VIDEO: Help Make Dave Accampo’s SPARROW & CROWE Comic a Reality

My time with iFanboy has brought whole heaps of blessings, including the happenstance of meeting my best friend and collaborator David Accampo. Many of you will recognize Dave as “daccampo” from the community or as my co-host on Fuzzy Typewriter. But I first worked with him as a staff writer for the podcast drama Wormwood: A Serialized Mystery. Created by Dave and our friend Jeremy Rogers back in 2007, the occult serial centered on a small California town beset by an ancient cult and some very real demons. I joined the crew in the show’s second season, and even had the opportunity to write some dialogue for the characters who’ll go on to appear in Dave and Jeremy’s spinoff comic, due out next year.

Sparrow & Crowe.

This year, Dave, Jeremy and artist Jared Souza secured a deal with Hermes Press to produce a new storyline as a comic mini-series. I’m biased, but I love these characters and I love the prospects for “The Demoniac of Los Angeles.” I’ve already read the first issue and it’s a great concept terrifically executed.

Sparrow and Crowe: The Demoniac of Los Angeles combines old-school horror with modern cinematic storytelling, as they face off against Crowe’s biggest failure and greatest enemy when a powerful demon possesses the daughter of a Los Angeles crimelord. It’s a catch-22 for the duo, as they’re stuck between both hell and the mob, with the girl’s life hanging in the balance.

Here’s a trailer for the project featuring the full creative team:

I’m writing today to ask that you look over this project and consider pledging your support in its Kickstarter campaign. Dave and Jeremy are friends of mine, but they’re also very talented, very inventive storytellers. And Dave is also a longtime contributor to the iFanboy community. So, have a look and please make a contribution to this project. Let’s demonstrate the kind of impact the iFanbase can have on a comic production.

 

Here’s Dave himself on the project:

Back in 2006 when I had the germ of an idea for our audio drama, Wormwood: A Serialized Mystery, I was sitting on a film set, waiting for the lighting to be set up properly for the next shot in a short film I was directing, and listening to my then-new iPod. That’s what inspired me to think about using audio to tell stories. But you know what I was listening to? iFanboy podcasts. So, I’ve been a part of the iFanboy community for a while now, and I can honestly say that the vibrant, enthusiastic community remains a large part of my love for comics and my inspiration to MAKE comics. I owe you guys a lot.

In fact, I’ll even tell you that I was sitting at lunch at the San Diego Comic-con WITH several iFanboy community members and iFanboy’s own Ali Colluccio when I got the call that Hermes Press wanted to meet with us about Sparrow & Crowe.

Sparrow & Crowe: The Demoniac of Los Angeles uses characters from our audio show, but I think Jeremy Rogers and I have really been inspired by our artist, Jared Souza. These are characters that were voices in our heads, but Jared’s atmospheric and expressive watercolors really blew our minds and primed us to think about what we could do with comics. This series IS a comic book series — we’re playing to the strengths of the medium in the same way we learned to play to the strengths of the audio medium.

I’m completely drawn to books like Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, Sandman, and Hellboy — spooky occult horror stuff. But I’m also really drawn to crime fiction. I think the story we’ve scripted here plays to both, as our occult detective finds himself caught between Hell and the mob. I’ve been calling it ‘occult noir’ — It’s spooky and moody with a neo-noir vibe… somehow Jared’s angles and style give the book an almost 70s Brian DiPalma feel, even though it’s set in the present day. I can’t explain it, but take a look at the art and tell me I’m wrong. 🙂 Our goal with this story is to blend occult horror and noir mystery in a way that comics does it best. I think the genre mash-up is getting more popular in mainstream media these day, but for a long time, comics were the place to find stories that didn’t fit exactly in one genre or another. I think we’re definitely writing to an audience that love different genres and likes seeing how they all play together.

We’re really excited to be partnering with Hermes Press on the launch of their original comics line. They’ve been great and very supportive. But this is still very much a creator-owned venture, and the comics market is a tricky one, so we’ve launched our Kickstarter campaign to help with production and marketing costs associated with the project. But I’ve got to tell you, I think the rewards we’ve set for the pledge levels are really cool and worthwhile on their own. We’ve got original pages of art from the first issue, sketches, bound scriptbooks… and Hermes Press even donated some of their big, hardcover reprint books, like Volumes 1-3 of The Phantom: The Daily Strips and Volumes 1-5 of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: The Daily Strips. There’s some really good stuff there.

Read more about Sparrow & Crowe: The Demoniac of Los Angeles on the Hermes Press blog or on their official Kickstarter campaign page.

 

 

Comments

  1. I’m in. Dave is a good guy and they created a fun story.

  2. I’ve “known” Dave quite some time from the site and the old Revision 3 boards. Best of luck to you guys! It’s great to see you guys conquer the ultimate medium.

  3. I’ve spent many an hour listening to Wormwood, after I noticed Paul was writing for it. I’m in and good luck.

  4. Guys, thanks very much for the support! Every bit helps! I’m really excited about this project (as you can see from how I blather on about it), and I can’t wait to bring you guys this story in 2012!

    And seriously, I’m completely humbled by Paul’s praise of our work. Wow. Paul’s a great writer and a great friend, and Paul’s support means a hell of a lot to me, as I’m sure you all can imagine. 🙂

  5. We just hit $2K today, halfway to our goal. And it was in LARGE part to both hustling and donations from the iFanboy audience. Couldn’t be happier! 🙂