[IMPORTANT NOTE: ALL PRICES INCLUDE SHIPPING IN THE USA.]

RAMMUR IS BACK-TO-BASICS COMIC BOOK STORYTELLING.

My name is Charles Santino.

I've been writing, editing, art directing, and packaging comics for 35 years.

I've written for Marvel, Bantam Books, Penguin, Fantagraphics, Dell/Abyss, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Markosia, and others.

Rammur #1 is the culmination of the experience I've garnered over the decades.

Rammur #1 is done, finished, completed--written, drawn, colored, and lettered. All 48 pages, plus covers.

Markosia is my publisher, but they will publish only a digital version of Rammur #1.

Markosia has kindly allowed me to reach out to you with this print offering. There will be no print version of Rammur #1 on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

And the only print edition that will be available is on NEWSPRINT paper. You remember newsprint? The way comics are supposed to look? I knew that you would. [[SEE UPDATE: NEWSPRINT DITCHED FOR SQUARE-BOUND FORMAT WITH SPINE, ON MATTE (NON-GLOSSY) PAPER.]]

Rammur #1 is a creator-owned comic book. I've done those before. But not like Rammur.

What's so different about Rammur?

First and foremost, I own the property outright; Rammur is my baby.

I have collaborators, most notably the three artists who contributed to the distinct visual likeness of Rammur. Those three fine artists--Paulo Peres, Andrew Wendel, and Joe Staton--made invaluable contributions and they will participate in the profits of Rammur.

What else is makes Rammur different from other comics being produced today? Everything. The concept, the approach to story, the approach to art.

Rammur is a master thief in a future police state. That's it. Seven-word elevator pitch. Simple.

The stories will be self-contained, with beginnings, middles, and endings. And relatively short, by today's standards. (Story page counts in Rammur #1: 24 pages, 6 pages, 2 pages, 4 pages.) Plus ten pages of "making of" ("Steps") stuff, illustrating the development of the dynamic splash page--from script to finished art--for the lead story, "Dead on the Ground." The Steps section also includes an alternative cover, a TOPS Tales of the Police State cover, a must-have propaganda poster by Matt Chic (aka trashydreams) which is also a crowdfunding bonus, Paulo's "Aspects of Rammur" tryout page, and a sneak peak at Rammur #2. (More about TOPS below.)

Want page-after-page of clever dialogue, with word balloons crowding out the artwork? Look elsewhere. Rammur stories are told visually--what a concept!

Want tired, clichéd, elaborate "backstory" that just gums up the works? Again, you won't find it in Rammur. You'll be too caught up in what Rammur is doing now to care a whit about what he might have done in the distant past.

Want a cast of thousands? Crowd scenes? "Epic" scope? Sorry on those counts, too. Rammur takes a handful of characters (or less) and launches into action. No galactic wars and hordes of zombies In Rammur. Just tight little crime dramas with an intriguing (anti)hero, slimy antagonists, and good-looking women.

Origin story? You've got to be kidding! Zilch, zero, nada.

The lead story, "Dead on the Ground," is drawn by Paulo Peres. Here's the teaser:

A museum heist gone wrong. Two thieves dead. Rammur’s fusion gear damaged. The target of the break-in—a banned objet d’art—destroyed. But that’s just the beginning of Rammur’s problems, because one of his colleagues is a police informant. Can Rammur figure out who’s tipping off the cops before he finds himself in a Global Freedom Authority labor camp?

The Rammur back-up story by Marco Perugini (who created the boffo video) is called "Handiwork," and by the time you're finished with this little gem you will probably have caught on that double-crosses are a running theme in Rammur. These are crime stories, remember? In "Handiwork" Rammur passes on a heist he thinks is just too risky. End of story? No--beginning of story. Rammur finds that walking away from this heist might be deadlier than taking the job.

This is the Rammur Manifesto:

If you think testosterone is a kind of poison…

If you think that "macho" is a dirty word...

If you want comics to be safe…and “sensitive”…

Then Rammur is not for you!

Rammur: no man can stop him

Rammur: no woman can resist him

Rammur: no prize can daunt him.

You'll notice Rammur's visual style is not the currently fashionable, "busy," heavily rendered, ultra-modeled-color type of art you see everywhere. If you want that, there are plenty of places to go.

I decided that Rammur's style would be the "animated" style, made popular by DC Comics' tie-ins to the 1990s Batman animated cartoon.

Rammur will be a bit more mature than that, but not by much. It's PG-13 or so. ("12+ only" to be exact.) A little blood, no gore, implied sex. Some low cussing.

Fun factoid: Rammur’s gear is powered by a compact fusion reactor strapped to his back. Is Rammur the first and only comic book character powered by hydrogen/fusion power? Maybe. That would be cool. A ridiculous concept, you say? Totally impossible, scientifically? Yeah, but this is comics, where a kid who got his powers from getting chomped on by a radioactive spider is all the rage. Is that any sillier?

Note: that thing on Rammur's chest is a ram-scoop. It sucks up hydrogen atoms. Hence, the name "Rammur."

Here's a glossary of terms to help introduce you Rammur's world:

Ruptors: robot cops.

GFA/Global Freedom Authority: the world-wide future government that runs everything. Or tries. They have, of course, bitten off more than they can chew, so a guy like Rammur can make a living and mostly stay under the radar and out of jail.

Dominaytra/“Dommie”: the Big Sister at the head of the GFA; she may or may not be a real person.

Above: this is the "Dommie" mini-propaganda poster. Get one!

TOPS Tales of the Police State: funky little vignettes set in Rammur’s universe; here we throw a bone to the “alternative” comic book crowd who might find the pulp of Rammur just a bit too much of a guilty pleasure.   

"Almost Home" is the first TOPS story, a tight little two-page gut-punch, based on an old joke. But it's not funny--unless your sense of humor is pretty dark. Art by Carlos Aon.

TOPS story "Job Well Done" is twice as long as "Almost Home" and it clocks in at a whopping four pages. This one's another slice-of-life in the police state, where an unnamed young lady protagonist decides there's only one way to cut the cord with Big Sister. Art by Marco Perugini.

That's it. That's Rammur #1 b/w TOPS Tales of the Police State. We're keeping things simple--but exciting.

Check out the art samples, check out the perks, and while you're at it, check out Rammur #0 free, here: https://tinyurl.com/y7qo5axo

Will there be more Rammur comics? Sure. Paulo's coloring #2 right now and I'm writing #3.

Oh, yeah--did I mention that Rammur #1 is completely done? Yes, it is. So you won't have to wait years and years for satisfaction. That's a perk in itself if you ask me!

-- Charles Santino, somewhere in North America.