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Hurled forwards through time by a magical portal, Brigantia - a Pagan goddess - seeks to defeat the foe who deceived her and return to the world she calls home.
Brigantia is a new comic series created by Chris Mole and Melissa Trender. We have a 6-issue story arc planned out and scripted; the goal of this Kickstarter is to raise the production and print funds (to pay for the cost of artwork, lettering and print runs) for the first issue of the series. Any additional funds raised beyond our target will go towards the creation of future issues.
Brigantia, a Romano-British goddess from the north of England, is betrayed by her brother Veteris and tricked into travelling through a one-way time portal to contemporary Britain. While on her quest to seek vengeance on Veteris, she befriends Pravin, a bookish historian who specialises in Celtic paganism. But how far will the sadistic Veteris go to preserve the dominion that he has spent centuries cultivating? Brigantia must adapt quickly to a time that has forgotten her and find a way to break Veteris’ control over the people of Britain, so that she can return to her own time.
Brigantia is a fantasy adventure story which addresses questions about equality and the state of the modern world. It weaves together history and mythology to create a world where the ancient gods are real - but depend on the belief of humans in order to maintain their power. Brigantia herself struggles with her newfound anonymity and relative powerlessness, which hampers her search for a way back to her own time. She must get home to regain her divine powers and prevent Veteris from spreading his evil across Britain. Brigantia is a story set in two worlds - contemporary Britain and the mystical 'Otherworld' which is Brigantia and Veteris' home. To ensure both worlds are fully realised, we have researched Pagan history and folklore and drawn upon a wide variety of influences - from DC's Wonder Woman to Samurai Jack.
This five-page section of the story introduces Brigantia and Veteris, and gives some insight into the conflict between them. Artwork by Melissa Trender, letters by Nigel Dobbyn.
Brigantia 'The Enlightened One': A fierce and proud goddess, the patron deity of the Brigantes tribe (historically located in and around what is now Yorkshire). Brigantia is one of three sisters and manifests the warrior aspect of their powers; her most positive traits are her strength, her kindness and her passion, while her negative traits are her tendency towards recklessness, her arrogance and her fiery temper. Stranded in the modern world and stripped of almost all her powers, Brigantia must learn how to co-exist with humans.
Veteris 'The Snake-Bitten': Veteris is one of Brigantia's fellow deities from the Otherworld, who considers himself the opposite of Brigantia. He is hunched and hideous in his natural state, but possesses the ability to shapeshift into a number of forms. Veteris has spent centuries tightening his grip on the people of Britain and filling them with fear, from which he draws his strength. Veteris seeks the destruction of humanity through the collapse of the cycle of seasons- he can see into the future, and knows what horror mankind will wreak upon the natural world. In his eyes, humanity is a plague upon the landscape.
Pravin 'The Historian': Pravin is a curator at the Museum of Antiquities in South Kensington, and one of very few people who recognises Brigantia as a goddess. He has dedicated his life to studying the ancient tribes of pagan Britain, and the Brigantes were of particular interest to him. Pravin is a calm and composed individual with a powerful academic curiosity, and wants to know everything there is to know about Brigantia. At the same time, he does his best to make her feel welcome in a time that is not her own.
Christopher Mole, Writer: I've been a writer (predominantly of comics) for over 6 years, working mainly on shorter stories. My first published stories were in the Psychedelic Journal of Time Travel; since then I have been working with chap-hop superstar Professor Elemental to write stories for five issues of 'Professor Elemental Comics'. I have also written a standalone comic tie-in to the Professor's last album, 'Apequest'. As part of Professor Elemental Comics I've worked as editor-in-chief - assisting other writers with writing for the Prof's world, working with artists and getting the physical comic printed and ready for often quite tight deadlines.
Brigantia will be the longest comic that I've been involved in, and I'm very passionate about it. I came up with the outline for the character in 2013 and have spent a long time working on the script, thinking about the story and discussing it with Mel to flesh Brigantia out. I wanted to come up with a uniquely British superhero who embodies what I believe to be important British qualities - multiculturalism, equality and compassion. I wanted to fit these into a story that deals with history, mythology and the natural world - all things I find inspiring.
Melissa Trender, Artist: Melissa Trender graduated from Kingston University with a degree in Illustration and animation. She has created comics for musicians such as Wheatus and Professor Elemental, and published her own small press comics 'This Will Hurt' and 'Expectations'. Her animation 'Shadography' for The Random House Group was shortlisted for the AOI Illustration Awards. In her spare time she edits and produces the collaborative comic project 'Exquisite Corpse' and runs comic book workshops for children.
We want our use of funds to be transparent, so here's a pie chart which breaks down the different costs for the campaign:
Artwork: £3200
Script: £960
Lettering: £480
Kickstarter Rewards/Postage: £800
10% Contingency: £600
Our goal is to raise enough money to produce the 32-page first issue of the Brigantia story. Creating comic pages is a very time-consuming and detail-oriented job which requires a heavy time commitment.
Every pledge of £5 or more will receive a printed copy of the Brigantia comic, which will be full colour, printed by Comics Printing UK who specialise in small press comics and will contain pin-ups and script extracts.
We have some cool stretch goals in mind, including variant covers and additional pin-ups as well as funding the next issue of Brigantia. We'll share more details about those once the campaign's rolling, if it looks like they'll be achievable!
Risks and challenges
Our Credentials:
Both of us have experience in producing comics to tight deadlines; we have been involved in the small press scene for a number of years. In his position as editor-in-chief of Professor Elemental Comics, Chris has had sole responsibility for getting print comics assembled and to the printers by tight deadlines. We will also be working with a professional letterer who has many years of experience in preparing pages for a print-ready document.
Chris has experience organising crowdfunding campaigns; one for the creation of his band's last album, and another on IndieGoGo to raise the funds for the comic 'Apequest'. Both campaigns went well beyond their targets. We are confident that our experience of crowdfunding will help us manage the campaign.
Risks:
If we achieve our target, Mel will be working on Brigantia full time from October 2016 onwards, with no other projects on the go. She will be able to give the story her full attention and make it as good as possible.
We have factored in a 10% contingency amount; this is in case the cost of the Kickstarter rewards/postage rises above the budgeted £800. This will ensure that we will not have any trouble producing the rewards and will be able to get them sent out to you.
We will keep backers updated at every step of the campaign so you always know how much progress we're making, and whether any risks or problems have arisen.
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Funding period
- (30 days)