Fanbase Press has a lineup of comics across a range of genres. Like many small publishers, Fanbase Press relies on crowdfunding to cover the costs of getting a project off the ground and out to the masses. Their latest Kickstarter campaign is for their newest graphic novel, Shrub.
Healing and Understanding with Comics
Shrub is Fanbase Press’s second dive into the Graphic Medicine genre, following the award-winning Ripple Effects. Graphic medicine is an emerging genre in comics that uses the visual aspect of comics to tell stories about patients’ medical conditions along with caregiver stories in an attempt to raise awareness and create empathy. In the case of Shrub, it addresses grief and how it can take root in different ways along with the effect it can have on people.
Shrub tells the story of a sentient shrub with ambitions to go to Hollywood. The shrub eventually finds its way to Cleopatra and her brother, both grieving the death of their father in different ways. Cleo convinces her brother to take them on a cross-country trip to Hollywood after Shrub sees another shrub in a movie. Shrub learns about the world as they try out new things good and bad and the consequences that come with them.
The Creative Team
The story is written by Shane Portman (Tumbleleaf), who took inspiration from grieving his father’s passing, and each of the eight issues ends with an essay about grief from different perspectives. With fantastic art by Andy Alves (Cosmic Cadets), Shrub is shaping up to be one of the best books of this year, but don’t take my word for it. Right now, you can get Shrub’s first issue digitally through platforms like Hoopla and Library Pass. Its second issue will be available July 8th, giving you a preview before visiting their Kickstarter page to help fund this project.
For more info, you can go to Fanbase Press’s website or follow the Kickstarter page to stay up to date on when the campaign launches.
