[Since jumping into comics crowdfunding in March, I’ve received 12 projects in paper form. Some have arrived digitally, but I’ll wait until the paper copies arrive because I’m that type of luddite. This “Year in Review” will catalog each one…and I promise to be done by New Year’s Eve!]
I first ran into Caleb Thusat at a small local comics show in Columbus, Ohio when he was preparing to launch his first book, a children’s reader board book called Supercats. He was very nice, and my daughter loved Supercats. (She’s a little older now, having figured out the basics of reading…so kinda aged out of the board books.) Beyond the initial crowdfunded book, Thusat actually crowfunded another two sequels. Impressive!
His Flytrap: A Time Travel Adventure, however, is a very different animal. Rather than a board book, we have a 60-page, perfect-bound, full color tale. It’s the story of Albert, who was inspired to create a teleportation device by the Jeff Goldblum film, “The Fly.” Long story made super short: He creates the device, it gets into the wrong hands and things go south. So Albert – unable to take back his creation – resolves to go back in time to destroy “The Fly” and remove the inspiration from his younger self. It’s a creative tale, surprisingly sparse in script considering the density of the ideas in play. Character development is there for both Albert and Rane, his sweetheart.
The art by Marcelo Biott is simple…slightly cartoony but not manga-centric. There’s a certain quirky flavor to it. I like it; it fits the book.
The book is signed by Thusat and Biott via a bookplate sticker. I should also mention that other crowdfunded books which I have supported were signed, including War Priest #1 (on the cover), Branches Entwined and Broken (on a bookplate) and Take the Monkey & RUN! #1 (on the cover). Surely, it’s a minor inconvenience to the creators, but this gesture is one of the things that I love about crowdfunding…the personal touch, making the supporter feel that much closer to the creators.
Thusat says that while this book stands on its own, it’s also part of a larger, interconnected time travel trilogy. It’ll be interesting to see the subsequent books.
The book crossed a couple of funding stretch goals after getting funded, so I received a full color bookmark and a magnet:
It’s a very nice book, and a bold move in a different direction from children’s books. Congrats to Thusat on spreading his wings. Clearly, it paid off!
~ Prior Entries ~
Day 2: Branches Entwined & Broken
Day 3: Take the Monkey and RUN! #1
Day 4: Time Before Time – Process Edition
Have you considered checking out my small press comics and stories?
Phoenix Productions 
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