Presenting AMERICAN GREATNESS, a political satire comic book/graphic novel. It was originally a novel called CULTURAL PRACTICES OF THE HEARTLAND – which at least a handful of Dopers have read. But the visuals of the story stuck with me so long, and so deeply, that I felt like I absolutely had to see them “on paper”. So I hired an artist (a fantastic artist named Seb Valencia) and made a cover and a few sample pages of comic book art, and I was so excited by them that I felt like I had to do the whole story. But of course, great artists don’t work for free, so I’m trying out a Kickstarter campaign (my first) to raise enough money to pay the artist for the whole project.
And now it’s LIVE: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andycrawford/american-greatness-1?ref=project_build
Very brief summary: The last 8 years of American politics, distilled into a revolting, orange haired, tiny-fingered thousand-foot monster, tromping through the American heartland.
Longer summary: Deep within the suburban jungle of Cincinnati, a monster has emerged, bursting out of the Rumpke Sanitary Landfill. Taking its name from its birthplace, Rumpke is a thousand feet tall, has revolting personal habits, and might be vaguely familiar to readers, considering his orange-tinged hair and proportionally tiny hands. What do Americans do when such a creature appears, lumbers around at random, and occasionally defiles a local landmark? For millions, the choice is obvious – worship it.
New York journalist Fred Millard is assigned to report on the exploits of the monster, his bizarre fandom, and the ludicrous internet conspiracy theories that have caught fire since his appearance. Fred quickly learns that the absurdity of Rumpke’s fandom leads to more serious consequences than mere internet hysteria – when serious illness starts to spread in those closest to the monster, its biggest fans refuse to follow the government’s guidance of masking and social distancing, worsening the outbreak. And most appalling of all, one conspiracy theory inspires a violent mob to assemble in Washington, DC and assault a federal building, with deadly results.
A funhouse-mirror reflection of modern American politics, AMERICAN GREATNESS is a raunchy and hilarious political satire comic series. With art by Seb Valencia, it was written for all of us who are exhausted, baffled, and even terrified by the insanity of American politics in recent times.
If you have any interest in political satire, comic books, or just checking out the work of a fellow Doper, I hope you’ll check out the Kickstarter link above! Thank you.