In 2012 a group of Canadian writers and artists came together with a single idea: promote Canadian comic books. Anchored by national talents like J. Torres, Andy Belanger, Adrian Alphona, J. Bone, Ramon Perez, Fred Kennedy, Adam Gorham, Agnes Garbowska, Scott Chantler, Faith Erin Hicks, Howard Wong and many, many more, this collective successfully gained backing for the first volume of True Patriot. The collection of short comics celebrated Canadiana, and now they’ve returned for a second tour as they recently kicked off their second crowdfunding effort on Kickstarter.
‘True Patriot 2’
The first volume featured original stories by the participating creators, some exploring Canadian history, myths, or simply explored every day life through the eyes of a superhero. The subjects were a slice of Canada, and the second volume promises the same. Many of the creators who contributed to the first volume have returned, and will be joined by Paul Rivoche and DC Comics superstar writer Jeff Lemire.
The Campaign
J. Torres and company are trying to fully fund the creation, publishing and promotion of this second, hardcover bound volume. Having previously started their campaign on Nov. 1, The True Patriot team is looking to raise $20,000 to cover their costs with 13 days to remaining. The crew has already raised over $11,000, with digital copies of the first two volumes available, in addition to preorders of the completed second volume when it’s published in the summer of 2014. If the team surpasses its goal, they have already planned several stretch goals. At the $22,000 and $24,000 marks they will increase the page count (to 112 pages and 120 pages respectively), and plan to print a mass market TPB edition of volume one at $27,000.
True Patriot Volume 2 – Kickstarter
Value Perks
The meat of the campaign drive is the comic book itself. As mentioned you can get digital copies of either volume one or two for $5 and $10 respectively, while you can also get a digital combo pack of both full volumes for $15. The hardcover is available to fans from Canada ($35), the U.S. ($40), and to those living outside North America ($45) at three different price points to compensate additional shipping costs. These rewards include the printed book, in addition to PDFs of both volumes.
As well, they’ve included additional rewards such as partnering the book with sketches by one of the many talented artists involved, notably a Ramon Perez print bundle that includes the second volume of True Patriot, PDF copies of both volumes and a 13×19 limited edition Particle Man print created exclusively for this Kickstarter campaign, available with $100 contributions. The “True Patriot Love Bundle” is another great option to show your support, including the second volume, both PDFs, a True Patriot sticker set, your choice between a True Patriot lined notebook or blank sketchbook and a t-shirt featuring the True Patriot logo as drawn by J. Bone. This one is also available for $100. For the truly patriotic supporter, you can contribute $500 for the “True Patriot True Love” bundle which includes volume two, both PDFs, the t-shirt, the sticker set, the puzzle (from the kids pack), sketches from both Tom Fowler and Ramon Perez, a bookplate and sketchplate, in addition to being drawn into a future True Patriot story.
Why Should You Support Them?
Why shouldn’t you? We complain sometimes that we as Canadians are underrepresented in comics. Well, this is your opportunity to see the work of some of the brightest Canadian creative comic talents, and all across the Canadian landscape as its backdrop. If you love comics and Canada, this is the perfect celebration of the country. All of the stories in the first volume were fun, entertaining reads and I imagine we’re going to see much of the same in the second volume. The first book was a high quality hardcover print edition, so that commitment completing the project and following through on campaign promises is established. Having personally met some of the creators, they’re a good group of people who are trying to create a new Canadian comic identity with characters who embody Canada in the truest, most patriotic sense.
