Barbaric/Deathstalker crossover joins Vault Comics’ Kickstarter campaign

Up on Kickstarter for a while, Vault’s Deathstalker revival just got even rougher and tougher, with the inclusion of Barbaric.

They’re not gonna get along too well

A formerly-forgotten 80s icon is about to meet one of Vault Comics’ biggest characters, when Deathstalker meets Barbaric’s main-mangler, Owen. That comic book crossover event will come by way of the publisher and its latest Kickstarter.

If you’re not familiar with the campaign, it brings the Deathstalker character to the world of comics for the first time, and seemingly without compromise. The rebirth spins out of the mind and fandom of Guns N’ Roses’ own Slash, who’s spearheaded the push in conjunction with Shout! Studios and Raven Banner Entertainment.

But while the Kickstarter has been long-funded, it’s being added to even as it gets ready to end. As you can see above, that boost comes by way of Barbaric, a currently running barbarian comic that shares some themes with old ‘Stalker himself.

That currently-running series is written by Michael Moreci and features artist Nathan Gooden. It tells the story of Owen, a barbarian who’s been cursed to wield a living axe that thirsts for the blood of the wicked. And now, as a part of the very same campaign that’s noted above, both characters are about to meet… for good or ill.

Cursed barbarian versus warrior king! Axe versus sword! Owen versus Deathstalker! When an evil wizard summons the two most reluctant heroes of all time, they’ll have to square off. But a clash of steel alone may not decide the final victor.

…

“As a kid who grew up on Guns N’ Roses and considered Slash to be pretty much one of the coolest people on the planet,” said Barbaric co-creator, Michael Moreci. “Having a chance to collaborate with him is more than I could have ever hoped for. Couple that with Deathstalker, one of the coolest so-bad-its-good sword and sorcery movies ever (and as most know, I love sword and sorcery), this is a dream pairing. You’ve got Barbaric, Slash, and Deathstalker all in one place–I can’t think of much cooler than that. And, obviously, we all know Owen and Axe will come out on top!”

Vault Comics press release

If you want in on this titanic tussle, then you’ll need to back the Kickstarter campaign (here) at Tier 0 or above, as the crossover issue is included with any of those levels. It’s also unclear whether or not it will be offered at retail in any form, at any time down the line. So if you want it, again it looks like the campaign is the only game in town.

You’ll have to get the lead out and do that quickly though, as the Kickstarter is set to wrap up in just a few days, as of this writing.