By Toren Chenault — Since my last column about Black Hole Comics and Entertainment, we had a Lift Off segment come out and another short story as well. Both were great examples of how cool the people are that I get to work with. The world around us is still going through a plethora of changes, and we’re all just trying to adapt to them. 

Today, though, I’m writing this because Black Hole is up to something. Last week, I announced our biggest project yet — a 100+ page science-fiction anthology titled A Cold, Dark Universe, featuring 16 creators telling 8 full-color comics stories. The anthology is set to run on Kickstarter in October. But before I get into that, I want to talk about what is motivating me to work on the campaign.

I’ve said this before, but I didn’t intend to launch a publishing company during a global pandemic. I also didn’t intend on building a publishing company while the police brutalize Black Americans and Americans in general. My mind has been filled with overwhelming feelings of anger and sadness these past few months, watching my people terrorized by police. But there’s also been a renewed sense of purpose. Watching people come together for nationwide protests has energized me, giving me more fight than I already had. We’re all learning the best way to fight back, but a lot of us care and that’s a step. While some days are hard, remembering that there are other people out there who want change helps, it really does. 

Now, back to comics. Some days for me as a creative are hard. I’m not special in that regard. Most creators suffer from things like imposter syndrome. Our self-worth is constantly being measured against others and we’re always hard on ourselves. I also suffer from anxiety and depression, both of which almost got the better of me in early and mid-2019. Black Hole has helped me in my purpose to help people in comics and storytelling, but still, the days get hard. 

One thing though that has inspired me recently is the recent Kickstarter boom in the indie comics scene. It doesn’t matter your flavor, crowdfunded indie comics recently have something for everyone. From Commander Rao, God-Puncher, The O.Z., The Business of Independent Comic Book Publishing, Project: Starless Daydream, Holy West, Don’t Ever Blink, and Next Door, from Comics Bookcase’s editor. All innovative, fresh ideas that big publishers wish they could be thinking of. I’m not anti-big publisher, far from it. I love a good Justice League story. But some of the ideas and concepts I’ve seen on Kickstarter these past few months put big comics publishers to shame. I could go on for days about the amount of creativity on Kickstarter today. People have taken this tough time and turned it into amazing creative energy. It has reinvigorated me during my own tough days, which have turned into tough months (seriously, does anyone even remember anything after March and the protests?)

Our anthology was planned from the very beginning of Black Hole’s conception. It was something that Nick and I talked about doing to bring some positivity to comics. Not that comics is some barren dystopia or anything. We just wanted to bring our brand of positivity to things. And we wanted to bring diverse voices along with us. And from that, the concept of the anthology was born. We both love sci-fi so that was an easy choice. But the stories would stretch the genre a bit. Go into weird places and test some ideas within the genre. The stories could be romantic, scary, bloody, it really didn’t matter. As long as the core of the story was about hope. And more specifically, hope in people, in the ones around us. The title, A Cold, Dark Universe, is just a trick. That’s what we think is out there. But nah, there’s good stuff in the world too. We usually just have to look around us to find it.

Working on this anthology has been fun as hell. Exhausting, mainly because it’s my first anthology. It’s also my first Kickstarter in general. And I might be making a mistake doing that. I know traditional wisdom says start small on Kickstarter, like a one shot or something. And honestly, if I’m being blunt, that thought never even crossed my mind. Ever since I got into comics all I ever wanted to do was an anthology. To be able to put one together, to see people’s raw ideas turn into beautiful stories. Comics are collaborative and anthologies are extra collaborative. I just love that process. I love working with people. I used to have dreams about it, what one put together by me would look like. I hope people take to it because it’s Black Hole’s first big project for a reason.

This year has sucked. And that may be a bit reductive and silly to say. America in particular seems to be reaping the nasty seeds they planted from inception, particularly with racism and police brutality. A poisonous and bubbling infection that has rotted this “great” country since the first slaves landed in 1619. And anyone who was dumb enough to vote for Donald Trump or not vote in 2016, is seeing exactly why that was a bad idea. But overall, yeah, it’s sucked. 

A Cold, Dark Universe couldn’t be coming at a better (or worse?) time. There’s a life in the comics industry that I don’t think will be going away anytime soon. Articles may come out about how the industry is struggling or even dying. But people have been giving the finger to that idea for a long time. Think it’s time Black Hole raised our finger to the doubters as well. Also, of course things are struggling a bit right now. We’re in a pandemic! The world is bigger than comics, people. We’re all struggling.

Anyway, I hope in our anthology people find some light. I hope that they find reasons to smile, reasons to cry, reasons to love comics. I’ll be unveiling the actual date we launch along with the cover for the project here soon. There’s going to be a lot of cool rewards so if you’re in the mood for a unique collection of comics, be on the lookout for us.

Toren Chenault is a writer and creator from Lansing, Michigan. He released his debut novel, Mystic Man in 2018. He's the owner and co-founder of Black Hole Comics and Entertainment. Toren has a passion for comics and all forms of storytelling. His influences range from hip-hop to anything science fiction related.