Kickstarting Comics: Owen D. Pomery’s ‘The Hard Switch’ — A Sci-Fi Story With Style!

The latest Avery Hill Publishing Kickstarter has just launched, with the latest from a favourite artist, Owen D. Pomey – The Hard Switch.

Described by Avery Hill’s PR as ‘An engrossing science fiction graphic novel about a spaceship’s crew, and the end of non-renewable resources,’ Pomery’s The Hard Switch sounds – and looks – like a must-buy.

Comicon readers should already recognise the name and the style of Owen D. Pomery, I’ve covered/reviewed/previewed three of his most recent works, British Ice, Victory Point, and The Victory Motel, all three of which are perfect examples of the beautiful, contemplative, studied work Pomery produces.

But my enjoyment of his work goes back a lot further than that, as I was on board pretty much from the beginning, as this architectural artist became a comic artist with the likes of The Megatherium Club and Between The Billboards.

This latest might seem like a shift, from contemplative works to something very sci-fi, but Pomery’s skill as a comic storyteller is such that I’m automatically onboard with whatever genre he goes into.

Here’s a little more from the Avery Hill PR on the Kickstarter…

“Ada, Haika, and Mallic are on a mission… one last mission, before everything, everywhere shuts down. They’re raiding old, abandoned spaceships and wrecks for the (sometimes-expensive) parts – and they make just enough money to get by. But living their nomadic, exploring life isn’t sustainable when they can’t afford fuel anymore.

The time is coming when the mineral that makes inter-system jumps possible runs out. When it does, the scattered inhabitants of the vast galaxy will be stuck where they are. Everything will be different… unless the discovery in the latest wreck Ada, Haika, and Mallic are scavenging can unlock a whole new kind of interstellar transit.”

The 100-page hardcover for The Hard Switch is raising funding on Kickstarter right now, ending on Friday July 21st 2023.

As for bonuses, there are, as you’d expect, some great-looking things up on offer, starting with digital add-ons of Pomery’s previous works, including the now out-of-print Between the Billboards and the Authoring of Architecture.

There’s also postcards featuring characters from The Hard Switch, a signed Kickstarter exclusive limited edition A3 print, a ‘Making Of’ booklet featuring concept development sketches, and 30 small original sketches by Owen up for grabs.