‘The Middleman’ Comic Book Return Successfully Crowdfunded

Five years after more or less concluding its run as a comic-book-turned-TV-show-turned-comic-book, writer Javier Grillo-Marxauch and artist Les McClaine are reuiniting for a brand new adventure bringing together both the original Viper Comics version of The Middleman and its TV counterpart thanks to a successful Indiegogo campaign.

The $37,000 crowdfunding effort on Indiegogo only took fans six days to surpass, which is a testament to the comic and TV show's cult following. The comic only ran for three volumes (two serialized, one released as an OGN) from 2005-2007 and the TV series ran for just 12 episodes in 2008 before concluding in a comic book based on the show's final script, The Middleman: The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse. The show's comic book conclusion took place in a different continuity than the main comic series, however, which gave the creative team a chance to bring the two together in the all-new The Middleman: The Pan-Universal Parental Reconciliation! original graphic novel, which sees the comic and TV show characters collide.

The Indiegogo campaign is also being used to fund re-issues of the original print series and subsequent on-demand print orders of each issue. The first two volumes of Viper's comics are currently available on ComiXology as individual issues, while The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse currently exists only as an out-of-print collectible on the secondary market. The third volume is still available via the official Viper Comics online store.

Additionally, the campaign will also see the full cast of the Middleman TV series, along with special guest Amber Benson of Buffy The Vampire Slayer (playing "comic book Wendy"), unite at a special live reading of the new comic, followed by an autograph session, on May 25. Fans who can't make the trip won't have to miss out either, as the reading will be recorded and posted online later.

While most of the mega-fan oriented backing levels have been claimed already, fans who'd just like to read the comic can get their hands on a printed copy of The Pan-Universal Parental Reconciliation! at the $15 level, with an estimated arrival date of July 2014.

As of press time the campaign is well on its way to accomplishing its stretch goal of an additional $20,000, which would be used to color the interiors of every single currently black-and-white Middle Man comic. The campaign hasn't announced any further stretch goals just yet, but with 33 days left, fans may want to keep an eye out through November 10.

[Via Indiegogo]