Pirates!
Who isn't fascinated by cunning corsairs cutting a conniving course from the Caspian to the Caribbean? (Well, maybe Tom H. from Fresno, CA. But he also likes chicken on his pizza, so there's that.)
Tales of pirates have been a part of popular culture since the first buccaneer ever burgled a brigand. But what is the real story on these seafaring sociopaths? Why did they have hooks and peglegs? Why did they bury their treasure? And why did they all say "Arr"?
Well, for the most part, they didn't. Which is why I wrote and illustrated the 150 page, nonfiction graphic novel PIRATES: A GRAPHIC HISTORY (But not THAT kind of graphic.)
After many years of illustrating Darkwing Duck for various publishers of Disney Comics, I spent over five years researching the real story of what many consider to be "The Golden Age" of piracy. During these studies, I came away with a very different picture of these poorly-mannered picaroons than what I grew up with. What I ended up creating was anything but another dry history of pirates, it was a humorous, all-ages guidebook that explains who these pirates were, what they did and how they committed all the deeds that made them infamous.
The book is divided up in to three sections...
-A History of Pirates, from the Bronze Age to modern times with an emphasis on piracy from the 1660's to the 1730's.
-Piracy 101 is a breakdown on how to be a pirate.
-Profiles in Piracy presents biographies of individual pirates, mostly from the Golden Age.
History is often a very dry read, even for a subject as cool as pirates. That's why from the beginning I set out to present the facts in a nonsensical way. Learning always stuck with me when it was presented in a fun or interesting manner. SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK, SESAME STREET, heck even ANIMANIACS all presented learning history, grammar and math in fun, catchy ways. PIRATES: A GRAPHIC HISTORY follows in those footsteps, teaching the how, whens and whys of piracy in an equally appealing way. (Just without the songs. I don't sing. Ever.)
I thank you for taking a look and would appreciate your support on this project. If all goes well I have further volumes of comic criminal chronicles planned including histories of the Old West and The Mafia.
Risks and challenges
I'm just going to stay this up front- this is my first crowd funded project and I am overwhelmed. Researching, writing and drawing an entire 150-page book has turned out to be the easy part. However it does take time and I didn't want to start a crowdfunding campaign until the creation part was two-thirds of the way done. But I know how to make and print a book. I am already finished with the words and art. The campaign will help pay for the editing, lettering and (hopefully) coloring. The plan is to go to print six months from the end of the campaign. Of course as we've seen in the last few years, not everything goes to plan, but I have never let an editor or a publisher down yet and I ain't about to start now. And I’ll keep you informed every step of the way!
Find out when the campaign goes LIVE!
Click HERE for updates direct from Kickstarter
Who isn't fascinated by cunning corsairs cutting a conniving course from the Caspian to the Caribbean? (Well, maybe Tom H. from Fresno, CA. But he also likes chicken on his pizza, so there's that.)
Tales of pirates have been a part of popular culture since the first buccaneer ever burgled a brigand. But what is the real story on these seafaring sociopaths? Why did they have hooks and peglegs? Why did they bury their treasure? And why did they all say "Arr"?
Well, for the most part, they didn't. Which is why I wrote and illustrated the 150 page, nonfiction graphic novel PIRATES: A GRAPHIC HISTORY (But not THAT kind of graphic.)
After many years of illustrating Darkwing Duck for various publishers of Disney Comics, I spent over five years researching the real story of what many consider to be "The Golden Age" of piracy. During these studies, I came away with a very different picture of these poorly-mannered picaroons than what I grew up with. What I ended up creating was anything but another dry history of pirates, it was a humorous, all-ages guidebook that explains who these pirates were, what they did and how they committed all the deeds that made them infamous.
The book is divided up in to three sections...
-A History of Pirates, from the Bronze Age to modern times with an emphasis on piracy from the 1660's to the 1730's.
-Piracy 101 is a breakdown on how to be a pirate.
-Profiles in Piracy presents biographies of individual pirates, mostly from the Golden Age.
History is often a very dry read, even for a subject as cool as pirates. That's why from the beginning I set out to present the facts in a nonsensical way. Learning always stuck with me when it was presented in a fun or interesting manner. SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK, SESAME STREET, heck even ANIMANIACS all presented learning history, grammar and math in fun, catchy ways. PIRATES: A GRAPHIC HISTORY follows in those footsteps, teaching the how, whens and whys of piracy in an equally appealing way. (Just without the songs. I don't sing. Ever.)
I thank you for taking a look and would appreciate your support on this project. If all goes well I have further volumes of comic criminal chronicles planned including histories of the Old West and The Mafia.
Risks and challenges
I'm just going to stay this up front- this is my first crowd funded project and I am overwhelmed. Researching, writing and drawing an entire 150-page book has turned out to be the easy part. However it does take time and I didn't want to start a crowdfunding campaign until the creation part was two-thirds of the way done. But I know how to make and print a book. I am already finished with the words and art. The campaign will help pay for the editing, lettering and (hopefully) coloring. The plan is to go to print six months from the end of the campaign. Of course as we've seen in the last few years, not everything goes to plan, but I have never let an editor or a publisher down yet and I ain't about to start now. And I’ll keep you informed every step of the way!
Find out when the campaign goes LIVE!
Click HERE for updates direct from Kickstarter