The Suicidals is a limited comic series detailing a moment in the lives of two total strangers, John and Emily, neither of which are convinced they really want to be a part of this world.  

A chance meeting delays their premature exit, and presents an alternate path in life as of yet unexplored…a path with unexpected consequences. 

Hello!  My name is Michael Barton and I am the author/artist/creator behind this series. While the comic is new, these characters came to me in the early 2000s. And since I have a “day job” as an art director for film & commercials, it’s probably not surprising that this story was originally conceived as a screenplay.  

I had always thought: "if I ever made this film, it would be really cool to have a graphic novel or comic adaptation."  I'm not sure there was any great moment of epiphany, but at some point, even 20 years after originally conceiving of this story, I began to fear that it would simply never happen. I think it was something close to panic that prompted me to just buy a drawing desk and start penciling the artwork, regardless of how well it came out. 

So I drew imperfectly, I scribbled into the night and I brought these characters to the page. I started drawing in May of 2024, and on February 20th, 2025, I drew the last line of the first issue.  

Along the way I brought on other artists who could help me ink and color the artwork.  A big thank you to my ink artist Claudio Sepulveda and colorist Emmanuel Buba (Snowsketch) for helping me bring this to life.

TIMELINE

The first issue is just the first half of the fist chapter of the story. I am self funding/crowd funding the entire first chapter, which will consist of issues #1 and #2. The first issue has already been released as a limited edition (ASHCAN) through kickstarter, and is available now. Issue 2, which will see a similar limited release, will hopefully be complete in the next 6 months. Once the first two issues are complete, the project will be seeking a publisher/distruibuter for wider release, which will likely see an updated reissue of the issues #1, and #2, while further issues are completed. Thank you to all who have already backed this project in its early stages, hoping to get issue #2 out as soon as I can

THE REASON

So, why am I writing this story?  That’s a difficult question to answer, mostly because the answer itself shifts on me over time. Any short answer I try to give always seems disingenuous; it never reflects more than a fraction of the truth.  

Part of the answer lies in friends I have lost to mental illness in various forms over the years.  Some are still with me, some are gone, and some may still be out there. These experiences have heavily impacted the story, but I could not tell you that this is the reason for its existence per se. 

I'd like to tell you the title is actually ironic, and that the story is meant to convey my love of life, in spite of it’s hardships.  While this is also true in part, taken out of context it’s trite and disastrously misleading.

There are still other reasons I could list, but the best answer I can give simply is this: I am writing this story now because I have to.  It has been with me for over 20 years and I am afraid one day I’ll die and take these characters (and their secrets) with me to the grave. 

Every day I find myself thinking something like: “if I’m hit by a car” or “struck by a meteor” or “eaten by a dinosaur” today,  it will be like they never existed. 

Whatever fate awaits them in this story, good or ill, I cannot condemn them to such a fate as that.