Mike Baron, Pat Broderick Unite for Weird Western Tale: Bronze Star

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Bronze Star
Award winning comics writer Mike Baron has teamed with acclaimed comics illustrator Pat Broderick for a supernatural, Weird Western called “Bronze Star.”

Award winning writer Mike Baron has teamed-up with acclaimed comics illustrator Pat Broderick for a supernatural Western called “Bronze Star.”  Despite being in the comic industry for decades, Bronze Star marks their first time working together. They've launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund their self-publishing efforts. The project can be previewed at BronzeStarComic.com which features Broderick's art, which Pat calls the best work of his career. BIG Studios Comics, the same studio which launched Baron's FLORIDA MAN, THIN BLUE LINE, and his most recent hit PRIVATE AMERICAN, is also managing BRONZE STAR.



The graphic novel is probably best described as H.P. Lovecraft meets Sergio Leone. The story centers on a Confederate veteran named Harley Brogden running for his life after a poker game turns deadly. The card sharp Harley killed turns out to be the son of a rich landowner who will stop at nothing to bring Harley to justice. He flees to Cobb’s Gap, a remarkably peaceful, silver mining town at the foot of the Canadian Rockies, but the sheriff harbors a secret, and no one goes to the old mine anymore. People speak in hushed tones of something in the mine, something worse than their cursed sheriff, something even the Indians fear. And when the landowner's posse arrives seeking their revenge, the stage is set for a showdown with unimaginable horrors from the deepest pits of hell. And all the secrets of Cobb's Gap are finally exposed and the reader finally learns why no one goes into the mines.



BRONZE STAR is an old-school, violent, and gritty “weird western” elevated to a terrifying love story through the deft writing of Mike Baron, a two-time Eisner-winner, probably best known for his lengthy comic runs on The Punisher, The Flash, and Deadman. But what really makes this tale come to life is the artistry of longtime pro Pat Broderick, a DC Comics veteran who worked on Detective Comics, Legion of Superheroes, Green Lantern, and also at Marvel Comics on Alpha Flight and Micronauts. To showcase Pat’s astonishing detail, the creative team is also offering an exclusive, limited edition, oversized black and white hardcover edition of BRONZE STAR, which is only available through Kickstarter and autographed by the creators.



“One of the great joys of independently publishing comics is we can tell whatever stories we want,” says BIG Studios Publisher, Chris Braly. “I’m a huge fan of classic Westerns and have always gotten a kick out of werewolf movies and tales of the supernatural. Bronze Star mashes-up all those great genres and takes them to a whole new level.”



BRONZE STAR is raising funds through Kickstarter which features several rewards and stretch goals, including exclusive art prints by Broderick and additional story pages. The crowdfund campaign reached its funding goal in less than 72 hours, and is expected to conclude at the end of June, with the book going to the printer in August.