Friend of the site, Andrez Bergen and his outfit IF? Commix are releasing, in conjunction with Under Belly Comics the full (initial release) spread of 12 Bullet Gal issues! Some of these issues are yet to be published!! It’s an amazing Kickstarter and a chance to get some great independent pulp from some fantastic people!! Have a look at what Bullet Gal is all about!

 

 

 

!!! – CLICK HERE TO GET INVOLVED WITH THIS FANTASTIC KICKSTARTER PROJECT – !!!

“First thing you need to know about Bullet Gal?  It’s a loving homage to hard-boiled noir: the detective fiction and pulp produced in the first half of  the 20th century by writers Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane and Dashiell Hammett. An author himself of 4 published novels as well as a  graphic novel and comic book anthology series, Andrez Bergen wears the stain with pride. But he also covets his sci-fi/dystopia—veering from the Matrix to Blade Runner, Inception to Ghost in the Shell—and the Bullet Gal comic book embraces these inspirations too. Thirdly, there’s the visual aesthetic. Bergen, a long-established artist with music video clips, photo exhibitions, sequential art shorts and that graphic novel on his resume, pushes the illustrated perimeters here. Taking cue from innovators like Marcel Duchamp and William Burroughs’s cut-ups, ‘found’ art and collages, Bergen further cites the witty photomontage work of Terry Gilliam. The imagery used for Bullet Gal falls under various categories: the creator’s own photos, fair use of public domain advertising imagery, alteration of existing imagery, a heavy element of homage, digital iconoclasm, and original art. Think a newfangled exercise!in media manipulation and experimentation that even so remembers the tale being told—while also catching the imagination of reviewers and fans who have been privy to this developing foray into new comic book storytelling. Therefore, cast your imagination.

Picture Heropa. This is a vast, homogenized city patrolled by heroes and populated by adoring masses as well as a dark criminal undercurrent. A pulp fiction fortress of solitude for crime-fighting team the Crime Crusaders Crew, led by Major Patriot—a lifetime away from the rain-drenched, dystopic metropolis of Melbourne. Into this old school metropolis enters 17- year-old Mitzi, bundled up in the passenger seat of a World War 2 era, canvas-backed lorry. In her duffel bag she has a couple of paperbacks, a brown beret, a few bunched up pairs of black tights, undies, socks, two bras, and a cardigan with a hole in the elbow. Also twin polished nickel 9mm Star Model B pistols, with a mother-of-pearl
handgrip. Hoping she looked like 5’ 10” of man-eating, gut-crunching terror. Has it in her to fight for truth, justice, and her fair share of strong espressos… Yet this simple mission is compromised by love, deception and vendettas aplenty.

In its short life to this point, beginning as a limited-edition monthly comic in Australia only in August 2014, Bullet Gal has received international critical acclaim. The series has been compared with Frank Miller’s Sin City and Ed Brubaker’s Velvet,!the heroine labelled a female Jason Bourne. Author and artist Bergen had already finished the series, a 12-issue arc set to conclude in June 2015—so Under Belly got in early, bundling together all 12 issues, some of them as-yet-unpublished, and compiled the lot together for this exclusive collection. Also included are author notes and insights, guest illustrations from other artists, the original covers in full colour—plus the added attraction of a gorgeous, special collected volume cover painting by Niagara Detroit. Most important is the grandiose story that fills out these pages: a series that is ohso-heavily noir, has its fair share of drama, tragedy, mirth and the bizarre, snappy dialogue, and characters you will never easily forget.

Under Belly is proud to be able to work with Andrez Bergen and IF? Commix in Australia to present this groundbreaking series to the international audience it deserves.

Kick back—and enjoy.”

-Under Belly Comics