Raymond Ayala is heading up a campaign as part of the Planet Random Creative group in Rockaway, New York. They work with fans and artists to make comic books and new pop-culture media themed around independently made heroes and villains cooked up from within the community. There’s currently a Kickstarter campaign going on right now to fund a new initiative to create a new generation of heroes themed after the classic runs of Marvel and DC’s most cherished brands.
Essentially, the campaign hopes to reignite a love of comic books that have faded in the comic book industry due to all the overt politicking from the artists at Marvel and DC (but mostly Marvel) who have turned what used to be a fun entertainment pastime into a pulpit of agitprop. Marvel’s sales have tanked over the years and the company has attempted to right the wrongs of a half-decade’s worth of propaganda by putting in a new editor-in-chief, C.B. Cebulski, and canceling a number of propaganda-themed comic books.
The pitch video for Make 100 Heroes doesn’t explain much, but the rewards video goes a bit more into detail about what the program is about.
Essentially you’ll be creating a new hero that will appear in the Planet Random Creative comics and the playing card game. I’m not entirely sure what the 3D model will be used for, but the project page over on the official website breaks down how they’ll be working with 100 backers to help turn their comic book ideas and characters into real properties…
“The Make 100 Heroes Kickstarter Campaign is an effort to create the heroes that are missing from comics, animation, and film. We want to give you a seat at the table and the power to make the hero you feel the world needs.
“Together Planet Random Creative and 100 Backers will work on character story development, visual design, expand the characters for game-play and produce the characters in 3D. You become a part of a one-on-one development process and get cool rewards to show-off your work”
It’s not the perfect solution to the problems currently happening within the comic book industry – especially in regard to the political warfare directed at Conservatives – but bringing in more sound-minded creators to produce worthwhile content that fans can actually enjoy and engage with might be one way to tackle the current conundrum.
You can learn more about the Make 100 Heroes project or contribute to the cause by visiting the Kickstarter page.
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