Moving Ink Media, the creative company behind the award-winning web comic and animated short “Kamikaze,” will launch a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign on July 22. Their goal is to publish “Kamikaze: Before the Storm – Part 2,” the fourth volume in their science fiction graphic novel series. The monthlong campaign has a goal of $11,000 to fund the final polish and printing of the 120-page comic book.
The series is created by husband-and-wife writer-artist team Carrie and Alan Tupper, both of Harpswell, and talented illustrator and designer Havana Nguyen, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Alan, a Maine native, also acts as CEO for Moving Ink Media. The company has been publishing “Kamikaze” online and in print since 2014.
“Kamikaze” is a postapocalyptic cyberpunk adventure set in a world 200 years after a global blight. What little food that can still be grown is hoarded by corrupt feudal houses. Markesha Nin, a 19-year-old courier, was barely making ends meet. After a last-ditch delivery job put herself and her blind father in the crosshairs of a dangerous gang, she’s left with only one option: becoming a covert operative for an underground organization.
Volume 4 continues Markesha’s chaotic first day on this new job. Her boss has been kidnapped by security forces, and she’s the only one who can break him out of prison. There’s just a heavily guarded wall the size of a skyscraper in the way, and a nasty hurricane is bearing down on the city. No pressure.
“Volume 4 of Kamikaze is about Markesha coming into her own, gaining confidence, and the transition between who she was to who she will become,” said Carrie, who is the lead writer of the comic. “This project lights a little candle in the dark for a lot of our readers, and a lot of our fans. I want to keep that candle burning.”
“This book is a real culmination of all of our storytelling efforts,” Alan said. “It’s something we’ve been working toward for the past 10 years. This all started off as a wild idea about a fledgling superheroine, and the first three books have been a slow burn to get our heroine to where she needs to be. (Volume 4) is the big payoff, and we know fans are going to love it.”
“Kamikaze” has seen a string of successes since its public debut in 2014 as a weekly web comic. After receiving the Glyph Award for Best Webcomic in 2015, the brand has gone on to independently publish three graphic novels, a spinoff comics anthology, and an award-winning animated short film, which you can find below. The film, “Kamikaze: Trial by Fire,” features voice talent from veteran actors such as Monica Rial and Dani Chambers, and won Best Georgia Short at the Georgia Film Festival.
After three previous fully funded and delivered crowdfunding projects, Moving Ink Media is excited to get Volume 4 into the hands of comics fans everywhere. Rewards for backers will include all graphic novels in both physical and digital formats, as well as the anthology.
The campaign will begin July 22 and run until Aug. 21.
Moving Ink Media is a media design and development studio. The company focuses on the creation of compelling stories with diverse characters and themes that resonate with underserved audiences through animation, comics and other narrative media. Based in both Atlanta and Harpswell, the company has produced award-winning media properties that have won both critical and fan acclaim.
