A Kent State alumnus has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund his new comic book series scheduled to be released in June.

Robbie Puzzitiello, former host of Black Squirrel Radio’s show Rik and Rob Radio Rockstars, has started the process of producing a comic book series entitled Player’s Pawn but needs to find the funding to finish the six-issue series.

“We’ve made 16 percent of our $6,000 goal,” Puzzitiello said. “It’s been a great start but we’re very shy of our goal for being two weeks in already. My colorist, however, is going to finish the first issue no matter what and we will have it available this summer in some way, shape or form.”

The horror, psychological thriller combo will focus on a psychiatrist living with his serial killer patient in a “Big Brother” type setting in which the killer gets the upper hand.

Puzzitiello said he came up with the idea in high school and originally had it written as a script for a film. He needed to find a way to work within his means, though, and considered switching the medium from film to comics.

“Comics are the cheapest way I can demonstrate my ideas for films, without requiring a 100-million dollar budget,” Puzzitiello said. “You still have to think very cinematically, which I always have. It’s a lot easier to control this environment. But it has still cost me a lot of my own money to get people invested in it.”

Puzzitiello graduated from Kent State in August 2013 with a degree in electronic media production.

“I wanted to do something close to film but unfortunately we didn’t have anything specifically film-centric, which ultimately helped me,” Puzzitiello said. “I was afraid to go out of state to Chicago or L.A. to a real film school. But I learned to start making my own projects.”

Puzzitiello said he wants his comics to serve as an introduction to a form of storytelling that is rarely considered and unlike other comics, such as Marvel or DC, his story won’t have to compete with massive continuity. It is a stand-alone and easy to follow.

Puzzitiello said his favorite comic book series are the Walking Dead, Scott Pilgrim, the Ultimate Spider-Man, Watchmen and Bone by fellow Ohio author Jeff Smith. But he doesn’t feel as though he needs to compete with them.

“I think the community of comic authors is fun,” Puzzitiello said. “They’re super generous people, and I think whoever gives my book a chance will be pleasantly surprised.”

Contact Katie Nix at [email protected].