#collectems

A first peek into the pilot of BIG IRON, a crime-thriller epic set in the 1960s. When hard-nosed gunslinger Travis Stiletto gets an offer from an eccentric tycoon far up north, he finds himself unprepared for the corruption, conflict and horror that await him. Part one of the COLLECTEMS Universe.

PLEASE REBLOG IF YOU LIKE THIS POST - AS SOMEBODY WITH ZERO AUDIENCE, IT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Hi.

So this is something I’ve been sort of vaguely teasing about over on social media, but it’s not really something I’ve gone into detail with. So, long story short: I’m in the latter production stage of a 25-minute animated pilot for a 1960s crime series that’s also an official prequel to that video-game everyone was excited for a few years ago. It’s called BIG IRON. If you liked that concept or are interested to know more, follow this blog and my twitter for more updates.

Long story long: Sadly the original Collectems game team, for which I served as a writer, was not able to follow through on our initial concept at the time. It was overly ambitious for our inexperienced staff, and was even at the time an extremely amorphous concept we’d struggled to get to grips with. I, however, along with a couple of associates from the team, continued to ruminate on it. There were things we wanted to do with the world, ways we wanted to establish a setting that would make Pokemon-like beasts feel like they belonged in a real-world setting. Over the last couple of years, a dozen different ideas have popped into my head regarding this world - but eventually I decided enough is enough, and I wanted to put those concepts to practice. I wanted to give back to those people who were so hyped so long ago, and draw from my love of shows like Fargo, Mad Men, Twin Peaks, Utopia and Breaking Bad to create something special.

A tale of a gunslinger. BIG IRON is the 60s-set story of Travis Stiletto, a half-Native American war vet struggling in his role as Police Chief in the crime-infested, racially intolerant Baton Rouge, Louisiana - that is, until an eccentric billionaire offers him a job in the cold, isolated and mysterious Tamotan Peninsula. What Travis thinks will be a cushy security position winds up being much more, as he’s forced to deal with violent class conflicts, political espionage, assassination attempts, gang warfare and even rumors of paranormal creatures lurking out in the frozen wastes. Action, drama, and psychological horror are all in the cards for Hellhound Stiletto and his infant son, Cal.  

The BIG IRON Kickstarter has now ended. I’d like to think all of those that supported us over the last few weeks. We lost out this go-around, but here’s to a bright, bright creative future.

Both promos are now out for BIG IRON, my 60s-set animated crime series coming to YouTube! In this vignette, we look back at a moment from police chief Stiletto’s sordid past - a young Native American orphan trying to make it in the Deep South, wrapped up in the dealings of Prohibition-era crooks.

This project is a labor of love, and intends to tell the stories of people that rarely get their tales told. I hope you all enjoy it - and if you do, please give this a share to help get the word out for someone with a very very small audience!

“You know why they call him Big Head? ‘Cause he’s got a big head is why.

And it ain’t just for thinkin’.

Big Head comes with big teeth.”