Veritas: Issues #1 and #2

Story

Hi! I’m John Sollitto, the creator, writer, and letterer of the webcomic Veritas. I’ve worked hard with my team to bring this creation to life, and I am extremely proud of the work and our collaboration. This contemporary superhero series is for fans of the genre who are looking for something more grounded in reality, with real people behind the masks. With a more procedural and noir feel to it than the traditional “tights and fights” Big Two books, we wanted to give readers something that has more heart and depth to it that doesn’t rely on decades of convoluted continuity knowledge. I want readers to learn from these characters’ journeys, and even change their opinions of them as the action unfolds. Some characters may be instantly relatable, and some may be anti-heroes or antagonists who can evoke complex feelings in a fictional setting.

Veritas is as self-aware as the Incredibles movies, but respects its roots like Invincible. It can poke fun at itself like the movie Sky High, but delivers intrigue and depth like Image’s C.O.W.L. Our target audience spans young adult to adult readers. There’s a realism to Veritas that grounds the book, but vulgarity and gore aren’t prerequisites for telling a complex story. Veritas will entertain, challenge and inspire people.

We’ve finished 12 issues so far, and they’re all online to read, but this campaign is our shot at making physical issues for folks to have in hand! Issues 1 and 2 are already written, drawn, and colored so we just need your help to get them printed!

Preview

Issue 1's variant cover by Joshua Hood / Issue 2's variant cover by Jordi Perez

Pinups of Veritas and Shield Maiden by Deivis Domingues

Bio

Writer/Letterer - John Sollitto is a comics and fiction writer based out of California. His works include “Veritas”, “Certifiable Investigations”, and the short story anthology “The Ones Who Remain.”

Artist - Deivis Domingues is an artist born and raised in Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil. He has worked for many publications, including Zenescope.

Colorist - Valerie St. Gelais is an artist from Ontario, Canada and is the colorist for Veritas. She has worked on such titles as “More Than Men”, “Time Nomad”, “Wish”, and “Jagged”. She’s also a 3D props and environment artist.

Flatter - Nyleshia St. Gelais is Valerie’s wife and assists her by flatting for Veritas. She’s worked on “Doctor Strange”, “Crowded”, “Emperor Hulkling”, and “King in Black: Namor”. She’s currently learning to be a colorist.

Editor - Christa Harader has a B.A. in English Literature and a MFA in Creative Writing. Their work includes bylines at PanelxPanel, Multiversity Comics, Comic Book Yeti, The Valkyries and Outright Geekery. They blog about horror films, comics or pulp lit in their spare time.

Praise

“With Veritas, John Solitto brings a reality to the superhero genre built on compassion, trust, and self reflection, with characters who don’t want to just fight– but help.”

• - Russell Ramey, creator of “Cupbearers”

“Veritas is a thrill ride of a book. John Sollitto sets up a superhero world that is full of life and realness. His story propels you to the end and the narrative has you wanting more. Along with the tight script is Deivis Domingues’s compelling art. His use of layout and pacing leads to hours of staring at the page in awe of the craftsmanship. I cannot recommend Veritas enough to readers and I think this is a stellar start for future superstar creatives.”

- Doug Wood, Writer of “SuperMax”, Co-Creator of “Savage Wizard”

“The characters of Veritas feel raw and real in a way that makes their struggles relatable in ways that other books paying homage to unwavering beacons of Justice fail. It’s in these flaws that a deeper connection can be built.”

- Mario Candelaria, Writer of “Fog Line” and “Killchella”

Stretch Goals

$4,250 - Wow! Let’s add some more for those who contribute to this special first run! For those who contribute to get physical copies, I’ll provide Citizen Defender Initiative files in the back of the issues for the major characters so you can get some more background and history on them!

$4,500 - I’ll add a new reward tier for versions of Issue 1 and 2 that have character bibles in the back for some of the major characters so you can see what information Deivis, Valerie, and Nyleshia get

$4,750 - More stickers! Folks who donate to the new reward tiers here will get stickers for some organizations that are around in upcoming issues! You’ll also get prints of the variant covers without the logo and copy on them!

$5,000 - ???

Timeline

This project is already fully complete in terms of art, letters, and colors. We just need your help to send this to the printer and make our first run a reality! It should only take a couple of months for us to get proofs from the printer and new cover art for the variants, print out any rewards that are not comic issues themselves, and fully print of the run itself. After that, it’s just shipping it to readers like you who help us!

Our plan is to use Comix Well Spring for printing the issues and Sticker Ninja for the stickers.

We anticipate that all rewards should begin their journey to backers by sometime in May 2022.