Girl Gamer

The Kickstart: Home of the Brave

By GG-AngelThanatos 7 months, 2 weeks ago • 0 Comments

What if the smartest person on Earth was born into poverty & slavery? Meet Aria Monfort, from the world’s poorest nation: America.

That’s the premise behind Home of the Brave, a graphic novel by Jon Lewis and Spencer Toyama. Aria is a stong and brilliant 13 year old girl born into slavery. Despite working 14 hour days, she’s the youngest person in her country to be accepted into a prestigious university (not bad considering she just learned to read at age 12). It becomes clear that Aria is very special, but born under the wrong circumstances.

Based out of Hawaii, Lewis and Toyama aren’t just writing a what-if comic for fun. They’re sending a message. And that message is feeling very close to home.

“We really wanted to do something that brings awareness to global issues such as poverty and human trafficking in an exciting way, which is why we set our story in a fictional America suffering from poverty. I know that people want to act on these global issues, so we are collaborating with the Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery to introduce campaigns to bring legislation addressing Hawaii’s human trafficking problem.” remarked Toyama, referring to the recent investigations of Aloun Farms and the recent news investigation of 350 Ward Ave. “Our book is fictional, but dealing with injustices that occur every day in Hawaii and other parts of the world. It’s really an honor to be part of this movement, and I’m hoping we can help to shift awareness and contribute meaningfully to a change in this world.”

You can get the first 34 pages for FREE right here. Their goal is to create a 135 page hardcover graphic novel. Of course, this costs money, and that’s where we come in. Donating as little as $1 gets you limited edition art wallpapers all the way up to signed, first-run hardcover copies when you give more.

Any little bit helps! You can donate as little as $1 and of course, the best way to support these guys is to spread the word. Check out their Kickstarter Page to watch a video and learn more about the project.

BUT WAIT- THERE’S CHEESECAKE!!

This Saturday, October 6th, there will be a Kickstarter launch introducing a campaign to drive awareness for this very real problem in America, particularly Hawaii. The campaign will push for new bills being introduced into the State Senate with the Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery, focusing on safe harbor for human trafficking survivors and provisions for law enforcement to better address Hawaii’s human trafficking problem.

Kickstarter/Pacific Alliance To Stop Slavery launch event:

7:15 pm
Saturday, October 6th
R/D and The Greenhouse- 691 Auahi St., Honolulu, HI 96813
(Featuring cheesecake from Otto Cake!)

Did someone say CHEESECAKE? If you’re in Honolulu, check 'em out and show some support for this urgent cause.

You can follow this project on Facebook, official website.

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