There has been a countless number of fan projects and art created over the years for the incredibly popular anime Cowboy Bebop, but this latest fan book, which is currently raising funds on Kickstarter, might take the cake.

The Real Folk Blues is a Cowboy Bebop fan book organized by Zainab Akhtar of publisher ShortBox fame and featuring a real murderers' row of talent like Nick Dragotta (East of West), Leslie Hung (Snotgirl), and Emma Rios (Pretty Deadly). ShortBox, for those unaware, describes itself as "a quarterly, independent comics box- with a unique difference: we publish all our own comics." It publishes a number of small comics and compilations which can be purchased for $10 or so. (The publisher is based in the United Kingdom, so actual prices are in British pounds and therefore vary with the conversion rate.)

The book is currently raising funds on Kickstarter, where Akhtar is seeking $27,241. (Again, probably an issue with the conversion rate.) It has currently raised $19,579 as of writing, and has 24 days to go in its campaign. Needless to say, it's likely to be funded. Here's how the project describes itself:

"The Real Folk Blues is a 130+ page of full-colour comics, illustrations, and essays by a hit list of fantastic artists and writers that take you into the world of Bebop once more. Brand new stories featuring Ed tracking down a mysterious signal- could it be aliens? Spend a day with Jet, space dad as he takes care of his plants, attempts to corral his crew-mates and embarks on the ever-elusive search for bellpeppers and beef. Something sinister stalks the Bebop. Faye teaches the others about fashion: it's a style-guide! Spike meets an old friend - or is it foe?- Ein makes a new friend, gets kidnapped, and looks cute throughout. All this PLUS Faye and Julia team-ups, alternative endings, Big Shot comes to life, the crew go on a night on the town and much, much more!"

The campaign has included a number of pages from the book as part of its pitch, but we're going to feature just one of the stunning pages below to give an example of what any potential backers will get:

(Photo: Nick Dragotta, Jamila Roswer, and Jemar Souza)

Cowboy Bebop was first produced by Sunrise in 1998. Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, with scripts written by Keiko Nobumoto, characters designed by Toshihiro Kawamoto, and songs composed by Yoko Kanno, the series explores many existentialist philosophies as it follows the adventures of Spike Spiegel and a group of bounty hunter misfits aboard the titular spaceship the Bebop in the year 2071.

The series premiered in Japan back in 1998 and ran for 26 episodes until 1999. It was licensed for an English language release by Bandai Entertainment and Funimation, and was the very first anime series to air on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block in the United States.

What do you think of this particular fan book? Are you interested in backing it? Let us know in the comments!