The Genre-Smashing, Manga Inspired FREAKS’ SQUEELE by Florent Maudoux is Now on Kickstarter With Magnetic Press

Alright fam, lean in, because Magnetic Press just kicked the door off its hinges and slid into Kickstarter with pure swagger. They’re dropping FREAKS’ SQUEELE, the manga inspired, wild as hell, beautifully chaotic comic series from Florent Maudoux, and this thing comes in hotter than a werewolf throwing paws at a bear over dorm room real estate. No joke this series goes exactly that hard.

Magnetic Press has been the global plug since 2013, importing award winning comics like they’re smuggling art treasures under trench coats. And now they’re giving the U.S. its first official taste of FREAKS’ SQUEELE, a seven volume beast with enough style, attitude, and jaw dropping panels to make your retinas demand hazard pay.

This series has been a global flex since 2008 fans from Europe to Asia to your cousin’s cousin have been eating this thing up. Maudoux out here blending manga energy, Hong Kong fight choreography, western comic grit, and that smooth Franco Belgian artistic sauce like he’s running a gourmet chaos kitchen. It’s funny, it’s fierce, it’s clever, and it hits you with the kind of “Wait did that just happen?” moments that turn casual readers into lifelong superfans.

Fans can now support FREAKS’ SQUEELE on Kickstarter.

Now let’s talk about this world, because it’s wild in the best way. Heroes aren’t random vigilantes they’re licensed professionals. Think lawyer… but with claws, magic, trauma, and better outfits. You wanna be a superhero? You better enroll in Hero University and survive combat finals, magical duels, ethical debates, and tournaments that may or may not leave you hospitalized. And yes, the whole thing is televised and monetized because capitalism refuses to chill. Imagine school spirit mixed with corporate branding and occasional explosions.

Our freshman trio Chance, Li Xiong Mao, and Shadowrolls into this madness trying to survive class, dodge conspiracies, avoid getting jumped in the hallway by mythological descendants, and somehow stay popular while dealing with emotional damage and the occasional attempted murder. This story is equal parts humor, heart, danger, breakdowns, breakthroughs, monster drama, and pure, delightful nonsense.

Mike Kennedy, the captain at Magnetic Press, described it perfectly by saying, “Think Jujutsu Kaisen meets X Men by way of Scott Pilgrim with some Buffy and a heavy pour of French irreverence.” That’s not a pitchthat’s a meal. He also called the series “a critique of power structures disguised as a superhero romp,” and he’s not lying. This book swings swords and spills truth at the same time. Every punch, spell, joke, and meltdown is carrying extra weight, like a commentary ninja hiding behind the action scenes.

Now this Kickstarter? Magnetic didn’t come to play. They came to dominate. All seven volumes are getting the hardcover glow up treatment over 1,000 pages of story, art, madness, and monster mayhem bundled into the cleanest package you’ve ever seen. They’re also dropping a full art book so gorgeous you’re gonna start treating it like a family heirloom, and a limited edition “Dorm Footlocker” collector’s box that looks like something a stylish demon RA would hand out on the first day of class. This is premium level chaos storage, my friend.

Between the exclusive rewards, gorgeous production quality, and the sheer “Oh damn, I need this on my shelf” factor, this Kickstarter is basically a temptation trap for comic fans. And honestly? Fall into it. You won’t regret it.

Magnetic Press continues to prove they’re not just publishing comics they’re curating experiences. Every time they bring a new series to the U.S., they raise the bar, tighten the gloves, and flex harder than a superhero posing for sponsorship photos. Bringing FREAKS’ SQUEELE to America is exactly the kind of bold, stylish move they’re known for.

If you want updates, previews, art teases, or just wanna vibe with the hype, follow Magnetic Press on X, Facebook, and Instagram. And for realif you’re ready for supernatural school mayhem, mythological family drama, and a world where being a hero requires good grades and the ability to dodge monster claws… then jump on Kickstarter and back FREAKS’ SQUEELE right now.

This isn’t just a campaign. It’s an entire universe kicking the door open and saying, “Surprise, we brought magic, sarcasm, trauma, and attitude.” And honestly? We love that energy.

For more updates on Magnetic Press, visit them on X, Facebook, and Instagram.

About the Creator

Florent Maudoux is a French comic book creator born on July 3, 1979, best known for his genre blending series FREAKS’ SQUEELE. His artistic journey began with a passion for comics in childhood, but he initially pursued mathematics before pivoting to visual storytelling. He studied animation at the prestigious Gobelins school in Paris and interned at Disney before working in 3D animation and video game design at Eden Games. From 2004 to 2007, he designed figurines at Rackham, honing his visual style.

In 2005, Maudoux began developing FREAKS’ SQUEELE as a satirical and emotionally rich series about misfit students at a superhero academy. The first volume was published in 2008 by Ankama under Label 619, where Maudoux became a leading figure. His work is known for its fusion of manga, European comics, pop culture, and mythic symbolism, often drawing inspiration from RPGs, Hong Kong cinema, and classical art.

He expanded the FREAKS’ SQUEELE universe with spin offs like ROUGE, FUNÉRAILLES, MASIKO, and CLOVD, each exploring different facets of his richly imagined world. In 2022, he illustrated A Short Story: The True Story of the Black Dahlia, a documentary style graphic novel based on FBI files, written by Label 619 founder Guillaume “Run” Renard. Maudoux lives in the Lyon region and continues to push the boundaries of visual storytelling with bold, genre defying narratives.

About Magnetic Press

MAGNETIC PRESS is a subsidiary of Polarity that publishes graphic novels, art books, and periodicals curated with a focus on internationally recognized content and talent, presented with premium quality design and production value. The Magnetic brand was founded by writer and video game veteran Mike Kennedy in 2013 as the independent publishing company Magnetic Press, Inc, featuring creators both new and established from around the world, sharing their stories with an English language audience often for the first time. Their award winning library includes such celebrated titles as the Love series of wordless wildlife graphic novels, as well as Eisner nominated books Mister Invincible, The Monkey King, Aster of Pan, Pistouvi, Irena, Stay, A Sea of Love, Watersnakes, Herakles, Doomboy, A Glance Backward, Little Tails, The Ghost of Gaudi, and Dave Dorman’s Wasted Lands Omnibus. Magnetic has earned a total of 31 Eisner Award nominations in their first ten years of eligibility, winning its first trophy in 2024 for Best Production Design of Dracula/Frankenstein Boxed Set. Magnetic also won the Gold Medal of Excellence in the graphic novel category of the 2015 Independent Publisher Awards for Love: The Fox.

In 2021, Magnetic launched Magnetic Press Play, an imprint dedicated to gaming and new media endeavors. Their releases to date include CARBON GREY, based on the Image Comics series by Hoang Nguyen, and THE OFFICIAL PLANET OF THE APES RPG developed in cooperation with Disney and 20th Century Studios. Other as yet announced licenses and projects are forthcoming.

Author Profile

Al Mega

I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!