Beware the promises you make to the Goblin Queen — especially if you plan to break them… Iron Circus — the premiere publisher of award-winning, critically-acclaimed graphic novels in the American Midwest, which has raised nearly 5 million dollars via crowdfunding — is proud to announce its new campaign for THE GOBLIN THRONE, the latest graphic novel from award-winning creator Mel Gillman, the author of webcomic and graphic novel As the Crow Flies, which won the Stonewall Honor Book Award by the American Library Association in 2018, as well as the lesbian western graphic novel Stage Dreams, and the fairy tale comics collection Other Ever Afters. THE GOBLIN THRONE is a beautiful, eerie tale that recounts the story of a woman who makes — and then breaks — a pact with the Goblin Queen. Little does she know, though: all roads lead back to the Goblin Kingdom… The Kickstarter is now live.
“THE GOBLIN THRONE is my best, nastiest horror-romance comic yet,” said cartoonist Mel Gillman. “It’s a squarely adult story about craven lesbian desire and heartbreak, told in the style of ancient fairy tales — specifically the old, weird, and violent ones. I could not be more thrilled to be working on this book with Iron Circus Comics, which has never shied away from unleashing messy, complex, and challenging queer adult comics onto the world!”
When a young woman cornered and out of options makes a pact with the Goblin Queen for peace and safety, she initially thinks herself prepared to pay any price. But when confronted with the true cost of her contract, she breaks her word and flees to start a new life far from the strange old creature. What she doesn’t realize is that all roads lead to the Goblin Kingdom — and its Queen will always find you. One way or another. Eventually the woman’s young son unwittingly walks right into the Goblin Queen’s trap. And when the woman’s son awakens bloody and alone, will he dare to use the hunting skills his long-dead father taught him to save his mother? After all, he once made a promise, too… A promise to shoot slow.
“There are far too few Sapphic fairy tales out there,” said Iron Circus Publisher C. Spike Trotman. “We’re sick of stories about some dude stalking yet another princess! We want a story about a hot, one-eyed Goblin Queen scouring the earth for the woman that stole her heart and broke a promise. And that’s exactly what THE GOBLIN THRONE delivers. Author Mel Gillman sucks you into a world of passion, blood, and betrayal, rendered in their peerless colored pencil illustrations. If you like the aesthetic of Over the Garden Wall and the quiet horror of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, the fanciful and sinister world of THE GOBLIN THRONE is for you.”
THE GOBLIN THRONE is a 140-page, full color, 6″ x 9″ hardcover graphic novel, intended for adult audiences. The campaign will also feature early bird specials and extras such as an exclusive bookplate, original pages, and a discounted bundle of Iron Circus titles hand-picked by cartoonist Mel Gillman.
To support the campaign for THE GOBLIN THRONE, head to Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ironspike/the-goblin-throne?ref=51xkfr
About the publisher
C. Spike Trotman (she/her) was born in DC, raised in MD, and lives in IL. An artist and writer, she founded Iron Circus Comics in 2007, which has since grown to become the region’s largest comics publisher. Her notable work includes the webcomic “Templar, Arizona,” the Smut Peddler series of erotic comic anthologies, and Poorcraft, a graphic novel guide to frugal living. A Kickstarter early adopter, she pioneered the widely-adopted bonus model that’s since completely reshaped the pay system of the small press, jump-starting the current renaissance of alt-comics anthologies. Iron Circus is also the first comics publisher of note to fully incorporate crowdfunding into its business model, inventing one of the single most effective uses of new media in comics publishing today.
About the creator
Cartoonist Mel Gillman (they/them) holds an MFA in comics from the Center for Cartoon Studies and currently lives in San Francisco, CA. Mel is also the author of webcomic and graphic novel As the Crow Flies, which was published in 2017 by Iron Circus Comics and named a Stonewall Honor Book by the American Library Association in 2018; Stage Dreams, a lesbian western graphic novel available from Lerner/Graphic Universe; and Other Ever Afters, a collection of queer fairy tale comics, published by Random House Graphic.