Kickstarter Alert: Ekos Volume 1 meets goal within 1 hour

The Aspen Comics Ekos vol. 1 Kickstarter has already met its goal and doubled it and then some. You can still back the new comic and entertainment universe inspired by the art and creations of legends Michael Turner and Geoff Johns & produced by Marvel Studios Founder David Maisel.

“I’m so excited to bring this new entertainment universe and its amazing characters, such as Grell, to the world. Ekos is both uniquely entertaining and relevant for today’s world,” said Marvel Studios’ and Mythos Studios’ Founder David Maisel. “This comic offering on Kickstarter is just the first step in our larger plans for Ekos, including hopefully an animated cinematic universe and so much more. We’re just getting started and are looking forward to having the fans join us on the ground floor.”

Having reported on its exclusives, like an original Michael Turner sketch, there’s plenty to check out with the campaign.

All the tier details are now live on Kickstarter, with tier prices ranging from $45 to $25,000. Most tiers in the campaign include all of the rewards of the preceding tiers, with three categories of rarity:

• Kickstarter Limited: Available to anyone who wishes to back the project on Kickstarter and will not be re-printed anywhere else.
• Tier Limited: Featuring a select number of noted reward tiers and beyond!
• Ultimate Limited: Strictly limited to reward tiers with highly exclusive rarities of 100, 50, 25, 10 and 1 of 1 limits.

For more on this Kickstarter check out the press release below.

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. – Sept. 17, 2024 – Ekos, the brand new comic and entertainment universe inspired by the art and creations of legends Michael Turner and Geoff Johns & produced by Marvel Studios Founder David Maisel and Aspen Comics, is live now on Kickstarter! Anyone who backs the project in the first 72 hours of launch will receive three limited items: a special art print, magnet of the exclusive Ekos Volume 1 hardcover dust jacket and a collector’s pin.

“I’m so excited to bring this new entertainment universe and its amazing characters, such as Grell, to the world. Ekos is both uniquely entertaining and relevant for today’s world,” said Marvel Studios’ and Mythos Studios’ Founder David Maisel. “This comic offering on Kickstarter is just the first step in our larger plans for Ekos, including hopefully an animated cinematic universe and so much more. We’re just getting started and are looking forward to having the fans join us on the ground floor.”

Ekos Volume 1 introduces a new superstar in Grell, who embarks on a journey to discover the world of Ekos. While on his journey, Grell encounters many of the beloved characters from Michael Turner’s legacy – including superstars Aspen (Fathom), Grace (Soulfire), and others– as they join forces with Grell on a shared mission. This marks the first time these characters have all come together in the same universe.

Ekos is available in either an oversized hardcover graphic novel with a Kickstarter exclusive dust jacket or as three separate issues (Ekos 1-3), with many options of variant covers and products among the tiers. Ekos is being made by Aspen’s all-star creative team, including colorist Peter Steigerwald, writer J.T. Krul, artist Alex Konat, inker Mark Roslan and letterer Josh Reed. Superstar cover artists from across the industry, including Alex Ross, Joe Quesada, J Scott Campbell, David Mack Francis Manapul, Joe Benitez,  Kendrick Lim, Jerome Opeña and others, are contributing special covers.

All the tier details are now live on Kickstarter, with tier prices ranging from $45 to $25,000. Most tiers in the campaign include all of the rewards of the preceding tiers, with three categories of rarity:

• Kickstarter Limited: Available to anyone who wishes to back the project on Kickstarter and will not be re-printed anywhere else.
• Tier Limited: Featuring a select number of noted reward tiers and beyond!
• Ultimate Limited: Strictly limited to reward tiers with highly exclusive rarities of 100, 50, 25, 10 and 1 of 1 limits.

Some of the product highlights from various tiers include, but are not limited to:

• Ekos Volume 1 Hardcover with Exclusive Dust Jacket – Oversized 8” x 12” Hardcover book collects Ekos Volume #1-3 with an exclusive campaign dust jacket – $45
• Ekos Volume 1 Michael Turner Issues #1-3 Set – All 3 Ekos Volume 1 Issues (#1-3) with remastered Michael Turner covers by superstar colorist and Aspen co-owner Peter Steigerwald – $45
• Aspen Superstars Set – Covers by some of the comic publisher’s long-time collaborators including, Alex Konat, Joe Benitez, Siya Oum and Khary Randolph – $135
• Guest Superstars Set – Featuring covers by superstar artists such as David Mack, Joe Quesada, J Scott Campbell, Francis Manapul, Kendrick Lim and Jerome Opena – $135
• Holofoil Collection – Showcasing Ekos Volume 1 Holofoil covers for issues #1, 2 & 3 by Michael Turner and Peter Steigerwald – $250
• Mega Metal Collection – Showcasing Ekos Volume 1, Issues #1-3 featuring Michael Turner Ekos artwork produced as premium metal covers – $550
• Mega and Super Fan Collections – Unique collections including brand new Ekos merchandise such as enamel pins, challenge coins, bottle openers, mugs, puzzles and more. – $395 – $975
• Ultimate Collections – Highly limited Ekos Volume 1 books, products and original art designed with rarity levels ranging from 1/100 down to 1/1 rarities. Select items in these limited tiers include stamped foil books, Holofoil and metal edition comics and prints, along with Encased foil logo Trading Cards, original artwork and specialty items such as:
  • Maisel Audition Print – Unique hand drawn illustration by Artists Alex Konat & Peter Steigerwald with David Maisel and Michael Turner auditioning Ekos characters for the potential Ekos Cinematic Universe. This is an homage to a 2007 artwork by Greg Land of Maisel auditioning Marvel characters for the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2007 – Limited to 10 in a $3,000 – $4,000 tier
  • Ultimate Comic Cameo – You can be drawn into Ekos Volume 1, which also includes a signed 11×17 print of the drawn in page. – Limited to 4 in a $4,000 tier.
  • Michael Turner Original Art – For the ultimate Ultimate collector, you can own the original hand-drawn artwork by Michael Turner used as the cover for the Ekos #1 Holofoil comic, which also includes a color print signed by Peter Steigerald. Limited to one in a $25,000 tier.

Additional items including art prints, water bottles, apparel, CGC offerings and more that can be added onto any tier, including:

• Ekos Trading Cards – Own the first ever Ekos Trading Cart set with unique chase cards and rarities of all levels – $20-$100
• Ekos Puzzle – A 1,000 piece puzzle showcasing the homage to the world famous Marvel Civil War #1 cover by Michael Turner and Peter Steigerwald, featuring artwork by series artist Alex Konat. – Available for $30
• Ekos Acrylic Figures – A set of unique die-cut standees of Grell in 3 different poses – $25
• Ekos Preview Museum Edition – First ever museum edition presentation of the original Ekos PREVIEW book – Limited to 100 copies – $100
• Alex Ross Signed Ekos Issue #1 Metal Cover and Lithograph – Own a piece of beautiful Ekos artwork by famed artist Alex Ross as either a signed metal cover or signed lithograph. Limited to 100 and 50 for $150 and $450.
• Ekos San Diego Comic-Con Access Kiosk Graphics – Take home a piece of Ekos’ presence at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 with this set of two 12” x 48” access kiosk graphics.  Limited to 75 sets – $300

For a detailed list of all the tiers and to back the campaign, fans can visit the Kickstarter page at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aspencomics/ekos-vol1-the-graphic-novel-event-of-the-year. All Kickstarter rewards are expected to ship in February 2025.