Podcast Producer Develops Comic Book "Shrub" For Middle-Grade Readers

Hit the road with a sentient Shrub for a cross-country trip to Hollywood. 
Join Shrub and a grieving brother and sister as they head out in search of connection. On their journey, pit stops, wacky plant enthusiasts, uprooting, and re-routing abound. Shrub is an eight-issue, middle grade Graphic Medicine series that explores the various ways that we allow grief to take root, inspired by Emmy Award-nominated writer Shane Portman’s experience with the loss of his father.

GLAAD Award-winning publisher and media outlet Fanbase Press is launching its latest Kickstarter campaign to fund the collected trade paperback of the Shrub series, featuring contributions from leading comics and mental health voices.

Shrub was created and written by Emmy Award nominee Shane Portman (Tumble Leaf, Shape Island), illustrated by Andy Alves (Cosmic Cadets), colored by Sophia Du (Story Bots: Answer Time) and Celia FitzGerald, lettered by Oceano Ransford (Eisner Award-nominated Rikki), and with consultation from comics librarian Moni Barrette.

Portman and his wife Ruth Gamble are the develpers of Hobo Code, which is a four-part limited "magical-realist" podcast series about two hobos (an acerbic rambler and a self-ordained monk) and a young girl with a best friend who lives in a coffee can. It's a journey spanning from the Roaring Twenties to the Great Depression, all the way to the Great Recession of 2008, that examines human cycles - whether it’s generational trauma or economic crises.

Check out the Shrub Kickstarter page and click on the Notify me on launch button. Then, just add your email, and you’ll be updated on the project as it rolls out. No purchase necessary. 

Shane Portman says: "Our goal at this point is simply to accumulate as many supporters as possible so that, when the campaign officially starts, it’ll get the attention of the Kickstarter folks and they’ll amplify Shrub as a featured campaign. Shrub is about… well… it’s about a shrub. A lonely sentient shrub who befriends a pair of grieving siblings and, together, they hit the open road in search of connection (and also the shrub's only known relative - who's apparently a background actor in Hollywood."

The series is directed at middle-grade readers, but there’s an E.T. vibe that I think/hope will appeal to any age (particularly those dealing with loss).

It’s illustrated by Andy Alves (Cosmic Cadets), colored by Sophia Du (Story Bots: Answer Time) and Celia FitzGerald, and lettered by Oceano Ransford (Eisner Award-nominated Rikki).

Portman shares: "And this is probably the most personal project I’ve written, rooted in (pun fully intended) my and my family's experiences of dealing with and growing from the loss of my dad. It’s stitched together with stuff that I think I needed to hear as a child dealing with grief. But, it’s also about connection and understanding. It's being written in the graphic medicine sub-genre, a burgeoning space in comics geared at intersecting comics with healthcare discourse. So, at the end of each issue, there will be a real-life testimonial from either one of my siblings, my Mom (to give a full spectrum of how it affects members of a family differently) or a grief specialist."

Portman continues: "I am so immensely proud of what we’ve put together and so grateful to Fanbase Press and all the artists and contributors who have infused Shrub with their talents and input."

The issues will begin releasing digitally each month starting in June (on ComicsPlus and Hoopla - all ya need is a library card for Hoopla). After the last issue releases digitally, the issues will then be bound in a trade paperback book. We'll be launching a Kickstarter for the book later this year.

“In the footsteps of ET or Wall-E, Shrub and their insatiable awe for everything they come in contact with—people, birds, cows, even vending machines—is the open-hearted catalyst of this story,” said Portman. “Their compassionate connection to each character is a living example of the empathy that we all need and deserve. 

“I can’t wait for readers to meet Shrub, to laugh with and feel for these characters, and maybe even find some kinship along the way,” Portman concluded.

“We were immediately taken by Shrub‘s thrilling road trip adventure, but what truly made the story stand out was the compassionate way in which it engaged the reader in an empathetic conversation about how we grieve,” said Fanbase Press co-founder and editor-in-chief Barbra Dillon. “Given that so many of our community members of all ages have known great loss, we hope that Shrub’s story will foster a sense of collective support.”

According to Fanbase Press, Shrub explores various ways of processing and existing alongside grief, inspired by Portman’s experience with the loss of his father. The eight-issue series includes the essay series “Letting Grief Take Root,” which features work by individuals with personal and/or professional connections to grief. Essayists include Portman and his family, grief doula Kat Primeau, and licensed marriage and family therapist Ariel Landrum.