Kickstarter Could Revive Mantlo & Guice's '80s Pirate Comic

CBR

By Brandon Staley

Published May 12, 2017

A new stretch goal for the campaign outlines how the ‘80s pirate-themed sci-fi comic book series might make a comeback.

Time is ticking down for one of the biggest potential returns in comic book history – but only if it gets funded. Bill Mantlo and Butch Guice’s Swords of the Swashbucklers restoration Kickstarter has officially reached its second stretch goal, netting just under $42,000 at the time of this report. Now, the third and final stretch goal has been announced. If the campaign is able to raise $50,000 in pledged funds, Butch Guice and the Mantlo family will produce a brand-new Swords of the Swashbucklers series. There’s just one catch. The campaign has precious few hours remaining.

Swords of the Swashbucklers is a creator-owned comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics’ Epic Comics division and ran for 12 issues between 1985 and 1987. The series was set on an alternate Earth in which sinister aliens called Colonizers are regularly raided by freedom-loving pillagers called Swashbucklers. One such Swashbuckler, a young girl named Domino Blackthorne Drake, uses her unique abilities to fight her people’s oppressors and rescue her parents alongside the Pirate Queen.

The series was created by Bill Mantlo, creator of Rocket Raccoon and a prolific writer at Marvel in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and Butch Guice, who recently illustrated Ed Brubaker's run of Captain America. The Kickstarter campaign was launched last month to restore Mantlo and Guice’s pirate-themed series, but found such success that multiple stretch goals were added, including collectible stickers and temporary tattoos. This latest stretch goal looks to bring the series back entirely.

If the campaign can reach the $50,000 goal by its end date, Butch Guice will return to the series along with the Mantlo family. Bill Mantlo will not be returning to the series. The writer suffered severe brain damage in a hit-and-run accident while rollerblading in 1992 and has resided in a rehabilitation center ever since. Mantlo is known for penning over 500 Marvel comic books in his career, including the likes of Spectacular Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Micronauts and Rom: SpaceKnight, among others.

Backers of the Swords of the Swashbucklers Kickstarter campaign can also net various extras based on the level of funding they provide, including digital editions, t-shirts, collectible prints, hardcover upgrades and hand drawn illustrations by Butch Guice. The campaign is schedule to conclude May 12, 2017 at 10:42 AM PDT. All pledges to the campaign must be made by the time.