Today we’re going to talk about a comic book with one of the longest titles I’ve ever seen: “Aldous Spark: Meddler in History and other Unsavory Affairs”.

The project is the first book in a series following the adventures of Aldous Spark, an adventurer, magician, master thief, and member of the secretive anarchist Black Moth society that wages a never ending battle against the powers that be.

Aldous is accompanied on his adventures by his apprentice Isaiah,

and over the course of his adventures he meets a whole host of colorful and dangerous individuals such as a drug addled heiress Araceli who has the ability to see the future.

Aldous’ on again, off again rival in crime Marla,

and a mysterious and terrifying order of silent and emotionless religious zealots called the Red Priests.

The comic is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter and seeks to raise $5000 by November 20th, 2016.

Kickstarter link: here

Why I like it:

If you spend any amount of time around me you will find out that I am a rabid fan of history and like a lot of people I am fascinated with Victorian England.

It’s a wonderful era for story telling filled with tremendous wealth,

crushing poverty,

fantastic technological progress,

exploration,

and political intrigue that would shape the world for decades to come.

From what I’ve seen, this Kicstarter project takes a lot of these tropes, ideas, and imagry and turns it into its own special type of story where there is something for everyone.  You’ve got cool looking technology coupled with ancient mystical artifacts,

intrigue and danger,

and all sorts of strange artifacts and codes that look like they could create a fun and engaging mystery that will leave the reader scratching their head and wanting more.

This is Victorian fiction done right and I can’t wait to see what happens.

Why you should donate:

First and foremost, the artwork is fantastic!

I was really drawn into this project for the story and atmosphere but for all you art fiends out there this is some really fantastic stuff.

But there is a deeper, more important reason why I think a lot of other people will like this book.

As I said before, Aldous is a member of the Black Moth Society.  It’s a group of anarchists dedicated to foiling the schemes and machinations of the powerful elite.

The Victorian era was a great time of progress, but it was also a great time of turmoil.

There were the wealthy industrialists,

bankers,

and inventors.

While these men made fortunes and created the world we know today they also created tremendous poverty and squalor,

and a new brand of imperialism that left most of the world in shambles.

It was during this time that anarchists rose up and organized themselves against the ruling elite of the time to protest what they saw as unfair treatment and horrific living conditions of many for the needs of a few rich men and women.

This is the social and ideological divide that Aldous Spark plays around with and as I said before, it’s a tremendous opportunity for a great story.

Any historian worth his/her salt will tell you that history repeats itself, but that’s ridiculous.  After all it’s not like there are modern day wealthy industrialists,

bankers,

and inventors,

who have become fabulously wealthy while a lot of the world lives in crushing poverty.

Are there differences?  Yes.  Have we learned from the mistakes of the past?  A little bit.  But it doesn’t change the fact that the world we are living in is eerily reminiscent of the Victorian world that Aldous Spark takes place in.  Sometimes in order to fix the problems of the world you need a little bit of chaos and anarchy.  Sometimes you need to be a meddler in history and other unsavory affairs.

Kickstarter link: here