Bees, Crime, And The Intersection Of Bees And Crime: ‘Foulbrood’ Goes Live On Kickstarter

The first two issues of Foulbrood are live now on Kickstarter. The six-issue comic series explores bees, crime and the intersection of bees and crime.

This rural guns and robbers odyssey follows a furious beekeeper, a down on his luck bee thief, a pair of elderly crime kingpins, their murderous grandkids who keep their empire afloat, and a bored pair of agricultural task force cops. Their lives and (mis)fortunes will intersect as violence and revenge spreads across the sleepy farmlands of Northern California.

‘Beekeeping is a cutthroat industry.  When low-rent thief DC Cole makes off with Jolene Witherspoon’s entire supply of beehives, she’ll have to scour the farms, apiaries and secret networks of rural California to track him and her bees down. 

With nothing to go on and a mean temper mixed with desperation, Jolene’s crusade will push a rural crime family and its psychopathic soldiers into action to protect their interests and put a pair of bored Agricultural Task Force cops up against something way scarier than stolen tractor parts. These stories will all intersect in violent, amusing and bloody ways in a world where everyone is trying to get rich, get out or get their bees back.’

Foulbrood reunites writer Christopher Sebela and artist Claire Roe for the first time since their collaboration on the queer reincarnation thriller WE(L)COME BACK. Rounding out the team of co-creators are colorist Hank Jones, letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou and editor Jasmine Walls.

At turns a character study, a slow burn thriller, a rural noir, a bucket of chaos and a cast of misfits who don’t usually appear in comics, this is a book we’re all determined to tell the way we want to tell it. With your help, we can make bee crime come alive and pay this team for all their work on turning what seemed like an impossible idea into an incredible comic. The first two issues are completed already, so there is no waiting for us to finish up on our ends. Once the campaign ends and the wheels begin turning, your comics will be on their way to you.

Backer rewards begin at the $5 level, for a nod on the ‘thank you’ page, and PDF copies of Crowded #1, Short Order Crooks #1, and the Coffeeshop Dogs ‘zine. A $14 pledge will get you digital copies of Foulbrood #1 and #2, along with the other books from the previous tier. Print copies kick in at the $18 tier. 

At the higher tiers, there are variant covers, a custom video featuring Sebela’s dog Zola, various other books from Sebela’s library, a Skype session with the dude himself, digital commissions from Claire Roe, script consultations, cameo spots in future chapters, and original cover artwork by Ro Stein and Ted Brandt.

Check out the campaign here.