What's the deal with MeSseD Comics?
“What’s as deep as a skyscraper is high? Everything under the city. There’s tunnels a thousand feet under us.”
-Warren Ellis, writer
MeSseD, a comic book series written by Jay B. Kalagayan and illustrated by Dylan Speeg, descends into the city's sewers. We're following a sewer worker named Lilliput as she braves all manner of creatures and clogs in the depths of the tunnels. From a human sized cockroach to monstrous alligator-crocodile mash-ups, we get a glimpse into a world unknown to us, yet created by our waste.
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“It’s because of my daughters, Meghan and Serafina. When you become a father, you get the opportunity – the honor – of introducing them to things, to stories, to movies, to books, to comics, of course. So with Lilliput, I wanted a strong character who happened to be a woman, who happened to be Asian and who happened to be Filipino.”
-Jay B. Kalagayan, creator
MeSseD Season 1: Follow the Flush was successfully launched November 2016 to fan and media acclaim. Jay and Dylan were interviewed by the Cincinnati Enquirer, WVXU and Cincinnati Citybeat. The comic can be found in comic book stores in Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia. We made public appearances at SPACE (Small Press Alternative Comics Expo) in Columbus and the Cincinnati Pop Art Con and will attend the Cincinnati Comics Expo, Book by the Banks and MECCA (Midwest Ethnic Comic Con) in Detroit.
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Jay always intended MeSseD to be an ongoing story, so he and Dylan began work on Season 2 in January 2017.
As of this post, Jay has the entire season drafted, Dylan has four of five chapters done and guest artist Clint Bassinger has one of two chapters finished. Season 2 art is 71% complete!
Seemless Printing is waiting for files. Our fans eagerly await new chapters. Comic book stores have a space reserved for display.
The last piece missing for the successful launch of Season 2 is you!
We need your help to bridge production expenses for Season 2. Your investment will support the publishing of this sci-fi adventure steeped in the waste of our civilization.
What's MeSseD: Season 2 going to feature?
MeSseD: Season 2 expands on the introductions of Season 1.
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We learn how Lilliput is able to "see" in the dark, dank depths in Echoes.
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We will have our first three-part story in which Lilliput learns more about the mutated, sentient Filaments in Mother, Hunt, and Flowers.
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We'll also get back to the surface, for the first time since Season 1, Chapter 1: Choke, to check out Queenswell, MSD's main treatment plant. Guess which iconic building MSD's headquarters is based off of?
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Finally, we're expanding the MeSseD universe. Akka, Lilliput's partner and pet rat, gets her own mission in The Messenger. We have guest artist Clint Bassinger showing us Akka’s adventure getting caught between poisonous centipedes and massive tubifex worms!
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Meet the Team!
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Jay B. Kalagayan - Writer
A diverse writer, Jay has written everything from plays to grants to cartoon strips. He is also founder of Know Theatre of Cincinnati. "One of my dreams came true with the creation of MeSseD. I've had this subterranean idea in my mind for over two years. Seeing it in print last year was an unbelievable thrill!"
Dylan Speeg - Artist
Dylan attended The Art Academy of Cincinnati in the early ‘90s and has worked as a portrait painter and illustrator ever since. He is also a musician in the band Heavy Hinges. His major influences are lurid pulp novel covers, Robert Williams, R. Crumb and other comic book artists. Dylan's favorite thing about working on MeSseD is "Creating a world out of scratch. Making imagination come to life. It's what thinking looks like for me."
Geoff Raker - Designer
Geoff has been a designer for almost 20 years. Got his start with Jay at Know Theatre of Cincinnati creating the brand and designing posters, sets and helping out with anything that need to be done. He designed at Cincinnati Citybeat and F+W Media INC.
Clint Bassinger - Guest Artist, "The Messenger"
Dylan and Jay are joined by Clint Bassinger who is the artist of The Messenger story starring our favorite sewer rat, Akka.
Last season, Clint worked on the MeSseD short story, Fauna. "It was great fun to work with Jay on MeSseD. I think he tailored the story towards things that I love to draw," says Clint, "Including a gritty battle royale between a rat and a monstrous centipede-creature!"
MeSseD S2 will also feature art from well known and up-and-coming Queen City artists including Christina Wald, William R. Grapes, Holly Brashear, Caleb Schowalter, and Tanakan Bangnoi.
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What we are doing next, and how you can help?
MeSseD is produced by Jay's production company, Creative Mussel. We are a very small, independent production company, so we need you to help bridge expenses for the production of Season 2. Your investment will support the next phase of MeSseD comics.
Your pledge will support our growth by:
- Helping us continue to pay all of our artists for their incredible work, building our reputation in the illustrating community
- Ensuring we have a large enough print run to stock our friendly neighborhood comic book stores and expand our distribution
- Allowing us to attend more comic cons and make more public appearances in the Tri-state area and beyond
Your investment will keep us flush! Bad pun, but with your help, the wild and weird stories of Lilliput will be able to continue. Your contribution will help us print Season 2, support our existing fans, build our fan base, and increase our reach, ensuring more MeSseD stories to come.
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MeSseD Impact
"Lilliput... is tough and enterprising. She is fearless and unflappable. Lilliput is a hero for all of us. It’s not about gender. Or ethnicity. She is the type of person we all might aspire to be."
-David Lyman, Cincinnati Enquirer
For Season 2, we want to take MeSseD to the next level: more story, more art, and to continue building an awesome fan base.
MeSseD and the character of Lilliput were inspired by Jay’s daughters. He recognizes our need for more diversity of race and gender in our entertainment. Lilliput is a strong character who happens to be Filipino, who happens to be female. How many characters like Lilliput have you seen in comics? In any media?
Lilliput is a strong, smart woman doing a pretty unglamorous job, constantly up against this entire wild universe that is always there but we don’t even think about.
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What happens when we flush?
The environmental/ecological themes in MeSseD have been popular with the women and men working for our unappreciated public utilities.
As Dylan says, "The keystones of civilization are plumbing and the written word." While researching the story, Jay had an opportunity to connect with several public utilities such as MSD of Greater Cincinnati, SD1 of Northern Kentucky and Hampton Roads Sanitation District. The workers there know it’s undervalued but they are proud of their work for this essential service. They appreciate our fun and uncanny stories based on what they do. They're glad to have a story about them that isn't attached to storm flooding, tax increases, or fatbergs.
So what's the money for?
MeSseD Season 2 cost breakdown:
- Artist Fees $7,475
- Printing Costs $3,731
- Rewards expenses $1,000
- IndieGoGo and other Fees $1,121
Total Estimate $13,326
These are the bare minimum expenses we need covered for the successful production of Season 2.
Our goal for this IndieGoGo campaign is $11,000.
If we hit our goal, our stretch goal expenses include the following:
- Marketing
- Convention fees
- Travel expenses
- Writer stipend
- Editor stipend
- Wider distribution
Please get involved! We would love to share the passion we have for MeSseD and the upcoming Season 2. If you participate in our S2 campaign, we have some really equis perks at all levels.
All benefits were created to give you a piece of the MeSseD world. We could not keep creating without your help!
Strapped for cash? You can still help!
The best thing you can do for us (besides making a pledge) is to share this campaign with your friends and family. Every dollar and every share helps!
You can also support us by:
- Liking our page on Facebook, and sharing it with some friends who might be interested
- Following us on Twitter, and retweeting the posts you like
- Visiting and sharing our website, where you can learn more about the comic so far
Independent publishing relies on the support of fans like you. Give to MeSseD!
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