project-image

ILLuminati: A Thriller Where Hip-Hop & Comics Collide

Created by AWA Studios

Charlamagne Tha God & AWA present a supernatural story by groundbreaking Black creators — featuring homage art to seminal albums!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Thank You from ILLuminati Team!
22 days ago – Wed, Oct 23, 2024 at 09:43:43 AM

Thank you to each and every backer who supported this campaign and ordered ILLuminati !!

We will continue to send updates about the campaign through these Kickstarter backer update messages — we'll keep you updated on the progress of the book, personal messages from Charlamagne Tha God and the creative team, and each step of production.

If you run into anything or have any questions, please reach out!

Next Steps

FINAL PAYMENTS — Kickstarter will start to charge your cards and in the coming weeks we'll be notified of all payment confirmation. If you run into issues with your payments, you will be able to update your payment form here on Kickstarter (you'll receive a notice from Kickstarter about an error with your payment), or you will also be able to do so on BackerKit when we share our post-campaign survey.

SPEAKING OF... SURVEYS! Post-campaign surveys will go out in a few weeks. If this is your first time backing a project on Kickstarter, these surveys are for you to confirm your order and add to your order. That’s right, you have a chance to add last-minute items to your order!

Surveys will be sent through BackerKit and you will receive them in the email account you have on file with your Kickstarter account. We will reach out here as well when we are ready to share those surveys with everyone.

CONFIRMING ADDRESSES — We will be sending another survey closer to our fulfillment date in 2025 to confirm your shipping cost and shipping address. This helps us be able to get your most up-to-date address when we are shipping orders and this way we get you the most accurate shipping costs, as well.

For everyone who ordered the exclusive hoodie or hat, we'll reach out soon with more details on those items, as they are being shipped separately from the book orders.

ZOOM EVENTS — We will share more information and timing for these events in early 2025. We plan to give everyone plenty of heads-up so you can plan accordingly for these events. 

BACKERKIT PRE-ORDERS — For anyone that missed the campaign, we will be taking pre-orders on the books on BackerKit. If you know anyone who missed the campaign, the graphic below will send you to the BackerKit post-campaign pre-order!


COMING SOON TO KICKSTARTER

Here for Denys Cowan's amazing ILLuminati art? Then something big is coming that you won't want to miss! 

Graphic Samurai: The Art of Denys Cowan is the first comprehensive celebration of the work of this groundbreaking comic book artist. Batman, The Question, Black Panther, and Deathlok are just a few of the iconic characters that he's put his stamp on while also creating his own beloved comic universe, Milestone, featuring Hardware, Icon & Rocket, and the comic that inspired the hit television show, Static Shock. Inkpot Award-winning artist Denys Cowan walks you through his life and career in his own words and via hundreds of unforgettable illustrations in color and black and white.

Follow the campaign today!

Final 24 Hours — Exclusives & Add-Ons
24 days ago – Mon, Oct 21, 2024 at 02:27:42 PM

24 HOURS LEFT!

We’ve received a few questions from backers on how to add some of the special, exclusive add-on offerings — so we wanted to make it easy for everyone!

ON COMPUTER:

1. On top of your webpage click on “Manage Your Pledge”
2. Click on “Change Your Pledge”
3. Select your tier again and hit “Continue”
4. Add all the add-ons you’d like!

ON PHONE APP:

1. Click on “Manage” at the bottom of app
2. Click on the … icon on the top right of the app
3. Click on “Edit Reward” button
4. Select your tier again and hit the “Continue” button
5. Add all the add-ons you’d like!

What’s Exclusive?

There are a few items offered in this campaign that you won’t be able to get after this campaign ends! Make sure to get your hands on these before they are gone forever!

  • Hardcover ILLuminati will not be sold in stores
  • Bill Sienkiewicz Slipcase will not be sold in stores
  • New Exclusive Signed Prints are limited
  • Signed Bookplates are limited
Limited to 50 for each print!

Exclusive Hat & Hoodie New Shipping Locations!

Denys Cowan & Charlamagne with exclusive ILL hat at NYCC

Our ILL hat and hoodie are also limited and exclusive to this campaign — and they are now available for order in Canada and Europe!

We’ve locked in the right shipping costs for these orders and you can get yours now! These exclusive pieces are only available on this campaign, and they will be shipped in December 2024, separate from the book. You can get your hat or hoodie for the holidays!

Order Yours Now!

Final Days — Exclusive Prints Drop!
25 days ago – Sun, Oct 20, 2024 at 04:28:51 PM

ILLuminati Takes Over NYCC

Charlamagne Tha God, Denys Cowan, and Axel Alonso led one of the most hype panels at New York Comic Con this weekend.

Rob Markman hosted the exciting panels, talking to the team about ILLuminati, hip-hop and comics, and if this is OR isn’t all based on a true story — you’ll have to read the book and decide for yourself…

If you couldn’t make it to New York Comic Con this weekend, Axel Alonso stopped by Friday to Charlamagne’s radio show The Breakfast Club to chat about the project. Plus, you can ADD-ON the Zoom Roundtable event to your order and be a part of the conversation!

Exclusive Drop — Only 50 Available of Each Print

We are dropping 2 exclusive prints for the final days of the campaign!

The first print features art penciled by Denys Cowan and inked by Bill Sienkiewicz — this print will be signed by both Denys and Bill! And the second print features Bill Sienkiewicz’s slipcase design art — this print will be signed by Bill Sienkiewicz and by Charlamagne.

Add Prints to Your Order Today!

STRETCH GOAL & FINAL DAYS ARE HERE

We’ve hit our $30k stretch goal! This means that every physical tier order will get a FREE print of KERON GRANT’s hip-hop homage art! Our next stretch goal is at $40k for another free print added to the order (after that it's FREE stickers)!

There are only 2 days left to make final changes to your order — upgrade to a higher tier, add-on any exclusives, and share this with a friend.

The Kickstarter campaign closes Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 6pm.

Week #4 Update — NYCC This Week!
about 1 month ago – Mon, Oct 14, 2024 at 04:38:06 PM

SEE YOU AT NEW YORK COMIC CON!

The ILLuminati team is taking on New York Comic Con.

Catch Charlamagne Tha God, Denys Cowan, and Axel Alonso on a special panel to talk about ILLuminati, hip-hop and comics, and more.

Everyone who stops by our panel receives an exclusive NYCC ILLuminati print!

Charlamagne Tha God Presents ILLuminati
Hip-Hop and Comics Collide in New AWA Graphic Novel
Fri, Oct 18, 3:45-4:45pm | Room 1C03

Will we see you at New York Comic Con?

CAN’T MAKE THE PANEL — JOIN A ZOOM EVENT!

If you don’t plan on being at this year’s New York Comic Con, then you can still hear Charlamagne and the creative team talk about ILLuminati on the ZOOM ROUNDTABLE available on this campaign.

AWA always finds a way to give you access to our creators, so the fans can hear first-hand how projects came about and to ask questions about the story — for some of our fans around the world, New York Comic Con is far, but Zoom is right in your living room!

You can add a ticket to the roundtable for only $5 or join the VIP Zoom event for $150.

Learn more on our campaign page.

Why do you think the Black Illuminati is real?

Week #3 Update — Variant Art Revealed!
about 1 month ago – Thu, Oct 10, 2024 at 03:57:21 PM

HIP-HOP HOMAGE ART REVEALED!

The ILLuminati campaign features 5 hip-hop variant covers created by world-renowned and fan-favorite artists. Scroll down to see the art!

Axel Alonso, AWA Chief Creative Officer, launched the revolutionary and highly acclaimed hip-hop variant cover initiative at Marvel and Charlamagne personally selected the albums to celebrate the groundbreaking music and album art of each record.

The art will be featured in the book as chapter breaks, but they are also available as an add-on bundle where you receive the entire ILLuminati story as single-issue comics with the hip-hop variant art as the covers!

What’s your favorite hip-hop album cover? Tell us in the comments!

STRETCH GOALS

We’ve reached our first stretch goals — let’s keep it rolling!

If we reach our next goal, we will add a free KERON GRANT Flesh of my Flesh, Blood of My Blood DMX Homage Art Print to everyone’s order. Upgrade your order or share this with a friend to get us to our next stretch goal!

Stretch goal rewards are available for anyone backing a physical tier.

DENYS & AXEL ON TRAP NERDS

“On today's episode, we’ve got two legends in comics on the show: legendary artist and Milestone co-founder Denys Cowan and former Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso, who is the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of AWA Studios.”

Listen as Denys and Axel talk to the Trap Nerds team about how ILLuminati came together, their past work at Marvel and DC Comics, what they want adapted from comics to TV/film, and so much more!

Listen to The Trap Nerds podcast.