Kickstarter

I had a poor experience on Kickstarter recently. It’s sadly nothing uncommon or unusual because when it comes to the funding platform, you take a risk. You are giving someone money upfront to bring a project to fruition in exchange for a reward. Sometimes its as simple as a copy of the thing you’re helping create but you can spend more money to get more things (which now that I think about it, is how commerce works…).

There are more stories of people being swindled on Kickstarter than I care to think about. There are also stories where people do their best, thinking the money they raised is enough and it isn’t. inspired by my recent negative experience, I thought I’d go back and look over my history with Kickstarter, both the good and bad. I’ve been using the website for 12 years so we’ve got a lot to cover.

I will not be covering unsuccessful or cancelled campaigns because…what’s the point? I also won’t cover anything related to the comic creator that I did Crime and Crowns with that stole 6 grand of my money. Partly because I don’t want to give them any undue press and because honestly, I should have known better. In my defence, I backed these campaigns before they stole my money but you know, need to get work on that time machine to tell myself not to do the thing.

Anyway, apart from that we’re not leaving anything out. Let’s get going.

 Leaving Megalopolis

The campaign that brought me to Kickstarter by the Legendary creative team of Gail Simone and Jim Calafiore. They were doing a creator owned OGn about a superhero city where the zombie plague hits. Basically a better version of Marvel Zombies. It was a great read and for my first Kickstarter experience, it went perfectly.

The book eventually got reprinted through Darkhorse along with a sequel. I keep meaning to track down the sequel but its been 12 years so I’m sure I’ll get right on that…

Various GrayHaven

Oh boy.

So I backed the various campaign’s of this small press company I was heavily involved with. I gave them a LOT of money and waved my rewards. I felt I was investing in myself because they were publishing my work and I was involved in editorial.

Sadly, there are multiple times that the successful campaigns had more and more stories of people not get rewards. The company was ran by a snake oil salesman who apparently promised his kids some of the raised Kickstarter money in the later campaigns.

Remember that time machine? Need it for this one too.

Beyond Beauty

An OGN where the gender roles of Beauty and The Beast are flipped. I’ve seen similar concepts in recent years so this seemed ahead of its time. The art was stunning but sadly the writer did a runner. The artist was very apologetic and gave everyone a PDF of the book since it was finished but never printed. I can’t remember if the artist got paid or not but I hope they did. I’m not sure what they’re up to these days but they were very curtious and apolagetic so I appreciate that.

The writer can suck a lemon.

Metaphase

A brilliant ogn about a kid superhero with down syndrome. This was written by Chip Reece, an insanely talented writer who like myself had the misfortune of getting in with a company that went comicsgate hard and fast.

I’m not sure if he was ever able to reprint this somewhere else but I hope so, it was an excellent and important story. Artist for this book, Kelly Williams is doing a bunch of work for small press and is insanely talented so I’m glad he’s doing so well.

Molly Danger

Long delayed personal project from writer/artist Jamal Igle. After waiting several years for it to be produced, I asked for a refund which I received. I credit Igle to be able to own this and give people their money back when asked.

He’s of course working hard on various projects and I hope that Molly Danger will see publication some day.

Various Alterna

The aforementioned comic company myself and Chip did work for that went hardcore comicsgate. They seemed to be going places then well…you know. They always delivered on their rewards to their credit.

Chief O’Brien at work

Brilliant ogn collecting the misadventures of Starfleets transporter chief from a parody webcomic. Brilliant little production and hilarious. One of my fave all time Kickstarters I’ve backed.

A Tale Of Shadows

I got the books, remember nothing about them. I don’t think I was overly impressed. That’s another risk when it comes to Kickstarter, sometimes you back something that’s not going to be good.

I’m not sure if I have these or I sold it.

Black

A breakout hit for Black Mask studios. Not something I enjoyed personally but I know it got a lot of praise. They delivered them and all the rewards promptly and professionally. Pretty sure I sold this.

Paradox Girl

A brilliant story about a woman who has time travel abilities. Some of the issues were really inventive and the main character had an awesome New 52 Harley Quinn vibe.

I’d highly recommend tracking down the collection Image put out a few years ago. Its a shame that it doesn’t seem the artist has done much but the artist has been working on various books over the last few years. Another favourite of mine.

Alter-Life

I think I got this? I think it was okay? There was a hardcover a few years ago. I again don’t even remember if I still have this. I would wager I got this and I thought it was okay and immediately deleted it from my brain.

Turncoat

This was a very good little superhero themed murder mystery. The creative team did an Image series a few years ago but not much since. I wasn’t a big fan of the publisher but I’d say this one is worth tracking down. It’s likely available at cons.

Under The Hood

A coffee table book by Sean Murphy with a narrative starring him and Scott Snyder. I actually think this is excellent and an inventive way to do a book like this. I features some fun cameo’s from other creators. I’m sure Murphy is still selling this by the truckload at cons. I always thought he was a very good writer as well an excellent artist.

He’s busy with the White Knight universe from DC comics/Black Label this weather.

Crossing

Oh boy.

So this is the book that inspired this little article/ This is a comic about a guy who accidentally kills a girl and she haunts him. It caught my eye cause the girl looks similar (but legally distinct) to Death from the Endless.

Its a good series that I was enjoying and I got issues 1-4. I missed the campaign for issue 5 but backed issue 6 and spent the money to get issue 5.

I get no book. I message the creator and nada. I message the creator on main on Twitter to let them know ‘Hey, I didn’t get my book and you ignored me’.

They said I didn’t message them and they don’t use Twitter. I showed them a screenshot of me messaging them. They block me.

So I guess I’m not getting the rest of this book. Seems like the creator doesn’t care about delivering product after all so…yeah.

Thanks for the article idea though.

Theatrics

Got it grand, it wasn’t very good. Think I sold it.

My success ratio isn’t great on this now that I look back on all these…

Movie Buff

For a while, my wife and I were really into games. This was a fun little movie based thing. Loved the presentation of this as a little popcorn box. One of my rare non comic Kickstarters.

Transdimenional

Comic from a local Northern Irish creator. Not very good. I sold it. Gave him an honest review and he didn’t like it, never spoke to me again.

Some people want to get better, some people will never get better because they don’t want to listen.

Transience

An anthology from another Northern Irish creator. It was delivered promptly and just fine quality wise+. I was trying to support fellow local talent.

Murder Most Mundane

Did I get this? I think I did but I honestly have no memory of it. Either I never got it or I got it and didn’t think much of it.

Scurry

A brilliant pair of beautiful OGN’s that is very reminiscent of The Secret Of N.I.M.H. Image released these to the direct market a few years ago and they’re a must have.

I need to track down the third and final HC.

Beasts Of The Black Hand

An ogn from Ron Marz. I never got my copy but credit where its due, I ran into him at a Con and said to him and he gave me a copy, no questions asked.

Shame I didn’t really dig and yup you guessed it, I sold it.

Tales Of Fractured Worlds

Another OGN from the same creator of Transience. Got it fine, wasn’t as good as the previous one and I think I donated it after not being able to sell it.

Man this is getting depressing, why did I do this?

Various Jimmy Palmiotti and friends work

Yay! Save me Jimmy Palmiotti! I think Jimmy is one of the smartest and most talented folks in comics. He’s also one of the most overlooked. He’s taken a lot of projects to Kickstarter over the years, often with very talented people that have amazing production and fantastic communication.

Have I liked all of them? No but I’ve liked most of them. They’re always some of the best campaigns out there and usually worth a look. I wish it didn’t cost as much to ship to the UK otherwise I’d support more from Jimmy’s company PaperFilms.

Jim Cornette’s Real Pro Wrestling Stories

Excellent graphic novel with some iconic stories from wrestling history. Went as smooth as silk. It hit the direct market from IDW and is well worth tracking down for wrestling and even non-wrestling fans.

Croak

Campaign was great, didn’t care for the book sadly.

Metro

See above

Tinseltown

Great story about a murder mystery in the golden age of Hollywood. It came from a company that went comicsgate sadly so not sure if the creator went that way too. I hope not as this was good and the campaign was well run. There wa sa sequel mini but because of the CG link of the publisher, I didn’t back it.

Strange Tails

Very fun one shot by a writer who has hit it big doing work at Marvel and a Spawn book recently. One of the stories in here includes one of the funniest scene’s I’ve ever read in comic.

Pity the writer isn’t a very nice person but what do you do?

Frenemies: The Lost Planet

If I got this, I remember nothing about it and have no idea if I kept it.

Actors

Weird one shot that’s more an art project than a comic with an actual narrative. The creator is well thought of online but it was too weird for me personally. Campaign went like clockwork.

The Game 1

Got this because Jenn St. Onge was doing a variant and I’m a big fan. I had to chase it down and eventually got it. It was just okay but the cover by St, Onge was nice. Not sure if the series ever finished.

Trigger Mortis

Excellent widescreen OGN with zombies in the old west. A lot of fun and really well run.Hey that rhymes!

Being Ginger/Being A Cosplayer

Brilliant collections of little comic strip style tales about the titular subjects. The creator I’m a big fan of and is highly underrated. They’re working on a third book now and I can’t wait. Very well priced with some great rewards.

Ned: Lord Of The Pit

Great and fun black comedy OGN by the artist of Leaving Metropolis. Came with a bunch of great extra’s and when I spoke to the creator at NYCC they were very grateful. There’s a sequel coming that I missed but I think you can still get it on IndieGoGo so I’ll have to look into that.

Coronary

Another greatly run campaign that produced a book that I didn’t much care for and sold on. Ah well.

Death & Comics: Reincarnation

See above.

Norm Konyu projects

A brilliant and unique creator, Konyu has run four Kickstarters, I missed one of them but the other three were won excellently and produced brilliant work. I’d put Norm’s work alongside some of the best people working in comics today. The first two ogn’s Konyu did have been released through Titan and you should go buy them NOW.

Cosmic Detective

Another brilliant OGN produced by 3 of the best creators in comics and run to the quality you’d expect. I was very pleased to get the super duper edition exclusive to the Kickstarter. The book was rerleased through Image and is a must read.

The Management Programme

Great one shot with unique art and an unsettling tone. I backed a tier which got my name in the book and I forgot and got freaked out when the book knew my name.

I need help.

Madi

A brilliant OGN from director Doug Jones and many of the best comic creators ever. This is a massive book with an ambitious story that is on full display with the super massive edition I got. There were some delays but it was well worth the wait. Not sure how readily available it is but its worth tracking down.

Tales From The Quarentine

Oh boy.

This is probably the most infamous comic on Kickstarter. So much potential for a good cause that has been followed by broken timelines, sketchy and infrequent updates and quite possibly a huge case of leading people on.

Google it and you’ll see many articles from people like myself who didn’t get their rewards. Their are also many very amusing Twitter accounts that seem determined to either get the person who organized it to either pony up the rewards, refund the money or admit what they did.

I think my kids will likely be telling their grandkids about the misbegotten anthology before we actually see any of these three outcomes sadly.

No Going Back

Never received. Now I’m sad again.

Elsa Cherretier artbook

Brilliantly run where I got both of Cherretier’s art books. Run like clockwork with lots of great extras.

The Deadliest Bouquet

Basically Practical Magic without the magic. Not for me. Did I mention the writer was very rude to me? They were. Wanting to sell this asap.

Bunhouse

Backed to help a friend of a friend for no reward. No idea how its gone,

Fog line

A Kickstarter by a great friend of mine. I backed the digital only and it was very good!

And We Love You

Brilliant and unique one shot by the super talented Fell Hound. This is Part of Fell’s Commander Rao series which got some of it published by Scout. Another one well worth checking out and a wonderfully run campaign.

Heirs Of Isildur

Well run campaign from Insymmetry Creations. The book wasn’t for me but it was part of a larger story that I hadn’t been keeping track of so that’s more down to me.

Alter Ego

Much delayed and one I\d thought wasn’t happening but updates owning the delay are happening. I hope this one comes to light, I’m a big fan of the artist.

Dime-Store Detective

Went for a digital reward. It wasn’t for me. It was a well run campaign.

Giant Days

Wrote about this in depth in my Giant Days specific blog a while back. I nearly cried when I got the books. I’d love to support the BOOM Kickstarters more but the postage is pricey and I only have so many Kidney’s.

Room Service

A film/comic that is nearing completion. Some huge names involved here and I can’t wait.

Misfitz Clubhouse

Another one from InSymmetry. Really fun all ages one shot about some kids imaginative misadventures.

Agency Case Files

Brilliant collection of a wonderful Blade Runneresque world created by writer/artist Colin Craker. Again, not sure how readily available they are but they’re great reads and the art is brilliant. Very well run and Colin is super talented and nice.

One True Love

I think this is delayed but this is by another close friend of mine who is keeping us updated. Looking forward to it.

Catskin and the Rose.

An ogn that is currently cooking with some wonderful art. Can’t wait!

A Thing Called Truth

Continuation of an awesome sounding series from Image. Updates are plentiful and I can’t wait!

Good Omens

Comic adaption of the brilliant novel by one of the best artists ever. There’s been some personal health stuff and the updates have kept us well informed. All 100% understandable. Another I am very excited for.

There’s three others that are very early on so I won’t cover those but looking forward to them all, including one that hasn’t finished yet!

Mostly, I’ve gotten the things I’ve paid for and even when I haven’t enjoyed the product I’m glad I took a chance. A lot of these books I wouldn’t be able to read without this platform and I’m glad it exists as another option for creators to get their work out there.

Hope this was an interesting, maybe next week I’ll talk about my own Kickstarter and what a balls up that was.

More soon.

Dreams

I’m a big fan of Fargo, the TV show from FX. It’s low key one of the best acted and written shows that occasionally graces the small screen. I’m making my way through the latest season (5) and there was a line in episode 5 that really stuck with me.

‘Have you ever had a dream and realized you’re not tall enough to reach it? He hasn’t woken up yet.’

This was spoken by a police officer played by Richa Moojani who is an actress I am unfamiliar with but I think is doing a brilliant job. Her character Indira Olmstead is the usual Fargo police officer who actually knows what is going on but no one listens to. She works hard and supports her husband who dreams of being a pro golfer. Her husbands dream (which is he hasn’t woken up yet) has left the young couple in debt, something Indira is doing her best to shoulder the burden on and keep their heads above water.

It makes me think of my own dreams and my own ability to wake up. I suppose I did in November when I had my disastrous meeting with an editor who made it clear I didn’t have a thimble of talent. So I took a long, long break that I fully didn’t intend to come back from. The results of kinda going back to sleep (napping in this metaphor?) are kind of mixed. I told myself no pressure and no money which I’ve mostly kept to.

I do hear people going ‘Oh, I have this opportunity and that’ which I would give my eye teeth for. I want to be happy for them and I kind of am but I’m also kind of jealous which is a sucky feeling to have. It makes me feel like a bad friend.

Comparing yourselves against others and feeling constantly coming short is a big thing with myself. It is a key thing with people with neurodivergence and it really sucks. I can learn to live with it or cope better but its still there and it isn’t going away.

I feel like I’m not trying hard enough, that I could always do more but when I was trying as hard as I could at the time (when I had more time and finances) it ended in disaster. So maybe its just an issue of not being able to reach the dream? I often compare myself to Ed Wood, the infamous director who made movies he thought were brilliant but have become cult disasters.

He had a vision and a desire but not the skill. Certainly bad writers can be successful and good writers can experience failure so its hard to judge. I just think of this line in a TV show which features very high quality writing and wonder if it applies to me. Perhaps I am unable to wake up and that’s a hard thing to live with.

I always feel capable of more but when does more end? When do I stop and go ‘You know what, here is fine?’ I used to think it was getting a comic published, well I did that for sure. What then? A mini, a known publisher? A big 5 publisher? A B list character? An a-list character? The a-list character’s top book? A story that will be remembered long after I’m gone and I’ll be unable to know and or care? An Eisner? Two Eisners? 20? 30?

When does trying to aim for the dream stop?

Something to think over perhaps as I try to just make it a step at a time.

More soon.

Canon

Canon in terms of what does and doesn’t count can be a funny thing and as a fan often confusing. For those that may not be aware, canon is something in storytelling when a huge franchise (say Star Wars or Marvel) has an official story about what happens to who and the universe at large. This is the ‘canon’ and there can be stories out of that (like Marvel’s ‘What If’ animated series) that can be entertaining but aren’t part of the official story.

The longer a franchise exists and the more creators are involved means that canon can get convoluted. Fans will hotly debate about what is/isn’t canon in some cases.It can got very convoluted in the cases of franchises like say Terminator where repeated attempts to make the franchise successful again have had films that were canon be disregarded. First all of Terminator 1-4 was canon, then 1 and 5 then one and 6. This isn’t even taking into account the television show which also spun out of Terminator 2, pushing aside everything else.

Then when you get to franchises like Star Trek, Star Wars and Doctor Who who have all sorts of novels, TV shows, games and more where what is and what is not considered canon can be considerably mirky. when Disney bought Star Wars/Lucasfilm they said that anything apart from the 6 movies and the Clone Wars animated series was now no longer official canon. This made a lot of long time Star Wars fans upset that certain characters and events had been snapped away by Disney in a moment.

Similar things have happened in Doctor Who fandom to the extent that some of the novels written were adapted into episodes and even comics as most recently as ‘The Star Beast’. Then when it comes to comics, it can be possibly the most complicated. When you get characters that have been around 50, 60, 70 or 80 years with hundreds or thousands of creative voices writing their narrative, canon can get more than a little murky. Just in recent years, characters Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were changed from mutants who were Magneto’s children (which was in itself a change in canon some time ago) were revealed not to be in the years prior to the FOX entertainment buyout and Disney higher ups were being grumpy about all things related to X-Men and Fantastic Four.

A few weeks ago I was talking to someone about how in the late 90’s, writer/artist John Byrne wrote and drew a Spider-Man series ‘Chapter One’ which reimagined the classic Lee/Ditko stories from the first year or so of Amazing with a more modern flair. Nothing wrong with that in principle but the new reimagined origin was added as the official canon without explanation in the main Spider-Man books at the time. This even led to a story in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) 9 and 10 where a character tied to this specific origin appeared. When this odd experiment was abandoned, all references to this ‘new’ origin were abandoned as everything since was reverted back to the original story as depicted in Amazing Fantasy 15.

Canon can be a headache, sometimes I see fans twist themselves into knots over the slightest error in regards to it. Should they happen? Ideally not but I don’t think strictly adhering to every small amount of Canon should stop telling someone from being able to craft whatever story they want. Of course, we don’t want huge changes that aren’t explained because that’s just poor storytelling but something small here and there? Not a big deal.

I think canon can also be a personal thing. Going back to Disney and them doing away with the expanded Star Wars universe, some fans were horrified especially when they ended up disappointed with the new stories offered in some cases. I think though unless the company takes away your own items you can still have those books be ‘your’ version of the mythos if you want. I’ve seen some interesting videos about the constant Terminator changes in canon could arguably be all made into one coherent story where John Connor and Skynet have engaged into a time travel game of proverbial chess against each other.

I’m personally not a fan of any of the Matrix films apart from the first. No shade to those who enjoy the rest but in my mind, the first is so good and has a near perfect ending that the subsequent four movies aren’t my canon. I’ve met Star Wars fans who only have their canon be the original version of the first three films. I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with that. Canon after all is largely in reference to fictional stories so if there’s a part of the story you don’t like as much as others and you can create a mental barrier around it…why not?

As fandom’s grow and the ability to communicate with each other around the world gets easier, Canon can also be a new tool for gatekeeping. ‘You’re not a real fan if you don’t know this or you don’t consider this or that canon’. It’s a troublesome part of modern fandom I could personally do without. Real world history is important, fictional isn’t. I think leave it up to the individual rather than argue with people over what isn’t or isn’t ‘counting’.

In my view, life’s too short and although history can be fun it is also something we have to take on partly as a necessary of life. It’s another weight we have to add to our own growth and development. Why would we add to that by applying that same weight to something we’re supposed to be enjoying?

Just a thought.

More soon.

So…I Did A Thing

So I wrote a comic script, my first full script since at least November 2022 when I ‘quit’ on my comics writing journey. In some ways it doesn’t mean I\m back because like I said in my year end reviews, I am playing it super safe for my own self.

I’m writing more for myself because I got an idea that wouldn’t leave me alone. I plan on now looking over scripts from Living With Death mini 1 and 2 before touching up the one I just wrote (first issue of mini 3). What’s going to be different this time? On a large scale, probably nothing. On a more personal scale, I’m changing a lot.No daily word count target.

No obsessing over every little panel or line of dialogueNo image references which take a surprising amount of time because lord knows when/if an artist will see itHaving funIt WAS fun. Mostly I was just writing for me because I realized that I can still write without the hopes or burden of feeling its not worth it if I can’t make it ‘real’. It felt freeing in a lot of ways and I can edit/take a breather for a month, two months, six months or a year before writing issue two. In truth, the liberty that knowing that I have no path to making a comic currently just removes a lot of responsibility from me and the deep urge of ‘MUST DO MOARRRRR’ not being there is remarkably freeing.When no one is interested in your writing, you have no one to answer to and that as I get older is a very cool thing. Would I leap at the chance to do more? Of course I would but that would never happen. I’m not going to be on anyone’s radar because currently there is no path available to the most key part of making comics.

Art.

I will never, ever, ever, EVER pay an artist for a comic again. Basically I can’t afford it so if I can’t afford it, I just don’t seek them out. I’m not going to bother someone with backend or KS or whatever. I’ve done that, time after time after time and its never worked. I’m so glad and respectful for those out there that can do it and are doing it but for me? Unless I win the lottery (which I don’t play) or manage that bank robbery (still need two more in my Matchett’s 11), I just can’t afford it.That leads to another type of freedom because dealing with an artist is STRESSFUL. I hope I can pick up the odd anthology gig which includes payment for creative teams and I can pick up work with artists that way. I believe artists should be paid for their time and work but I’ve just lost too much with minimal success (and investment beyond ‘here’s the work, now gimme the money) to keep throwing good money after bad.

A comic script without an artist is useless. So I’ll write scripts that are useless. No longer cause I have to but because I want to on MY schedule, on MY terms. Was the script any good? It was okay. I enjoyed it though and good lord did I miss my characters. Maybe I can have fun with a few other things I can bring out of mothballs. At worst, I’ll have fun and be in the same place I am now.At best, who knows? Life is funny like that.

More soon.