Press Release
Take an astounding adventure into the past as artist Ian Bertram and writer Cory Levine construct a jaw-dropping tale of action, drama and suspense when the pair launches their graphic novel BOWERY BOYS as a thrice-weekly webcomic, beginning on July 4th!
Set in the slums of lower Manhattan in 1853, this coming-of-age journey pits a group of young men against insurmountable forces set against the backdrop of rampant political corruption, vicious street gangs, nascent labor reform, divisive classism and the ardent xenophobia that permeated the daily life of New Yorkers in the mid-19th century.
Union leader William McGovern shepherds his noble carpenters federation into a labor strike, but his struggle for laborers’ rights is not met without opposition as he sets in motion the events that will bring everything he loves crashing down around him. Besieged from all sides, McGovern holds tightly to that which is dear: his faith in God and his love for his only son, Nikolaus. Alone in an unforgiving city, the adolescent Nikolaus navigates the perilous street corners and back alleys of Manhattan’s Sixth Ward — home of the notorious Five Points — and as he attempts to unburden his father, he comes face-to-face with the harsh truths of urban life.
“When I first encountered Ian’s work, I was absolutely flabbergasted by his lavish line work and awed by the sophistication of his sequential storytelling. I jumped at the chance work with him and he has consistently delivered pages that display artistic maturity and confidence far beyond his experience. BOWERY BOYS was written specifically for Ian, and I don’t believe any other artist could draw it. He is a special talent with a limitless future and it gives me great pride to have him drawing this story.”
BOWERY BOYS will be published three times per week at BoweryBoysComic.com.
Like BOWERY BOYS at https://www.facebook.com/BoweryBoysTheComic
Follow Cory Levine on Twitter at @CoryLevine
Follow Ian Bertram on Tumblr at TECHNOHELL
About Cory Levine:
Writer, editor and graphic designer Cory Levine is a former editorial staffer for Marvel Comics where he edited hundreds of collected editions of comic books, encyclopedic handbooks, special edition magazines and foreign-licensed comics including the company’s well-received line of Soleil graphic album adaptations. In 2010 he founded First Edition Publishing, Inc. — an end-to-end publishing solutions firm offering editorial packaging, graphic design and pre-press production services. His writing is featured in the forthcoming VIZ Media graphic novels Monsuno Combat Chaos Vol. 2: Revenge/Sacrifice and Ben10 Omniverse Vol. 1: Ghost Ship. He lives and works in Queens, New York.
About Ian Bertram:
A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York, artist Ian Bertram was chosen as the Best New Talent of 2011 by Comicbookjesus.com, and selected to the Society of Illustrators 2012 Student Scholarship Competition. His work has appeared in the anthology magazine INK, and his thesis work 1001 was described as “the strongest 17 pages of artwork at the entire show” in Comic Book Resources’ coverage of the 2011 MoCCA Festival. He has been a featured artist at the Greenpoint Gallery and the 30 Rooms art gathering. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
