I’m going to be honest up front. I really thought after an initial first glance that this Kickstarter for Skies of Fire was for a steampunk-themed comic. And being a fan of that genre, I quickly agreed to write it up. But when I found out that this was actually about diesel-powered airships, I was even more intrigued. Imagine a world, set in an era that corresponds closely to our post-World War I Europe, where battles are fought in the air with huge cannons mounted on zeppelins and loads of airplane dogfights. And while this might look like our world, it’s not. There are a lot of unique pieces to this puzzle. Allow me to explain.

Set in the Aquilan Empire, the story revolves around a quasi-British empire whose naval fleet defends its colonies and holdings from marauders and pirates. The premise here is about one of these raiders destroying a trading post that is essential to the Empire’s financial well being. Add to that the fact that the pirate has evaded the authorities by seeking sanctuary in the huge eternal storm known as The Expanse and one of the Imperial Captains is sent to give chase, and we get one swashbuckling tale of adventure on the high skies!

The story is planned to run a total of eight issues with any extras from this issue’s production going toward the publication costs of the upcoming comics. The story itself started off as a screenplay, by the way, and they’ve done a wonderful job adapting it into sequential art.

Not only is the story set in a new world, but it took a global effort to bring it to life! The creative team working on Skies of Fire is remarkable multinational. Five continents are represented within these pages. Writer/co-creator Ray Chou is working from Los Angeles; Vincenzo Ferriero, also co-creator and writer, is based in London; the primary artist, Pablo Peppino, lives in Rosario, Argentina; Bryan Valenza, colorist, resides in Jakarta, Indonesia; and Nic J. Shaw, the letterer, is in Sydney, Australia. That’s pretty widespread, if you don’t mind me saying. But each brings something special to the table and they make one hell of a team!

As with almost all Kickstarters, certain pledge amounts to the campaign are rewarded with incentives. In this case, a mere $5 gets you the digital version of the comic; $15 gets you digital and physical copies, but $25 gets the variant Kickstarter editions. Want a shirt instead? Pony up $30 for the tee and a PDF of issue #1! There are lots more but they are going fast! limited amounts remain of the larger donation rewards, like original art from Skies of Fire for $150! And much, much more! I hope you find one that matches your interest, I know I did!

Take the time to look this one over. Anything you pledge will be collected, this one is funded already, which means the rewards are a guarantee, you’ll get whatever you pledge to receive! How cool is that? I’ve included the video below but please go to the Kickstarter page and check it all out, I’m including the link here. This fundraiser ends on April 11, 2014, so you have more than enough time to go give it a once over. You won’t be disappointed!