Why The Hood?
Thanks for checking out my Kickstarter campaign page. Although I’ve spent most of my life as a video game producer, my career really started when I created a comic book called The Hood: A Change From Within. It was a reaction to the violence around my neighborhood in South Los Angeles. Specifically, the deaths of a friend at UCLA from a car jacking and another shot on his front lawn fueled the vision for The Hood. When it became personal I felt I could no longer be a mere bystander if I had the opportunity to influence change through art.
During the process what I’ve realized is that there is a Hood in all of us. We’ve all been a witness to injustice but only some of us have the courage to risk their lives, social standing or comforts trying to right the wrongs. But the rest of us can still help in other ways. I chose a comic book. I wrote, illustrated, financed and published the first issue (very crudely) by myself and the second issue was written by me and drawn by the talented and funny Rodney Clouden many years ago. This all new graphic novel is an updated, color re-envisoning of the original story with the never-before published conclusion and a few new characters.
The Story
This story probably presents more questions than answers but my hope is to encourage some lively debate and offer an alternative to the traditional super hero genre. When Anton’s brother and mentor is killed in the crossfire of a gang shootout, he makes the choice to become a vigilante to reclaim his neighborhood – By Any Means Necessary. He makes mistakes on his journey but he’s constantly learning and honing his skills. All the while, he’s also beginning to understand that his suspected enemy may not be his real foe.
The Production
You may notice that the amount we’ve requested isn’t enough to finish the book. That’s because I’ve put in my own money (with help from my long-time friend Johnny Levin) and will continue funding this project until it’s done. Your money will go towards paying the talent (Eric, Nate and Janice), the printing of the book, and any associated production expenses.
Lots of people have asked me about where I see this going and YES, I would love to see it as an animated cartoon in the style of something like Afro Samurai, Spawn or some of the classic Bruce Timm Batman stories. But for now, we’ve got to get the book done! :)
That said, we need your support and well wishes. Please share this with everyone you know that will care and check out some of these cool rewards!
Thank you! - Steve T
Writer/Creator of The Hood: A Change From Within
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https://www.facebook.com/TheHoodComicBook
https://twitter.com/The_Hood_Is_Now
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheHoodSyndicate
Risks and challenges
As with any project there will be inherent risks. We've tried to minimize these by the following:
1. The book is already about halfway complete. Before asking for funding, I felt this was necessary to show that we are seriously committed to finishing this project.
2. Working with professionals. Everyone on this project has had their work published previously.
3. The scope is reasonable. This is essentially 3 comic books rolled up into a graphic novel that we will release initially in digital form and then as a physical book.
So ultimately, the fact that we're all professionals, we're not starting from scratch and we've kept the scope manageable makes the risk very small on this project.
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Funding period
- (30 days)