS specializes in creating custom content for print and the web, and so he will be handling all the coloring, lettering design and production.

I know that the end result is going to be something special and unlike anything I've been a part of before. This campaign is largely to pay for these services, as well as helping me with other costs related to finishing the book.

But, I need your help!

IN CONCLUSION

Part of the fun of Kickstarter is the different rewards you get for donating to make these creative projects happen. I admit that I had fun coming up with some interesting incentives for you all, at many different price-points to fit your personal ability to help. Please take a look at the rewards and see what interests you. Even lower-level donors have an opportunity to receive artwork, original sketches and, of course, a copy of the book once it is published. Bigger contributors can even get me to draw special  commissions!

I'll be updating this page with more sneak-peeks at the artwork, and adding incentives if necessary. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and thanks in advance for your help!  If you have any questions, please send me a message here, or drop by my blog at dchudson.blogspot.com