MULP: Sceptre of the Sun to be published by Improper Books!

It's official! 

MULP: Sceptre of the Sun is to be published by Improper Books!

With all the art for the second issue not long completed, Matt and I are really excited to finally announce that MULP will now find a place alongside other Improper Books all-ages titles, such as Knight and Dragon and Night Post.

The official press release was launched yesterday. Here are all the details, with work in progress pictures of the art for issue 2 (as posted on my tumblr/instagram over the last few months.)

MULP: SCEPTRE OF THE SUN, BY MATT GIBBS & SARA DUNKERTON TO BE PUBLISHED BY IMPROPER BOOKS

Improper Books are delighted to announce that a new title has joined their creator-owned family; that they will be publishing MULP: Sceptre of the Sun, by Matt Gibbs & Sara Dunkerton.

MULP is an anthropomorphic comic, a Pulp adventure set in a world of mice. Suitable for all ages, Sceptre of the Sun is the first story in an ongoing series of adventures. With the first issue released in 2014, to widespread acclaim amongst comic readers, fellow creators, and the comic press, there are four more issues to come in the current story arc, with the second part available as a UK indie release November/December 2015.

Sceptre of the Sun follows the exploits of Jack Redpath and Vicky Jones as they attempt to unravel a mystery surrounding an ancient stone tablet unearthed during an archaeological excavation in Egypt. This tablet is the first marker on an adventure that sees them racing around the world in search of a legendary treasure. Joined by their friends Cornelius Field, Prof. Walter Harvest-Scott, and Elisabeth Harvest-Scott, together they must prevent a powerful artefact falling into unscrupulous paws.

“Mulp is wonderful, just wonderful,” said Benjamin Read, one of the founders of Improper Books. “We’ve been working with Matt for a number of years now, both in his role as managing editor of Improper, and as the writer of the excellent Knight & Dragon, and we all hugely respect his keen eye for a story. It made perfect sense for us to take on his and Sara’s brilliant book to add to our growing all-ages line. It’s everything we look for in an Improper book - smart storytelling, great art, and fascinating characters.”

On the anthropomorphic nature of the comic, Matt said, “Ever since reading Brian Jacques’ Redwall series as a child, I’ve enjoyed stories with anthropomorphic characters, especially ones featuring mice and rats. Working with Sara on MULP allows me to explore that fascination, as well as my passion for archaeology and history. Sara is also the perfect collaborator, sharing that same fascination, and I adore how she has brought our characters to life.”

“It has been a delight to submerge myself in the world that Matt and I have created, being in a mouse-made environment threw up so many questions, possibilities and inventive answers,” said Sara, about creating and illustrating MULP. “Mice markets where they slice up giant fruit to order, domesticated lizards and beetles, trees that are to the same scale as the Great Pyramids, and planes made of wood. MULP has been a great pleasure to work on, I can’t wait to explore the rest of the story with our characters.”

MULP: Sceptre of the Sun Issue #2 is set for a UK indie release November/December 2015.

“This has all the elements of a classic kids’ adventure like TINTIN itself: secrets and experts and exotic locations; infiltration, reputation and ducking for cover.” Stephen L. Holland (Page 45)

“The issue fair flies by, setup quickly passes to action, a shooting, a crash, intrigue, secrets, ancient artifacts, a femme fatale, musclebound goons, a mysterious evil genius lurking in the shadows… oh yes, a lot in here.” Richard Bruton (FPI Blog)

“It’s an extremely clever, well rounded story they’ve built here, one that isn’t beholden to its influences but also isn’t embarrassed by them.” Alasdair Stuart (travellingman.wordpress.com)

“Most anthropomorphic adventure series, such as Rupert Bear or Bryan Talbot’s Grandville series, take their characters as human analogues to the extent that they are human size, MULP does not – in MULP the mice really are mice sized.” Jeremy Briggs (downthetubes.net)

So to top off the great news and the announcement of our next release, here's a look at the cover for MULP: Sceptre of the Sun #2!

Thanks everyone!