Felipe Cagno is a 30 year old Brazilian filmmaker, writer, and publisher who — by his own admission — is totally in love with comic books. In addition to the film Bala Sem Nome (Bullet With No Name) he has also produced the comicbook The Lost Kids: Seeking Samarkand (available now on Comixology) and 3-2-1: Fast Comics (Brazilian edition available now on Comixology). The Brazilian edition of 3-2-1: Fast Comics has received so much attention with sush a large group of international creators that Cagno decided that he wanted to bring it to the U.S. in a new English edition. To facilitate this, he is currently, running a Kickstarter to fund the new edition.
The unique thing about this project is that 3-2-1: Fast Comics is that it is a very unique anthology where every writer/artist team is challenged to create a story that is three pages long, has two characters in it, and offers one twist ending. Backers to the project are able to become an active part of the making of the next installment of the 321: Fast Comics series by participating in exclusives surveys. Cagno tells us that every couple of days a new survey will be posted inquiring as to what genres, art styles, and characters respondents would like to see in the next book. He is also getting ready to announce the new line-up of artists.
Any pledge gets the backer access to these surveys as well as exclusive news, iincluding information about higher tier rewards that have been recently added. This is also for backer’s chance to receive high quality commissions, original pages and to pitch your story to be published in a future issue. Some of the rewards that are available include:
- A original 8.5” x 11” commission of a character of your choice
- A half-body colored commission of a character of YOUR choice:
For contributors, as long as the above rules are respected, anything goes: any genre, any characters, any situation. The challenge is always to surprise readers at the turn of three pages. And that’s exactly what they have done with this book, they have put together 21 short stories featuring different genres from fantasy to steampunk, from western to sci-fi, from daily life to epic adventures.
Cagno, who recently won one of the most prestigious comicbook awards in Brazil as “Best Writer” for his work on Vol. 1 of 321: Fast Comics, put together a dream team of artists and guest writers to take part in this project with him. These creators come from top titles at Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse, Image, Dynamite, and other publishers.
The full list of Guest Artists and Writers:
Lucas Leibholz, Geraldo Borges, Guilherme Balbi, Rodney Buchemi, Thony Silas, Carlos Ruas, Rafael De Latorre, Fabiano Neves, Ig Guara, Felipe Watanabe, Cris Bolson, Vitor Cafaggi, Romi Carlos, Cris Peter, Wilton Santos, Gustavo Borges, Matias Streib, Luciano Salles, Mario Cau, Marcelo Maiolo, Zork Marinero, Adriano Augusto, Caio Yo, Clonerh Kimura, Ander Zarate, Omar Viñole, Mat Lopes, Teo Deffectx, Ivan Nunes, Carlos Estefan, Marcos Botelho, Renato Almeida, Guilherme Bon, Fábio Bueno & Pietro Progetti.
As stated, the book was released in Brazil after a successful local crowdfunding and he is now looking to do the same for a worldwide debut completely in English. To this end, he has partnered up with Comixology for the Digital Rewards. The book is currently out on Comixology but you can get your digital copy right here on this Kickstarter with any pledge. This is a totally universal collection of stories that is sure to please audiences everywhere but Cagno can’t reach that audience without your support. All funds received will directly support the printing and delivery of the book for an estimated April release and a second volume to hit shelves later this year.
There are no established characters or stories in this book, it’s all new and exciting content created exclusively for this book. Backers will receive some very cool rewards along with some exclusive stretch goals that will be revealed as soon as they hit that first mark up there so pledge your support and help us spread the word! If you are a writer or artist and want a chance to get in on Volume 2 of the series (some outstanding artists are already confirmed) you can check Cagno’s Facebook page for current news. There are currently opening for three talented artists or team of artists to submit their best 321 stories or pin-ups to be included in the book. The contest is fully supported by DeviantArt and features monthly prizes, cash prizes and the possibility for your story to be published in Vol. 2.
Having run three crowdfunding campaigns in Brazil, Cagno’s is fully aware of the obstacles and pitfalls a project might face even after it is successfully funded, from delays in production to high Post Office costs to properly formatting the book to print. He has dealt with all that in the past and is confident that he has learned through trial and error how to avoid these in the future. The 321: Fast Comics biggest advantage to overcome future challenges is that it’s 100% complete and ready to go to print. This book was successfully crowdfunded in Brazil last year and all the backers have already received their rewards, over 750 of them. It is also already available on Comixology so the digital deliveries will happen as soon as the project is funded, leaving only the printing of the book and the shipping.
He already has a printer lined up with a pre-approved budget and schedule. So he is ready to publish 321: Fast Comics and ensure that it arrives at your given address in the next few weeks, all he needs now is your backing.
This project will be funded on Sunday, February 22, 2015
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Robert J. Sodaro has been reviewing comic books for some 30 years. During that time, his reviews and articles have appeared in numerous print publications, as well as on the web.