Kickstarter Campaign: Lifted: Gods and Thieves – By Shawn Pryor

The name Shawn Pryor may be recognizable to those who have been following my blog regular blog The Comics Multiverse. 

I have talked to Shawn in the past concerning his projects such as Cash & Carrie, FORCE and his involvement with Action Lab Comics and his own publishing label Crowntaker Studio.

Interview with Shawn Pryor

You should also subscribe to his “Take The Crown” newsletter, where he share views and news about life, creativity, pop culture, and affirmation.

His latest project is Lifted: Gods and Thieves

Pledged: 26% funded

Backers: 70

Days to go: 33

Lifted is about a teleporting thief-for-hire who takes on more than she & her team could ever expect in this mythic/sci-fi action graphic novel.

Sara Jackson leads a trio of art and antiquities thieves-for-hire, a job made easier by her limited ability to teleport. A pair of disgraced FBI agents pursues the thieves in a global game of cat-and-mouse as they fulfill their clients’ special requests.  

All the while, as Sara and her crew take on these heist attempts, she unwittingly plays a pivotal role in a confrontation between gods, one that could lead to—or prevent—worldwide devastation.

Shawn recently launched his newest project on Kickstarter and it seemed like a great chance to catch up with him and see what he had been doing since we last chatted.

What have you been up to since we last talked, I believe it was for the Force Kickstarter…what’s new and how have things as the President of Creative Relations for Action Lab Entertainment been going?

Yes, since we last talked I was campaigning the crowdfunding event for the American Football comic book, FORCE created by me, B. Alex Thompson and Jay Reed. After the successful campaign and reward fulfillment, we turned FORCE into a three-issue limited series that was released in late fall of 2017/early 2018 and then published a trade paperback edition which is available in print on places like Amazon.com and in all digital outlets.

After a multi-year break/sabbatical from the internal workings and business of the comic book industry, I returned to Action Lab Entertainment as their President of Creative Relations. My job is to talk with creators and creative teams, help them get answers to the questions that they have, and if they are new to the business of comic books to help them get a better understanding of how it all works so they can prepare themselves properly. It’s not as time-consuming of a schedule during my first run at Action Lab where I had multiple responsibilities and roles. This is more streamlined and less stressful. It’s a good fit for me.

And now, I am currently promoting my latest project, a sci-fi/mythic heist original graphic novel called LIFTED: OF GODS AND THIEVES, currently on Kickstarter.

What is the premise behind the LIFTED: OF GODS AND THIEVES and what was the inspiration for the OGN

In LIFTED, Sara Jackson leads a trio of art and antiquities thieves-for-hire. Sara’s thieving skills are a job made easier by her limited ability to teleport. However, a pair of disgraced FBI agents pursues the thieves in a global game of cat-and-mouse as Sara and her team fulfill their clients’ special requests. But the FBI isn’t the only people watching Sara. And as Sara and her crew take on these heist attempts, she unwittingly plays a pivotal role in a confrontation between gods, one that could lead to—or prevent—worldwide devastation.

If you imagine combining movies such as The Score and The Thomas Crown Affair, with a small touch of Clash of the Titans and the X-Files, that’s what we are attempting to do with this story. LIFTED: OF GODS AND THIEVES is a 108-page graphic novel that will definitely be worth your time.

Who are the main characters and the inspiration for them?

The main characters of LIFTED, Sara Jackson, Max Jackson, and Claudette St. Pierre are inspired from some of my favorite heist and mystery films (Charade, Inception, The Score, The Inside Man) with a touch sci-fi to give the story a special feel.

Our trio aren’t just your run-of-the-mill thieves, they’re family, even if they don’t come from the same bloodline and you get to see that unfold as the story goes along.

Other characters we meet are:

Who did you work with on the OGN and how did you connect with them for this project?

The creative team for LIFTED came together in over the span of a year or so. At first, LIFTED was a project that writer Keith Cunningham and I had made for a radio-drama project that we were going to attempt to produce. As we got further down the road with the story, we both agreed that it would be served better as a comic book or graphic novel. Awhile later, I had met artist John Rodriguez at a convention and he had his portfolio and I had asked to see it. His work was fantastic and I had asked him if he was interested in working on the project and he was down to do it. We then brought on Chris Murrin to adapt the original radio-drama outline and scripts. Chris is immensely talented and has worked in many mediums so I knew he’d do a great job. Eric White and George Gant are handling the color work to give the book a distinct vibe and feel, Justin Birch, who has lettered books for many comic book publishers joined the LIFTED team a few months ago, and we were lucky to have a cover designed by the talented Uko Smith, who has done a ton of concept design work for IDW, LUCASFILM, HASBRO, HEAVY METAL, DC, MARVEL, and SKYSTORM.

Co-Creator: Keith Cunningham

Keith is a writer, cartoonist, and animator. He is best known for being the screenwriter of the independent feature film Sweetmint, creator of the webcomic called Stale Popcorn and the anthology comic Strange Places.

– Writer: Chris Murrin

Chris is an editor at FX Networks, and also a comic editor and sometimes writer on Ghoul Scouts and Athena Voltaire from publisher Action Lab Entertainment.

– Artist: John Rodriguez

John is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art, John, who also goes by JAR, has always had a passion for working in the comic book industry and is the artist of the “comic novella” titled SPLIT. JAR is also a graphic designer and photographer. Both skills have helped him tremendously with page layouts that guide the eye and framing scenes cinematically within a comic panel.

– Cover Artist: Uko Smith

Uko is an illustrator, storyteller, and instructor at the Columbus College of Art & Design. Concept Artist Credits include IDW, LUCASFILM, HASBRO, HEAVY METAL, DC, MARVEL, and SKYSTORM.

– Colorist: George Gant

George is a cartoonist, illustrator, comic book colorist, and letterer. He is also the creator of the webcomics The Reset Button and On The Grind.

– Colorist: Eric White

Eric is a graphic designer and spent years doing coloring flats for the bigger comic book publishers, LIFTED is Eric’s last coloring work as he is hanging up his color-for-hire tools and moving on to his own creative endeavors.

– Letterer: Justin Birch

Justin’s lettering prowess can be found in comics such as Miraculous, Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess,Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess Year Two, the IF Anthology, and numerous other titles.

What will the pledges towards the project be used for?

The money pledged towards this graphic novel will fund the production and printing of the softcover edition of this graphic novel as well as other Lifted related limited-edition items in the reward tiers, shipping, and handling costs, Kickstarter fees, credit card processing fees, and taxes.

Anything else in the pipeline or is this your main focus for the time being?

For now, my focus is entirely on crowdfunding and running the Kickstarter for this project to raise the $8,500 needed in order to make LIFTED a reality. The money pledged towards this graphic novel will fund the production and printing of the softcover edition of this graphic novel as well as other Lifted related limited-edition items in the reward tiers, shipping, and handling costs, Kickstarter fees, credit card processing fees, and taxes.

If you want to check out the project and support it, go to http://www.LiftedGodsThieves.com and it will take you directly to the Kickstarter.

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I hope you will support this OGN as I have!