top of page
Search

Kickstarter Campaign: Cadence Lark is FURIOUS by Bryan J.L. Glass

  • Writer: Chad Burdette
    Chad Burdette
  • Jun 21, 2018
  • 5 min read




I first became aware of Bryan J.L. Glass through the Comic Geek Speak Podcast. It wasn't until NYCC 2014 or 2015 that I first really spoke to him about his work and I purchased a copy of Mice Templar Vol. 1 and the FURIOUS Vol. 1.


Since that time I have been following his work and saw that he had a Kickstarter campaign which started Tuesday.


Cadence Lark is FURIOUS Kickstarter Page

Pledged: 82% funded

Backers: 40

Days to go: 32 Days



Since meeting him I have always wanted to feature him here on the blog and this presented the perfect opportunity to do so and I was glad when he agreed to answer some questions about the book and his creative influences.


Meet the Creator:



Bryan J.L. Glass is the multiple Harvey Award-winning co-creator/writer of The Mice Templar from Image Comics, and now overseeing the return of Cadence Lark Is Furious from Crazy Monkey Ink (the acclaimed series formerly at Dark Horse Comics).

A contributor to DC Comics' Adventures of Superman, his Marvel Comics credentials includes Thor: Crown of Fools, First Thunder, and Valkyrie, as well as adapting Magician, the Riftwar Saga, and Cirque du Soleil's KÀ.


Special projects have included Thor: Son of Asgard video game and Thor: Valor for Burger King's Kids Club. He also contributed to The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing Comics from Random House.


Bryan’s first work in the comic industry was in the role of photographer, providing photo covers and interiors to such 80s series as The Elementals, Mage, and Punisher Armory. His earliest writing projects in the '90s were Spandex Tights and Ship of Fools. After a brief hiatus from the industry, Bryan returned in 2003 with his first Mice Templar short stories, followed by Quixote: A Novel and 86 Voltz: The Dead Girl.


--


How did you get into reading comics? (When, what was that one book that hooked you…)

BJLG: A neighborhood friend in the mid-1970s had a big collection of used comics with the covers ripped off or defaced. Of the many classic heroes he had issues of, the three books that made the biggest impression on me were The Avengers, The Teen Titans and The Legion of Super-Heroes. But shortly before I got to see the original Star Wars in 1977, I got ahold of the Marvel Comics issue #1 and probably read the thing cover to cover every day until finally seeing the film in the theater 3 weeks after it opened. Yet the first comic I ever chose from a newsstand, read and found myself hooked was in 1978 with Micronauts #8.



Everything fell into my orbit in rapid succession after that, as well as my first discovery of a comic book store: Comic Universe in Folsom, PA —which remains my primary comic shop home to this day!

-

Which creators influence your work?

BJLG: The 1980s were my big awakening to what could be done with comics storytelling. All the heavyweights of that era became my examples to study: Chris Claremont, Frank Miller, Marv Wolfman, Walt Simonson, Alan Moore. The biggest contemporary influence is also a friend: Brian Michael Bendis. I envy his dialogue nuances.

-

What is the elevator pitch for Cadence Lark Is Furious?

BJLG: Cadence Lark Is Furious is the story of notorious child star Cadence Lark, "America's Sweetheart" until her social media public disintegration into alcohol, drugs, and violent rage. But when she hits rock bottom, she receives an experimental drug rehab that not only clears her system of all addiction, provides the moment of clarity to realize what a monster of a human being she became, and leaves her with steadily evolving super-powers. As a former actress, she then believes she can play the role of a superhero and redeem herself, but her old behavioral instincts are strong, and now fueled by super-powers. She soon realizes that the persona she thought would save her has now become more infamous than the persona she's trying to escape.




-


Who are the main characters in Cadence Lark Is Furious and where do we find them at the beginning of the new volume? BJLG: At the end of Volume 1:Fallen Star, Cadence Lark had successfully won the battle to change her brand in the public eye, from the derogatory "Furious" she'd been saddled with by TV journalist Jesus Martinez, to the more empowering "Furia," and finally achieving much of the public's support when one heroic action saving a child was caught live on camera. The experience also challenged her belief that she had to redeem herself alone.




When Volume 2: Paparazzi begins, fighting to preserve her secret from our new surveillance culture has her living yet another lie. Creating massive damage from battling intrusively armored and weaponized drones is passed off as protecting the public from new enemies, only Cadence knows the truth: the surveillance state is like her old run-ins with the Paparazzi, looking to exploit her secrets. All the destruction isn't saving anybody, but only adding to the red in her ledger, as she perceives it. And with public acceptance of her super-heroics leading to a seemingly 24/7 workload, the delicate personal relationships she was so happy to have attained are going to crack.




Cadence Lark already knows the price of stardom, but can she afford the cost of secrets? - Is this your first experience doing a Kickstarter? BJLG: Yes, this is my first involvement with a Kickstarter that represents my own work and IP, but I'll not be running it: just promoting and monitoring it second hand. The excellent and encouraging team at Crazy Monkey Ink, led by Gabriel Ol Raz Ramirez (who first fought to acquire Cadence Lark Is Furious for his publishing label), will be running the show.




For Crazy Monkey Ink, however, publishing is already guaranteed; their Kickstarter isn't raising money for production in the previously understood sense, but as a distribution system for pre-orders. It's been fascinating to stand by ringside, so to speak, and watch these masters oil the gears of this new publishing mechanism!--Be sure to check this book out and I assure you that you won't be disappointed. For more, check out Bryan's Social Media links

-- -- --

Other Kickstarters to checkout:

DSM-10 Pledged: Successfully Funded (106%) Backers: 86 Days to Go: 0

A comic about mentally ill superheroes in Brooklyn just trying to live their best life.

--

LIFTED: OF GODS AND THIEVES Pledged: 32% funded Backers: 90 Days to go: 17 Days A teleporting thief-for-hire takes on more than she & her team could ever expect in this mythic/sci-fi action graphic novel. My interview with creator Shawn Pryor about Lifted

Other Campaigns I am checking out:

 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page