Ace Kilroy

Ace Kilroy

Ace Kilroyis a serialized adventurewebcomicthat launched on October 31, 2011. In its first season, it ran in daily black-and-white installments, culminating every week with an extra-long "Color Sunday" that also served as a teaser to the events of the upcoming week.

The co-creation of artists Rob Kelly and Dan O'Connor (who met while attending the JoeKubert Schoolof Graphic Art),Ace Kilroyfeatures the title character — aWorld War Iveteran turned soldier of fortune — who has to defeat supernatural monsters in order to stop plans of theNazis.Inspired by mid-20th century comics and monster movies, the webcomic was well received.

Synopsis

Ace Kilroytakes place in 1937, following PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt's landslide victory to a second term, as the United States Government is secretly preparing for a war in Europe. Thanks to some surveillance work involving the upcoming war, they discover mythological monsters are potentially real, and that they are the focus of an effort byAdolf Hitler'sThird Reich.In the story, President Roosevelt and a small band of advisors realize that if the Nazis manage to turn otherworldly monsters to their side, they will be unbeatable. Roosevelt then puts out a word to World War I veteran Ace Kilroy that his country needs him.

In the webcomic's first season, Ace Kilroy goes toTransylvaniaand discovers the cabin of a previous agent who died under mysterious circumstances. As he searches for clues about the agent left behind, he is met by a young local girl named Anca, who claims to be lost. Ace agrees to help her home, when he is confronted by Anca's sisters, who quickly reveal themselves to be vampires, turned into such byCount Dracula,whom Ace encounters at a nearby castle. Ace then gets involved in a tug of war between fighting Dracula, the Nazis, and saving Anca. This inaugural storyline concluded on April 15, 2012.

After a several-month hiatus, Ace Kilroy returned for Season 2 on August 6, 2012. In this story arc, Ace is on vacation, visiting some old friends, including a former romantic interest named Ellie West, now aHollywoodscreenwriter working on "B" -level monster movies. Ace' vacation is cut short by President Roosevelt and Secretary of StateCordell Hull,who send him to Bavaria to search forDr. Victor Frankensteinand his creation,Frankenstein's Monster.

Development

Before creatingAce Kilroy,Kelly and O'Connor have produced artwork for companies such asESPN,Vibe,Forbes,Time Out New York,andThe Allentown Times.Launching on October 31, 2011,Ace Kilroyhas been updated on a daily schedule, with larger, colored pages being released every Sunday. In 2011, Kelly and O'Connor started aKickstartercampaign in order to raise money and be able to work on the webcomic exclusively, as well as to create a print version ofAce Kilroy.

Ace Kilroywas inspired by classic comics and popular monster stories, such asThe Monster of Frankenstein.

Influences

Ace Kilroydraws its inspiration from newspaper adventure strips of the mid-20th century, such asDick Tracy,Steve Canyon,Buz Sawyer,andBrenda Starr.The webcomic also incorporates the characters and settings from monster movies of the period, specifically theUniversalmonster films such asDraculaandFrankenstein.

One of the hallmarks of the strip is its use of real people and locations. President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Hull regularly appear,and the webcomic includes numerous mentions of real-world locations of the period, such as theHay–Adams HotelandParamount Pictures.

Critical reception

Ace Kilroyhas received favorable reviews from various media outlets. Noel Murray ofThe A.V. Clubpraised Kelly and O'Connor for keeping the legacy of classic comics writer such asRoy Cranealive.Meanwhile, Brigid Alverson likened the webcomic to films starringClark Gable.Jonathon Hoffman wrote forAroundphilly.comin 2011 that he consideredAce Kilroy"one of the most meticulous, independently produced webcomics I've seen in awhile."

In its first year,Ace Kilroywas nominated for anEagle Awardfor the "Favourite Web-Based Comic" category, losing toFreakangels.Kelly and O'Connor were also nominated for the 2012 Philadelphia Geek Awards for "Comic Book Writer of the Year" and "Comic Book Artist of the Year" respectively, with Kelly winning the award.

External links

• Official website