Things appear to be going well for collaborators Evan Young and Lou Iovino: Not only are they in the final hours of a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the second volume of their alternate-history thriller The Last West, they've signed a deal with Outlier, whose founders' producing credits include the Twilight and Percy Jackson film series.

The agreement gives Outlier to the exclusive rights to shop the property to film studios, television networks, financiers and the like.

"Lou and I are really ecstatic about working with Outlier and having them shopping the comic around Hollywood," Young told ROBOT 6. "It's clear that they think the basic premise of the story holds the potential to intrigue the masses. But even more important to us is that Outlier is right on board with the fact that The Last West isn't totally whiz-bang. It's a slower-burn, character-driven story to sink your teeth into -- the way Lost was, for example. Outlier gets this 100 percent. So combine that with the fact that Outlier clearly knows their business, have a proven track record with some mega-hit movies behind them. ... Man, we really can't wait to see where it goes."

Published by Alterna Comics, The Last West is described as a noir epic set in a world where all progress -- scientific, artistic and societal -- came to a stop in 1945, following the failure of the first test of the atomic bomb. Sixty years later, one man thinks he knows why it happened and who can jump-start the world.

The Kickstarter campaign, with ends tonight at 7 PT/10 ET, will allow Young and Iovino to complete the series. They're already surpassed their $5,000 goal, but those interested in seeing how the story ends -- and snagging some incentives in the process -- may want to slip in their pledges before the clock ticks down.