Rocket Robinson Kichstarted into a book

Rocket Robinson and the Pharaoh’s Fortune is a classic adventure story set in Egypt in the 1930s – very much in the vein of TinTin. For years now, we’ve been happily following the exploits of 12-year-old adventurer Rocket Robinson as he tries to unravel the mystery of a hidden, ancient treasure, located somewhere in the city of Cairo.

While designed for beginning to intermediate readers (ages 8-11), the story is “free of inappropriate language, racial, ethnic and gender stereotypes, and violent images”, so it’s great for younger readers too. And it’s still packed with enough action, danger, and fun that fans of classic adventure storytelling will love it at any age.

For the last few years, the story has been available online as a webcomic, with one page being released every week or so. Unlike many other webcomics, this story was always envisioned as a book: It is a single, stand-alone story, and it’s meant to be read cover-to-cover as a book. Which brings us to author Sean O’Neil’s Kickstarter project aimed at getting the book published.

The project is already fully funded and O’Neil is now adding stretch goals. There’s a young adventurer’s club and character buttons available. The webcomic has always been beautifully rendered and the print version promises to be equally beautiful and engaging. The aim is for the printed book to be available in all the usual outlets in the USA; signing up for the Kickstarter campaign will get you early access to the first edition and may be the only way to get the book in Australia.

Full details on the campaign can be found on Kickstarter, and the webomic is at www.rocketrobinson.com.