What It Is
Hopeful Spring is the genesis of a new creator-owned character by Joe Pekar, who has done work for Zenescope, BOOM! and a number of video-game companies. He draws cute girls and draws them well, using a variety of media to do so, from pencils to paintbrushes. It’s the artwork that drew me in to check out the Kickstarter page in the first place, as it’s a blend of Disney meets Heavy Metal. The story, co-written by Jeff Outlaw, tells of a young medieval actress who hopes to hit the big time if she can just avoid the orcs, evil wizards, and lascivious talent agents who stand in her way.
You can check out this issue on Comixology for $1.99
What I Backed
I put in on the $12 tier, which would get me the book. Normally that’s about $2 more than I’m willing to pay for a single issue of a book, and I didn’t jump right in with blinders on in this case. That’s part of the beauty of crowd-funding projects: You don’t have to commit right off the bat unless there’s an early bird special that’s too good to resist. I was able to sit back and watch this project grow and really think about whether that extra $2 was going to tip the scales one way or another. Sounds silly, I know. It’s only two bucks, but part of the fun of backing projects like this is figuring out if you’re going to get a decent return on investment. Did I? Read on.
What I Got
I got the book, signed by Mr. Pekar, and a smaller companion book called the Explorer’s Guide that showed a lot of the process he used to create the book, from sketches to final pages. In addition, I got a number of cute prints of Spring herself and other characters. These were the results of numerous stretch goals being met. I think after the third one I jumped onboard. I figured at a convention if I were to pick all this up from Joe’s table I’d be spending at least what I spent on the campaign if not more.
Was It Worth It?
The old salt is that “A cynic knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.” Although I’ve talked about things like getting my money’s worth and whether the campaign was worth pursuing or not, none of that matters…none of it…if the book isn’t any good. Fortunately I can give this book a one-word review: Gorgeous. I haven’t seen color this lush and beautiful in a long, long time. Every panel on every page is a visual feast for your eyes. In addition, Pekar and co-writer Jeff Outlaw’s writing shines as brilliantly as the art. It seems his title character has a bit of a southern twang in her notes back home to “Mama” which frame the overall story. I really enjoyed that aspect, in addition to the well-written dialogue Outlaw and Pekar bring to the book.
Would I Back Again?
I’m all-in on this series. Next time around I may even splurge on a sketch tier, as Pekar was happy to bombard his update board with some of the ones he’d done for backers on this project. If you see Joe or this book at a convention, pick it up. As you can no doubt figure out there’s some mature content to it (mainly nudity), but don’t let that prevent you from enjoying a well-written book with some of the best artwork I’ve seen in a good long while.
Personally backed & endorsed by Al Sparrow: al@comicspectrum.com
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