For a stand-up comedian and poker presenter, having a side hustle could seem either inspired or insane. After the stirring success of his debut graphic novel selling over $10,000 of digital and physical copies, along with exclusive merchandise, Joe Stapleton can be classed in the first category. The popular the poker and comedy legend can now add ‘successful’ author to his legacy in the game.
Barcelona or Bust?
Heading to Barcelona to present a week’s worth of top-level poker via the European Poker tour’s 20-year anniversary celebrations wasn’t tough enough for Joe ‘Stapes’ Stapleton. The man who famously opens each EPT show with catchphrase ‘Hello, ma babies’ could be forgiven for feeling like a kid in a candy store as he checked the Kickstarter for his new 161-page graphic novel, Trapped! on Monday night. Put online just a handful of days ago, pledges went past $10,000, meaning the project has been officially approved.
Described as “The graphic novel [Neil Gibson] and started almost FOUR YEARS AGO is parts Rounders, Deadpool, House of Games & ALL LOVE of POKER.” by Stapes himself, Kickstarter’s Trapped! page not only offered poker fans and players alike the chance to grab a digital copy, but physical copies, and a host of exclusive merchandise such as a deck of cards, sticker set, t-shirts or even the chance to take on Stapes and co-creator Neil Gibson at the online felt via a PokerStars home game and the popular video conferencing app, Zoom.
The Kickstarter pledge amount was set at $10,000 meaning that once the $10,000 mark was reached, the project was officially backed to completion. But in the case of Trapped!, the amount was secondary to selling the graphic novel, and Stapes took time out to explain to fans that they needn’t worry, the books would be produced come what may.
As it turned out, the poker legend needed just six days to get past the $10,000 goal on Kickstarter and Trapped! was officially a success.
What is Trapped! About?
The idea behind Trapped! came to Stapes after the initial idea of a heist set at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas fell short of expectations. There wasn’t enough poker for his liking and fans would need action at the felt which he flet would naturally fall by the wayside once a heist began. Instead, he pitched the idea of basing the project around his own life as a presenter and stand-up comedian.
Relying on his wits – and often very few dollars to go with it – the fictional version of Stapes gets into a whole lot of bother early as a partnership that looks likely to help him out of a whole early in the story ends up landing him in an even deeper chasm. Needing to chase winnings, escape the bad guys and somehow keep networking and land his dream out, can Stapes survive when all he has left is a one-liner and a three-bet? You can count on it.
If Trapped! was originally going to be based around a heist, we’re glad that it turned out to be centered around Joe himself. As charismatic as they come off the felt, that personality is captured so well in the book as artists such as Sandro Pizziolo bring Joe and all his fictional friends to life. There are messy relationships, exciting action set pieces and whip-smart dialogue throughout.
What’s Next for Trapped!?
If the graphic novel of Trapped! is anything to go by, the cartoon adventures of Stapes won’t end after book #1. That said, it may be a bidding war that the co-creator Joe Stapleton has to ride next. Hot on the heels of his efforts in Barcelona as he brought to life Stephen Song’s victory over Andrew Hulme to become the Main Event champion, Stapes is heading to England for a mini stand-up tour. After that, Trapped! could get the Hollywood treatment.
Discussions are ongoing for Trapped! to make to the big or small screen. With the story – self-evidently – extremely visual in its style, there’s no reason why this couldn’t be the next big Netflix smash hit. Poker fans buying $10,000 worth of anything almost overnight is extremely unheard of, so the audience and the hunger for Stapes’ story is certainly there.
Whatever comes next for Trapped!, the graphic novel is a phenomenal success and while the Stapes of the 161 pages of the comic book is in peril throughout, in real life, things could hardly be better. Taking to X, Stapes wanted to shout out all those who have supported him.
“[I] just wanted to say thanks so much to everyone who got Trapped! over the line to hit our Kickstarter goal. Even though we’re already funded and ready to print and ship, Kickstarter is a great place to launch a comic and hitting the goal moves us up their algo! Thank you!”
It’s just the beginning for Trapped! as the fictional alter-ego of Stapes continues to bring his real-life version closer to his dream.