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Based on a True Story #1-3: Dust Bunny Mafia Comics

Created by Bret Juliano

Comics based on real life mobster stories like the time the US government enlisted the mob in WWII. Truth is stranger than fiction.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Coming soon: Mobimals - Mafia Animals Playing Cards!
4 months ago – Wed, Jan 10, 2024 at 07:22:22 AM

My next project for a new deck of playing cards is coming to Kickstarter later this month.

Each card of the standard deck is dedicated to a different real-life mobster, along with their name, nickname, city/mob-family affiliation, and birth and death years (or last known).

Check out the link below and click "Notify Me" to be notified right when the project launches!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bretjuliano/mobimals-mafia-animals-poker-playing-cards-make-100/ 

Thanks,
Bret

Now Live: Based on a True Story Vol. 5!
8 months ago – Mon, Sep 04, 2023 at 08:10:28 PM

If you haven't heard already, the fifth installment of the DBM's Based on a True Story mini-comic series is live on Kickstarter!

We've had a fantastic first day with us reaching over 50% funded already!

Use the link below to join the campaign!

https://bit.ly/BTS_Vol5KS

Detective Potatoes: Case of the Coffee Apocalypse is live!!!
about 1 year ago – Thu, Mar 02, 2023 at 09:42:20 AM

Detective Potatoes: Case of the Coffee Apocalypse Kickstarter

What's Detective Potatoes: Case of the Coffee Apocalypse about?

Fairview’s coffee has mysteriously gone missing! Mayhem ensues when strange coffee-craving zombies plague the city.

Detective Mickie Potatoes, an overworked public servant, uncovers why ordinary citizens are losing their minds and how to stop the coffee apocalypse. But it involves the mafia. And when you’re dealing with mafia crime families, nothing is ever easy. The mafia controls everything in the city, including the police… including him. If he breaks the mafia, they will break him.

So, the city is without coffee.

The city is burning before his very eyes, but he’s powerless.

Detective Potatoes has the power to stop the coffee apocalypse but if he does he could lose everything, and if he doesn’t he could lose everything. He just needs to decide which would be worse, losing his job and freedom or his mind.

A growing headache and twitching wings tell him he’s running out of time.

Sadly, time is just something he doesn’t have.

Who's written Detective Potatoes for?

Detective Potatoes: Case of the Coffee Apocalypse is an all ages story that combines prose and illustration. Like my other works, it is meant to be enjoyed by both kids and kids at heart alike. Whether you are young, want to share it with young ones or are just young at heart, this first DBM spin-off novel fits perfectly into the world of the Dust Bunny Mafia and I can't wait to work more with Dan on expanding the DBM world through this avenue.

The second Detective Potatoes novel is already written, and he's waiting on me for the artwork, but we need to get the first novel funded first!

Join the Spud Squad!

Thanks for reading and your support!

Bret and Dan

Coming Soon: Detective Potatoes - An all-ages detective novel set in the DBM universe
about 1 year ago – Thu, Feb 09, 2023 at 09:45:58 AM

Over the past year I've been working with a dear friend of mine, children's author Daniel Bernstrom.

Dan is a critically acclaimed author of six picture books, including One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree, and the Minnesota Book Award-Winning Big Papa and the Time Machine. His books have been on a number of notable lists, including the Banks Street College of Reading Best Books of the Year, CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center), and the American Library Association.

Dan is a good friend of mine, and before he became so prolific, he was one of my college roommates.

For years Dan’s told me stories of how his kids have loved reading my Dust Bunny Mafia comics. He’s often told me that my comics just have something to them that’s different, which really appeals to kids, and I’ve seen that too.

In the background of my recent Kickstarter projects, Dan and I were working on a secret project that combined his love of and passion for writing. We began tossing around ideas of what it could look like if I opened up the city of Fairview to other creators, such as him.  And the idea of a Dust Bunny Mafia noir-styled prose book was formed.

Coming soon:  Detective Potatoes: Case of the Coffee Apocalypse.

This book was co-written by Dan and myself, is set in the Dust Bunny Mafia world, and follows detective Mickie Potatoes solving the case of the Coffee Apocalypse. Dan and I collaborated on the story, co-wrote it and I illustrated it as well.

Detective Potatoes: Case of the Coffee Apocalypse is a noir style story, complete with brand-new, black and white illustrations scattered throughout the chapters. Like my other works, this book is all ages friendly, so both kids and adults alike can enjoy this book.

This book is coming to Kickstarter in March and you can follow the campaign here: Detective Potatoes: Case of the Coffee Apocalypse Kickstarter Pre-Launch

Cover Contest

We also have a cover contest going right now, because I've designed 4 different covers to go with this book, but we don't know which one to use!  Below are the options!

We need your help in voting for your favorite cover here: Dust Bunny Mafia Detective Potatoes 1 Cover Survey

Bret "The Fedora" Juliano