Volume #2 from Red Cat Comics' My So-Called Secret Identity, released exclusively to Kickstarter backers in 2016. This was the deluxe edition available for pre-order at £30. Written and autographed by Will Brooker, roughly 8" by 6".
Also enclosed is a message to each backer from Team Cat (see photo).
Volume 2 takes Cat to entirely new places, pushing the boundaries of superhero comics in its form and story, and introducing a host of new characters -- almost all of them female.
MSCSI Volume 2 is planned as a 120-page graphic novel, with fully coloured art by Jennie Gyllblad. This is the extended version, which features a portfolio of guest art by a range of contributors, and three new 5 page stories by new writers.
The beautiful collection of portraits and pin-ups includes original MSCSI work by Steve Yeowell ('Zenith', The Invisibles) who provides the cover; John Higgins, co-creator of Watchmen, Marguerite Sauvage (Wonder Woman), Arielle Jovellanos (Fresh Romance), Rachael Smith (House Party, Doctor Who), Neil Ford, Yale Stewart (JL8), Hanie Mohd, award-winning animator Jocie Joritz, Laura Wilson (The One Three Three), Steven Appleby (The Guardian, The NME, Pixies Trompe Le Monde album) and MSCSI creators Suze Shore and Sarah Zaidan, among others. The portfolio also includes character designs from the volume 1 team of Suze Shore, Jennifer Vaiano, Clay Rodery and Amanda E. Braxton, joined by Emma Vieceli (Breaks, Dead Boy Detectives).
This has an intended audience of teenage girls, with practical costumes, smart personalities, realistic body types, and a diverse supporting cast. I will note that there is female nudity which some parents may find objectionable.
In the end this comic works on many levels. It's a fun piece of meta-fiction that is a mocking homage to the superhero genre and also a piece of story-telling about the nature of comics itself. if you like your comics “meta”, then this is one for you.