Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • Where's the...Beef? : The Myth of Male Objectification in Superhero Comics

      Madeleine Holly-Rosing
      February 17, 2012
      Columns, The Squeaky Wheel
    Recent
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • Comictober 2020: DRACULA MOTHERF**KER

      Daniel Gehen
      October 27, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • Sandman Going Steady for May 2020

      Madeleine Holly-Rosing
      June 2, 2020
      Big Two Reviews, DC Comics, Reviews, Singles Going Steady
    Recent
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • Stan Lee

      nguyen ly
      November 7, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • 4.5

      Review: Ninja-K #1

      Madeleine Holly-Rosing
      November 28, 2017
      Reviews, Valiant
    Recent
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • 4.5

      TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      October 29, 2020
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 4.0

      Irredeemable Volume 5

      Madeleine Holly-Rosing
      March 16, 2011
      Reviews
    Recent
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Interview: Michael Moreci - "Roche Limit" and Questioning Reality

      Madeleine Holly-Rosing
      December 29, 2015
      Image, Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade: the Life and Times of Gene Day

      Madeleine Holly-Rosing
      November 20, 2015
      Classic Comics, Classic Comics Cavalcade
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • Vote for Thirteen Minutes for Best Website

      Madeleine Holly-Rosing
      November 23, 2014
      News
    Recent
    • 2020 Ringo Awards Winners Announced

      Daniel Gehen
      October 26, 2020
    • BAD IDEA Announces 2021 Publishing Slate

      Daniel Gehen
      September 29, 2020
    • A Full Replay of NCSFest 2020 is now Available

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2020
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • Review: 'Machete Squad' is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Madeleine Holly-Rosing
      July 31, 2018
      Books
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Collecting Profile: If I win Powerball, I will buy Amazing Fantasy 15
  • DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)
  • Collecting Profile: Batwoman
  • Collecting Profile: Daredevil
  • Collecting Profile: Floronic Man
  • Review of Cheetah in Wonder Woman 1984
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
News
Kickstarter Spotlight

Kickstarter Spotlight: Boston Metaphysical Society

Madeleine Holly-Rosing
August 28, 2014
Kickstarter Spotlight, News

Boston Metaphysical Society is a steampunk six issue graphic novel mini-series about an ex-Pinkerton detective and his spirit photographer partner who battle supernatural forces in late 1800’s Boston. Partially grounded in the real world with such historical icons as Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and Harry Houdini as an integral part of the storyline, the series looks at an alternate history of Boston which is rife with class and social conflict. Mix that in with a good dose of the supernatural and characters that each have their own agendas and you end up with a steampunk version of The X-Files.

The series has not only received very positive reviews from Robert Sodaro (Examiner.com), Geeks with Wives and Capes and Women Who Write About Comics, the comic was also nominated for Best Comic/Graphic Novel at the 2014 Geekie Awards. According to creator, Madeleine Holly-Rosing, the current Kickstarter is to fund the production and printing of Chapter 5 in the six issue mini-series. The chapter will be a standard 22 page comic with two extra pages of bonus material.  The reward tiers offer a wide range of incentives like a BMS Nikola Tesla Lapel Pin, a steampunk ring designed by Dr. Brassy Steamington, expanded pdf versions of the comic as well as an Early Bird Special of the first five chapters.

History has always been a passion of Madeleine’s and while at the UCLA MFA Program in Screenwriting, she wrote the screenplay Stargazer to enter into the Sloan Fellowship competition. Based on the real life Scottish-American astronomer Mina Fleming, the script was about how in the late 1800’s she arrived in this country pregnant, penniless and abandoned by her husband. Working as a maid in the house of the director of the Harvard Observatory, Mina was eventually hired on as what was known then as a female “computer” and not only discovered over 10,000 stars but developed a new stellar classification system. Stargazer won.

“Stargazer was my entry into the world of Boston in the 1880’s,” Madeleine commented. “It was from that research and my love of science fiction, fantasy and supernatural genres that I came up with idea of Boston Metaphysical Society as a TV Pilot.” An accidental encounter influenced her decision to integrate steampunk into the world. “I was sitting on a couch in the Melnitz Lounge at UCLA when my friend, Alex Diaz, plopped down next to me and uttered the word ‘steampunk’. Not knowing exactly what it was I did a lot of reading and research and decided that Boston Metaphysical Society needed to be set in a steampunk universe. It was later on that it was suggested I adapt the TV Pilot into a comic mini-series.”

Stargazer and Boston Metaphysical Society also shared many of the same themes Madeleine was interested in: classism and sexism. Both stories deal with the many inequalities that women and the poor  had to deal with during that time period. “The sad fact is that many of the issues women dealt with over a hundred years ago they are still dealing with today. Such as unequal pay, lack of job opportunities and culturally specific gender roles.”  By handling these issues subtly, Madeleine feels she can tell a story that resonates with present day concerns without lecturing. Though good storytelling is difficult, finding the right artist can be even more daunting.

After spending almost a year (and five artists later), Madeleine was introduced to Emily Hu through a mutual friend. After paying Emily to draw two sample pages, Madeleine knew she’d found the one. Drawing ever since she was a little girl and with a formal education from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, it’s been Emily’s lifelong dream to make it as a comic book artist.  “Emily is a wonderful sequential artist and she’s so young that I suspect I won’t be able to afford to hire her in ten years,” Madeleine only partially joked. Though a California native, Emily lives and works in New York and notes that Becky Cloonan, Eduardo Risso, and Ito Junji have been the major influences in her life.

Chapters 1 thru 4 are completed and in print while the script for Chapter 5 is ready to go to the artist, Emily Hu. All that is needed is the funding. This team already has a solid reputation for delivering after having completed a successful Kickstarter for the printing of Chapters 3 and 4 with all rewards being sent out to backers.

This Kickstarter project will only be funded if at least $7,500.00 is pledged by Sept. 12, 2014.

Kickstarter Homepage

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Boston Metaphysical SocietyKickstarter SpotlightMadeleine Holly-Rosing

Share On:
Tweet
97 Years Later: Celebrating the King of Comics on His Birthday
Interview: Christopher Sebela: Crime, Comics, Crime Comics and Everything in Between

About The Author

Madeleine Holly-Rosing

Related Posts

  • Kickstarter Spotlight: POP KILL #1 from PaperFilms

    Daniel Gehen
    April 20, 2020
  • Kickstarter Spotlight: The Degenerate Ziac & His Unruly Adventures #1

    Daniel Gehen
    April 14, 2020

Support Us!

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Friends of the Site

  • SOLRAD
  • Your Chicken Enemy
  • Psycho Drive-In
  • Women Write About Comics
  • The Beat
  • Loser City
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders