Tag Archives: Michelle Gruppetta

Exclusive: What’s the perfect crime? And what do you think you could get away with? Find out in Perfect Crime Party

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Perfect Crime Party

Spike Trotman’s Iron Circus Comics is launching a BackerKit campaign to publish Perfect Crime Party, a full color 300+ page anthology containing 25 light-heart tales of criminal activity from over 40 incredible creators as well as a cover by Jeff Smith. From club-style murder mysteries to anxious teens hijinx to acts of protest, Perfect Crime Party asks the immortal questions: What’s the perfect crime? And what do you think you could get away with?

The campaign will feature multiple tiers for backers, including a digital version of the book, a print version of the book featuring additional art, and a bundle featuring all of Iron Circus’s previous general anthologies, including Sleep of Reason, New World, Timrous Beastie, FTY Ya’ll, Failure to Launch, and the Eisner-award-winning You Died!

The anthology features Smugglers Abroad by Michelle Gruppetta and Fleur Sciortino. In it, a family tries to get the best chocolate over the border. 

‘Smugglers Abroad’ is a zany, heart-warming short comic that showcases the lengths a husband will go, to be able to provide his wife with her favourite treats. This short comic is based in  Malta, during the 1980s, a turbulent time when the island was facing harsh restrictions on food importation to boost local products. The government’s strict import laws, which forbade everything from chocolate to toothpaste to pasta, drove people to “acquire” higher quality products through other means; mainly by smuggling them into Malta via Sicily. Those who travelled were inevitably tasked by their friends and family to return with the coveted loot, and most prized among them was definitely chocolate. While this may seem silly to us now, it definitely turned a lot of Maltese people to a ‘life of crime.’

– Michelle Gruppetta

In Racked by Chuck Harp, Luis Santamarina, and Rob Jones, when your crimes need art supplies, the answer is more crime.

Ultimately, ‘Racked’ is a story about determination. A cross-generational struggle to follow our ambitions in the face of fear. This isn’t a crime showcasing evil, but presenting the desperate. Sure, this is a tale of thieving kids painting trains, but it also speaks to the pursuit that starves artists and baffles families.”

– Chuck Harp

As an artist, I believe that “Racked” offers me the opportunities to embark on an immersive urban adventure and push beyond my usual comfort zone, which typically lies within the realm of fantasy.”

– Luis Santamarina

Racked gave me the chance to work on a more fun, grounded and down to Earth comic than I sometimes get to, and it’s a fun story of working together.

– Rob Jones

‘Le Debacle de Fromage’ is by Matylda McCormack-Sharp:

My story features two characters I have been drawing since I was 11; unlikely friends, Trevor (the elephant) and Derrick (the mouse). In ‘Le Debacle de Fromage!’ we see the pair navigate the highs and lows of living with roommates, and what happens when the most heinous crime is committed… cheese theft…

Perfect Crime Party launches soon, so don’t miss out by signing up now.

Arledge Comics acquires Strange Waters anthology from Haunted Cosmos Press

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Strange Waters

Arledge Comics has announce they’ve acquired Strange Waters, a queer fantasy comic, from Haunted Cosmos Press. The acquisition was finalized earlier this week and the publisher hopes to restructure the volume and turn the previously failed anthology into a success.

Strange Waters is an anthology that is incredibly on brand for Arledge Comics as the publisher strives to elevate queer voices, creators as well as stories. Although it had failed two Kickstarter campaigns, Arledge Comics is positive that with some restructuring of the anthology, it can become successful. The indie comics publisher will also be working closely with the original creators as they edit and restructure the volume.

Jenn Arledge and Bryce Beal will be the editors of the anthology, with other credits being given to previous editors of the Strange Waters anthology before the acquisition.

Strange Waters will be launching on Kickstarter winter 19/20.

The guests for the anthology include the following:

Review: Wayward Sisters: An Anthology of Monstrous Women

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Wayward Sisters coverMany have felt awkward as they grow into themselves and the pressure, from person experience, can be even higher when you’re visibly femme in any way. Wayward Sister: An Anthology of Monstrous Women seeks to capture that awkwardness and make it a source of power. After an incredibly successful Kickstarter by TO Comix Press, Wayward Sisters is available for pre-order now.

As this is an anthology featuring a long list of female-identifying and non-binary creators, it can sometimes be a little harder to keep the themes consistent but has a strain running through almost every story that keeps everything together: equal parts mysterious, adorable, melancholy, sweet, musing, and most importantly hopeful. That tone is established from the outset with a foreward by Faith Erin Hicks (The War at Ellsemere, Friends with Boys, The Last of Us: American Dreams) speaking about her own experiences.

Tinseltown - Allison O'Toole & Emmanuelle Chateauneuf

“Tinseltown” by Allison O’Toole & Emmanuelle Chateauneuf

The majority of the short comics and stories told delve deep into the metaphor of monstrosity to attack it from every angle possible. Some miss the mark a bit, like “Miss Monster” by Stephanie Cooke and Cara McGee, and can be a bit jarring. But others, like “Low Tide” by M. Blankier and Helen Robinson and “Solid Shadows” by Rachel Simons and K. Guillory, drag you right back into the mood flowing through the pages.

The art, writing, coloring, and lettering rarely feels misplaced or a wrong fit with the others here, even on “Date Night” by Allison Bannister, Ronnie Ritchie, Meaghan Carter, and Nikki Powers with a different person on each. It’s obvious a lot of care was put into every bit of this anthology from start to finish to make it as harmonious as (more or less) humanly possible.

This collection of short comics were something I wasn’t expecting to hit me as hard as they did but I’m glad I found and was able to read them. Make sure to pick up a copy for yourself through TO Comix Press or one of their retail partners listed on their site. If you’re not sold, check out a preview with “Zira and the Little Fire” by Katie Shanahan or the full comic “Light Pollution” by iguanamouth.

Story and Art: Aimee Lim, Sam Beck, Megan Kearney, Casandra Grullon, iguanamouth, Saffron Aurora, Elodie Chen, Rachel Simon, K. Guillory, Janice Liu, Cassandra Khaw, C. Ann Gordon, Allison O’Toole, Emmanuelle Chateauneuf, Katie Shanahan, Stephanie Cooke, Cara McGee, Allison Bannister, Ronnie Ritchie, Xavière Daumarie, Michelle Gruppetta, Fleur Sciortino, ZAVKA, Lorena Torres Loaiza, Sabaa Bismil, gillian blekkenhorst, H. Pueyo, Dante L., Laura Neubert, Lea Shepherd, Zoe Maeve, BC Holmes, DEE Williams, Xia Gordon, M. Blankier, Helen Robinson, Mandy James
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0
Recommendation: Perfect for a fan of the supernatural and things that go bump in the night that relates more to the monsters than the would-be heroes, especially if they’re a teen or young adult.