J.L. COLLINS MAKES HIS DEBUT ON KICKSTARTER WITH A DYSTOPIAN FANTASY COMIC SERIES

Canadian comic book writer and co-founder of Upstart Comics, J.L. Collins, will be launching a Kickstarter campaign for his newest comic venture, Thistle #1, on February 1, 2022.

Inspired by sword and sorcery fantasy epics, and zombie apocalypse stories, Thistle is a comic about losing the war at the far reaches of the world – attempting to save it – and the long journey back to discover if a home survives that is worth returning to. Having volunteered to traverse a magical one-way portal through the mountains of the world on a mission of revenge, Elf Ranger Tistlelandalon (Thistle) must survive long enough to confront the Necromancer: the master of an undead horde that destroyed the kingdoms of the humans and the elves.

Working with Collins on Thistle is interior and main cover artist J. Schiek (Hush Ronin, Tales From the Pandemic), colorist Marisa Brignole (2021 Platform Comics 10k Challenge Finalist, Don’t Leave Me Behind, as artist and colorist), letterer Leland Bjerg (Creator-owned series Berserker Monk, 2021 Platform Comics Short Comics Finalist, Long Distance, as writer) variant cover artist Erik Whalen (Dis Connect, Zenner’s Story), and variant cover artist Heather Vaughan (art for Unmatched: Buffy the Vampire Slayer board game, art for Beneath Nexus card game).

“Thistle takes inspiration from survivor apocalypse stories and the sword and sorcery genre, where a band of intrepid heroes form a desperate alliance to defeat the villain and save the world. That’s where so many of our most treasured and favorite stories end. That is not the story I want to tell. Where do the heroes go after losing the war? Who do they return to if all their families or friends have died? With Thistle, I wanted to explore the story AFTER the story, and the unexplored journey that begins after everything has been lost.” – J.L. Collins

The Kickstarter campaign will be to fund the completion of Thistle #1 and send it to print.

For more information about Thistle follow J.L. on Twitter and the prelaunch page for the Kickstarter: HERE

ABOUT J.L. COLLINS

J.L. Collins is a freelance comic book writer, tabletop role-playing game designer, and fiction author. He has comic stories published with Fugitive Poems and Panel One. He has tabletop role-playing game work published with DM’s Guild, Adept Icarus, Vorpal Games, and Paizo. He has a speculative fiction short story published with Wizards of the Coast. He is a proud co-founder of Upstart Comics.