Kickstarter’s Most-Funded Fiction Book of 2013 Bolstered by Marvel, DC and Image Artists

'Blake Northcott' - pencils, inks and colors by Jon 'Roc' Upchurch

I haven’t read comics in years, but I’m still a huge fan of the art. I’m also a big fan of superhero stories. I’ve even been slowly developing a series in my spare time which will start as novels and be converted into graphic novels someday. For now though, I wanted to share with you the new release from one of my favorite superhero writers: Blake Northcott! This looks like another awesome collaboration of artists who created spectacular art for Blake's novel. I’ve loved all her work so far, if you haven't heard of Blake Northcott, well then read on.

All Character designs are for the novel 'Arena Mode', by Blake Northcott © 2013, Digital Vanguard Inc.

TORONTO / October 18, 2013 / Canadian author Blake Northcott launched her second Kickstarter campaign for the novel Assault or Attrition – a sci-fi superhero tale set in a dystopian future, featuring art and character designs by Marvel, DC and Image artists.

Northcott’s previous novel Arena Mode – which followed the same novel/art book format – is the most-funded project in Kickstarter’s ‘Publishing: Fiction’ category this year (as of October, 2013).

“I wanted to blur the line a little between novels and graphic novels,” says Northcott. “The concept of flipping to the back and seeing character illustrations is something that really excited me. I’d seen similar concepts in children’s and young adult books, but never anything targeting a more mature audience.”

'Fudo' - pencils, inks and colors by Derek Laufman

Assault or Attrition contributors to date include:

Steve McNiven (Guardians of the Galaxy, Civil War, Uncanny Avengers - November 2013)
Dave Johnson (Superman: Red Son, Deadpool, Punisher, 100 Bullets)
Dan Panosian (Spawn, X-Men, John Tiffany)
Mark McKenna (Star Wars: Old Republic, Justice League, Combat Jacks)
John ‘Roc’ Upchurch (Rat Queens, Vescell)
Derek Laufman (World of Warcraft: Pearl of Pandaria, Marvel vs. Capcom)

As well as special guest artists Comic Book Girl 19 (YouTube’s Comic Book Girl 19 Show), Natasha Allergi (Adventure Time) and John Broglia (Denali, Unmasked, Atomic Robo Real Science Adventures).

Arena Mode currently tops Kickstarter's Publishing: Fiction category in 2013, with $35,353 in pledges, and 948 backers.

The Toronto-based writer has been self-publishing since 2011, and has received personal endorsements from Mark Millar (Kick-Ass, Wanted) as well as Stan Lee Comikaze CEO and Founder, Regina Carpinelli. Blake is also a regular contributor to CBS Man Cave Daily, writing about comic books and pop culture.

'Sledge' - pencils, inks and colors by Derek Laufman

Blake's debut novel - Vs. Reality - was originally written in 2009 as a script for a four-issue comic book series. After a year-long delay the funding fell through, so she converted her script into a full-length book, publishing it herself for the Amazon Kindle and other digital readers in July of 2011.

By October of 2011 Vs. Reality had reached #1 on Amazon U.K. in two different categories ('Graphic Novels/Science Fiction', and 'Graphic Novels/Superheroes'), and she had amassed a fan following of more than 20,000 Twitter followers in less than a year.

'Winston Ramsley' - pencils and inks by Barry Kitson; colors by Jon 'Roc' Upchurch

In June of 2012 she released the sequel to Vs. Reality - Relapse - which appeared at #1 in the US, the UK and France in several Amazon Kindle categories. It was also the #1 Amazon Hot New Release in the same month.

'Brynja & Melvin the Manticore' - pencils, inks and colors by Jon 'Roc' Upchurch

Here are some links to keep up with Blake's projects:

Blake Northcott Official Homepage - www.blakenorthcott.com
Assault or Attrition Kickstarter Page - www.assaultorattrition.com
The Original Arena Mode Kickstarter Page
Blake's work on CBS Man Cave Daily
Blake on Facebook
Blake on Twitter
Blake on Instagram

Character designs are for the novel 'Arena Mode', by Blake Northcott © 2013, Digital Vanguard Inc.

 

Blake Northcott, Author