The March to FISTICUFFS Begins.
FISTICUFFS will launch on Kickstarter on 03-04-25. We slid the date back to give us ample time to get in all the planned promotion.
We begin that promotion with the FISTICUFFS trailer! Thanks to the INCREDIBLY talented @Comikaze for crafting this BANGER!
We’ve already received some amazing pull quotes-
And I, Fred Schwartz, will be appearing on The Comic Crusaders Podcast with Al Mega today at 3 PM EST to talk about FISTICUFFS and all things comics.
Comic Crusaders Podcast-Fred Schwartz
We’re finalizing plans and other appearances that will be announced here, but if you know of any reviewers or tastemakers who’d be interested, please reach out below for an advanced PDF of FISTICUFFS for review.
A small print test of Books One and Two came in yesterday and they are GLORIOUS!!! I didn’t fully appreciate the beauty of this book until I held it in my hands. Stan’s line work, characterization, action-ALL beautiful. Robert’s colors are rich and gorgeous and Dave’s lettering is dynamic and emphatic. I’m lucky to work with them and I’m going to work my damndest to bring this book to you and make this a fun and fantastic campaign.
It’s a long journey ahead and it’s been a long journey to this point. In times of panic, crisis or even just when I need some perspective and inspiration, I have handful of go-to documentaries that have served me well. I hope, if you’re so inclined, they’ll do the same for you.
•Superheroes: A Never Ending Battle (DVDs on eBay)
-I know. Dick move to start out with something you can’t even stream anywhere. Well, I’m very sorry. It was on Prime forever but then they took it away and I haven’t been able to find it anywhere else. This series provides a wealth of information, putting the history of comic books into the context of world history. I most appreciate the love and reverence with which they talk about these stories, creators and lifestyle. People don’t get into comics to get rich. For the longest time comic book creator was a shameful distinction. Stan Lee himself was saving his real name (Stanley Lieber) for when he would one day write, “real,” novels. This doc is the wonderful story of how this industry transformed over time through the hard work, talent and passion of several generations of creators. It presents a rich legacy that you can’t help but want to become a part of.
•George Carlin’s American Dream (Max)
-We tend to think of things as fully-formed when we first encounter them. To me George Carlin WAS the guy from Jammin’ in New York and all the subsequent specials. Of all the heroes and inspirations in my life, he alone sits at the head of that table. Kind of the way you discover that a girlfriend had a life before she met you, in this series, I got to discover who George was before I met him. I was unaware of the decades of messy trial and error, dysfunction, self-loathing and everything else that preceded the mastery of his craft. Life’s long. Progress takes time and George spent years struggling to burn away all of that extemporaneous baggage. That raw, real, no pomp, no fat, no bullshit essence took a long time to get to. George Carlin’s genius didn’t come from God, the sun or Joe Pesci, he had to discover that within himself.
•Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (Disney+)
-Man, nobody believed in George Lucas! The crew wouldn’t work with him. The cast thought they were making trash. The first trailer was jeered at. Take a minute and imagine what THE FILM INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE would’ve looked like if he listened to the haters and did something else. This documentary is about perseverance, betting on yourself, and being true and faithful to your own talent and instincts. George Lucas put his money where his mouth was. He turned down guaranteed cash to keep the rights to a movie he hadn’t made yet. He stuck to his guns about keeping licensing rights so he could promote his project if the studio wouldn’t. He assembled a motley crew to create special effects that hadn’t been conceived of before. When they sent in subpar work he rejected it and showed them how to do it properly. The man, almost single-handedly, transformed special effects, merchandising and every other aspect of filmmaking into what we recognize today. This is also another great reminder that creative endeavors are messy and no project arrives fully-formed (fun fact: Han Solo originally had green-skin and gills).
•The Rise and Fall of ECW (Peacock)
-The artist’s career is a lot like that of a professional wrestler. Most talent does not enjoy long-term, steady employment and even rarer is a talent who remains atop their profession for an extended period of time. Most of the lucky ones get a run. Paul Heyman got a run with ECW and turned that stint into a legacy. The primary focus of this documentary is Paul Heyman, the owner and operator of an extreme professional wrestling company in the 1990s. There are so many great lessons in this doc. One of the most applicable is his simple mantra of accentuating your positives and hiding your negatives. Simple, but sage-like advice for anyone trying to put together any creative project or business (especially on a budget). Nothing about Paul Heyman looks like a wrestling professional. The documentary is quite candid about Paul’s fallacies and shortcomings, but by playing his limited hand and using his fantastic mind, he became an incredibly celebrated figure in the wrestling business. Today, in 2025, he still receives one of the loudest ovations on the roster. Fantastic story for anyone with a dream and D.I.Y. mindset!
If you get to check any of these out, hit me up and let me know what you took away from them.
The march to FISTICUFFS begins. March along, march along with the Merry Marvel March—oops—nvm, that’s been done before.
Let’s just get ready to have fun and get F’N messy.
🤜🔥🤛
Fred Schwartz