Kickstarting Comics: Paying Tribute To 2000 AD Letterer Dave Evans With The ‘BOLT-01’ Kickstarter
by Richard Bruton
Back in 2021, we lost Dave Evans/Bolt-01, one of Brit Comics’ great guys. Now we have BOLT-01: A Tribute To Dave Evans raising funds on Kickstarter.
Dave Evans really was someone who lived and breathed comics and someone who really encapsulated just how good comics and the comics community could be. He died far too soon and left the British comics community missing one of its finest.
He was a letterer of many comics, but it’s fair to say that his lasting legacy with be as the publisher behind FutureQuake Press, who put out many 2000 AD–related fanzines through the years. But he was also a mainstay at conventions, the publisher who was, at heart, always still a fan, a mentor, teacher, enabler, and someone whose influence and reach has affected so many creators.
Now we have a chance to celebrate the man thanks to Dave Holloway and Ed Doyle, co-creators of Sentinel, who are bringing artists together for the 140+ pages of BOLT-01.
The comic features a host of familiar names, all here to say thanks, with all the profits from BOLT-01 going to the charity SOBS, Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide.
Over to Alan Holloway to introduce BOLT-01…
“I don’t want to get into a whole essay here, as if you’re reading this you very likely knew of Dave Evans, or know one of the MANY creators who have helped make this tribute.
Dave was a comics guy, one of the best. A husband, father, letterer, artist and editor. He oversaw the 2000AD fanzines Zarjaz and Dogbreath, as well as the independant antholgy title Futurequake. Several future UK comic stars started under Dave’s tutorship (and red pen). He also used his lettering and art skills in many more indie publications.
In 2021 Dave was taken from us, in fact took himself from us and that just makes it harder to handle. Why? I don’t know, but I know that it can happen to anyone, anyone at all, and if you are one of those wandering towards the edge please talk to someone about it at least.”
The resulting comic expanded to something more reminiscent of that old-school style annual that so many of us Brit comics fans remember so well. 140+ pages inside of original material that includes a few strips that Dave edited and lettered for a future Futurequake issue that would have sadly never seen print until this BOLT-01 came along, and many a familiar name for British comic fans…
Not surprisingly, the BOLT-01 Kickstarter hit its fundraising target and marched right on through it. The original art reward tiers have gone, but there’s absolutely no reason for you not to be getting yourself a copy of the book to benefit the charity.
Those original art rewards, and an idea of what to expect inside…
And finally, the full three pages of original art from Flawless by Garry Wharton, a lovely little piece from BOLT-01 that imagines Dave headed to the ‘Flawless’ convention and meeting up with many other, sadly also lost to us, comic creators…
