Ken Knudsten Pinup for The War for Kaleb

I met Ken Knudtsen through my wife Desiree', as they had classes together at the school we all went to, The School of Visual Arts.  Ken is the writer/ artist for the awesome little indie title My Monkey's Name is Jennifer.  

We specifically met at the Long Island Comic Con some years back, and I fell in love with his artwork.  He has a style that embraced that of the blind contour drawings I used to do in college.  Blind contour drawings are done by looking at what it is you are drawing, NOT looking at the paper, canvas, or what-have-you, while you are drawing.  The drawing doesn't usually end up looking like anything.  In turn, you get a drawing that exemplifies the artist's pure mark.  It is an exercise used to let go of one's inhibitions, and just let honesty do the drawing.

Ken's work does look like the things he is drawing, but keeps all that honesty intact.  One of the goals for the gallery was to have a diverse group of styles.  Ken fit that bill perfectly by creating a beautiful ominous drawing of the gritty rooftops of NYC, the inner peace that Addey and Kaleb find in each other, with his fun little easter egg, nodding it's way back to my story.  

Pinup by Ken Knudtsen

You can actually check out the process Ken used to create the piece on his blog at 

www.kenknudtsen.com

I will be posting some more fun updates, showing off the talented individuals that too part in making this gallery something special.

Please consider backing, and/or sharing.

The War for Kaleb Kickstarter Launched!

We launched the Kickstarter campaign today for the collected edition of The War for Kaleb!  The graphic novel will include a brand new epic cover, new content not in the original single issues such as a forward by Shelley Briggs Callahan, author of House of Life, an extensive gallery with many talented individuals, a sketch gallery, and behind the scenes section, and an afterward by myself.

Pinups by Adam Walmsley (Left) and Jim Kettner (Right)

The idea of creating a graphic novel has always been something exciting for me, as it is my preferred way to read comics.  I love having the entire story in one place, and I adore the format.  I love seeing the collection of graphic novel spines on my bookshelf, thumbing through them, and finding the gem that I’m in the mood for at the time. 

The final book will come in at 104 pages, and will have a run of 1500 copies. 

Graphic Novel Cover Mockup

Also with the launch of the Kickstarter is a special movie style trailer, and mini documentary about the book, with original music, and editing by Dan Schepleng!  Ever since I saw the comic book trailer for Ultimate X-Men in the early 2000’s I wanted to do something similar, and I feel The War for Kaleb trailer came out wonderful.  The music is epic and truly captures Kaleb’s internal conflict turmoil. 

The Kickstarter will last until April 21^st so there is plenty of time to get in on it if you desire.  If you can’t pledge, please share, share, share!  The true strength of crowdfunding comes from word of mouth, so I can’t thank everyone enough for just simply spreading the word!

Thank you everyone for your support in the past, and hopefully for the Kickstarter!

THEWARFORKALEB.COM

As a bonus the fine folks over at A Place to Hang Your Cape, has written a flattering review of The War for Kaleb #2, just in time for the Kickstarter launch!

"In every aspect, The War for Kaleb #2 is an improvement on an already stellar original. It escalates, complicates, and deftly prepares for the story’s finale. It is bittersweet then, that Issue #3 will be the last for this extraordinary comic."

-Ezekiel Maben