As crowdfunding continue to become a viable method for creators to fund their creative endeavors, comic-related projects flourish on sites like Kickstarter, Patreon and IndieGoGo. The internet also allows creators to sell their projects direct to fans, through sites like Gumroad, Etsy and of course their own websites. If you’re looking to buy something from or support a creator directly, you’ve come to the right place.
Here’s a look at a few recent projects that fall into those buckets that caught my eye. Send any suggestions of your own to jkparkin@yahoo.com.
Nocturnal Commissions
Creators involved: Jason McNamara, Greg Hinkle
Platform: Kickstarter
What to know: McNamara and Hinkle previously worked together on The Rattler (which I interviewed them about a couple years ago), and now they’re collaborating on another horror title that features a wolfman, a vampire and a zombie that run an agency that handles “supernatural concerns.”
Are you being trolled by ghouls, pestered by the paranormal or attempting to file taxes after being resurrected? Nocturnal Commissions is the only agency with the expertise to help. A Wolfman, Vampire and a Zombie are ready to solve your supernatural concerns for a very reasonable rate (plus expenses).
Their campaign is for the first issue, a 30-page stand-alone story with additional artwork by guest artists. It ends Feb. 26.
What’s the deal? For $5, you’ll receive a PDF copy of the first issue. $12 gets you a signed copy, while higher levels offer various variant covers by different artists.
Zoot! and more
Creators involved: Roger Langridge
Platform: Patreon
What to know: Langridge, whose past work includes The Muppet Show, Thor:The Mighty Avenger and Fred the Clown, launched his Patreon at the end of 2019 with the intent of sharing sketches, comic strips and more. This includes new issues of his self-published Zoot! comics, his “one-man comics anthology.”
What’s the deal? For $2 a month you get access to sketches and some strips; for $8 a month, you get a PDF of comics every month, including Zoot! when it is released. If you aren’t looking for a long-term commitment, you can also find Zoot! on comiXology now.
Help Dexter Vines Beat Blood Cancer
Creators involved: Dexter Vines
Platform: GoFundMe
What to know: Dexter Vines is a prolific inker who has done work for DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, CrossGen, Wildstorm and others, on titles like Wolverine, Superman/Batman, Nova, Amazing Spider-Man, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Civil War and this past week’s X-Men/Fantastic Four miniseries, among many others. In January, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer.
According to the GoFundMe page:
The diagnosis was thankfully very early in its development, and treatment has begun. The prognosis is very treatable and in some rare cases even curable. And his back should be able to heal fully, once the Myeloma has been treated.
The treatment, however, is very expensive, hence the GoFundMe page to help offset the costs not covered by insurance.
What’s the deal? You can support Vines with a direct donation via GoFundMe. Another way to support him would be to visit his Big Cartel shop and buy some artwork.
Jupiter Jet & the Forgotten RadiO
Creators involved: Jason Inman, Ashley Victoria Robinson, Ben Matsuya, Elizabeth Kramer and Taylor Esposito
Platform: Kickstarter
What to know: Jupiter Jet is a Ringo Award-nominated all-ages series published by Action Lab Entertainment. You can find the first volume on comiXology. It’s about a teenage girl with a jetpack who fights aliens in the 1930s, with the help of her genius brother.
Here’s the description for the second volume:
The year is 1936. Jacqueline Johnson just turned 17-years-old and she’s been The Flying Girl – a.k.a. Jupiter Jet – for a whole year. She’s become the Soaring Sweetie of her community, Olympic Heights, and a fighter in the human resistance, The Children of Gaia. Her flying skills are unmatched, and the city loves her. But she wants to do more! Jupiter Jet thinks she knows better than the adults surrounding her. So she takes the fight to space!
Left behind is Jacky’s now 11-year-old genius kid brother, Chuck, and his trusty cat, Puddles. Chuck wants to be a superhero like his big sister, but Jacky won’t hear of her little brother risking his neck. Not after losing both their parents. With Jupiter Jet abandoning him to the dangers of the universe, Chuck discovers a long lost radio with a message from… their father!
What’s the deal? As little as a $5 pledge gets you the first issue of the new series in a digital format, while $16 will get you the full graphic novel digitally. Physical copies start at $25, and there are larger tiers that include prints by Jonboy Meyers and Nicole Scott, as well as script review sessions, artist portfolio sessions and even a visit to your house by the writers.
WIPE OUT: The Taking of Object Nine Three Two
Creators involved: Jeff McComsey
Platform: Kickstarter
What to know: McComsey is the creator of Mother Russia, published by Alterna Comics, as well as editor of several FUBAR zombie anthologies that he’s run Kickstarter campaigns for in the past.
Wipe Out is a 150-page, black-and white, science fiction graphic novel with a cool premise: an asteroid is headed for Earth, and a group of astronauts head into space to stop it. One of the astronauts kills the rest of the crew and holds Earth “hostage,” demanding world peace or else he’ll let the planet die. In addition to the graphic novel, he’s also created a Mother Russia minicomic to go along with this project, which pays homage to the classic G.I. Joe story “Silent Interlude” — a.k.a. the wordless Snake-Eyes story by Larry Hama.
What’s the deal? $10 gets you digital copies of both Wipe Out and the minicomic, while $30 will get you print copies of both. He’s also offering T-shirts and copies of his other books at higher levels.
CARRIZOZO: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY
Creators involved: Rick Geary
Platform: Kickstarter
What to know: Geary’s the creator and artist of the A Treasury of Victorian Murder series publsihed by NBM and has done graphic novel biographies of Trotsky and J. Edgar Hoover — so he’s got a pretty good resume of tackling non-fiction topics in his own unique style.
Carrizozo is the New Mexico town where Geary lives, and in his latest project he details the town’s history:
Ever been to Carrizozo? No? Ever heard of it? Still no? Travelers venture through this tiny town in south-central New Mexico and wonder: What is it doing here? Where did it come from? With this history, illustrator Rick Geary will hope to answer these questions and others. Despite its size and isolation, Carrizozo has a colorful railroad history, a host of local architectural wonders, and a thriving community of artists of all kinds. And, oh yes, it’s been home to Rick and his wife Deborah for twelve years!
What’s the deal? A pledge of $20 gets you the book, as well as several postcards Geary designed. Other tiers offer original art, commissions and a “deluxe” signed version of the graphic novel.