NEW ARTIST ON THE BOOK!

As some of you may know, Antonio Rojo, the original artist on The Lincoln Brigade won't be able to finish the book due to health issues. His replacement will be Carles Esquembre (Valencia, 1985), better known for previous works such as The body and, more recently, Lorca, a poet in New York (Panini Spain, 2016). As the title states, this comic-book tells the story of spanish poet Federico García Lorca during his visit to the Big Apple in 1929. The work has had a very good reception from the critics and the public alike. Carles has a very clear storytelling and attention to detail and he can bring a new and very special angle to the story. He'll take care of the art, apart from the colour, done by Ester Salguero. David "Puste" Antón will work on a separate short story, also included in the book, telling the story of one of the Lincoln Brigade volunteers.

Here's a few pages by Carles from his book Lorca, a poet in New York, colored by Ester Salguero. This book was originally published in black and white but now you'll be able to get a better overall feeling of how The Lincoln brigade could look like besides getting to know his stile.

For those of you who chose the black and white or color sketch reward, know that these will be drawn and colored by Carles himself.

Many thanks.

We're live!!

Greetings everyone!!

The crowdfunding campaign for The Lincoln brigade graphic novel is live! Here's the link for  the Kickstarter website where the campaign is located:

Support the Lincoln Brigade

We have, starting today, exactly 29 days left to reach our goal. Help us spread the word. Don't keep this campaign to yourself, we need all the help we can get.

Thanks for your time and your support.

The good fight

With the crowdfunding campaign in which you have to, not just to write, but also to become a publicist, a designer, a salesperson, an editor, etc., your workload gets bigger and has a profound effect on you daily life with your "other" job and the family, who support you regardless how bad you are at juggling everything.

At this time you doubt everything. Am I good enough, is the book good enough, will people like it, will it do the veterans justice,... It makes you rethink everything about yourself. The lack of sleep, doubt, worrying, disbelief, fear,... Is it worth it?

And then, one day, you get a reply from a comic retailer to one of your e-mails, in which you were telling them about the comic-book and the importance of the veterans of the Lincoln Brigade, and the dangers of a man like Donald Trump and his hate mongering speech.

And then you remember why you are doing this and why it's all worth it, the lack of sleep, the fear, the worrying, ...everything. It's all worth it. Because you're fighting the "good fight" and because people like that were the reason you started this story in the first place.

"The danger is not the far right taking power. The danger has been the left for the past 100 years. Every communist country is left wing, the Nazis were left wing socialists, Obama and Hillary are left wing socialists.

I am not worried about people like Donald Trump, they talk tough but have no power in this nation and haven't for decades. I am worried about the ever expanding government welfare state and entitlement spending. 

No one is entitled to anything from anyone else. You want it, you earn it. That is exactly what all comic store owners have to do."

A little taste!

Here's the first 15 pages of The Lincoln brigade graphic novel for your viewing pleasure. so you can check out the work of Antonio Rojo, Puste and Ester Salguero, as well as getting an overall feel of the story and characters. Don't be afraid to share this post. Every little helps. Thank you!

Support The Lincoln Brigade

The Lincoln Brigade

What is crowdfunding? What is Kickstarter?

There are people who follow me and may not what crowdfunding is or what the devil Kickstarter is.

Fear not. Here comes backup.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pablodura/the-lincoln-brigade?ref=nav_search

Crowdfunding is a type of collective financing, usually online, through financial donations people can fund a project in exchange for rewards. It's NOT about asking for charity. All money contributed has some kind of reward. Basically, you buy something in advance. But it is much more than that. With your participation, big or small, you become an active part in the realization of the project. Without you, the crowdfunding would not exist.

Kickstarter is the platform that manages the campaign. They put the frame so people like me can put their projects on show. They manage payments and take a fee for their services. The creator stablishes a goal and a timeframe but, if the target is not met, the backers are not charged anything and the project would not become a reality. It's an "all or nothing" philosophy. It creates a sense of urgency.

That is why the active participation of backers is essential so an effective online word of mouth can be made.

THE LINCOLN BRIGADE

WHAT WAS THE LINCOLN BRIGADE?

They were a group of nearly 3.000 american volunteers who came to Spain in 1937 to help the democratic elected government of the Republic of Spain against a group of fascist military rebels who had tried to take power by force. This failed coup d'etat was the inception of the Spanish Civil War, that lasted between 1936 and 1939, right before World War II. 

In 1936, just months after the government of the Republic of Spain was formed, a group of rebel soldiers led by General Francisco Franco tried to take power by force. Franco was a fascist, so Mussolini and Hitler sent help in the form of supplies, weapons and soldiers to destroy those who supported the democratically elected government. The rest of world powers such as France, UK and the US signed a non-intervention agreement and, they did just not help the Republic, but also forbade any of its citizens to travel to Spain to fight.

This is when the Commintern organized the recruitment of volunteers from any country who wanted to go to Spain to fight in support of democracy and against fascism. This group of volunteers were called the International Brigades. In these brigades there were people from all over the planet: Canadian, British, Irish, French, Russian, Polish, German, Chinese, New Zealander,... There was even a Japanese and, of course, there were the US volunteers. So it's no wonder the Spanish Civil War it's sometimes referred to as the first battle of WWII.

It is estimated that volunteers, among whom there were not only soldiers, but also doctors, nurses, truck and ambulance drivers, etc., were around 2,800 and 3,000 people. The volunteers of the International Brigades were grouped according to their citizenship or language, and Americans were put in a battalion to which they christened the Lincoln Brigade.

The Lincoln brigade had volunteers from all social classes, religions and races. But in Spain there was no difference between them. No distinctions were made. Here were all brothers and sisters fighting side by side against fascism.

Among these volunteers were approximately 90 African Americans. Citizens who were frustrated and tired of living every day with discrimination, racism and intolerance in the US and for which fascism was the very representation of that evil.

Among these American volunteers was Oliver Law, a trade unionist and workers' rights activist, who would go down in history as the first African American to command a fully integrated unit of Americans of different races. He is the protagonist of this story.

With your help, no matter how big or small, we can tell their story and reach more people. If you can't become a sponsor of the project, help us spread the word, share the link to the campaign so everyone has their chance to help.

Support The Lincoln Brigade.

Thank you for your time.