After five volumes that include stories from Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and North America, Iron Circus Comics is back for a sixth and final volume in the Cautionary Fables & Fairytales series with The Lizard Prince & Other South American Stories. Similar to previous volumes, this edition is starting as a crowdfunding campaign and features over a 15 creatives, with all the artists and writers coming from these countries. Additionally, the story is seeking funding through a campaign that (when completed) will be the 35th crowdfunded project from the indie publisher.
While the crowdfunding campaign has been on the Iron Circus website for a while now, according to Kel McDonald (one of three editors), the previous volume was the highest funded anthology in Kickstarter history. If this campaign is able to reach even a quarter of that support, then all the stretch goals will be funded, including a cute lizard pin and a printed version of the book available in Spanish. Regardless of whether the stretch goals are completed, every $5,000 raised over the $10,000 goal will result in a $5 page rate increase for all contributors.
Iron Circus Comics is giving The Mary Sue readers an exclusive look at one of the stories from the outskirts of the Andes Mountains. Written and illustrated by Peruvian cartoonist Ricardo Lazo Ruiz, The Muki’s Deal is in step with his greater work that’s very inspired by his infatuation for fantasy stories, local folklore, Inca history, and comics. Iron Circus representatives provided The Mary Sue with some of his thoughts on the story via email, to go along with this exclusive preview:
What I like about the story I made is that it is based on a creature that is quite familiar to us in the Andes mountains in Perú, since I’ve lived in a province in my childhood and I listened to miners talk about the muki. And I thought it would be interesting to adapt the nature of this legend, but in the eyes of another character, in this case a little girl. After all, the legend changes for each person, like the stories about people that see gnomes or big foot. So our main character: Kori, could have her own version.
The Muki’s Deal
The fact that the character is a child gives her more openness about how to understand the world. I think that the legends about mythological beings or magic arose as a result of people seeking an explanation for manifestations of nature, such as the Muki who was blamed for disappearances, poisoning by mine gasses, or landslides… But also revered when large veins of ore are found.
Then it is the child-nature relationship, where the child becomes friends with nature, and consequently learns to respect it. In addition, respect and coexistence with nature is something that was also deeply rooted in the ancient Andean worldview. It is no coincidence that the miners of the Andes make offerings to this creature before working in the mines, even if it is simply something symbolic, it is how they show their respect for the place where they work (and obviously, the fear they have to suffer an accident and the hope they have to find the minerals they’re looking for).
The Lizard Prince & Other South American Stories will release in April 2023. For $8, you can buy a DRM-free PDF copy, and for $15 (before accounting for shipping), you can get a digital and physical copy. Larger tiers include picking up other copies of the series in digital or paperback.
(featured image: Iron Circus Comics)
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