Rocket Raccoon Co-Creator's Creator-Owned Series to Be Collected After More Than 25 Years

Decades after it debuted at Marvel Comics, Swords of the Swashbucklers is finally poised to get a reprint thanks to crowdfunding.

The series, written by Rocket Raccoon co-creator and Invasion! scribe Bill Mantlo, featured art by a young Jackson "Butch" Guice, who would go on to acclaim as the artist on The Adventures of Superman and Captain America, among others.

The creator-owned series was never reprinted by Marvel -- and admittedly, it was published at a time when such reprints were rare anyway.

Dynamite Entertainment will distribute the graphic novel, which has more than doubled its funding goal with weeks to go.

"A pirate adventure on interstellar seas, the beloved Swords of the Swashbucklers series was illustrated by the phenomenal Jackson "Butch" Guice and has not seen print in over 25 years," says the Kickstarter profile for the project. "It's a story that's long overdue for preservation as a high-quality, completely remastered trade paperback. More importantly, this Kickstarter project celebrates the far-reaching imagination of Bill Mantlo, a shining star of the comic industry whose career was tragically cut short in his prime by a hit-and-run accident. With pledges of support for Kickstarter rewards we will generate much-needed royalty income from this essential tale that will contribute to Mantlo's continued medical care."

In Swords of the Swashbucklers, spirited teenager Domino Blackthorne Drake was just a normal girl… until she stumbled upon an alien artifact, acquired uncanny power, and became a beacon for intergalactic trouble! With her tabby cat Cap'n Kidd in tow, Domino joins the motley crew of the Starshadow – a spacefaring pirate ship captained by the charismatic and fearless Raader. Domino embarks on a cosmic odyssey to save her kidnapped parents and overthrow the evil Colonizer Empire.

Perks for the Kickstarter include digital and physical copies of the graphic novel, t-shirts, sketches from Guice, and more.