A 125+ page collection of short stories about the last strip mall after the apocalypse and the dysfunctional shopkeepers left behind.
Aporkalypse is the comedic tale of a down-on-its-luck Strip Mall that has a fortunate turn when it manages to dodge the apocalyptic destruction of the end of the world.
Now the shop owners must learn to tolerate each other or run the risk of facing the end of days alone under the shadow of The World’s Largest Pig statue.
Their humorous adventures are cooked up by over 35 indie comic creators from all over the globe. Each creative team adds their own flavor and spice to the story.
The 125 page collection will be printed in a square-shaped format. It is available as a standard trade paperback or as a Kickstarter exclusive hardcover.
It will feature a scrumptious spread of short stories, comic strips and plenty of bonus content not seen before online or anywhere!
The cover (below) is illustrated by french artist, Vincent Dubourg, who also provided two featured stories.
Each character began with a basic personality (hippie, geek, traveler, etc.) and a design model for clothing, body type, appearance, etc. The creative teams then fleshed out the world and characters with personality, backstory, and unique art styles.
Here is a basic rundown of the Pig Plaza shopkeepers:
Kalua (Randy) The Loveable Samoan BBQ Aficionado
His Hawaiian birth certificate says Kalua, but everyone began calling him Randy after he bought Randy’s Riblet Ranch. The big Samoan is the emotional anchor to the strip-mall. If you got issues, he’s got a listening ear and a riblets because, in his opinion, there’s nothing that tasty BBQ can’t help.
The Chip The Tech-Obsessed Village Idiot
He goes by the name of “the Chip” and works at Everything$ Expen$ive, the one stop shop for all the latest, greatest, and, (after the apocalypse) pretty useless electronics. The Chip is a tech-obsessed jerk that suddenly finds himself thrust into the real world after the demise of the Internet. The Chip had thousands of “friends” on the Internet, in the real world he has zero. #awkward
Kobuta The Semi-Professional Cosplay Geek
Kobuta-Chan works at The Pig Bang, the strip’s comic and game shop. She’s the only one among the survivors that has changes of clothes, even if they’re all costumes. She’s a smart, self-proclaimed geek that is obsessed with Japanese culture. The youngest of the survivors, Kobuta brings a quirky energy, even if they don’t always understand her.
Harold The Grumpy Old Lawn Lover.
Harold a tough old codger that bought the pawn shop, Piggy Bank, to go into the pawn business to add to his junk collection. In a destroyed world where even an old 8-track tape player is valuable, The Piggy Bank is a gold mine.
Mrs. Johnson The (Probably) Chinese wife.
Harold may own The Piggy Bank pawn shop but his foreign wife, Mrs. Johnson, runs the place and her husband. Mrs. Johnson is shrewd and continually annoys Harold by selling her husband’s accumulated treasures behind his back. Mrs. Johnson doesn’t speak a lick of English.
Fern The Vegan Flower Child.
Fern has two loves: organic gardening, and her pet pig, Pickles. Strictly vegan, Fern opened her earth friendly shop, Hogs and Kisses, to promote green living and meat-free eating. When she’s not trying to bring the decimated landscape around the Plaza to life, Fern can be found protesting the Riblet Ranch.
Professor Pickles The Pig.
Fern’s lovable pet. Pickles is a pig. A cute, cuddly pig.
Bryan The Unfortunate British Vagabond.
Last customer on earth. Bryan is backpacker from England. He set out to see and experience the best the world has to offer. His first (and last) stop is the “World’s Largest Pig”, a kitschy American landmark. The young traveler is in the wrong place at the right time when the apocalypse hits and only the Pig Plaza remains. The backpacked wanted to see the world, but now is stranded in the least exciting place in it.
The book will collect the 50+ comic strips that were originally featured in a weekly St. Louis area newspaper. The book will also contain exclusive never before seen short stories, created by independent comic book creators from all over the globe JUST for this book!
Here are a few previews of the strips and shorts served up by Aporkalypse.
Stache Publishing is an indie comic collective based in the Metro-East St. Louis area. Stache is committed to supporting the art form of comics, indie creators, and the creative community. We believe that the independent comic community is overflowing with talent. By working together, we can achieve our highest goals.
We’ve had some very generous help with backers on Kickstarter to help our ideas become realities. We cannot express the depth of our appreciation to all of you for your help. We hope that this campaign will reach people who may not have heard of this project any other way. We want ALL off these creators’ work seen by as many folks as possible.
Thank you backing and sharing this Kickstarter campaign.
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Jordan Williams has his bachelor degree in art from SIUE and is an artist, writer, illustrator, and Pokémon master. Williams is the creator, writer, and artist for the Gunpowder Witch and is a co-founder of the independent comic book group, Stache. His art has been featured in fine art exhibitions and gallery shows. He has also won a number of awards for his fine art. Williams is the one writing this bio in third person, and feels awkward about it.
Stache has produced a number of successful campaigns in the past and is passionate about its products and reader satisfaction. The team is 100% committed to our supporters.
The editors have been responsible for other successful Kickstarter campaigns (Gunpowder Witch & Tabula Rasa/Butterfly.) The artwork and stories are all completed and ready for production. We are aiming to have this book ready by St. Louis Project Comic Con in mid-October and sent to backers. No issues are anticipated, but as they arise we will do what we can to fix them.