If any of you are like me, you grew up watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, playing with the brand’s action figures, and reading the comics. But have you ever wondered what it was like for the creators of TMNT — or any other popular franchise for that matter — to hit it big in the comic book industry? What kind of stories do these guys have to tell from behind the scenes?

In Drawing Blood — a graphic novel written by one of TMNT‘s co-creators, Kevin Eastman, and that is currently running on Kickstarter — you’ll get to learn about some of these true stories, only set in a fictionalized world. Joined by comic creators David Avallone and Ben Bishop, Eastman’s Kickstarter for Drawing Blood has passed its goal of $75,000, and with only has a few days left, is now reach for some awesome stretch goals!

I was able to chat with both Avallone and Bishop about the project, and am excited to share their experiences with all of you! Check out the interview here below, along with their video for Drawing Blood!

Back in December, I did a Patreon Spotlight for Ben Bishop‘s (The Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness, Nathan the Caveman) post apocalyptic graphic novel, The Aggregate. Bishop invites us to imagine “if all the Power Rangers were evil, and they wanted to use their Megazord to wipe out most of the people on Earth, and Mad Max was a girl, AND he fell in love with the Red Ranger”¦” Doesn’t this sound amazing?

Recently, the artist and author decided to utilize Kickstarter as the platform to make this book happen. One of the first “choose your own adventure” style graphic novels – or as Bishop calls it, “Split Decision Comics” – the Kickstarter opened up yesterday morning, and has already exceeded its $10,000 goal! But with 28 days left in the campaign, there are still plenty of opportunities to support this endeavor — including pushing the project up to its second goal of $20,000, allowing Bishop to offer the book in full color.

Ben Bishop is a talented comic book artist and writer who is utilizing Patreon in hopes of funding his next graphic novel, The Aggregate.

I first met Bishop at New York Comic-Con in 2008. I was strolling through the Artist Alley, not really looking for anything specific, when a particular work of art stood out among the hundreds I’d already glanced over. I found myself flipping through the 300-page Nathan the Caveman, the first self-published graphic novel that he had created. As I spoke with Bishop about the concept behind the novel, I knew I needed to read the book. I bought a copy, brought it home with me, and finished it that night in one sitting. The next day, I went back to Bishop’s table at the convention and explained to him how much I enjoyed the honesty and humanity of the story through the medium of a graphic novel.

I have since been following Bishop’s work, immersing myself in the short story work he did for the 2014 Harvey Award nominated The Reason for Dragons, as well as the multiple award winning, The Lost Trail: Nine Days Alone in the Wilderness. I am thrilled to announce that his latest project, The Aggregate is in the works.

The Reason For Dragons
Written by Chris Northrop
Illustrated by Jeff Stokely
Colored by Chris Northrop and Andrew Elder
Letter by Chris Northrop
Cover by Jeff Stokely
Archaia Entertainment
Release Date: August 6, 2013
Cover Price: $19.95

“All men have to fight battles, big or small.”

In The Reason For Dragons, the new graphic novel from Archaia, Chris Northrop and Jeff Stokely explore this idea to its fullest. This is a coming-of-age adventure filled with fire-breathing dragons, knights, misunderstood relationships and bravery at its best.

Wendell is a scrawny, geeky teen who just wants to fit in. Bullied by thugs from school and feeling less important than his step-father, Ted’s, precious motorcycle named Lilly, Wendell is disappointed with life in general. When pushed by two tormenters into entering the abandoned, “haunted” Arthurian fair at the edge of town, Wendell seizes the opportunity as a way to prove his fearlessness. What Wendell finds at the fairgrounds is something he didn’t expect: a man dressed as a knight who believes himself to actually be a knight. As Wendell and the knight, Sir Habersham, spend the night avoiding a “dragon,” it becomes apparent to Wendell that his acquaintance is insane””or is he?