But What if I Want to Spit in the Wind?
I'm nowhere near an expert on Intellectual Property Rights, but I am 100% in favor of making sure creators get what they're owed for their creations! This is why I think the increase of Creator-Owned comics is absolutely fantastic. If you're not familiar with the process, the creator builds the character, world, and any other IP out of their own pocket, and then license the use of that IP to the publisher for a period of time, and are paid royalties on from that license. Once the terms of the license are up, the creator can work with another publisher, create their own works in that universe etc.
With all of that out of the way...MAD CAVE STUDIOS HAS ITS FIRST CREATOR OWNED SERIES!!!!!!
Don't Spit In The Wind (Mad Cave Studios)
By: Stefano Cardoselli and Daniel Lee
FOC: March 6, 2023
Alright, so this series mirrors elements of my favorite Pixar movie WALL-E. Planet Earth is an absolute wasteland. Those with the means fled to a luxury space station...and left to clean up the mess isn't adorable robots. Cardoselli offers a more realistic version of our destructive future where the poor operate as "specialized garbage men" attempting to clean up after humanity's mess.
I really enjoy the opening page of this book, where we meet Travis (the protagonist) who's getting pooped on by a bird, and his first word of the comic is "Shit." This is as iconic as Alana's opening lines in Saga "am I shitting? It feels like I'm shitting..."
This opens us up to Travis' very blue collar view of the harrowing task he's charged with. Cleaning up a filthy planet. Its a shit job, with shit equipment, and he's lower than shit on the social ladder. He's not afraid to let us know how truly bad it is, and I appreciate being introduced to this new world from the ground floor. As we progress through the issue we meet his love, several of his co-workers, and get to see a typical day in the life. Until "unit 6" becomes non-responsive...and we see the rise of a biblical plague (do your research kids).
I really like this book and will be pulling it for a couple of reasons:
It's a dystopian future I can actually see coming (RIP us...).
I think the main character is insanely relatable (unless you've actually lived in a wealthy space-station in the sky).
The art and colors are FUCKING INSANE!!!!! One of my favorite recent Mad Cave titles was Terminal Punks, where I think Shelby Criswell put on an absolute clinic of how to make a book look unique...I think Cardoselli and Lee may have raised the bar.
The art in this book looks so amazing, it almost has a feel of reading an older comic printed on newsprint, which was an amazing feel for someone who prefers physical to digital reads.
You should definitely add this book to your pull list now, I promise you won't regret it!