The Genre-Smashing, Manga-Inspired FREAKS’ SQUEELE by Florent Maudoux is Now on Kickstarter with Magnetic Press
A Can’t-Miss Crowdfunding Campaign with Seven Wildly Inventive Volumes of Superpowered Stories
Plus an Awesome Artbook and Limited Edition "Dorm Footlocker" Storage Box
ART BY FLORENT MAUDOUX
PORTLAND, OR (December 9, 2025) Magnetic Press – the Eisner Award-winning publisher of groundbreaking comics and graphic novels from around the world since 2013 – is bringing Florent Maudoux’s manga-inspired and darkly stylish action adventure series FREAKS’ SQUEELE to Kickstarter with an ambitious and artful crowdfunding campaign. Florent Maudoux’s critically acclaimed, seven-volume series has gained legions of fans around the world since its debut in 2008 by drawing inspiration from RPGs, Hong Kong cinema, and classical art to create a wildly inventive comic saga that brings manga flair, western comic grit, and Franco-Belgian charm into one gloriously chaotic universe.
Fans can now support FREAKS’ SQUEELE on Kickstarter.
“Whether you're into supernatural school drama, genre-bending art, or just want to see a werewolf fight a bear for dorm territory, FREAKS’ SQUEELE delivers the goods—with claws, swords, and sarcasm,” said Magnetic Publisher Mike Kennedy. “Think Jujutsu Kaisen meets X-Men by way of Scott Pilgrim, with a dash of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a heavy pour of French irreverence.”
In FREAKS’ SQUEELE, the world is populated by demons, werewolves, gods, and mutants, many of whom are descendants of ancient mythological beings, and super-heroism is a regulated profession, like being a lawyer or doctor. Aspiring heroes must attend accredited universities, where they study combat and ethics and compete in duels and tournaments, often with lethal consequences. These events are broadcast and monetized, turning heroism into spectacle. The series follows three freshmen students — Chance, Li Xiong Mao, and Shadow — who must navigate these trials and tribulations while uncovering conspiracies, surviving sabotage, and managing the popularity of their identities.
“The world of FREAKS’ SQUEELE is a critique of power structures disguised as a superhero romp, where every sword swing, spell, and sarcastic quip is loaded with history, trauma, and rebellion,” said Kennedy. “It is deeply addictive storytelling.”
Originally published by Ankama Éditions in France, Magnetic Press’ publication of FREAKS’ SQUEELE marks the series’ American debut. The Kickstarter campaign features over 1,000 pages of story in seven FREAKS’ SQUEELE hardcovers, as well as an artbook and a limited edition "Dorm Footlocker" storage box for collectors. Fans can support FREAKS’ SQUEELE on Kickstarter now.
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.