Having introduced readers to Daughters of Albion earlier this summer, London-based creative studio Wild River Comics are back with a fresh Kickstarter campaign for their new horror title, Lurker!
A cross between Uncle Creepy and Bob from Twin Peaks, Lurker is a shadowy figure who acts as both host and instigator for the stories he presents. Issue #1, subtitled Harriet Is A Tree, is a suitably unsettling introduction to the character through the tale of young Harriet and her mother.
Joining Beanie Aurora White for Lurker’s debut outing is artist Anna Readman, colorist Tanya Roberts, letterer Cardinal Rae, and editor Martin Eden. The Kickstarter edition of the comic comes with two gorgeous covers – a regular edition by artist Abigail Harding, and an exclusive variant by Paula Andrade – along with a host of other incentives.
Backers can choose between various tiers – ranging from digital and print editions of the comic to a Lurker T-shirt and Daughters of Albion catch-up pack. In addition to those offerings, there are six higher tier slots for dedicated fans – five of which come with a page of Anna Readman’s original art, and one that features Abigail Harding’s original cover art for issue #1.
Superstate is a new graphic novel and accompanying original soundtrack, out 27th August 2021, in association with Z2 Comics. The high-concept world of Superstate encompasses the pairing of an original album soundtrack of 15 new songs from Graham Coxon, with a graphic novel of 15 stories featuring the work of 15 artists, and writers Alex Paknadel and Helen Mullane, with album and book cover artwork by Coxon himself.
Superstate sees Graham Coxon working with co-writers Alex Paknadel and Helen Mullane and 15 graphic artists including Christian Dibari, Marie Llovet, and Ryan Kelly as well as musicians Rahel Debebe-Dessalegne, Sharlene Hector, Valentina Pappalardo, and Vula to realize this reading and listening experience unlike any other. Coxon’s vision is brought to the page by an all-star co-operative of writers and artists who devised stories and visuals inspired by the original concept from Coxon. The creative process has been led by new music written and recorded by Coxon exclusively for Superstate. The result is a visual compendium that features 15 different graphic stories, each accompanied by its own individual soundtrack.
Superstate is about a dystopian world where angels and villains alike promise the people paradise, disenchanted children live feral in vast rubbish dumps and the masses are pacified by a drugged out, government-mandated digital dreamscapes and robot partners while they wait to perish on this dying planet. It seems all hope is gone but there might be one place in the universe where the most desperate can escape… heaven.
The tracklisting and artist credits for Superstate is, as follows:
1. Yoga Town (Artist: Kendall Goode) 2. Uncle Sam (Artist: Eryk Donovan) 3. It’s All In Your Mind (Artist: Andrade Estevez) 4. Only Takes A Stranger (Artist: Anna Readman) 5. L.I.L.Y. (Artists: Luisa Russo) 6. Bullets (Artist: Goran Gligovic) 7. I Don’t Wanna Wait For You (Artist: Ryan Kelly) 8. The Astral Light (Artist: Soo Lee) 9. Heaven (Buy a Ticket) (Artist: Koren Shadmi) 10. The Ball of Light (Artist: Vasilis Lolos) 11. Tommy Gun (Artist: Minerva Fox) 12. Goodbye Universe (Artist: Kim Canales) 13. Butterfly (Artist: Dave Chisholm) 14. We Remain (Artist: Ivan Stojković) 15. Listen (Artist: Taylan Kurtulus)
As well as a standalone digital release, the Superstate soundtrack will be available on vinyl bundled with the book. A deluxe bundle that includes the soundtrack, a hardback copy of the book with an exclusive slipcase and 3 art prints, retails at £73.17 (US$99.99). A limited super deluxe bundle will also include a copy of the book signed by Graham, retailing at £146.34 (US$199.99). In addition, the Superstate book will be available to purchase separately in hardback £21.94 (US$29.99) and paperback £14.63 (US$19.99).
