As you’ve probably figured, I am something of a comic book fan.

Now I’m far from the biggest one; there’s guys and girls half my age who know more about comics than I ever will. And I’ve never been a fan of the marvel/DC superhero books. I’m aware of them, I know the characters, but I’ve never been “into” either universe.  I’ve never been much of a superhero fan either. Sure I’ve read Watchmen, and The Dark Knight Returns, and Marvels, and am a big fan of All-Star Superman but I’ve never bought a superhero book on a regular basis, with the exception of Kurt Busiek’s amazing Astro City series.

But I was never able to get into reading regular Marvel or DC universe books. Probably because the back stories were so dense, likely because so many were crossovers, or referenced other books (which meant you had to buy those too). Mostly because I just didn’t find superheroes that interesting.

My comics readership waxed and waned (the mid 1980s to late 1990s were my Golden Age) over the years, and when I got back into the funny books in the late 00’s, it was titles like Y: The Last Man, DMZ, and The Walking Dead that stoked my interest, and in their own way led me to create Mixtape. Having been mired in Mixtape production I sadly have less money to spend on comic books (because I’m spending it on my own), but with Mixtape #5 illustrated, the first arc in that series is almost complete so I have some time now to pursue other comic book projects.  And I get to announce one of those right here:

And it’s a superhero book.

In one of life’s ironies, I’m more interested in superheroes now than I was at the optimum age. If you were to ask if there’s any superhero stories or characters I’d be interested in telling a story about in my idea pile, I’d answer that there’s several, including one Superman story I’m dying to tell (seriously, anybody at DC reads this, hit me up).

I think it’s because I’m interested in them less as characters and more as icons; as what they’re representative of. They envision a world of wonder that’s a lot more appealing than the world we’ve got. They represent the ideal we all strive toward.

Naturally, Sharp Avenger is a piss take on all of that.

Sharp Avenger is the brainchild of David Buceta and David Braña. David is also the graphics whiz responsible for lettering the recent and upcoming issues of Mixtape. So when he told me about Sharp Avenger and asked if I wanted to be involved, I couldn’t say no. For me the opportunity to be part of a very European comics collection was too good to pass up.

Sharp Avenger collects the work of some of Europe’s hottest new comic book talent, and I’m honored to be a part of it. They are crowdfunding the book to pay printing costs, and you can learn more about all of that here. So if you’re a fan of superheroes and a fan of European comics work, please throw some support their way!