The Four Color Media Monitor

WIBV-4 reported of a new indie publisher in upstate New York that's launching some new books in May:

A new Buffalo-based comic book company will be launching its first comic book at Queen City Bookstore next month.

“I’m super stoked and excited,” creator Tivo Rodriguez told News 4, regarding the release event.

Erie County Comics features a line of Buffalo-themed heroes, including Rustbelt, Kensington Bailey, The Courier and more. Rodriguez describes himself as a lifelong comic book fan and a proud Buffalonian, and is glad to be able to merge his hobby with love for his city to create this line.

He said the comics started as a pandemic project, as he wanted to create stories about Buffalo characters.

Odd thing about one of their projects, though, is that one of them looks vaguely similar to Iron Man:

“RUSTBELT” tells the story of the iron-plated protector of Erie County, who is controlled by Amalio Ayala, Rodriguez’s real-life grandfather. Ayala raised Rodriguez since birth, so Rodriguez wanted to make him the star of his first comic. Rodriguez said Ayala passed away last month at the age of 89, but did have the chance to read the comic.

Even The Courier, their second offering, looks like it could be superhero-style, and that's the only drawback I see about these new items, since, as I've argued before, modern creators have to try and refrain from making their stories about superheroes per se, since it's long been an overused cliche that has to be moved away from. Again, even in a present-day setting, it's science fantasy adventure that should matter most, not costumed identities for the stars. Still, I wish Rodriguez good luck in selling this to the audience.

Labels: exhibitions, indie publishers