Kickstarter Spotlight: Wallop! Annual

Rob Lake takes a look at the Wallop! Annual Kickstarter...

These last few months I've recently found myself turning towards Kickstarter to find new comics to read. I've always been a fan of the juggernaut that is Marvel, but since the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) turned up and oversaturated everything, I decided to explore the often neglected indie scene of comics. 

By doing so I've come across a few incredible independent comic publishers - and made a few friends along the way. My latest finding was Wallop! Annual, which was all due to being tagged in a tweet by Sentinal artist Ed Doyle. Upon checking out the Wallop! campaign page on Kickstarter I was instantly impressed by what creators John Jackson and Brian Clarke have put together. 

The Wallop! Annual intends to be a homage to the Beano and Dandy that's been kicked into the 21st century. The annual will feature 68-pages of fun and laughter all within a hardback cover. 

Here's what John Jackson has to say about Wallop!'s creation...

"We both loved the humour and had worked on several comedy projects together so the idea of a 'ten laughs a page' funny comic seemed natural to us.

As well as being fun, fun, funny we wanted something different to hold the concept together. A theme that gave it a unique identity. An edge in an increasingly crowded humour market. After much head-scratching and false starts, we decided on a humour comic based on adventure strips. 

Originally Wallop! was to be 'just a comic' with the two of us doing the whole thing but it quickly took on a life of its own. Comics stalwart Kev F Sutherland soon suggested the idea of a traditional hard-backed annual. We thought it would be a great opportunity to bring other people in. The rules were dead simple:

• It must be funny.
• It must include only brand new characters.
• It must be a traditional hard-backed annual."

Jackson also gives us a nice rundown of all the creators and stories that will feature in the Wallop! Annual as well, and by looking at the creators it's going to be a fun 64-page book. The list of creators is as follows...

• Brian M Clarke - (Crikey!, Mancunian )
• John Jackson - (Albert the Mouse, Cyborg Gerbils, Count Duckula, Mancunian)
• Keith Robson - (The Dandy, Starblazer, for IPC on Jinty and Buster)
• Alessandro Giampaeletti - (RATS, LETRABOTS, Edo e le page di Terratetra (Italy)
• Kev F Sutherland - (Oink!. Beano, Viz, 2000ad, Star Trek, Doctor Who Adventures)
• Dave Windett - (The Dandy, Spookytown, Inspector Gadget, Tiny Toons)
• Joe Matthews - (The Beano, Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry Comic, Bob The Builder)
• Chris Matthews  - 
• Mike Collins - (Marvel Comics, DC Comics, 2000ad, Dr Who)
• Marc Jackson - (Beano, Aces Weekly, Comic Heroes magazine, Comic Scene)

At the time of writing this article Wallop! has achieved its modest goal amount of £600, and is currently at £659. There is a great number of backer rewards on offer too which all vary in a price to suit everyone's budget. I went for a reward called" Jackson WALLOP! AGAIN. This means for the paltry sum of £20 I'd receive the A4, 64-page full-colour hardback of the Wallop! Annual, as well as an A5 character commission from legendary UK cartoonist John Jackson!

You can check out the Wallop! Annual Hardback Kickstarter campaign page by clicking the link below.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wallop/wallop-annual?ref=user_menu

Geek Culture Reviews will also be reviewing the Annual once we receive our backer copy in the future! Don't miss it!

Rob Lake - For more comic and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter @GeekCultureRev