SDCC 2012: iVerse Starts Their Own Comics-Specific Crowdfunding (Think Kickstarter) Platform

By Todd Allen

Well, somebody’s upping their game today.  iVerse, known for their Comics+ app and partnership with Diamond Digital has just announced “Comics Accelerator” — a comics-specific crowdfunding platform.  “Crowdfunding” is the technical term for sites like Kickstarter and IndieGogo.

Indeed, iVerse would be in a position to speed up digital fulfillment.  That $2,500 cap on their fee is also very, very interesting.  More to come, I expect.  I will say this right now: I’m looking at the Comics Accelerator website and I’m seeing logos for Broadsword Comics, Fierce Comics, IDW and SLG.

Official PR:

IVERSE LAUNCHES “COMICS ACCELERATOR,” THE CROWDSOURCE FUNDING

PLATFORM EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE COMICS COMMUNITY

New Initiative Furnishes Tools to Fund Projects Faster

and With Greater Financial Reward

(July 12, 2012—Waco, TX) – iVerse Media, creators of some of the world’s most

popular and widely used technologies for reading and distributing digital comics,

announced today the launch of Comics Accelerator (www.comicsaccelerator.com),

an innovative crowdsourcing initiative designed to bring more new projects to market

more quickly, while providing comics creators, publishing partners and related content

producers opportunities to retain a greater percentage of monies raised.

“Unlike other crowdsourcing avenues, Comics Accelerator was designed so that the

vast majority of funds raised go directly to the project being supported, not the website

managing the process,” said Michael Murphey, iVerse CEO. “Project creators will

also have ready access to iVerse’s pioneering expertise in digital content development

and delivery, as well as a suite of targeted marketing tools that simplify and speed the

funding – and subsequent sales – of their finished products.”

Created expressly for the comics community, Comics Accelerator differs from other

crowdsource funding models in a number of significant ways, including:

• Publisher Hubs – A single destination where a publisher’s fans can find all their latest projects and at which all social marketing related to a project can be centralized.
• Digital Reward Delivery – Immediate fulfillment of digital incentives to backers after a project has been funded, through iVerse’s proprietary ComicsPlus digital comics platform.
• Reserve Funding Option – Project creators may set a reserve goal so that they can choose to accept funds from supporters if they get close enough to their original target to proceed with production.

But perhaps the most drastic difference offered by Comics Accelerator concerns fees.  Like other platforms, Comics Accelerator charges 5% of a project’s attained funding (though creators may also take advantage of iVerse expertise, marketing support and other added value benefits like those cited above). Unlike other platforms, however, Comics Accelerator caps its fee at $2,500 per project. “We saw how successful some projects had been on other sites,” said Murphey, “ and then saw how big a chunk the site was taking. I couldn’t help but think that all those contributors thought they were actually contributing to the project – not the site. Sure, we’ve got costs, but we’re looking to grow this industry fairly and responsibly. We think that publishers and creators should receive as much as possible if one of their projects hits it big!”

iVerse consulted with a number of publishers and creative teams in the development of Comics Accelerator and is already pursuing opportunities to broaden the nature and variety of projects that are brought to fans. “Limited edition hardcovers, ‘one day only’ variants, digital singles/printed trade combinations – they’re all fair game,” said Steve May, iVerse Director of Business Development.

“We’re also determined to remain non-exclusive,” added May. “Project creators can run a Kickstarter campaign simultaneously to their Comics Accelerator efforts. Whatever accelerates the making of good comics.”