Crowdfunding continues to serve as a viable method for creators to fund their creative endeavors, as comic-related projects flourish on sites like Kickstarter, Patreon and IndieGoGo. The internet also allows creators to sell their creations 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. And that is a good thing to do, now more than ever.
Send any suggestions of your own to jkparkin@yahoo.com.
Madi: Once Upon A Time In The Future
Creators involved: Duncan Jones, Alex de Campi, Z2 and more
Platform: Kickstarter
What to know: This is the first campaign for Z2 Comics, who have teamed up with musical artists like Sturgill Simpson, Dance Gavin Dance, Skillet, Poppy and others to create graphic novels based on their works. With this project, they’re working with David Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones, who is an accomplished director of films like Moon and Source Code. (Also: Warcraft). For this graphic novel, he’s teamed up with writer Alex de Campi and a host of artists, including Dylan Teague, Glenn Fabry, Duncan Fegredo, LRNZ, Ed Ocaña, André Araújo, Simon Bisley, Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, Tonci Zonjic, Pia Guerra, James Stokoe, RM Guéra, Chris Weston, Rufus Dayglo, Annie Wu, David Lopez and Christian Ward.
From the press release:
Madi Preston, a veteran of Britain’s elite special operations J-Squad unit, is burnt out and up to her eyeballs in debt. She and the rest of her team have retired from the military but are now trapped having to pay to service and maintain the technology put into them during their years of service. They’re working for British conglomerate Liberty Inc as mercenaries, selling their unique ability to be remote controlled by specialists while in the field, and the debts are only growing as they get injured completing missions. We meet Madi as she decides she’s had enough. She will take an off-the-books job that should earn her enough to pay out her and her sister, but when the piece of tech she’s supposed to steal turns out to be a kid, and she suddenly blacks out… she finds herself on the run from everyone she’s ever known.
What’s the deal? $29 will get you a softcover edition of the 260-page graphic novel, while $49 gets you an oversized hardcover. Interestingly, there’s no digital copy available.
Trigger Mortis
Creators involved: Derec Donovan
Platform: Gumroad
What to know: Sometimes a comic catches your eye because of its cover, or maybe the creators, or preview you saw. With this one, I’m in because of the title. This is a western/horror hybrid, featuring ranchers in Colorado dealing with a zombie apocalypse — hence the title.
1876, on the eve of Colorado gaining Statehood, Rancher Sarah Mc’Clintock has hired a pair of Pinkertons to protect her family’s ranch from the ever present threat of Cattle Rustlers. She soon finds herself in a love triangle between her old flame, Deputy Dylan Hawkes, and mysterious Gunhand Seamus O’Donnell. Until a Zombie plague comes crashing to Earth, spreading like wildfire and threatening the unsuspecting citizens. Can the living band together to defend the town of Devil’s Lantern from the Army of the Walking Dead?
What’s the deal? You can get it off Gumroad for $5.
By the Time I Get to Dallas #2
Creators involved: Colin Devonshire, Juanfrancisco Moyano Guerrero
Platform: Kickstarter
What to know: Devonshire is an ER doctor in Boston, which honestly is what first caught my eye about this project, but he also writes a webcomic called The Trinity Project. This is his second Kickstarter, as he successfully raised money for the first issue last year.
By the Time I Get to Dallas is a 200-page story divided into five books. Written by a practicing emergency physician from a point of view unique in comics, and drawn by seasoned comics artists, Dallas weaves themes from medicine, neuroscience, philosophy, politics and religion (not to mention martial arts and hot air ballooning) while staying fast paced with plenty of humor and a light touch.
Dallas is written for thinking readers ages 20-90 with an eye for intelligent, character-driven adventure grounded in the real (end-of-the) world. It is a medical coming-of-age story wrapped in an epic, apocalyptic adventure that is dark, funny, thrilling and unlike anything you’ve seen in a comic book before.
You can read more about it in the Boston Globe.
What’s the deal? $7 gets you digital copies of both volumes, while $30 gets you physical copies of both.
Greetings From The Wasteland
Creators involved: Various
Platform: Kickstarter
What to know: This is a collection of comics that first appeared on The Nib, the award-winning editorial/journalistic comics site run by Matt Bors. This “best of” collection includes comics by Pia Guerra, Tom Tomorrow, Jen Sorensen, Ben Passmore, Gemma Correll, Joey Alison Sayers, Matt Lubchansky, Chelsea Saunders, Rob Rogers, Niccolo Pizarro, Charis JB, Peter Kuper, Emily Flake, Kendra Wells, Nomi Kane, Mark Kaufman, Keith Knight, Michael Kupperman, Eli Valley, Lauren Weinstein, KC Green, Megs Wolf, John Martz, Ward Sutton, Julia Bernhard, Jon Rosenberg, Ruben Bolling, Terry Laban, and Barry Deutsch.
Greetings From the Wasteland will be The Nib’s best political cartoons from the worst era. This book will be 200 pages of our best satire over the years, on Trump, tech overlords, Internet Nazis, climate change, feckless Democrats, coronavirus and so many more. We’re also including interviews with some of our regular contributors about their work and cartooning over the last few years.
What’s the deal? $17 gets you a PDF, while $25 gets you a hard copy. Other tiers offer stickers, mugs and more.
Orbital Knights
Creators involved: Giannis Milonogiannis
Platform: Patreon
What to know: Milonogiannis is the creator of the epic Old City Blues and is the artist of Ronin Island, the BOOM! title written by Greg Pak. He’s also got a new comic called Orbital Knights, which he is serializing through his Patreon. Subscribing also gets you access to Old City Blues material.
What’s the deal? $4 a month gets you access to pages as he posts them
Push/Pull
Creators involved: Perry Parker
Platform: Kickstarter
What to know: Parker is a creator based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where he was artist-in-residence at Happy Harbor Comics. He’s taken to Kickstarter to publish his first graphic novel featuring his haunting, dreamy artwork.
Push/Pull is a graphic novel composed of two 24 page connecting stories. The stories explore a world lost in Time and Space ruled by Gravity. Art, mood, and themes are derived from a sense of loneliness. Forlorn, curious, and lost the characters are pulled to the central Gravity.
Both stories have been fully illustrated, the only thing missing is funding to get them printed. That’s where you come in! The minimum funding goal will cover printing costs, materials, labour, and maybe a Soda. Anything above and beyond the minimum goal will unlock extras, for you, the backers!
What’s the deal? For $10 Canadian, you can get a PDF, while $25 gets you a physical copy. Other tiers offer prints and sketches.