The New Recruits by Utility Belt Comics

By and large, I think fundraising through sites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter is a splendid option.

The downside, from the contributor's point of view, is that it can take quite some time for it to pay off.  I am still waiting on some perks I bought in 2012 and frankly there are a couple that I believe I'll never see.

Brad Glenn, for Edmonton-based Utility Belt Comics, does something I appreciate in his campaign for the first issue of The New Recruits. I selected the $8 perk described below.

Yeah! You get the comic before anyone else! You also get your name on the patron page. (Or pseudonym, should you wish.) As a bonus, you will receive a PDF of Tales of the New Recruits within a week of donating! Outside of Canada add five dollars please.

The portion in bold above makes reference to issue #0 of the series.  That issue compiles a number of short stories that provide a little background information about the characters that will grace the pages of the New Recruits series.  It is promised to be delivered within a week yet I received it about two hours after my contribution was processed.

I know the point of these campaigns is usually to raise funds in order to be able to create the product, but it was nice to get something upfront for a change (perhaps this is done more often than I realise, but it's the first among the various campaigns I've supported). Makes the wait until the actual perk is available a little easier to bear.

With that said...What's New Recruits about? Well, as stated at the top of the campaign page "The New Recruits is the story of a group of young, rookie superheroes that are in William Bestman College to become superheroes."  Furthermore...

This story is unique. It isn't really about superhero fights and battles, although there are a number of them in the comics, but more than that, it's about people. It's about being young and away from home, and given freedoms, choices, responsibilities, and consequences. It's about the pressures that change people, and how stress can make you question your beliefs.

Visit the page and watch the video in which Glenn and artist James Clement discuss the various characters in the book.  They've come up with a rather eclectic bunch and it'll be interesting to see how (or if) they all mesh together.