Sir Reginald And The Clockwork Heart by Joe Atalla, Juni Ba, Jesse Lonergan, Dimitrios Pantazis and Armand Bodnar on Kickstarter
Article Summary
- Sir Reginald And The Clockwork Heart by Joe Atalla launches on Kickstarter as a hardcover pulp adventure anthology.
- Joe Atalla makes his writing debut with five linked Sir Reginald stories drawn by Juni Ba, Jesse Lonergan and more.
- Atalla shares how collaborating on Sir Reginald And The Clockwork Heart pushed his ideas further and sped up the book.
- The anthology blends Hellboy-style mystery and DuckTales energy as Sir Reginald hunts artefacts and faces Prof. Zardo.
Goats Flying Press is launching Sir Reginald & the Clockwork Heart on Kickstarter, a hardcover pulp adventure comics anthology about skeleton gentleman adventurer Sir Reginald and his ghostly butler, Mr Spittle, travelling across deserts, oceans, temples, and graveyards as they collect mysterious artefacts. There is an overarching secret involving a Clockwork Heart and Reginald’s old nemesis Prof. Zardo. And there are five interconnected stories are written by Joe Atalla, making his writing debut and illustrated by Juni Ba, Eisner nominee for The Fables of Erlking Wood, Jesse Lonergan, Eisner and Ignatz winner for Drome, Dimitrios Pantazis of Hello Halloween, and Armand Bodnar of Frog Knigh.,all coloured by Brad Simpson, with letters and design by Jeff Powell. But how did this all come about? Joe Atalla tells us what it’s like working with others…
“Being a cartoonist is a lonely existence. Typically, you sit at home and grind away on your masterpiece – often spending an unreasonable number of hours writing and then drawing your comic – until you can realize the reward of seeing your project complete and into the world. I’ve enjoyed toiling away on my projects, but I have too many project ideas to reasonably finish in my remaining lifetime. My proposed projects vary wildly and cover all sorts of genres and tones – some of which aren’t best served by my art style. What’s a cartoonist to do? There are many accomplished cartoonists, like Dan Clowes and Chris Ware, who have a very distinct artistic style and stories that pair well with that style. You know what you’re getting when you pick up one of their books. There are others that started off as cartoonists and eventually pivoted away – like Brian Michael Bendis and Jonathan Hickman. They created great work on their own, but we wouldn’t have the mix of genres and amazing stories they came to tell if they had stayed on their path. Sadly, we won’t see their singular voice on a project again either. Then, there are creators like Juni Ba and Jesse Lonergan who are amazing cartoonists, working on their own passion projects, but frequently collaborate with others on varying projects.”
“I recently completed my first project with others, Sir Reginald and the Clockwork Heart through Goats Flying Press and was lucky enough to collaborate with both Juni and Jesse, as well as a couple of other amazing artists – Armand Bodnar and Dimitrios Pantazis. The book is an anthology of sorts. There are five stories revolving around Sir Reginald, his trusty butler Mr. Spittle, and the search for lost artifacts. How did it go? Was someone used to working alone able to play well with others? Great! And yes! Having followed and respected the work of all the artists for a long time, I entered with an open mind. It was important I wasn’t too precious with my writing and ideas, giving the artists room to play. I found that the artists brought their own flare and attention to detail to a project I had already fully envisioned in my head. If anything, the artists all elevated my text, breathing new life to my characters.”
“I’ll use my collaboration on The Lost Temple with Jesse Lonergan to better illustrate my point. Our story was a seven-page wordless adventure through the jungle to an ancient temple (highly modeled after Angkor Wat). Sir Reginald faces various threats as he makes his way through the jungle and the booby traps of the temple, ultimately getting to his final destination. The story was already written when I approached Jesse about drawing it. I was very familiar with Jesse’s style, including his masterful use of paneling and ability to tell a silent story, so I knew he’d be a perfect fit. I thought it would be an easy plug-and-play situation. Jesse, though, is a very thoughtful artist and dedicated to his craft. He immediately had logistical questions that many artists, including myself, wouldn’t have worried about. He also had suggestions on how to depict Sir Reginald and location details that grounded the story in the era it was taking place. He even researched period cultural weapons for the booby traps in the temple! Like I said, he’s very committed. Being a fan of his work, I think Jesse has amazing sensibilities when it comes to storytelling, so I trusted his suggestions implicitly. “Is this collaboration,” I thought? Most artists wouldn’t have put this much effort into a seven-page work for hire story, but Jesse dove in and was invested. Now, don’t think I rolled over on everything. We had healthy discussion about certain details that were important to me or mattered to the other stories in the book, ultimately making a better finished product. Even the ending of the story, which I originally had as an overt reference to a famous movie ending, was a point of collaboration. I explained to Jesse what I was trying to achieve and why, and he made it unique and more poignant than my initial draft. Unlike some cartoonists, I write full script prior to drawing my comics. I like knowing where I’m going and how much space I need to leave for crucial dialogue. When you write a story, especially as a cartoonist, you have each panel fully pictured in your mind and how the storytelling will flow. There are typically no surprises between your script and the finished comic because you already thought through all the details. When collaborating with another artist, though, you get to be surprised by their interpretation of your words. I’ve heard so many writers say that the best part of making a comic is getting the art back and seeing how the artist brought it to life. I would totally agree! As I mentioned before, Jesse has a singular approach to paneling and layout. Even though he followed my script closely, the angles and additional panels made it far more interesting and unique.Writer’s Note: I would never ask an artist to draw as many panels as Jesse packed into the story. It’s not my fault – and I can’t take credit either! Here’s an example of my script next to Jesse’s finished page:”
“I have piles of art at home from my personal projects. Things I’ve worked on by myself. Thankfully, I was able to work out a deal for all seven pages of Jesse’s original art for The Lost Temple. Since it’s a silent story, I can follow the whole story on the original inked pages and now I have original art from Jesse of my characters!”
“Collaborating with the artists on Sir Reginald and the Clockwork Heart was a great experience and learning opportunity – I hope my fellow collaborators feel the same. We were able to finish the book far faster than I could by myself, and each artist helped build the world and characters more than I could have imagined. This doesn’t even consider the deft hand of my editor/publisher Sebastian Girner to wrangle everyone, or the color by Brad Simpson and lettering by Jeff Powell that pulled it all together. Does this mean I’ve given up on drawing? No, but I’ve gotten the bug to work with other artists more often. I hope I can convince others that I’m not a crazy recluse that is rigidly married to my writing. Hopefully Sir Reginald and the Clockwork Heart will be that first step.”
Publisher Sebastian Girner compares the tone to Mike Mignola‘s Hellboy mixed with the zany all-ages energy of DuckTales. Sir Reginald & the Clockwork Hearton Kickstarter currently has donations of $14,640 against an $8,000 goal from 344 backers, with 14 days to go.
- The Curse Of Osiria. A lost pyramid, an ancient god, and a forbidden resurrection, brought to life by Juni Ba, who says, “This is the type of fun passion project that, as an artist, I enjoy being a part of. To help a newcomer’s vision come to fruition for the love of making art and the fun of giving their ideas life. I hope this energy carries through to readers! “
- In The Deep Below, featuring art by Joe Atalla. Something unthinkable lurks beneath the waves near an old fishing hamlet, where the shadows run deeper than the darkest ocean.
- The Lost Temple. Sir Reginald returns to the ruins of an ancient temple to right a wrong he himself started many moons ago, with art by Jesse Lonergan, who says “Sir Reginald & the Clockwork Heart was one of those fun projects that delicately balances adventure and whimsy and calls back to all the pulp adventure stories that were a constant background of my childhood. I was excited to be a part of it and explore the jungle-covered ancient ruins with Joe Atalla.”
- Wyrm Of Destruction. An expedition to an old Barrow in the English countryside sets loose a fierce dragon, with art by Dimitrios Pantazis, who says, “I was acquainted with his lordship Sir Reginald and his faithful companion Mr Spittle when I was working on the ‘Wyrm of Destruction’ story written by Joe Atalla. These two characters are a delight to draw. Like old friends you haven’t seen for a long time but you can easily bring their characteristics back. Icons.”
- The Clockwork Heart. In this 28-page climactic story, Sir Reginald faces off against his old nemesis, Prof. Zardoc, in a race against eternity itself to uncover the secret of the Clockwork Heart, and undo the greatest regret of his life…no matter the cost! With art by Armand Bodnar, who says, “In an effort to avoid using the broadly non-specific and oversaturated descriptor ‘FUN’ to describe my experience working on Sir Reginald, I will instead articulate that I found the project personally fulfilling on a creative level. The script was snappy, well-rounded, and most importantly, contained a pleasant amount of irreverence; any comic that takes itself too seriously is death for me. The freedom permitted—allowing each artist to craft their own unique vision for the material and characters—was a welcome respite from the often rigorous demands for continuity and consistency made by less artistically-minded publishers. Most exciting was the chance to contribute to a project so packed with fantastic creators; I have immense admiration for every other artist on the book, and to be able to contribute the ‘capstone’ story was a small honor I would be hard pressed to turn down.”
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