Iron Circus Comics is back with their latest crowdfunding campaign, for an RPG-inspired fantasy adventure comic. Today the publisher has launched a Kickstarter for Real Hero Shit, the new 120-page graphic novel from cartoonist Kendra Wells. The book follows a band of adventurers as they fight against injustice and learn how to be heroes.

Here’s how Iron Circus describes Real Hero Shit:

People are going missing in a small mountain town, and the city guards are blocked from a real investigation. The notorious Underguild has assigned Michel a secret mission: find the missing villagers and bring whatever kidnapped them to justice. Unfortunately for Michel and his fellow adventurers, Ani and Hocus, they’re short a fighter and need one more party member to foil this plot. Even more unfortunately, the only volunteer seems to be the arrogant, ostentatious, purple playboy Prince Eugene looking to cure his boredom.

Covert is not a concept that Prince Eugene is familiar with, and let’s just say his commitment to the mission is questionable. Every day is basically spring break for Eugene, but outside the palace walls he crashes into a hard reality: the system that kept him safe in his silk-sheeted bed isn’t particularly concerned with the well-being of anyone who isn’t him. Eugene will have to level-up his awareness if he means to be a real hero, and time is running short!

Kendra Wells is a cartoonist whose work has appeared in The New Yorker and The Nib. They also illustrated Tell No Tales: Pirates of the Southern Seas, a graphic novel written by Sam Maggs and released earlier this year by Abrams. Real Hero Shit is a project Wells has been working on for years — The Beat‘s Josh Hilgenberg interviewed them about it back in 2019. Along with today’s launch of the Kickstarter for the book, Wells also told The Beat why they’re excited to bring Real Hero Shit to readers:

“Real Hero Shit is the most self-indulgent story I have ever created, inspired by the things I love like the Dragon Age video game series and Dungeons & Dragons campaigns like Dimension 20 and Critical Role. Their stories led to my ‘ah-hah’ moment of realizing I was allowed to write the stuff I wanted to read, something that is equal parts silly, raunchy, and emotional. Letting go of what I thought people wanted me to make and instead focusing on what inspired me and made me happy was revolutionary to my creative process, and I hope people enjoy it!”

Wells’s new book is the latest project from Iron Circus Comics, who last month wrapped up their most successful Kickstarter ever, for The Woman in the Woods and Other North American Stories, a campaign backed by more than 7,400 people that raised more than ten times its initial goal. Iron Circus publisher Spike Trotman and editor Kel McDonald told The Beat why Kickstarter is still their preferred platform, and why Real Hero Shit is a good fit for Iron Circus:

“Kickstarter is a game-changing platform, and we’ve never neglected its power to reach the audiences of individual creators. That power is what makes living wages for people like Kendra, and the mandate of companies like Iron Circus, not just possible, but flourishing!” – Spike Trotman

“I’ve been a fan of Kendra’s since they did Teen Wolf animations for MTV, but I’ve been waiting for them to do something that is truly their own. Real Hero Shit is exactly what I wanted. It’s full of sharp character writing! The group has an excellent dynamic. I’m ready for many more adventures with this crew!” – Kel McDonald

The Kickstarter campaign for Real Hero Shit is live now.