Review Fix chats with 321 Fast Comics creator Felipe Cagno who discusses the second volume of his acclaimed comic book series. Breaking down the success of volume one and the Kickstarter program behind it, Cagno lets us know exactly why volume two is a must read.
For more information on the series, click here.
Review Fix: What’s different this time around?
Felipe Cagno: A lot more stories and a more than welcome addition of some great international artists into the mix. Those are the big differences in regards to volume 1, while we had twenty-one stories in the past, we now have thirty-two stories, that’s a pretty huge upgrade.
We also had some writers join me to come up with their own “321” stories and I like to think that the twists at the end are much bigger thanks to fresh new perspectives. We really did try to outdo ourselves in every aspect this time around, production time went up considerably as well, about a couple more months.
Review Fix: What did you learn from the first volume?
Cagno: To not settle.
A handful of stories from the first volume end up falling flat on a second reading and I wanted to avoid that at all costs on volume 2, I pushed myself to really surprise readers and asked my team of invited writers the same. The first volume was really a learning curve for everyone involved and I think it was a fantastic experience and platform to build upon with this new book.
We also realized these short stories are great for introducing new characters or series. That was the case with “The Few and Cursed”, a series I’m working on that had the Redhead show up for the first time on the “321: Fast Comics” in our western-themed story. Having learned that, a couple of stories on the new volume, even though standing alone, can serve that same purpose, they have been designed to introduce new characters and plots.
Review Fix: Did you expect the first Kickstarter to be as successful as it was?
Cagno: I sure hoped so.
But honestly, running a Kickstarter is like opening Pandora’s Box, you never know what will come out or how things will happen, you can only hope for the best and work your hardest.
I really did not expect it to be that successful and I was even more surprised at our stellar campaign for the second book, the first few days left me absolutely flabbergasted, so many backers from the first campaign jumped at number 2, it was amazing.
Review Fix: How have your goals for this project changed following the success of volume one?
Cagno:Â They didn’t change as much, I’m still interesting in showcasing great artwork with really surprising stories that are designed to hook the readers. My main goal continues to be to entertain my readers and backers, but with that said, with the success of volume one, having more international artists really became a goal.
I definitely wanted to take the 321 international and I was thrilled to have so many talented artists embracing that.
Review Fix: How do you want this volume to be remembered?
Cagno: I hope it’s a game changer for the series, my “Dark Knight”, the one that brought in some big names internationally and took the “321” method of storytelling to new heights.
Review Fix: Bottom line, why should someone pick this up?
Cagno: It’s got something for everyone. Because the anthology is so varied in both genre and art style, I’m more than confident everyone will have something they love in it. We have some amazing artwork from top creatives at both Marvel and DC, we have some twists that will surely hit the readers out of nowhere, we got horror, funny, amazing, thrilling and adventurous, all packed in one book.
Leave a Reply