It’s been a while since we highlighted crowdfunding campaigns that we are excited about. That ends now. Kickstarter (as well as Backerkit, Zoop, Indiegogo, and others) is a viable platform for comic book creators to get their work into the hands of people who want to have it.
The campaigns we highlighted for this post are in various states of funding. Some are fully funded and into the state of trying to hit stretch goals that come with even more cool stuff for backers, and some are still in need of backers to hit their goal and get their project made.
Some of these projects are being run by well established entities and others are entries by much smaller and newer creators. All the campaigns have been chosen because we want them to succeed, and because we see something special in the product.
The projects are listed below in chronological order of the end of the campaign. So, the ones that end soonest come first. Make sure you click on the Campaign Links for each campaign to get all the detailed info about the rewards and creators. We feel there is something for everyone on this list. Enjoy!
Geezer #3
Dreamcatchers – A Horror Comics One-Shot
Young Men in Love: New Romance
The Comics Courier, A New Comics Criticism Journal
Pots & Panels: A Comic Book Anthology and Cookbook
Landgraf/Freya – Ghost Agents: Mindmelt/Outlaw Town
Like Father, Like Daughter: The Five Stages of Grief #1
CHEST FACE
GEEZER #3
Major Third for Britpop Moptops!
Ending: Saturday October 26, 2024
From the Campaign:
Blag the guestlist for this comic book charting the rise and fall of the greatest ’90s band you never heard of. Join Martin Bland and Geezer, his band of bickering Britpoppers as they return in an all new guitar-packed issue.
Booted back to Blighty and with a singer in rural rehab, guitar wunderkind Francis steps up to the plate. Can the band keep it together to record their debut album, or will the quarrelsome quartet become a trio?
Brace yourself for bust-ups at Blow Up, retching at Reading and a slap of full English. Plus! Britpop’s new power couple go public.
GEEZER issue 3 (of 5) is a 40-page comic book, presented in a 7” square format to match a vinyl single. The black & white comic story is backed up with period ’90s memorabilia including posters, lyrics, ads and live reviews.
Through successful Kickstarter campaigns in 2022 and 2023, Geezer issues 1 and 2 established an ardent following. When you back Geezer #3, you get the chance to add back issues to your rewards stash.
PCS Thoughts: We are big fans of this series. The first two installments have been fantastic and we look forward to the third. The writer and artist of this comic joined the Pop Culture SquadCast recently to talk about this campaign. Check it out here.
DREAMCATCHERS – A Horror Comics One-Shot
A woman who doesn’t sleep hunts nightmares who’ve escaped into our world, only to find they may be harbingers of an even greater evil
Ending: Thursday October 31, 2024
From the Campaign:
All Dana wanted was a good night’s sleep…
Plagued for years by horrible nightmares, a desperate Dana Arlin sought the help of the mysterious EREBOS INSTITUTE. All Dana wanted was a good night’s sleep; what she got instead was a truth even more terrible than the nightmares themselves:
The monsters in Dana’s dreams are real, and they are using innocent victims like her as conduits into our world.
In exchange for the Institute’s help, Dana has agreed to work on their behalf, hunting and killing the very creatures she’s unwittingly released into our reality.
But what if these (literal) nightmares are merely harbingers of an even greater evil?
The Book
DREAMCATCHERS began life as an 8-page short story for a friend’s planned anthology. Alas, the anthology project fell apart before the book saw the light of day, but after artist Nima Sorat (Graveslinger, Monster Attack Network) had already completed the linework for our contribution. The story stuck with me, and when my friend John Bivens (Spread, The Devil’s Red Bride) reached out to see if I might like to collaborate, the concept immediately sprang to mind as a perfect vehicle for John’s sensibilities. I rewrote the script into a full issue-length story for John.
Of course, I didn’t really have a plan for the story beyond John drawing and coloring it, so here we are. The final book will be 36 pages in length, including both John’s and Nima’s versions of the story, as well as the US debut of “Black Wings,” a four-page story Nima and I collaborated on for the European anthology GODS UNTOLD.
PCS Thoughts: The latest book by comic writer Eric Palicki and friends is available, and we can’t wait for it.
Young Men in Love: New Romance
The return of the Ringo Award and GLAAD Media Award winning anthology. New Stories, New Romance!
Ending: Wednesday October 30, 2024
From the Campaign:
YOUNG MEN IN LOVE: NEW ROMANCE is a 160-page, teen appropriate, anthology celebrating queer love, specifically between men. Available with a Kickstarter Exclusive Cover!
This is a follow up to the award-winning first volume, which won the GLAAD Media Award, a Ringo Award, a Gayming Mag Award, and was nominated for a Dwayne McDuffie Diversity in Comics Award.
While it isn’t necessary to read the first volume to enjoy this new collection, we have made it available as well. We’re also offering the new book with two different covers, both by the amazingly talented Ricardo Bessa!
PCS Thoughts: The follow-up to the award winning Young Men in Love curated by Matt Miner and Joe Glass and produced by A Wave Blue World is definitely on the must back list. The creators involved in this book is a literal Who’s Who of writers and artists currently in the comic industry. Check out the link to the campaign and back this book.
The Comics Courier, A New Comics Criticism Journal
A newspaper-format journal dedicated to in-depth comics criticism edited by Tiffany Babb
Ending: Friday November 1, 2024
From the Campaign:
Comics criticism is in a dire spot. Spaces for writing about comics are disappearing at a worrisome pace, and more than ever, comics critics need support – and a place to write.
The Comics Courier is a new biannual print newspaper edited by Tiffany Babb (Popverse, PanelxPanel). The first issue will feature essays and reviews from critics Douglas Wolk, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Tiffany Babb, Dave Baker, Carrie McClain, Sean Dillon, Kat Calamia, Lisa and Brad Gullickson, Liam McGuire, Jim McDermott, and Lillie Hochwender.
Our core goal is to create a space for serious (and silly) writing about comics and to share our love for the medium, the creators, and the comics themselves. Thank you for your support.
PCS Thoughts: This is the kind of comics analysis we have been missing. We will continue to support this project in its twice a year publications. The editor has assembled a fantastic list of smart comics critics to contribute to this inaugural issue. There are also some pretty cool add-on rewards for this project.
Pots & Panels: A Comic Book Anthology and Cookbook
A 440 Page food-themed graphic novel anthology featuring stories and recipes from over 80 of your favorite comic creators!
Ending: Thursday November 7, 2024
From the Campaign:
For the first time, some of the comic book industry’s biggest names have joined forces with rising stars from the indie comic scene to create a unique, entertaining anthology that mixes the culinary world with graphic storytelling!
WHAT IS POTS & PANELS?
POTS & PANELS is a softcover collection of fifty short comic book stories centered around food, spanning multiple genres. Additionally, the compilation will contain a section full of recipes submitted by the creators with personal notes explaining why each dish is dear to them!
WHAT’S ON THE MENU?
Pots and Panels: A Comic Cook Book Anthology is a 440+ page, FULL-COLOR GRAPHIC NOVEL in Standard American comic size, printed on high-quality gloss paper.
- 50 original stories created exclusively for this anthology
- 60+ recipes contributed by the creators
- Creator’s signatures available as rewards
- Exclusive limited-edition items for backers at higher pledge levels
- 440 pages
- Hardcover, Softcover & Digital Versions
This massive tome spotlights some of the comic book industry’s top mainstream and independent creators including:
Tim Seeley, Steven Grant, Phil Hester, Andy Kuhn, Steve Niles, Hilary Barta, Ellie Egleton, Jason Michalski, Chuck Satterlee, Nicole D’Andria, Travis Gibb, Trey Baldwin, Neil Kleid, Luis Morocho, Richard Fairgray, Daimon Hampton, Brendan Deneen, Austin Janowsky, Antonio Rojo, Eric Palicki, Mario Candelaria, Austin Allen Hamblin, Markisan Naso, Carmelo Chimera, and many more!
PCS Thoughts: We have been excited to see what the creators involved in this project have cooked up for us. This is a hefty undertaking, but we are definitely looking forward to it getting across the finish line.
LANDGRAF/FREYA- G.H.O.S.T. Agents: Mindmelt/Outlaw Town
KEN LANDGRAF goes wild! The O.G. Comic Outlaw teams up with MEESIMO and FREYA THE SLAYA for a couple of insane books
Ending: Friday November 8, 2024
From the Campaign:
Over the last couple of years, GHOST Agents has become known as a standard bearer for exciting, art-forward comics. To date, the work of nearly fifty up-and-coming artists can be found in GHOST Agents projects…plus one living legend.
In all of comics, there is only one artist whose work crackles with the dangerous energy of Ken Landgraf. The man who coined the phrase and defined the very concept of “Outlaw Comics” has built a career on creating images that stop you in your tracks and blow your hair back. Respected by Clowes, collaborated with Perez, made books that hit so hard they feel like contraband, Landgraf has made a mark in indie comics a mile wide and 200,000 feet deep.
And now, Landgraf has joined the GHOST Agents movement…with a little help from FREYA THE SLAYA!
In GHOST Agents: Mindmelt, Agent Donna Printiss gets more than she bargained for on a night out at the famous/infamous Studio 54. Meanwhile, in GHOST Agents: Outlaw Town, Donna teams up with Agent X-44 Max Almond to take on a town of hippie methwolves!
PCS Thoughts: We are big fans of the upstart little production company Cosmic Lion Productions, and get behind anything they do. This mashup looks bonkers in all the best ways and we are looking forward to it coming to fruition.
Like Father, Like Daughter: The Five Stages of Grief #1
The world’s only superhero is DEAD! Can his teen daughter fill his shoes? PART ONE: DENIAL!
Ending: Thursday November 21, 2024
From the Campaign:
A father with superpowers, left his wife and daughter to become “Invulnerable” – the world’s only superhero. Ten years later, his daughter discovers that she has inherited the very superpowers that made her father leave their family. But Invulnerable wasn’t the only person keeping secrets! Casey’s mom has been a villain this whole entire time as a lifelong KGB agent.
The KGB have killed Invulnerable, and unlike your standard superhero comic, HE ISN’T COMING BACK! Casey has a lot of emotional baggage as she takes over her father’s mantle with blood on her hands. Is she more like her villainous mother or superhero father? Can she carve her own name within her father’s long casting shadow?
Like Father, Like Daughter #1-8 explored Casey’s origins. The Five Stages of Grief is a new reader friendly 24-page jumping-on point for fans who want to follow her superhero journey.
PCS Thoughts: Lifeline Comics with Phil and Kat is my favorite Indie Kickstarter publisher. They produce high quality comics and run energetic and interesting campaigns filled with great content and terrific add-on rewards. It’s great seeing them return with one of their classic properties. We are looking forward to this project getting made.
CHEST FACE
A pulp noir parody about a stand-up comedian whose face is on his chest.
Ending: Friday November 22, 2024
From the Campaign:
CHEST FACE is a pulp noir parody about a stand-up comedian workshopping his first comedy special while being hunted by the evil corporation that put his face on his chest.
Created by Ringo and Emmy Award-winning cartoonist Dean Haspiel, CHEST FACE is the fourth installment in the Dean Haspiel “Deep Cut” Universe. A 24-page, color, limited-edition comic book.
At its root, CHEST FACE is a body horror satire about revenge and redemption. At its heart, CHEST FACE is a neo-noir about chasing the purity of that first laugh while taking stock in everything your mother ever taught you.
The comic book introduces Meridian Prime, a new female superhero who was also mutated against her will and recruits Chest Face to help save her kidnapped daughter while fighting monsters like Forcemeat and The Polydactyl Man. This story sports a heartfelt look at how tragedy and trauma can galvanize your dreams.
PCS Thoughts: Dean Haspiel has been delivering quality project time after time with his creator owned crowdfunded projects, and Chest Face looks to be another hit. Stay tuned to the Pop Culture SquadCast for an upcoming interview with Haspiel and make sure to back this project.
We also want to list some quick hit projects that are still underway that we think you should check out and are huge successes already
