By: Nicole D’Andria
Our very own Kat Calamia (Comic Uno) continues her superhero drama Like Father, Like Daughter with another kick butt Kickstarter! Invulnerable was the only superhero in the world… until his daughter, Casey Ryder, inherited his powers. After leaving their family to be a full-time superhero, Invulnerable flies back into Casey’s life to help with her newfound powers. Casey has been steadfast against being like her father, but that may change since in the latest issues Invulnerable has been kidnapped by the KGB, which is being led by Casey’s mother, Jessica Ryder! Find out what happens in the penultimate seventh issue for the first time ever in this Kickstarter for Like Father, Like Daughter #1-7.
Creator/writer Kat Calamia works with Newsarama and DC Comics’ DC Universe as well as boasts bylines at IGN, Fandom, and TV Guide. She is also the writer for They Call Her…The Dancer. Series artist Wayne Brown has a graphic design degree and his previous comic book work includes Lesbians from Outer Space. To round out the rest of the creative team are two members of Last Ember Press, colorist Lisa Moore (Garfield, Peanuts) and letterer Brant Fowler (Celestial Falcon, The Last Ember).
Rewards include a $1 digital bundle with the likes of Banjax #1, Jupiter Jet #1, Miskatonic High #1, The Last Ember #0, and Spencer & Locke #1. Get a digital ($5) or physical ($5 early bird, $10 regularly) copy of Like Father, Like Daughter #7. There are also several variant cover options available for $30 each, plus catch-up reward tiers and behind the scenes looks.
Help the creative team of Like Father, Like Daughter reached their $5,000 goal before December 9, 2020, at 11:14 AM EST. Check out the Kickstarter here. Also, learn more about the project in my interview with Kat below!
Me: How would you say the characters have evolved throughout the first seven issues of Like Father, Like Daughter?
Calamia: I say Casey and Invulnerable have grown the most. At the beginning of the series, Casey really hated her father for leaving their family, but then as she started spending more time with him she saw that the situation was a bit more complicated than she could imagine. (Something she’ll learn even more in issue 7 and 8). It’s nice to see Casey’s softer side after having so many walls up at the beginning of the series.
As for Invulnerable, I say he’s really grown to show more empathy towards his daughter and reprioritize what’s important in his life.
Now, of course, Casey’s mother (Jessica) has had the most drastic change as readers finally learned that she was actually the “villain” this whole time. She’s been an undercover KGB agent who only married Invulnerable as her life’s mission as part of the KGB. The question now becomes—who does Jessica love more her daughter or her country? Issue 6 gave readers a peek behind the curtain, but issue 8 will be a MAJOR story for all three characters – and their journeys will look very different by the end.
As for Stephanie—I don’t think she’s has changed, but instead, the readers have been able to learn more about her. Just how far she’ll go to protect the people around her. Issue 7 plants some seeds for our next arc, which will be Stephanie centric.
Last but not least Wes is still the lovable geek that will beat you in comic book trivia, but what’s been really fun to see is Wes starting to find the humanization in the fantasy world he’s loved his whole life.
Me: You call issue 7 the “penultimate issue of our first arc”. What is the significance of this issue?
Calamia: Last issue fully focused on Jessica and her side of the story with only a few scenes from Casey and co. This issue really is about Casey finally becoming the hero she was always destined to be.
Me: What can you tell us about the enemies in this latest issue, the KGB?
Calamia: We get to see a bit more from the organization of the KGB in issue 7. Focusing more on Daniel (Jessica’s love interest) and I guess we’ll say business partner.
We really dive into the KGB’s ideologies and how that either aligns or conflicts with Invulnerable/America’s views on individualism.
Me: Issue 7 has several variant covers available for the Kickstarter. How would you describe the inspiration behind each of these covers?
Calamia: With the Andrew Hunt cover I really wanted to show the emotions coming from Invulnerable from these past 2 issues. How a man named Invulnerable can become physically and emotionally broken.
Alina L’s cover is an homage to Lo-Fi Hip Hop radio on Youtube with the anime girl studying. I wanted to bring an anime feel to the cover to show a lighter side of Like Father, Like Daughter.
And with PapurrCat’s cover, I wanted to spotlight Casey and Jessica’s relationship. Casey is exploring her superhero side with Jessica hiding in the shadows.
Me: If you had to pick two legacy heroes to hang out with Casey for a day, who would you pick and what would they do?
Calamia: I say Spider-Man and Superman. Spider-Man because they’d probably both wallow about their guilt-ridden responsibilities and Superman because they both have a similar moral compass.
Me: Can you give us the lowdown on some of the comics available in the digital bundle?
Calamia: Sure!
Banjax is written by Ringo Award-winning Rylend Grant (who also has a Kickstarter going on with Peace Keepers) about a superhero who finds out he has cancer.
Ichabod Jones is written by the great Russell Nohelty (who has a Kickstarter running for How NOT to Invade Earth: An absurdist sci-fi comedy comic). It’s a Lovecraftian dark fantasy horror-comedy inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s Dreamlands and Cthulhu mythos but set in a Christian Apocalypse.
Jupiter Jet is written by talented creators Jason Inman and Ashley Victoria Robinson. It’s about a teenage girl who inherits a jetpack with a mysterious power source.
Miskatonic High—Mike Shea has been a powerhouse on Kickstarter with this title. A series about five teens who take on H.P. Lovecraft’s monsters and their small-town high school…they’re just not sure which is worse.
Spirit’s Destiny is about Destiny, a young Haitian woman who is coming to terms with her newfound abilities and the pressure of deciding how to use them – written by Dorphise Jean who will be launching her Kickstarter for another installment of Spirit’s Destiny.
Last Ember #0 is written by one of my very good friends – Brant Fowler. Ember is the last fire goddess! She must protect her loved ones and avoid school bullies while being hunted by forces bent on her destruction.
Deadskins #1 is perfectly described by writer, Clay Adams, as Blazing Saddles meets The Walking Dead.
Spencer and Locke #1—When his grade-school sweetheart is found dead, there’s only one friend Detective Locke can trust to help solve her murder — his childhood imaginary panther, Spencer. But when they face a vicious crime syndicate and memories from Locke’s traumatic youth, can this unlikely pair survive long enough to find the truth?
David Pepose has been rocking it in both the direct market and Kickstarter. Spencer and Locke was his first book
Me: What is the number one reason why people should back your project?
Calamia: You get a lot of bang for your buck! For just $1 you are already getting eight books and we have a lot more books we plan on giving to all backers as the campaign continues.
Me: Building off of the advice you’ve given in previous interviews on “Kickstart the Week,” what inspirational words do you have for aspiring comic book writers?
Calamia: Write the stories you want to tell!
Me: What advice do you have for those running a Kickstarter during the pandemic?
Calamia: Thankfully, it hasn’t been too different. I actually think there have been more eyes on the platform (especially when Diamond was closed for three months). So, I say use the platform to your advantage.
Me: Thanks for your time, Kat! If you’re reading this and interested in checking out Casey’s superhero journey, check out the Like Father, Like Daughter #1-7 Kickstarter here.
Do you have a crowdfunding project? Want to be interviewed about it and have the project featured on “Kickstart/IndieGogo/GoFundMe the Week?” Let me know in the comments below or message me on my website. Also check out the official Kickstart the Week: Interviews with Comic Book Kickstarter Creators Volume 1 on Kindle!
Other “Kickstart the Week” features:
Celestial Falcon #1-2: Supernatural Warfare, Superhero Style
And It Snowed – an epic journey across a cold town
THE O.Z. #1 – A Fantasy Classic Reimagined for Comics
