Welcome back to The Beat‘s crowdfunding comics round-up, now a bi-weekly event! Every two weeks we’ll spotlight comics projects we think would be a great investment, whether it’s a one-shot story or a sprawling anthology. Today’s round-up includes a new volume of Reimena Yee’s Eisner-nominated graphic novel The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya, the Dirty Diamonds finale, and more.
Let’s get going!
1. Skychaser (A Make 100 Print and Zine)
Goal: $500 USD
Ends: Wed, February 5 2020 2:01 AM CST
Creators: Cameron Cummings
Low/High Tier $5 USD for a digital copy / $50 for a print, zine, and commission
Hi there! My name is Cameron Cummings and I’m a Freelance Sequential Artist tackling personal projects. One of these projects is a 12 page zine called ‘Skychaser’, featuring a little girl flying through the clouds. The zine itself is development for a larger project involving my love of flying, the ocean and traveling.
I can’t recommend the digital copy of this absolutely adorable-looking zine enough — it comes with animation files! The animated preview cover creator Cameron Cummings offers on the campaign page features gorgeous colors and the gentle animation is so soothing and lovely to watch. This is Cummings’ first Kickstarter, but it’s refreshing to see a creator be so candid and transparent about their prep work in the Risk and Rewards section.
You can back the campaign here.
2. Dirty Diamonds #10: Death (an all-girl comic anthology)
Goal: $15,000 USD
Ends: Fri, February 14 2020 10:59 PM CST
Creators: Anthology
Low/High Tier:: $15 for a pdf / $200 for a PDF, physical copy, and set of physical rewards
Dirty Diamonds is an award-winning all-girl comic anthology that features the semi-autobiographical work of female and femme comic creators from around the world. Each issue of this anthology series focuses on a central theme, and for our tenth and final installment will feature comics and artwork from 70 creators from 6 different countries, each highlighting different stories all about DEATH.
Dirty Diamonds is a powerhouse all-female/femme creator anthology, and while it’s tough to think about saying goodbye to editors Kelly Phillips’ and Claire Folkman’s 10-anthology series, you won’t want to miss out on this last installment. $15 will get you a PDF of Dirty Diamonds: Death featuring 70 creators; $200 will get you the digital and physical copies plus physical rewards like a pin, candle, patch, and canvas print. If you’re new to Dirty Diamonds, try the $45 tier, which will give you PDFs of all 10 installments of Dirty Diamonds (a stellar deal).
You can back the campaign here.
3. Ecatepunk: el cómic
Goal: Approx $1,596 USD
Ends: Sat, February 29 2020 11:59 PM CST
Creators: Joshua Hdz
Low/High Tier: Approx $6 USD for a digital copy / Approx $59 USD for a collection of Hdz’ work with additional physical rewards
“Ecatepunk” es una historia de un “Ecatepec después del fin del mundo”, así como lo lees, por si creías que las cosas no podían estar peor, esta historia imagina una distopia en un mundo ya azotado por el cambio climático, donde un chico al que llaman “El Tlacuache” busca cosas que sean útiles para sobrevivir en medio del caos. Una tarde encuentra una maquinita de videojuegos que cambia por completo su vida y la de quienes lo rodean.
Joshua Hdz’s art is stunning — the noxious green backgrounds of Ecatepunk and his slightly frenetic linework perfectly capture a dystopian, ecologically ravaged future he imagines for his home of Ecatepec de Morelos in Mexico. Hdz offers a preview of the complete initial draft of Ecatepunk in a link on the campaign page if you want to take a peek before purchasing. Approx $24 USD will net you Ecatepunk, a set of stickers, and a pin.
You can back the campaign here.
4. The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya: Volume II
Creators: Reimena Yee
In the second and final installment of the Eisner-nominated online graphic novel, we follow Zeynel, a carpet merchant turned vampire, as he travels across the West in search of home, after the passing of his wife, Ayse. Through a young English friend, Alfred Grimsley, Zeynel moves to a quiet town in Southeast England. There he finds himself at the centre of a fad for all things Turkish, grappling with the meaning of home as it is distorted by the lens of Orientalism.
Please kick your 2020 off right and back volume two of Reimena Yee’s absolutely stunning graphic novel, The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya. Yee is a powerful storyteller and an absolutely incredible illustrator — her colors and linework are breathtakingly beautiful down to the smallest detail. The original webcomic is available for free on her site, along with the print edition of volume one, but this collected print edition will have updated artwork and lettering.
You can back the campaign here.
5. Make 100: Weird Futures
Goal: $2,500 USD
Ends: Sun, February 9 2020 9:21 AM CST
Creators: Anthology by Austin MacDonald, Matt Emmons, and Bruno Perosino
Low/High Tier: $8 USD for a digital copy / $175 for the book and an original inked page from Matt Emmons’ “The Hunt for the Great Jewel.”
If you like your science fiction with a tinge of fantasy and a touch of weirdness, then you’re in the right place.
For me this anthology is the embodiment of the “I just think they’re neat” Simpsons meme, in the best way. I do just think it’s neat! This collection of three visually and thematically distinctive sci-fi stories run the gamut from more traditional action-adventure to delightfully surreal, and all of them look like extremely fun reads, particularly Austin MacDonald’s “All the Sun’s Children.” $24 USD will net you a physical and digital copy, plus a sticker pack.
You can back the campaign here.
