Category: Crowdfunding

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Spotlight SquadCast Interview: Shelly Bond Talks About Suddenly One Summer Camp From Hell Issue #1

Spotlight SquadCast Interview: Shelly Bond Talks About Suddenly One Summer Camp From Hell Issue #1

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Welcome to the latest edition of the Pop Culture SquadCast.

We are super excited to bring you this interview with comic legend Shelly Bond. Shelly has been with us before to talk about her crowd funded comics and her career. She even joined us during our celebration of Women in Comics History month earlier this year.

This time she has come back to talk about her latest project. Suddenly One Summer Camp from Hell. It is currently available to back on Kickstarter and the campaign ends on November 15th, So don’t waste any time and get to backing it.

This project is to fund the first issue of the series. The completed series will comprise three single black and white comics with art from the amazing Liz Prince.

Having had a look at a working copy of this issue, I wholeheartedly recommend it and can’t wait to get my hands on it.

And now we hope you enjoy this conversation with the inimitable Shelly Bond.

Continue reading “Spotlight SquadCast Interview: Shelly Bond Talks About Suddenly One Summer Camp From Hell Issue #1” →

With Further Ado #270: Chaykin’s Fargo is on ZOOP

With Further Ado #270: Chaykin’s Fargo is on ZOOP

Posted on by Ed Catto

I knew some of these entrepreneurs before they started ZOOP. I liked their old start-up, and I like their “new” crowdfunding start-up ZOOP. (Although, it’s not that new anymore.) They are doing so many things right.

Added to the “doing things right” list is their current effort showcasing Howard Chaykin’s adaptation of John Benteen’s Fargo: Hell On Wheels.

This will be a 96+ page prestige format hardcover graphic novel adaptation of one of Howard Chaykin’s favorite characters from men’s adventure paperbacks of the sixties and seventies. Chaykin writes and draws the entire book, along with the extraordinary colorist Yen Nitro and of course his longtime letterer/designer, Ken Bruzenak. Continue reading “With Further Ado #270: Chaykin’s Fargo is on ZOOP” →

High Profile Comics Creators Band Together To Support Hollywood Workers With GENERAL STRIKE Comic

High Profile Comics Creators Band Together To Support Hollywood Workers With GENERAL STRIKE Comic

Posted on by Bob Harrison

WGA Members/Comic Creators GRANT MORRISON, MATTEO PIZZOLO, and BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS join forces with TV Writers behind THE BOYS, DAREDEVIL, and WINNING TIME for new comic book Celebrating the Power and Success of the Strikes

Pre-orders open today for GENERAL STRIKE, the new comic that will help support workers impacted by the Hollywood Labor Strikes

PRESS RELEASE:

(September 26, 2023) A new comics anthology curated by the creators of CALEXIT aims to celebrate the Hollywood Labor Movement’s massive success and also support workers impacted by the dual Strikes as the WGA closes its historic new deal with the studios. Titled GENERAL STRIKE: Calexit and Other Tales of Fighting the Good Fight, the collection of new stories dedicated to the struggle for economic equality is written by WGA members, and publisher Black Mask Studios is matching the writers fees with donations to the Entertainment Community Fund.

With official pre-orders opening today, GENERAL STRIKE is hosted by a brand new comic book heroine (labor organizing badass Gen. Strike) and features stories by a roster of WGA-writers including writer/producer/WGA NBCU Lot Coordinator Judalina Neira (The Boys, Gen V, The Flash), Rodney Barnes (Winning Time, The Boondocks), Tamara Becher (Doom Patrol, Daredevil), Daniel Dominguez (Seis Manos), Charley Feldman (X-Men 97, Teen Titans Go), Grant Morrison (Happy!, All-Star Superman), and Brian Michael Bendis (creator of Miles Morales and Jessica Jones). The project is being run by WGA-member writer and publisher Matteo Pizzolo (Calexit, Godkiller, Rogue State).

“Our initial idea was to put together an anthology of new stories set in the world of Calexit, but, when we proposed that to the creators, they envisioned using Calexit as a launchpad for something bigger that could help support the community through the strikes,” explained Pat Shand, head of Black Mask Special Projects. “And that’s how General Strike came together.”

GENERAL STRIKE is an anthology comic of genre stories about characters fighting the good fight against injustice, linked by the theme of confronting economic inequality. All of the stories are written by striking guild members. In addition to paying Marvel/DC-level writers’ rates, Black Mask is also matching the writers’ rates with donations to the Entertainment Community Fund, and the creators retain ownership of the IP to their stories and characters.

“With the longest running dual-strikes in Hollywood history reaching a crescendo, this is an amazing moment to celebrate the power and solidarity that got us here and also to keep telling stories that inspire us to fight these good fights,” said Calexit writer/co-creator Matteo Pizzolo, who is overseeing GENERAL STRIKE. “The WGA and SAG strikes are part of the bigger labor movements growing across the country and around the world, but they’re also unique because they focus on creative artists – the public outpouring of support we’ve seen here hasn’t always been the case with past Hollywood strikes. It’s really inspiring and we’re hoping this project can honor that and also support the workers who are still struggling due to the impact of the strikes.”

Comics’ newest superhero Gen. Strike, a bubblegum-chewing labor organizer, comes to life in a set of covers by comic book artists Tyler Boss (4 Kids Walk Into A Bank, What’s The Furthest Place From Here?), Iolanda Zanfardino (Alice In Leatherland), Ben Templesmith (30 Days Of Night), Ramon Villalobos (America Chavez), Creees Lee (Lab Raider), Elisa Romboli (A Thing Called Truth), Amancay Nahuelpan (Calexit), and Darick Robertson (The Boys).

Artists illustrating the GENERAL STRIKE stories include Antonio Fuso (Something Is Killing The Children: House Of Slaughter), Jamal Igle (BLACK, The Wrong Earth), Butch Mapa (Star Wars Adventures), Tyler Jenkins (Grass Kings), and Josh Hood (We Can Never Go Home).

“For 148 days, WGA writers have been pencils down/picket signs up. But I’m stoked to pick up the pen again as a part of GENERAL STRIKE. Black Mask is serving up allyship with this comic anthology benefitting Hollywood’s not-for-profit lifesaver – the Entertainment Community Fund,” said Judalina Neira, Writer/Executive Producer (The Boys, Gen V, The Flash).

“This is a pivotal moment for our business and it’s projects like this that show our solidarity in the most difficult of circumstances,” said Rodney Barnes (Winning Time, The Boondocks).

“This strike isn’t just about writers in Hollywood, it’s about the exploitation of labor. As a proud member of the WGA and a recipient of Strike Fund assistance, I jumped at the chance to participate in this anthology,” said Tamara Becher (Doom Patrol, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Daredevil).

“Indie comics are special because risky and subversive stories and fresh, new characters can be created without a lot of meddling,” Pizzolo said on the standing-room-only Activism In Comics panel at San Diego Comic Con. “In comics, creators can be especially daring and vulnerable and create visual rallying cries because it’s such a personal medium, just a couple of creators working unfettered to make a story you can hold in your hands.”

The creators of Calexit have a long history of using their comic for activism. Previous initiatives include raising money for families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border during the Trump Administration’s Border Crisis, running voter registration on the showfloor of San Diego Comic Con, supporting Indivisible’s Get Out The Vote campaign, donating to bail funds during the George Floyd protests, featuring interviews with organizers and grassroots candidates in the comic book’s backmatter, and using comic profits to form the SuperPAC “Become The Government.”

For more info and how to support this project visit the Kickstarter project page.

Comics Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Soon: Catskin and the Rose, Hope, Triggergirl 6, Billy Dogma, and Spider-Squirrel & Trash Panda

Comics Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Soon: Catskin and the Rose, Hope, Triggergirl 6, Billy Dogma, and Spider-Squirrel & Trash Panda

Posted on by Bob Harrison

We are back with a new comics crowdfunding support post. The projects on this list are coming to a close this week and are worthy of our support.

Kickstarter is a platform available at Kickstarter.com where creative individuals have the ability to design and run a crowdfunding campaign. The concept is that individuals pledge to support the project, and if the project reaches the planned goal of pledge money in the time that campaign is running, then the project will get made. There are usually many various tiers of backer pledges, and different pledge levels come with different backer reward items. It is a fantastic way for creators to fund the projects that they love and want to create while getting new interesting things into the world.

The campaigns we highlighted for this week 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!

The Catstkin and the Rose
Hope #1-4
Triggergirl 6
Billy Dogma
Spider-Squirrel & Trash Panda

The Catskin and the Rose – A Graphic Novella
A Sapphic Adventure/Romance. Two legendary duelists fight to the death in a tournament, but catch feelings while crossing swords.

Ending: Thu, August 10 2023 12:00 PM EDT.

Campaign Link

PCS Thoughts: We are fans of Wells Thompson comics and this project looks terrific. The art and story seem compelling, and the cover options by Fell Hound and Skylar Patridge are both stunning. 

From the Campaign: Continue reading “Comics Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Soon: Catskin and the Rose, Hope, Triggergirl 6, Billy Dogma, and Spider-Squirrel & Trash Panda” →

With Further Ado #257: Sherlock and Joel on Zoop

With Further Ado #257: Sherlock and Joel on Zoop

Posted on by Ed Catto

Joel Meadows is a hard-working creative entrepreneur. You might know him from his brilliant work on Tripwire Magazine over the years. There’s been a lot of buzz this past week about the Tripwire Awards too, and that’s fascinating to see.

Joel also has a new project coming up with Andy Bennett called Sherlock Holmes and The Empire Builders. Here’s the official write-up:

Sherlock Holmes and the Empire Builders is an epic alternate world sci fi adventure featuring The World’s Greatest Detective as people have never seen him before.

When Watson leaves Holmes to help Crick unravel the DNA helix and finds himself in the employ of England’s most evil man, Holmes is forced to team up with an unlikely group to defeat this monstrous figure and return England to its status quo. With your support here we can get the first part of this exciting graphic novel out to readers!

Testing the waters with three shorts which ran in Tripwire magazine, we felt that now was the time to debut this in its own graphic novel series. This will be a hardcover with a dust jacket running at 88 pages with 68 pages of story (much of which will be new material) plus character sketches, script pages and an interview offering extra information on the series.

Continue reading “With Further Ado #257: Sherlock and Joel on Zoop” →

Special SquadCast Interview with Geezer Creators Philip Bond and Will Potter

Special SquadCast Interview with Geezer Creators Philip Bond and Will Potter

Posted on by Bob Harrison

We are great supporters of independent and, especially, crowdfunded comics. One of the best individual new comics that we read last year was Geezer #1, which was funded on Kickstarter and published by Off Register Press.

Geezer tells the story of the almost remembered and not quite successful Britpop band Geezer. It is brilliant concept that writer Will Potter and artist Philip Bond have rendered into a uniquely sized comic book. The misadventures of this imaginary band dovetail perfectly with real life events and style choices that put the story squarely in the timeline of the height of popularity of real bands like Blur and Oasis. There is a terrific cast of characters and Bond’s visually artistry is magnificently displayed in a seven inch square format to match the size of vinyl record single.

Issue number two of this series, which expected to be a five-issue event, is nearing the end of its crowdfunding run on Kickstarter. We had the opportunity to talk to both Will and Philip about the project. There are some fantastic stories in this SquadCast about the origins of the project and what they hope for the future of the series.

The campaign ends noon Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday April 15th. That is plenty of time to back this project and listen to this fun interview with a great pair of blokes. We hope you enjoy the conversation and check below to see more about the campaign.

GEEZER #2
Cheap thrills, dodgy pills, and unexpected trysts as Britpop washouts GEEZER go Stateside.

http://kck.st/3z2eHK5

Ending: Sat, April 15, 2023 12:00 PM EST. Continue reading “Special SquadCast Interview with Geezer Creators Philip Bond and Will Potter” →

Spotlight SquadCast Interview with Russell Nohelty and Laurie Foster about Cthulhu Is Hard to Spell

Spotlight SquadCast Interview with Russell Nohelty and Laurie Foster about Cthulhu Is Hard to Spell

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Our latest SquadCast interview takes place with a pair of comic creators working to fund their latest project, and it is a great concept.

For several years now, writer and editor Russell Nohelty has been working on the multiple volumes of his anthology series Cthulhu Is Hard to Spell for a few years now, and as the project transitions to the next phase he has partnered with Laurie Foster and Unlikely Heroes Studios to repackage the books in an even more accessible format with added material.

The crowdfunding campaign for this special release is running on Backerkit until March 21st.

We spoke with both Russell and Laurie about the project, H.P. Lovecraft and the challenges that his legacy presents in the current social climate, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff.

Russell is an author with credits such as Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter, The Godsverse Chronicles, and The Obsidian Spindle Saga, as well as being the editor for the Cthulhu is Hard to Spell anthology series. He has also contributed to a bunch of anthologies including:  Cthulhu Invades Oz, Monsters and Other Scary Shit, Parallel Worlds, The Edgar Allan Poe Chronicles to name a few.

Laurie is an editor, inker, publisher, cosplayer, and pretty much everything else that you can think of. She runs Unlikely Heroes Studios and if the day has a Y at the end, she is probably running a crowdfunding campaign somewhere.

This conversation focused on the campaign for the excellent Cthulhu Is Hard to Spell, but it also ventured into the realms of the horror genre in general, representation in publishing, and nerdy favorites.

We hope you enjoy the conversation:

What is Cthulhu is Hard to Spell?

Continue reading “Spotlight SquadCast Interview with Russell Nohelty and Laurie Foster about Cthulhu Is Hard to Spell” →

Kickstarters You Should Be Backing – February 2023 Edition

Kickstarters You Should Be Backing – February 2023 Edition

Posted on by Bob Harrison

With the holiday shopping season in the rear view mirror, it seems that everyone has come out with a project that they are looking to get crowdfunded. We waded through the list of 255 live campaigns in the Comics category to find the ones that we need to boost. There are definitely a few campaigns on this list that you will want to check out.

Kickstarter is a platform available at Kickstarter.com where creative individuals have the ability to design and run a crowdfunding campaign. The concept is that individuals pledge to support the project, and if the project reaches the planned goal of pledge money in the time that campaign is running, then the project will get made. There are usually many various tiers of backer pledges, and different pledge levels come with different backer reward items. It is a fantastic way for creators to fund the projects that they love and want to create while getting new interesting things into the world.

The campaigns we highlighted for this month 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. Here are the fourteen that we think you should check out!!!

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!

 

The Switch: Electricia
The remastered “ELECTRIFYING EDITION” of the Switch Graphic novel- in softcover for the first time!

http://kck.st/3CSuuNI

Ending: Tue, February 14 2023 12:00 PM EST.

PCS Thoughts: We are exited to see this creator owned property in a remastered collection and are equally excited for the next volume. Continue reading “Kickstarters You Should Be Backing – February 2023 Edition” →

Kickstarters You Should Be Backing – November 2022 Edition

Kickstarters You Should Be Backing – November 2022 Edition

Posted on by Bob Harrison

This month we have a bunch of campaigns available to support on Kickstarter. As you are planning that Holiday Shopping list, there are definitely a few campaigns on this list that you will want to check out.

Kickstarter is a platform available at Kickstarter.com where creative individuals have the ability to design and run a crowdfunding campaign. The concept is that individuals pledge to support the project, and if the project reaches the planned goal of pledge money in the time that campaign is running, then the project will get made. There are usually many various tiers of backer pledges, and different pledge levels come with different backer reward items. It is a fantastic way for creators to fund the projects that they love and want to create while getting new interesting things into the world.

The campaigns we highlighted for this month 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. There are over 3000 live Kickstarter campaigns right now and over 260 comic based projects. Here are the 11 that we think you should check out!!!

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!

Slice of Life #1-3 – Queer WEBTOON with an Anime Twist
Gritty anime protagonist, Lady Vengeance, finally realizes her romantic feelings for the girl next door.

Campaign Link: http://kck.st/3N7vBNp

Ending: Tue, November 22 2022 10:00 PM EST

PCS Thoughts: This story from Kat Calamia and Phil Falco is one that we get very excited to see on Kickstarter. It is an excellent story and these folks do a great job with presentation and fulfillment. If you are mildly interested in the content of this book, you will be very happy as a backer of this project!!

From the Campaign:

When gritty anime protagonist, Lady Vengeance, is brought to the real world by a super fan, she’ll learn there’s more to life than darkness and revenge…and she’ll find love with the super fan’s twin sister – a kind-hearted cheerleader.

Slice of Life is a queer romance that deconstructs the “slice of life” genre, unpacking the importance of everyday narratives to tell a larger story about the meaning of life from the point of view of a fictional character.

In this next installment of Slice of Life, Yuriko starts to find her place in this new world and finally realizes her romantic feelings, all while Lucy goes through her own gay self discovery journey.

Slice of Life #3 will be collecting Chapters 12-18 from WEBTOON in a new sequential format. The 56-page comic book will also contain a 3-page EXCLUSIVE story (featuring Yuriko and Lucy as a couple) not available on WEBTOON/Tapas!

The story takes place in the future and sees Yuriko helping Lucy with a college English course.

Love and Capes: Home for the Holidays
We’re making a Love and Capes Christmas Special comic!

Campaign Link: http://kck.st/3z9Rd5W

Ending: Wed, November 23 2022 1:22 PM EST

PCS Thoughts: Love and Capes is one of my favorite comics because it takes the ultra serious and fairly ridiculous genre of superhero comics and flips it on its head into a rom-com / family sit-com. The evolution that Thom Zahler has developed over the last few years has really opened up the world of the Crusader. This project will be more than worth your while, and time is running out on this opportunity.

From the Campaign:

Let’s do a Christmas Special!

First published in 2006, Love and Capes is the Ringo and Harvey-nominated, heroically super situation comedy about Mark Spencer, the world’s greatest superhero, the Crusader, and his girlfriend (now wife), bookstore owner Abby. Together, they have navigated dating, marriage and parenthood. Now have two kids, James and Hayley, and are having brand-new new adventures.

Love and Capes: Home For the Holidays started as a Patreon-only webcomic continuation of the Love and Capes series. Picking up a year or so after the last collection, “In the Time of Covid”, it shows our heroes enjoying the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

What we’re making is the print collection. Fifty-plus awesome pages of Love and Capes heart and humor. A complete story. In a high-quality, square bound collection (similar to the issues of The Dark Knight or Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty. It’s what they used to call “prestige format”.)

Of course, as with any Kickstarter, it’s not just the comic. At different reward levels, you can get sketches, original art, and even appear at Charlotte’s New Year’s Party. And who would throw a better New Year’s Party than Charlotte?


Continue reading “Kickstarters You Should Be Backing – November 2022 Edition” →