Cthulhu vs. Uncle Sam: The Battle for America begins!
Created by Scott Harris-King
When cultists attempt to summon Cthulhu at the height of World War II to sway the balance of power, it's up to Uncle Sam and his friends to save America!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
FINAL WEEK!! Add-on spotlight on George Tuska!! Plus: Cane L. Grey, Werewolf Bounty Hunter and more!
over 3 years ago
– Thu, Nov 24, 2022 at 06:17:23 PM
Hello, fellow cultists!
This is it, the final week of the campaign! There are just 6 days left before Cthulhu vs. Uncle Sam #2 is in the books, and we're moving up towards unlocking those stretch goals. Thank you all so much for your support, and for sharing this project with other comic fans like you. It's been a big help and I really appreciate it! 😊
Today I want to just spotlight a special add-on that's available for $20: the 100-page giant Crimebuster 80th Anniversary Special featuring a never before published cover by the legendary Golden Age artist George Tuska!!
It was truly humbling to have the chance to bring some of the late Mr. Tuska's art to life, especially to mark the 80th anniversary of the creation of one of my favorite comic book characters, Crimebuster. To really do Mr. Tuska's art justice, I also had it inked by Batman and Archie inker and artist Andrew Pepoy. Here's the finished cover:
Cover by the legendary George Tuska, with inks by Batman inker Andrew Pepoy!
To really do the project justice, I decided to make it a 100-page giant. In the style of the DC 100-page giants of the 1970s, the book is packed with hand-picked Crimebuster stories from the Golden Age. And not just hand-picked: I personally scanned the stories from my own collection and then digitally remastered them to create what I think are the highest quality copies of these stories you can get anywhere outside of the original copies.
In addition, the comic also includes a remastered version of my comic The Crimebusters #1, aka Boy Comics #120, which continues Crimebuster's legacy and continuity from the Golden Age. I not only redrew some panels and re-inked the entire comic, I also had all 36 pages colorized so I could present this story in full color for the first time. And I published it all as a flip book for bonus fun!
Here's a look at the "back cover," which pays homage to DC's classic 100-page giants:
Over this past weekend, I received the physical proof from the printer, and it looks great! I made an unboxing video to show it off:
I do have some extra copies, but not very many, as it's not cheap to print a 100-page squarebound comic! So this add-on is available in limited quantity, with just 10 copies available.
There's also a special artist's edition variant as well, which features a virgin variant on the front with no logo, and the black and white inked line-art on the back so that fans can really get a great look at Mr. Tuska's artwork. This is even more limited, with just 5 copies available. Here's a look at the artist's edition back cover:
I'm super excited to get these in my own collection, and I know that some of you are fans of Golden Age comics -- and of The Crimebusters -- so I wanted to highlight this one, especially since there are a lot of add-ons this time! 🙂
Thanks, everyone for all the support! Let's get this across the finish line and finish strong!
Kickstarter Spotlight
Cthulhu vs. Uncle Sam isn't the only Kickstarter ending soon. In fact, a couple of the Kickstarters I wanted to share with you today are ending very, very soon, so if you dig these, don't wait!!
This one ends TOMORROW, so you won't want to wait to check it out, especially since Cane L. Grey: Werewolf Bounty Hunter is such a cool looking book! And as I am writing this, it still needs $158 to get funded.
Creator Andrew Perry has this tease for the story: "Deep in the Louisiana Bayou, a darkness that has been growing for decades has breached the surface of the rancid waters. Bounty Hunter, Cane L.Grey, has been dispatched to find out who or what has been killing children."
This is another really cool looking project that could use your help. With just 3 days left to go, they're still about $2500 short. It would be a shame if this one didn't get made, because it's a really cool looking dark fantasy comic.
I'll let the creators tell you about it themselves:
Here's another worthy campaign that needs a boost, as with 7 days left they're only about halfway there. This is a horror anthology channeling the feel of those classic dime novels and salacious broadsheets of yesterday. Here's what the creators have to say:
"“The Shilling Shockers” is an anthology of six horror tales, focused on fear. These stories want to show different sides of ‘terror’, through different interpretations. For this very reason there are multiple artists at work and each of them has given their own spin on what terror and discomfort mean, different in both style and way to tell a story; four ofthese stories are comics and two of them are illustrated. Six stories, six different ways to instill fear in the heart of readers."
Fully funded! Plus: STRETCH GOALS!
over 3 years ago
– Thu, Nov 24, 2022 at 06:17:02 PM
Hello, fellow cultists!
I'm extremely humbled and grateful to announce that we are now fully funded! That's entirely thanks to you and your support. You all really came together over the last few days to push us up over the funding mark, and I appreciate it very much! 🤗
Right now we're a little bit past the $3000 mark with 8 days left to go on the campaign. And that means that it's time for STRETCH GOALS!
This time around I'm going to keep things pretty simple, as there will be two stretch goal levels. Usually I only announce stretch goals one at a time, as I never want to take anything for granted and get ahead of myself. But with just over a week left, I thought this time I would announce them both up front since there's not a lot of time to work with. And I've tried to pack both stretch goal levels with a lot of cool bonus rewards.
The first stretch goal will be at $3400 and will include a whole suite of bonus digital rewards that all backers will receive if we reach that mark. I always like the first stretch goal to be bonus digital content, as I know there are a number of people who are backing at digital reward levels, and I want to make sure they get a bonus benefit from the stretch goals too. So if we reach $3400, all backers will receive the following suite of digital bonus rewards in addition to the regular rewards:
the PDF edition of Cthulhu vs. Uncle Sam will be enhanced with the addition of at least three complete Golden Age stories -- one starring Uncle Sam (from the pages of National Comics), one starring granny Gumshoe (also from National Comics), and one starring Yankee Longago (from Boy Comics) -- for 25+ bonus pages of classic comic action!
digital Cthulhu vs. Uncle Sam desktop wallpaper
digital Cthulhu vs. Uncle Sam smartphone wallpapers
director's commentary audio track for Cthulhu vs. Uncle Sam #2
and FIVE COMPLETE BONUS COMICS: Cthulhu Invades Wonderland preview, The Sentinels #268, Silent Knight #1, Thunder #1, and the Standard Comics Encyclopedia #1
I've selected those five comics specifically because I think they will be of interest to you, as they all involve reimagining classic public domain characters, including Santa, Thor, Cthulhu, Alice in Wonderland, and several Golden Age superheroes!
And the second stretch goal will be at $3800 and will include bonus rewards for both physical and digital backers. Returning backers who have participated in my previous campaigns know how much I love my trading cards! So if we get to $3800, the following stretch goals will be added:
all physical backers will receive a set of FIVE brand new trading cards featuring the following characters: Ike Reeves, Jake the Dog, Lady Liberty, The Knights in Yellow, and Death Mask 1776
all backers will receive digital versions of the five new trading cards, as well as digital editions of the five trading cards from the first issue, which include Uncle Sam, Cthuhlu, Granny Gumshoe, Count Orloff, and Private Joe.
all physical backers will receive a brand new 6x9 print of Uncle Sam by Jay Piscopo!
all backers will receive a digital version of the Uncle Sam print by Jay Piscopo
finally, here's the BIG ONE: if we hit $3800, I will also commit to making Cthulhu vs. Uncle Sam #3!
Here's a look at Jay's Uncle Sam print!!
I've never produced digital editions of the trading cards before, because frankly, it never occurred to me! But when I saw our friends at Miskatonic High doing digital editions of their trading cards, it clicked. I love doing the trading cards in part because it allows me to put on the back of the cards a lot of fun character details that I don't always have room to fit into the comics themselves, so they are a really fun expansion of the world that I think a lot of you will enjoy in both formats!
And finally, I have a story I'd love to tell if we're able to do a third issue, which is tentatively called "The Brides of Cthulhu." If we get to $3800, we'll be at the level where it's financially viable for me do make a third issue, so if we hit the stretch goal, I'll commit to doing that.
I've tried to really add value with both these stretch goals, and I hope we are able to hit them so I can give all of you a lot of cool bonus rewards!
Thanks so much for all the support!! 👾🤗
Welcome to the MAIN EVENT! Plus: Pioneers: Blood & Stars, and more!
over 3 years ago
– Thu, Nov 24, 2022 at 06:16:58 PM
Hello, fellow cultists!
With 10 days left, we're now at 91% funded, just $253 away from hitting the funding goal! Thank you all for the support, I really appreciate it, and I'm optimistic that we can hit that goal and make this comic a reality!
I wanted today to just briefly shine a light on the origin of Cthulhu vs. Uncle Sam. Oddly enough, it started as a print. I had the basic idea pop into my head, but I wasn't in a place yet where I felt able to really do it justice as a comic. So instead, I drew up the idea as a vintage wrestling poster and had a handful of prints made.
The original poster!
To my surprise, everyone seemed to really love the print! The reaction convinced me that I needed to find a way to get this made into a comic! Luckily, I was able to hire Jay Piscopo to bring the vision to life, and the rest is (ongoing) history.
It seemed fitting to use this poster as a variant cover for issue #1, so we did, but I decided to limit it to just 50 copies printed. There are still a few copies available as add-ons for $25, or if you want it as a print, you can get it in 7x10 as part of a set of 5 min-prints for $5, or a full-size 11x17 print for $10 plus shipping.
It also inspired me to do more poster covers, and there's no doubt the "Cthulhu Wants You!" cover/print from issue #1 is the most popular of them!
This one was limited to 100 copies printed, and can be added on for $20, or you can get it as part of a set with the "Keep Calm and Cthulhu Fhtagn" poster variant cover from issue #2.
If we fund at a high enough level to make issue #3 viable, I have some more fun vintage propaganda poster variant covers in mind as well! 😁 I do love doing these -- especially since the comic never would have been made without the success of that initial print.
Thanks again everyone!
Kickstarter Spotlight
The hits just keep on coming! The worst thing about this campaign ending is that I won't have as much opportunity to tell you about all the cool new comics on Kickstarter. So let's make use of the time we have by checking out three more swell projects: Pioneers: Blood & Stars, Home Free, and Killtopia!
Usually, I try to spend some time explaining exactly what the concept is of the comics I'm sharing with you. But with Pioneers: Blood & Stars, the pitch is really simple: vampires in space.
Oh, there's more details, of course. Creator Peter Taylor says this, for instance: "Pioneers: Blood & Stars #1—the first of a five-part series—is a beautiful, high-quality, full-color 28-page story full of Sci-Fi action, Unlikely Friendships and BIG TEETH as we set a hungry vampire loose on the claustrophobic subterranean streets of a tough mining colony on Saturn's ice-moon Enceladus!"
I love being able to give a signal boost, however small, to creators with a real vision, so I'm excited to tell you about the suspense grindhouse comic Home Free by John Kratky and Michelle Lodge.
This is a standalone series that is also a spinoff sequel to a 300 page graphic novel that the two previously published online over a five year period. And now they are expanding their universe to new venues to let new readers like us discover their worlds.
Lodge says, "“What I love about the genre of dramatic crime fiction is that it’s believable. The dark world of the stories pull you in with realistic characters and situations that I can imagine happening in real life. The people are complex and flawed, and the world is gritty and unpredictable.”
Speaking of high concepts, check out this description of Killtopia: "Cyberpunk Tokyo becomes a high tech battleground as Japan's deadliest bounty hunters fight to claim the world's first sentient Mecha."
I don't know about you, but that ticks off a lot of my boxes! And since this is the last issue of a five issue storyline, you can get the complete saga in its entirety now, so no waiting to find out what happens!
Interview with Mike Shea! Plus: The Sensational 7 and more!
over 3 years ago
– Thu, Nov 24, 2022 at 06:16:40 PM
Hello, fellow cultists!
Today I'm excited to bring to you a brand new sit-down one-on-one interview with Miskatonic High writer and co-creator Mike Shea!
I really had a fun time talking to Mike and digging into the process of making Miskatonic High. In this hour+ discussion, we also talk about the origin of Cthulhu vs. Uncle Sam, our cross-promotion print by Miskatonic High artist Ryan Shea, and our creative journeys, as well as my series The Crimebusters and much more.
I hope you enjoy!!
A quick reminder
Today's update is all about making comics, so it seemed like a good time to remind you that the Kickstarter for We Suck at Comics ends tomorrow! I've talked about this project before, but in case you missed it, We Suck at Comics is an anthology that's all about rejection -- how people deal with it, and how it can make you stronger. It's also by a slew of up and coming comics talent, so check it out before it's too late!
Kickstarter Spotlight
I also have three new projects to tell you about, and I just know you're going to be all over these like glaze on ham, because they are super rad: The Sensational 7,Holiday Spirits, and Gilgamesh!
Roy is building a whole alternate publishing reality that imagines what the comics industry might have been like if the Golden Age publishing company Standard Comics had continued making comics right alongside Marvel and DC through the Silver Age and beyond. I love it! And I know that a lot of you who are also fans of Public Domain Superheroes like I am will also be into his latest comic, The Sensational 7, which brings us back to the start of the Silver Age for a team that should have existed on the stands alongside The Justice League and The Avengers.
Roy isn't my only long-time comic pal with a new project! Another friend who has supported me along the way is Travis Gibb, who has another great new project out now: Holiday Spirits!
Now, even though I'm into the Cthulhu Mythos, I've mentioned before that horror is actually usually too scary for me! What can I saw, I'm a lightweight when it comes to scary things. So This one has me quaking in my boots, as it's a dark holiday-themed horror anthology.
Travis really knows how to get the spookiness going! So while this might be too scary for a scaredy-cat like me, I thought you might dig it. Check it out here!
Speaking of public domain characters, The Sensational 7 and Santa Claus are both following in the footsteps of the world's oldest fictional character: Gilgamesh!
Creator Cam Kerkau is bringing us a new comic book adaptation of the Epic of Gilgamesh. As Kerkau says, "The Epic of Gilgamesh is the world’s oldest story, dating back almost five millennia. But Gilgamesh’s dilemma is something that remains relevant to us all today, and always will. How can you live peacefully after you've been truly confronted by your own mortality?"
Two weeks to go! Plus: Winnie the Pooh: Demon Slayer, and more!
over 3 years ago
– Thu, Nov 24, 2022 at 06:16:31 PM
Hello, fellow cultists!
There are just two weeks left to go in the campaign, as we're going strong! As I write this we're currently at 85% funded, just $409 away from the goal!
Thank you all for the support! I'm very optimistic that together we can pull this off, and I appreciate everyone who has been sharing the projects with their friends and fellow fans. The support really means a lot to me. 🙂
To celebrate that support, I will be throwing a special livestream bash when the campaign ends! The campaign ends on the evening of Cyber Monday, November 28, and at 8 pm that evening, I will be hosting a livestream where I count down the last hour of the campaign and answer any questions you might have! So get your party hats ready and put it in the calendar!
Here's the video for it:
Thanks again for helping get this across the finish line!
Kickstarter Spotlight
I don't know about you, but I really enjoy variety in my stories. So here's a really varied batch of projects for you to sink your fangs into: Winnie the Pooh: Demon Hunter, H.P. Lovecraft's Dagon, and Mister Howl!
Considering I created Cthulhu vs. Uncle Sam, I think it's obvious that I enjoy genre mashups using public domain characters 😁
So I figured some of you might also be interested in Winnie the Pooh: Demon Hunter. Ever since Winnie the Pooh became public domain at the start of the year, creators have been letting those juices flow as they come up with cool new iterations of everyone's favorite bear.
Another thing I'm pretty sure many of you enjoy is the mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. Just a wild guess! 😄
In fact, the short story Dagon, which Lovecraft published in 1923, is the start of the Cthulhu mythos. So it's super cool that creator Chris Askham has adapted it into comic book form!
If you want your cultists to come straight from the tap, check out H.P. Lovecraft's Dagon now!
Finally, I wanted to spotlight something a little bit different: Mister Howl by T.W. Burgess.
Mister Howl isn't a comic book, strictly speaking. Instead, it's what Burgess describes as "A 100 (+) page, collectable, found footage ghost story in book form. Compiled from analogue recordings and photographs."
I love mixed media works, and the intersection of writing and art is the whole deal with comics. So people pushing the boundaries of the medium while telling a groovy, interactive story are always going to catch my eye.
