If you are like me and you see Jimmy Palmiotti‘s name, you probably get excited and start thinking of all the great comics he’s written over the years. Because, let’s be honest, the dude kicks major ass at everything he does. So when I saw that his newest Kickstarter campaign Denver was up and running, I almost immediately jumped at the chance to write it up. This is an exclusive to Kickstarter project, meaning it will only be available to backers of this campaign. And with a story like this one, it’s surely going to be one of the year’s best graphic novels. It’s all about mankind after a disaster, but it’s not your typical post-apocalyptic story…it’s far more than that.

The premise of this graphic novel is that a meteor has struck the Earth and has caused a shift in water levels. Well, actually, the vast majority of land sank beneath the seas and what little land is left is fiercely defended. That’s where our buddy Max Flynn comes in. He’s part of the group that monitors and protects the city (city state) of Denver from anything and anyone going in or out. With a finite amount of land mass, it stands to reason that only a certain quantity of people can be sustained. Armed with that knowledge, Max and the rest of the Coast Border Guards are tasked with controlling the flux of wanderers and marauders who seek entrance. This story is all about Max and how he is forced to reassess his worldview and the realization that not everything is as he thought. Sounds intriguing, yes? I would be remiss if I didn’t also say that this is a mature graphic novel and most likely not suitable for children.

Continue below for more information and to check out a Kickstarter video to see what the book is all about.

Sex & Violence
Written by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray
Artwork by Jimmy Broxton, Juan Santacruz
Color by Challenging Studios
Letters by Jimmy Broxton, Bill Totrolini
Cover by Amanda Conner and Paul Mounts
Paper Films
Release Date: April, 2013
Cover Price: Kickstarter

Kickstarter…what a change it has brought. No longer does a creator have to hope that they get their idea picked up by a major player in the appropriate genre. Truly amazing the way it has changed business for some people. Not that Sex & Violence needed to worry about any of that. No, with Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray leading the way, this one was destined for print regardless. They did, however, do their fans a solid by making this comic exclusive (for the time being) to the Kickstarter backers and for Print On Demand for a few other exclusive folk. It makes this book a lot more rare than the average comic, no matter how it came to life.

Broken into two sections, this graphic novel is all about sex and violence (obviously). But whereas I expected one about sex and another about violence, these are a bit of both. Each weighs in heavier on one than the other to balance themselves out, however. I would say like yin-yang but in this case it’s all dark so I’m not sure that applies here.

Chin Music #1
Written by Steve Niles
Illustrated by Tony Harris
Lettered by Bill Tortolini
Image Comics
Release Date: May 8, 2013
Cover Price: $2.99

Chin Music #1 from Image Comics is the tale of a man who skirmishes with mystical forces, mobsters, and law enforcement. Taking place in Chicago during Prohibition, this new series, written by master of comic book horror Steve Niles and illustrated by Tony Harris, has such a fascinating concept “” an idea that could easily fall apart if not handled correctly; and sure enough, Chin Music falls apart.

An unknown man is chased through the streets of a Middle Eastern country and forced to use his supernatural powers to fly into the air in one last attempt to escape. Outnumbered by and inferior to three cloaked figures with red, glowing eyes, the man’s flesh is torn off and he is cast out of the city. Crawling on the ground and near death, the man is almost run over by a vehicle. Ness, the driver of the car, gets out and attempts to help the dying carcass. Just before death, the man grabs Ness’ arm and transfers a massive burn to Ness’ wrist, revealing that he’s taken on the stranger’s abilities. Moving forward through time to Chicago, mobsters are rising to power, but someone begins to remove them from the equation; but where does Ness fit in here?

Joe Abercrombie, author of The First Law fantasy series, among others set in the same world, has been working on a graphic novel based on his books for some time, and now, you can check out the first 12 pages of the first book, The Blade Itself, over at firstlawcomic.com.

New pages will be added at the site every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If you’d like to own the actual issues, allowing yourself to browse through the pages whenever you want, you can purchase the issues at Comixology.com. The first issue is up now for $.99 and all subsequent issues will be sold for $2.99 each.

Abercrombie has brought in some amazing talent for this project as well. The series is being published by Rich Young at Blind Ferret Entertainment, written by Chuck Dixon (G.I. Joe, The Simpsons, Punisher) and illustrated by Andie Tong (Spectacular Spider-Man, Tron: Betrayal).

Creator-Owned Heroes #2
Written by Steve Niles, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray
Art by Phil Noto, Kevin Mellon
Letters by Bill Tortolini
Image Comics
Release Date: July 4, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Creator-Owned Heroes is Image’s new monthly series that highlights the original content of established comic book talent. More than “just a comic,” it’s a feature-packed magazine that celebrates creative independence. How appropriate that the second issue was released on the 4th of July. You definitely get your money’s worth; this book is loaded with content with two ongoing comic series, interviews, editorials, and how-to features.

The comic book portion, which makes up about two-thirds of the book, continues the Triggergirl and American Muscle series that kicked off last month. American Muscle is a post-apocalyptic, zombie-ish story where human immune systems have completely stopped functioning. The comic follows a small group of survivors and their search for a safe, permanent place to start a new life. In the last issue, they made their way to Los Angeles only to discover that it has become a zombie-riddled wasteland that’s falling into the Pacific Ocean.