MARTINSBURG — An indie comic book series that reveals what it’s like for a celebrity to be forced into a PR stunt is celebrating the release of its fifth issue with a Kickstarter campaign. The Unscripted #5 and Volume 1 campaign, created by Yawatta Hosby, began on Sept. 12 and will run for 30 days.

After launching two previous successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaigns for Unscripted #1 and #2, then #3 and #4, this slice-of-life comic book series that chronicles a musician being forced into a fake engagement to hide her sexuality will conclude its first story arc with the fifth issue. Yawatta Hosby is creating a 32-page battle between Felix and her band mates when she asks for a hiatus. Plus, a 160-page trade paperback, collecting issues 1-5, is available. The series is drama filled and touches on dynamic content, so it can appeal to teens and adults when tackling mature issues such as love triangles, PR stunts, gossip and bisexuality.

What sets Unscripted apart from other comic books is the reality tv tone regarding the themes that play out in the narrative’s plot. The first issue begins with Felix being popped the question by Colm during a promotional tour interview. This sours the rest of the Irish band because it undermines their accomplishment of getting a U.S. tour. Felix knows the engagement is fake PR, but she has a hard time convincing her band mates, Afric and Nora, her ex and current girlfriend, of this. Blackmail, a breakup, argument, rumors, and misunderstandings appear in the next four issues.

Creator Yawatta Hosby, a 41-year-old woman of African American heritage, uses the series to tackle themes of power dynamics, betrayal, and staying strong when your outside world is trying to break you. She draws a stunning visual adventure that showcases important themes in an expressive way. These are woven into a colorful artwork slice-of-life world that is targeted to teens and adults.

“I’ve had a dream of creating a graphic novel since taking my first online comics course in 2016. I developed characters and a plot outline for a few years before I felt confident in sharing my Unscripted character sketches on Instagram,” said Hosby. “With the craziness of covid in 2020, I was restricted to just going to work then coming straight home, which gave me plenty of time to pursue being a full-time artist as a reality, instead of just a dream. I participated in the YouTube challenge, 100 Days of Making Comics, and the rest is history.”

To help kick off the fifth issue’s crowdfunding campaign, Hosby has created bookmarks, variant covers and trading cards. When the campaign is concluded, her ultimate goal is to keep drawing and writing more issues of Unscripted.

The Kickstarter campaign for Unscripted #5 and Volume 1 is currently running until Oct. 12, 2023. Additional information and pictures can be found directly on the Kickstarter page at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yawattahosby/unscripted-5-and-volume-1

Yawatta Hosby founded Dream Snatcher Press in 2013. It started off as self-publishing her horror and suspense novellas. In 2022, she self-published the first issue of Unscripted under her publishing company. Now, she has the best of both worlds–using her creative skills to write and draw comics.