Clover Press launched a Kickstarter campaign for Armored, Vol. 1 on Tuesday, which collects issues #1-5 of the supernatural tale. The Beat can exclusively release the entire first issue of the series for free, so you can see what it’s all about before deciding whether to pledge on the crowdfunding campaign.
Written by Michael Schwartz, illustrated by Ismael Hernandez, and lettered by Ferran Delgado, the Armored, Vol. 1 follows orphaned teen Andy who’s adopted years after his parents mysteriously disappear. He starts school in the countryside and stumbles across a haunted suit of armor and its keeper, the late Sir William. The knight helps Andy fight the monster that killed his adoptive parents’ biological son, but who conjured it? And why are they so hellbent on controlling this armor?
As Sir William trains Andy in how to properly use the armor and they fight off monster after monster, they must also contend with an other-worldly being prophesied to return to Earth and claim the suit for itself. The stronger Andy gets, the stronger the monsters he has to fight. To save Earth, he has to grapple with his inner demons and find out what’s going on at the root of this struggle.
Read issue #1 in its entirety below.
The Armored, Vol. 1 hardcover features a brand-new cover by Francesco Tomaselli and a cover gallery with art by Becky Cloonan, Jeff Dickson, Trevor Henderson, Jae Lee, David Mack, Adam Riches, and Matthew Therrien, behind-the-scenes content, and a 10-page story featured in the rare #1/2 issue. Kickstarter backers can claim exclusives including a dust jacket by Mack; a collectible trading card set; art prints by Lee, Mack, and Tomaselli; and a preview comic (issue #6) for the next story arc with cover art by Dickson.
“Armored was my debut comic and the response has been nothing short of amazing,” said Schwartz. “It’s been a bit of a sleeper hit, slowly building momentum as more readers discover it. The Kickstarter gives new readers a perfect jumping-on point, and also offers current fans a special preview of issue #6.”
Armored, Vol. 1 will be available through Kickstarter until Friday, June 27 at 12 a.m. ET/Thursday, June 16 at 9 p.m. PT. At time of writing, the campaign had surpassed its initial goal of $3 thousan
