Magnetic Press is about halfway through their Kickstarter campaign for Loba Loca, a graphic novel set in the MFKZ Universe from creators Guillaume “Run” Renard and Guillaume Singelin of Label 619 in France. The project has already blown past its modest goal with more than $46,000 in raised funds and another two weeks to go.
The graphic novel is about Guadalupe “Guada” Mayflower, a 17-year-old who discovers her infamous luchadore father may have once saved the world. This sends her on a dangerous road trip to confront her family’s past that involves other masked luchadores, underworld figures and more.
I caught up with Magnetic Press’ Director of Publishing Mike Kennedy to talk about what drew Magnetic Press to the project, their relationship with Label 619 and, of course, the role of lucha libre in the book.
Magnetic has been publishing international creators in the U.S. for more than a decade now. At this point, what makes you recognize that a book has the potential to connect with an English-language audience?
I’m not sure if it’s something that can be quantified or put in a formula…to date, it has been a matter of, “Do I like it?” Over the years, that has zeroed in on a slight commonality, even if the genres and styles don’t match. We do gravitate toward visually dynamic, often slick, cinematic, animated art styles, but (as a writer) I’m drawn to deep character arcs within unique worlds or circumstances. Certainly, if a title has earned praise and awards abroad, I’d like to think that translates favorably for an American audience, but that’s not always the case. There’s a wide variety of tastes around the world; we just try to curate that selection through our own North American gut-filter.
And what was it about Loba Loca that made you want to bring the book to English-language readers?
Aside from the twisted-L.A. setting that’s uniquely American, it’s just a great story with incredibly relatable characters in fantastic situations. It’s a lot more grounded than MFKZ (the original story that Loba Loca spun off from), but even when it’s throwing bizarre, pulpy fiction at the reader, there are still identifiable characters in the middle of it (even if they have tiger heads or whatnot). If someone didn’t know any different, ideally readers would be surprised to learn this book wasn’t originally created or published in English. We don’t want people to think of these as “an excellent French comic,” but rather “a great comic, period.”
It does seem more grounded, taking the story in a somewhat different direction with a teenage protagonist and a coming-of-age story. Was that contrast part of what appealed to you about the project?
Yeah, I like shared universes where different types of characters and stories can coexist. If you like the bonkers madness and pulp fiction of MFKZ, you might also like the heartfelt drama of Loba Loca. Both have their fair share of action, but they come at it from different angles. And even though Guada, the teen protagonist of this story, may be growing up in a world I’ve never experienced, there’s a genuineness to different facets of her character (and the other supporting characters) that is easy to identify with. Maybe that’s what appeals to me most – the clear and exceptionally portrayed humanity and believability of these characters.
What role does lucha libre play in Loba Loca, and what did you think when you first saw that element of the original story?
The Lucha Ultima characters played a pretty pivotal role in MFKZ, which laid the groundwork for this universe. At the end of MFKZ, you really wanted to learn more about each of them, particularly El Diablo and Tigre, who seemed to have a real history that was never explored in MFKZ. Loba Loca peels back some of that mystery and gives Tigre some time in the spotlight after being one of many supporting characters in what was a pretty big ensemble cast in MFKZ.
Magnetic Press has increasingly used Kickstarter as a way of launching and funding its books. What has the platform allowed you to do that traditional publishing and distribution don’t? And how has your Kickstarter strategy evolved over the years?
With the many challenges facing the industry – the overall economy, customs and tariffs, the overwhelming number of competing projects to rise above, the seismic shifts in retail distribution – it seems like the best way to connect to readers is to interface with them directly. And platforms like Kickstarter and BackerKit are great ways to do that. The campaigns themselves may be time-limited events, but the amount of follow-through communication really helps to build a following, many of whom may be interested in the next cool thing.
It also helps that we love to produce special, often limited, editions for most of our books, and those editions really appeal to collectors on platforms like Kickstarter. And those special editions usually just don’t make sense to offer at retail. Sure, we may fuel a sort of “FOMO syndrome” by doing that, but that’s where the collector community thrives, and what makes it exciting. We also love making cool tie-in collateral “stretch goal” bonuses that add nice, thematic dimension to most of these experiences. Yeah, there may be some folks who just want the book and don’t care about extras, but who doesn’t like a gift bag full of freebies? We sure do!
This project continues your broader relationship with Label 619. What’s the pitch to readers unfamiliar with Label 619 as a studio, and are there other 619 titles you’re eyeing next?
Label 619 is (in my opinion) creating the best comics in the world. With superstar talent like Mathieu Bablet, Guillaume Singelin, Run and Florent Maudoux, they have some of the greatest creative minds in the field. And they’re gathering even more fresh talent as we speak. They specialize in pulp-genre stuff – sci-fi, horror, noir, etc – but it’s always with a depth of character and style that belies the surface. And when they tackle a genre outside of their usual frame (eg., historical fiction, etc), there’s always a lot more going on under the surface or character skin. They have a true love for comics – including a lot of familiar American books – as well as global pop culture in general, which you can see in a lot of their stuff. We have a bunch of cool Label 619 books planned in 2027 and beyond, including more Shin Zero very soon. Stay tuned!
Learn more about Loba Loca on the project’s Kickstarter page.