Ronda Rousey & AWA Present: EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED
Created by Ronda Rousey and AWA Studios
Penned by Ronda Rousey, edited by Axel Alonso, AWA Chief Creative Officer and former Editor-in-Chief at Marvel, with art by Eisner and Ringo Award-winning comic book artist Mike Deodato, Jr. (Avengers, Not All Robots, The Flash), the graphic novel draws on Rousey’s incredible career in the ring and pairs it with Deodato’s martial arts background to create the most accurate and action-packed fight scenes in comics!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Update #10 — We've Got ILLuminati Returning Backer Rewards!
about 1 month ago
– Sun, Oct 20, 2024 at 06:04:02 PM
ILLuminati Exclusive Signed Prints
We are dropping 2 exclusive prints for the final days of our campaign for ILLuminati — signed by iconic comic artists Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz!
When was the last time you saw these two legends signing together?!
The first print features art penciled by Denys Cowan and inked by Bill Sienkiewicz — this print will be signed by both Denys and Bill. The second print features Bill Sienkiewicz’s slipcase design art — this print will be signed by Bill Sienkiewicz and by Charlamagne Tha God.
REMINDER: Slipcase designed by the Eisner Hall of Fame artist Bill Sienkiewicz will only be available in this campaign!
Only 2 Days Left to Back ILLuminati
AWA’s latest Kickstarter campaign brings you a relentless supernatural thriller that tackles head-on the most enduring urban legend: THE BLACK ILLUMINATI.
This story is haunting, it’s relevant, and it is created by some of the most amazing talent in comics today: writer Bryan Edward Hill (ULTIMATE BLACK PANTHER), penciler Denys Cowan (STATIC SHOCK), inker and slipcase artist Bill Sienkiewicz (NEW MUTANTS), and cover artist Sanford Greene (DOOM).
Returning backers will get a special reward added to their packages for your continued support of AWA and our creators:
Get the digital or softcover edition and we’ll throw in a FREE AWA DIGITAL BUNDLE — including free downloads of ABSOLUTION (Writer: Peter Milligan, Artist: Mike Deodato Jr.), BAD MOTHER (Writer: Christa Faust, Artist: Mike Deodato Jr.), and CHARIOT (Writer: Bryan Edward Hill, Artist: Priscilla Petraites).
If you support the campaign with more than $30, you will receive the FREE AWA DIGITAL BUNDLE, plus a FREE AWA T-SHIRT!
Want to know more? Axel Alonso stopped by Charlamagne’s The Breakfast Club radio show on Friday during NYCC to talk about ILLuminati, the legendary creative team, and how his time at Marvel shaped the mission of this project. Listen to the show here.
Update #9 — We Need Responses!
about 1 month ago
– Fri, Oct 11, 2024 at 12:20:53 PM
We shared the backer surveys last month and we already have 86% of responses. If you didn’t see the survey, check your spam folder or click here to request a new link.
Production Update: Mike Deodato is KILLING IT on art and Ronda Rousey is loving what she’s seeing as her story comes to life on the page. Want a sneak peek at a new colored page that just came in!
AWA’s latest Kickstarter campaign brings you a relentless supernatural thriller that tackles head-on the most enduring urban legend: THE BLACK ILLUMINATI.
With current ULTIMATE BLACK PANTHER writer BRYAN EDWARD HILL shaping the story and legends DENYS COWAN and BILL SIENKIEWICZ bringing their iconic art styles — this is a comic to be studied!
And we can’t forget the haunting cover art from DOOM writer/artist SANFORD GREEN. We must have sold our souls to get a team like this together…
As a reminder — returning backers who also order ILLuminati will get a special reward added to their packages for your continued support of AWA and our creators!
Get the digital or softcover edition and we’ll throw in a FREE AWA DIGITAL BUNDLE — including free downloads of ABSOLUTION (Writer: Peter Milligan, Artist: Mike Deodato Jr.), BAD MOTHER (Writer: Christa Faust, Artist: Mike Deodato Jr.), and CHARIOT (Writer: Bryan Edward Hill, Artist: Priscilla Petraites).
If you support the campaign with more than $30, you will receive the FREE AWA DIGITAL BUNDLE, plus a FREE AWA T-SHIRT!
Exclusive slipcase designed by the iconic comic book artist Bill Sienkiewicz will only be available in this campaign — order yours now!
Update #8 — We’ve Got Surveys + ILLuminati
about 2 months ago
– Tue, Sep 24, 2024 at 06:00:51 AM
Surveys have been sent!
On Monday, surveys have been shared with all backers — if you don’t see yours in your email inbox, check your spam folder, or click here to request a new link.
If this is your first time backing a project on Kickstarter, these surveys are for you to confirm your order and add to your order. That’s right, you have a chance to add last-minute pieces to your order!
Confirming Addresses — We will be sending another survey closer to our fulfillment date (Summer 2025) to confirm your shipping cost and shipping address. This helps us be able to get your most up-to-date address when we are shipping orders and this way we get you the most accurate shipping costs, as well.
In partnership with Charlamagne Tha God, one of the most influential voices in hip-hop and pop culture, AWA Studios brings you a relentless supernatural thriller that tackles head-on the most enduring urban legend: THE BLACK ILLUMINATI.
Returning Backers: Everyone who has backed a previous AWA Kickstarter campaign and goes on to support ILLuminati will get a gift for your continued support of AWA and our creators! Order yours now!
If you support with up to $30, we’ll share a FREE AWA DIGITAL BUNDLE — including free copies of ABSOLUTION (Writer: Peter Milligan, Artist: Mike Deodato Jr.), BAD MOTHER (Writer: Christa Faust, Artist: Mike Deodato Jr.), and CHARIOT (Writer: Bryan Edward Hill, Artist: Priscilla Petraites).
If you support with more than $30, you will receive the FREE AWA DIGITAL BUNDLE, plus a FREE AWA T-SHIRT!
ILLuminati brings together some of the most prolific and award-winning creators in comics including acclaimed writer Bryan Edward Hill, legendary artist Denys Cowan, Eisner Hall of Fame artist Bill Sienkiewicz, with cover by award-winning artist Sanford Greene, and five all-star variant cover artists who pay tribute to seminal hip-hop album covers selected by Charlamagne himself.
The graphic novel merges the worlds of hip-hop and comics in a pulse-pounding supernatural thriller. With a passion for riveting storytelling that showcases authentic hip-hop culture, Charlamagne and the AWA team worked to bring some of the greatest and most influential Black talent together to create this original story. We hope that you will support and encourage this unique showcase of their artistry.
Update #7 — We’ve Got A Big Thank You!
2 months ago
– Thu, Sep 12, 2024 at 09:43:01 AM
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
Ronda Rousey and the AWA team are so grateful for all the support — thank you to each and every one of you for believing in this story and supporting this campaign!
Next Steps
Final Payments — We just received notice that payments have been confirmed. If you ran into any issues with your payments, you will be able to update your payment form on BackerKit when we share our surveys. So, no worries, you can straighten those out soon.
Speaking of... Surveys! Our post-campaign surveys will go out next week. If this is your first time backing a project on Kickstarter, these surveys are for you to confirm your order and add to your order. That’s right, you have a chance to add last-minute pieces to your order!
We will get those out next week, so keep an eye out. Surveys will be sent through BackerKit and you will receive them in the email account you have on file with your Kickstarter account.
Confirming Addresses — We will be sending another survey closer to our fulfillment date (Summer 2025) to confirm your shipping cost and shipping address. This helps us be able to get your most up-to-date address when we are shipping orders and this way we get you the most accurate shipping costs, as well.
Signing Event & Gym Session Event — We plan to share more information and timing for these events early in 2025. As you all know, Ronda is pregnant (wooo!), and she’s due in early 2025. Once things settle, we will schedule the summer 2025 events. We do plan to give everyone plenty of heads-up so you can plan travel if you’re far from the LA area.
BackerKit Pre-Orders — For anyone that missed the campaign, we are still taking pre-orders on the books on BackerKit now. So, if you missed the campaign, or want to share it with a friend, the graphic below will send you to the BackerKit post-campaign pre-order!
We’ll let you know when surveys go out — see you next week!
Update #6 — We’ve Got 24 Hours Left!
3 months ago
– Mon, Aug 26, 2024 at 03:02:51 PM
We are down to the last 24 hours!
Thanks to all the backers that got us this far! Please help us spread the word and hit our next stretch goal — the door is closing on these exclusive tiers!
What’s exclusive to this campaign?
Oversized & hardcover editions — including the Frank Cho wraparound cover.
Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get drawn into the pages of Ronda Rousey’s debut graphic novel as an assassin who gets their ass kicked by Ronda or a civilian in the background of a scene.
In-person events where you can meet Ronda, get your photo taken, or even learn how to execute her famous arm bar!
Don’t forget about our giveaway!
Ronda Rousey and Mike Deodato held an exclusive signing event at San Diego Comic-Con and we had a few no-shows — so we have 10 signed book plates to giveaway!
The giveaway is open to anyone in the Deodato Hardcover Bundle, the Rahzzah Hardcover Bundle, or the Frank Cho Hardcover Bundle. If you are currently purchasing one of those bundles, or you move up to that bundle now, you’ll be automatically entered into this raffle giveaway to win 1 of the 10 signed book plates that fit in the opening pages of your hardcover.
