Is Kickstarter Dead?
A State of the Union. Plus: An ode to letter columns!
Hey, there! Periodic reminder that I’m Clay Adams, writer of BLAZING BLADE OF FRANKENSTEIN and DREAMQUEST, co-writer of PRODIGAL SON (in stores now!) and CARMILLA UNBOUND, and co-editor of the NIGHTMARE THEATER horror anthology. You probably signed up for this newsletter on one of those Kickstarters… or maybe we met at a signing or con? In any event, glad you’re here. Pull up a seat, grab a beverage of your choice, and feast your eyes on the latest news…
How’s that for a clickbait title?
I’ll get to the meat of this post in a sec, but first…
Final Week for BLAZING BLADE OF FRANKENSTEIN
Over at the campaign for BLAZING BLADE OF FRANKENSTEIN 1-4, you’re proving that Kickstarter is very much UNdead!
As our way of saying thanks, we’re unlocking 1 free (digital) book for every 50 backers who join us--so the more backers we get the more free books you get.
Right now, that means you’ve unlocked 5 bonus books…but we are thisclose to unlocking a sixth.
The Bonus Bundle will go out to everyone who backs at the Digital Deluxe ($10) tier and above.
So far we unveiled Boston Metaphysical Society #1 courtesy of Madeleine Holly-Rosing, Like Father, Like Daughter #1 courtesy of Kat Calamia, Blood of Atlantis #1 courtesy of Jon Auerbach, and Evie and the Helsings #1 courtesy of Steve Bryant.
Our latest unlock will be announced soon…but will it have a mate? We are closing in on 300 backers, our next milestone.
If you haven’t joined us yet, you can help us hit it!
Meanwhile…
I’ve been finalizing the lettering for the book this week, which includes our letters page, “Burning Questions.”
Longtime readers of Fried Comics know I'm a sucker for a good letters page.
Whenever I find myself thumbing through the back issues of my childhood collection, I rarely re-read the comics themselves... but I always take a minute to check out the fan reaction at the end of the book.
This was often the best part, where readers sounded off, hotly debated pressing topics of the day, and occasionally even became as famous as the creators.
(Sometimes I feel sorry for any comic fan who doesn't know the name TM Maple--look it up, kids!)
Alas, much like video killed the radio star, the internet seems to have lopped of the bloody head of the letters page.
Why write a lengthy missive to a comic book when you can send a snarky tweet?
But thankfully, many of you have chosen to write in to Burning Questions. I get more mail about this particular book than any others I write.
And the latest to hit my inbox brings up a (burning) question that I thought some of you might be interested in, especially those of you concerned with the current state of Kickstarter.
So here’s a little excerpt from Issue 4.
Robert writes:
I recently came across your Kickstarter campaign for BLAZING BLADE OF FRANKENSTEIN, and I just wanted to say what an absolutely epic concept. The fusion of classic horror and sword-swinging fantasy is bold, imaginative, and incredibly well-executed. It’s clear a lot of passion and talent has gone into building this world.
I’m always inspired when I see creators pushing boundaries like this. If I may ask—what’s been the biggest challenge or learning curve for you while running this campaign? I’d love to hear more about your journey with it.
Do you mean the challenges of crowdfunding or the challenges of making a comic, Robert? Because, hoo boy, there are plenty of both!
On the crowdfunding side, you have the fact that the marketplace is very different from when this book first launched.
Back then, we were still in our Covid Era, with plenty of time to shop the web and plenty of government stimulus money to spend. My, how times have changed.
Back then, a great pitch and a killer project image were pretty much all you needed to get a book funded--and overfunded.
Now it’s a little different, with the economy cooling down and everyone and their mother launching a Kickstarter campaign.
And it’s not just indie creators who are turning to crowdfunding. Established brands and high-profile names are becoming more and more common on the platform.
Heck, horror director Eli Roth, he of the Hostel franchise (among others), just announced his intention to crowdfund future films.
And good for them!
I’m a big believer that a rising tide lifts all boats.
But the reality is that people have a limited budget, and sometimes a backer has to make a hard choice: “Do I get this big Transformers compendium that I know I want or do I support an indie comic that I may or may not like?”
I don’t blame anyone for getting that Transformers compendium. But it does make my job tougher.
On the creative side, making comics is always a challenge.
Sometimes the creative team you so carefully put together doesn’t gel or gets other opportunities and you have to scramble to replace them.
When I suddenly found myself needing an artist for last issue, I wasn’t excited about the prospect of doing a talent search.
Lucky for all of us, Mick’s enthusiasm for the material and a shared frame of reference persuaded me to test him. We had already worked well together on DREAMQUEST, and I thought his pulpy take might be a good match for the title.
In the end, it turned into a pretty big creative overhaul, as the entire DREAMQUEST team came over to BBoF. It was a difficult decision, but ultimately the best thing for the long-term health of the book.
I hope that answers your questions, Robert. Thanks for reading--and for writing!
Bringing it Full Circle (Because We Don’t Do Anything Halfway—Not Even Circles)
No, Kickstarter isn’t dead. Obviously!
It’s just a different landscape, and like all creatures, we have to adapt or die.
If only there was a podcast to help us navigate that landscape.
Oh, hey, completely unrelated, on a recent episode of the ComixLaunch podcast, I had a great chat with creator George O’Connor, a prolific writer and creator active in the Boston film and comics community, about his journey on Kickstarter.
Highlights of This Session Include:
The X factor that helped unlock creative success for George.
George’s marketing strategies that work with a crowdfunding focus.
Why every creator needs a little Ted Lasso in them!
Plus: Tyler James teases the upcoming ComixLaunch Comic Book Crowdfunding Planner!
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE COMIXLAUNCH PODCAST
Back soon to talk about anthologies. As a guy who’s helped put together a couple, I have some ideas about how you can get published…
-Clay
All comic creators should listen to George and Clay. Full stop.
Oh hey, a bunch of my favorite people together in one newsletter! I have to say, you had me a little worried there about Kickstarter. Sometimes I wonder if I can keep up with everything and how much it's changing. It makes me glad that our community is so rad and that we have so many great people to help each other out!