Hebru Brantley is launching his first Kickstarter campaign to bring his longtime character, FlyBoy, to life in a graphic novel. The campaign aims to raise $75,000.

FlyBoy has been a central figure in Brantley’s work for more than 20 years. Inspired by the Tuskegee Airmen, the character is known for appearing in murals, sculptures and exhibitions across the country. With this campaign, Brantley is giving fans a full backstory for the character.

“FlyBoy has been a part of my life for 20 years, and I want to really do his origin story justice,” Brantley said in a statement. “What started as murals painted around Chicago now has a large fan base and followers who love FlyBoy. Creating a campaign on Kickstarter allows those fans to support me and a character that they love while also gaining some awesome rewards at the same time.”

What backers can expect

Backers of the campaign will be able to choose from several reward tiers. These include digital and physical copies of the FlyBoy graphic novel, exclusive merchandise, limited-edition trading cards and original, hand-drawn artwork from Brantley.

“Kickstarter gives creators like me the power to dream big and build even bigger,” he said. “I’ve always believed in FlyBoy as more than just a character—he’s a symbol of hope, imagination, and representation. This campaign lets my fans and community be co-pilots in finally sharing his story with the world.”

Why he chose to use Kickstarter

Brantley said the decision to use Kickstarter was intentional, as the platform is well-known for supporting independent creators.

“As an artist, finding outlets for expression is the easy part, but finding ways to bring those ideas to life is the hard part,” he said. “I wanted to run a campaign on Kickstarter because they are a creator-centric platform that can support my dreams around this graphic novel. This is only the beginning of my plans for FlyBoy, and I hope that with the help of Kickstarter and its community, we will be able to achieve my goal.”