Two years ago, comic book creator Siike Donnelly successfully funded his Kickstarter campaign for Solestar, a superhero graphic novel featuring the original artwork of 60 different artists, the proceeds of which were donated to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. Donnelly, a brain aneurysm survivor himself, not only brought together a record number of creators to work on the project, but he also used the graphic novel to educate readers about brain aneurysms. With a strong will and a desire to help other brain aneurysm survivors, Donnelly has now returned to release the Definitive Edition of the book – The Adventures of Solestar – with a total of 154 contributing artists, setting a new Guinness Book of World Record for Most Contributors to a Single Comic*. Starting on March 31, 2015, the book will be on sale exclusively at CreateSpace.com and Amazon.com, as well as on Kindle.
For full details regarding The Adventures of Solestar, please see the project’s official press release below, as well as a few preview images from the book, featuring artwork by Basil Murad, Peejay Catacutan, Dave Johnson (with colors by Michael Waggoner), Ryan Lindberg, and Sabin Calvert. Readers may also stay tuned for updates of the book by visiting The Adventures of Solestar on Facebook.
“SOLESTAR IS THE REMINDER OF GREATNESS THAT MODERN COMIC BOOKS NEED”
Every generation of superheroes is different. Some come from angst, others are cynical and depressive. A few are fun and lighthearted, and even fewer remember the values that made them great in the beginning. Solestar is an exploration of your father’s version of a superhero, through the pen of writer Siike Donnelly (Rhino, Elan Vital) and over 150 artists, uniting to tell the final day of the world’s first superhero.
“The Adventures of Solestar” is a jam-style comic; each page, pinup, and piece of art donated by a different artist to deliver a very unique look at the world of super-powered people, while also raising awareness (and funds) to a very real threat in our world.
Siike (pronounced ‘seek’) Donnelly suffered a sub-arachnoid hemorrhage (a brain aneurysm rupture) in 2010, and has been working on this project for over two years. His goal, teaming up with Dan Harmon (Community, Rick & Morty), Kevin Eastman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Annie Stoll (Star Wars Rebels), Livio Ramondelli (Transformers), Marc Andreyko (Batwoman), and 150 equally talented artists from around the world, is to release this book through CreateSpace.com and Amazon’s Print-On-Demand service on March 31st, 2015, donating any and all proceeds to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation.
A project that began on Kickstarter, Solestar has continued to evolve over the years; with new artists signing up to help Donnelly create his definitive version of the book for wide release on Amazon. After finding another 75+ artists to join, a Guinness Book of World Records goal for Most Contributors on a Comic Book is now in their sites as well.
“After we completed the Kickstarter version of the book, I noticed all of these people from around the world becoming friends on social media,” Donnelly says. “It was really cool to see that our little project united so many; some of them even teaming up and making books of their own. Once I saw that, I knew we couldn’t give up. We had to add more artists, tell the story the way it was originally envisioned, and unite more people.”
“The Adventures of Solestar: Volume 1 is the first part of a reverse trilogy,” Editor Gene Hoyle adds. “The first book tells Solestar’s death, and what he chooses to do with his final day on Earth. The second book, which we already began, will focus on his greatest threat that he fought in the middle of his 150 year life-span. And the final book will tell his origin.”
*The award for Most Contributors to a Single Comic for The Adventures of Solestar is currently pending.
