Fans of gay comic writer Alex Woolfson's gay superhero comic book The Young Protectors will soon have quite the collector's item: illustrations of his adult characters completely nude. Woolfson once had a policy against illustrating nudity, but promised backers that if his Kickstarter campaign to turn his web comic into an actual print book reached $50,000 that he would go ahead and spill some extra ink for a limited edition full monty trading card set.
"If I'm creating a romance scene, I definitely want it to feel sexy and exciting. But there are certain things I choose to leave to the reader's imagination--specifically, uncovered weenies," Woolfson explained when he launched his Kickstarter, when $50,000 seemed impossible. "But over the two years I've been posting my webcomics, I've gotten some feedback that there are those among you who would, frankly, like me to free the willies in my comics from this constraint." That $50,000 goal was exceeded within 11 days. And now Woolfson say that if the numbers keep climbing, he'll offer backers some other titillating goodies, including a poster of his characters in their underwear.
But never fear, Young Protector fans, Woolfson insists the story, about a gay man and his super-powered friends saving the world, won't veer into adult territory. "Anyone who reads more than ten pages of my comics will realize that I'm looking to tell compelling genre stories with fully realized characters. The backers know this is all just for fun and that's the spirit they are taking this in," he said. "As a gay guy, you can be made to feel a lot of shame around your sexuality, so it can be tempting to over-react and try to appear completely asexual. But I've been very clear that what we create will still be very tasteful and in line with all the rest of my work."
He went on, "Both with The Young Protectors and my previous sci-fi graphic novel, Artifice, I'm trying to create the kind of stories I always wanted to see. What's been most gratifying about both of my Kickstarter projects is discovering that a lot of other people have been wanting to see the exact same thing. So, in addition to the powerful Action Prints with exciting fight scenes and Trading Cards that show off each character's powers that I'm offering as rewards, I'm happy to create a few 'sexy' prints and 'Romance Cards' if it adds a little fun for my readers."
There are still nineteen days until Woolfson's Kickstarter campaign comes to a close, so if you want to see the nudie playing cards, you'd better hustle over there and contribute to the cause.
