Welcome to February 2023’s first Comics Crowdfunding Round-Up! The column spotlights crowdfunding campaigns by queer creators, disabled creators, women creators, and creators of color, which we think are a great investment, whether for a one-shot story or a sprawling anthology. This week’s round-up includes Terry Moore‘s latest campaign, two anthologies, and a sapphic romance about badass women of color.
Are you ready to dive in? Let’s get going!
Terry Moore After Dark…
Creators: Terry Moore
Goal: $29,000
End Date: March 3, 2023
Goodies: Digital, softcover, or hardcover edition; Terry Moore collection digital bundle; Kickstarter exclusive signed hardcover with a variant cover, headshot remarque (artist’s choice of one of his characters), or an original 9″x12″ sketch from the book (artist’s choice); original art; original commission; and retailer bundle
The legendary creator of Strangers in Paradise returns with an art book of good girl illustrations and sexy pinups.
Published by Abstract Studio Comics, Terry Moore After Dark funded within seven minutes of its launch. “It was incredible to watch it all happen live,” Moore posted to the campaign’s page. “The first three stretch goals were met, giving the book high-quality paper, a ribbon bookmark, and spot gloss on the cover. So now the book is both beautiful and extremely well made. I love that.” Obviously, I and hundreds of other people have this feeling, but I am a HUGE Moore fan. How about you?
Onti: A Sapphic + Martial Arts Webcomic / Graphic Novel
Creators: Natalie Robinson
Goal: $14,452
End Date: March 15, 2023
Goodies: Digital wallpaper(s), digital thank you card + chosen name on thank you pages of the art book and future website, PDF art book (to be completed after the next few chapters), and character feature in Onti
An action-fantasy about three close friends and their martial arts journey, queer relationships, work-life, and dealing with corruption.
Onti is a long-form webcomic/graphic novel featuring a main cast of mostly queer Black characters who practice martial arts (primarily Capoeira) with elements. It is set in a fictional world inspired by Robinson’s Jamaican-Caribbean and British background, as well as “badass women of color” from the Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy games. Not only that, but the comic will feature queer POC women struggling with difficult emotions like depression and anxiety. The goal for Kickstarter is to allow Robinson to work full-time on the webcomic for at least two years so that the creator can get some considerable progress done on the project!
Sissonne’s Cheesecake for Charity Variant
Creators: Lee Newman, Shiro, Reinaldo Lay C, Steve Canon, Greg Deng, and Brian Cole
Goal:$400
End Date: March 3, 2023
Goodies: Crowdfundr exclusive spicy double cover, spicy cover for a cause (no logo), a digital copy of the comic, variant covers, catch-up bundle, and 5″ acrylic standee
Grand City: Home to heroes great and small! And then there’s Mark…
The creators of Sissonne aren’t doing a Shiro special cheesecake cover, the comic industry term for covers that depict characters in titillating scenarios, just for the laughs! Even better, the creators are doing a cheesecake variant to support LGBTQIA+ youth at risk, with $2 from every spicy cover and $10 from every spicy bundle will be donated to The Trevor Project!
Failure to Launch
Creators: Barbara Mazzi, Violet Kitchen, Helen Greetham, Iris Jay, Mari Rolin, Ashley Hasfal, Kelci D. Crawford, Katie Tiedrich, Dani Colman, Einar V. Másson, Victor Santiago, Bolu Oriowo, E. Altman, Nakata “Knack” Whittle, Cat Parra, Sam “SunnyShea” Roberts, Erin Keepers, Fend Hamilton, Rowan Oats, Skutch, Blue Delliquanti, Evan Dahm, Colin O’Mahoney, Triple Dream Comics, Tuisku H., Ryan Estrada, Aarón Cruz, Maddi Gonzalez, Alice Woods, Shannon Saar, J. Dalton, C.S. Garcia Martinez, Colton Fox, Harry “Hbomberguy” Brewis, Maki Naro, Matthew R. Francis, Ryan North, Kel McDonald, Lore Vicente, Erin Roseberry, and André Valente
Goal:$20,000
End Date: March 9, 2023
Goodies: PDF or physical copy
Failure to Launch is a light-hearted, non-fiction tour of (so far!) unrealized technological and societal advances promised in years past but which never came to be. What could have been but wasn’t.
From Iron Circus Comics and edited by Kel McDonald, Failure to Launch is a light-hearted, non-fiction tour of (so far!) unrealized technological and societal advances promised in years past but which never came to be. It tells tales of space utopias, incredible inventions, societal revolutions, and robot pets. Show your support for a diverse roster of creators from both indie and mainstream comics, including trans creators, as they tell the stories of dreams that just couldn’t get off the ground and become a reality! Read an exclusive excerpt from “Rats” by Estrada and Cruz.
Amongst the Stars Anthology
Creators: Rio Burton, Terri Susca, Caroline Leigh Lane, Ani-Mia, Jenny Odio, Vitalii Kalchenko, James Ferguson, Matt Krotzer, Brent Fisher, Seigfried, Fell Hound, Rachel Suhs, Paul Carroll, James Killian, Andrew Cramer, Matt Gaudio, Nahuel F.A., Travis B. Hill, Nick Caponi, Reed Hinckley-Barnes, Stonie Williams, Marco Del Forno, Damien Becton, Ben Humeniuk, Doug Wood, Federica Mancin, Marta Gasperoni, Kaytee Brown, Sarah Fletcher, Tango, Noah Stephens, Jack Lenihan, Miranda Leyson, Lindz McLeod, Taylor Esposito, C.J. Hudson, Syd Mills, and Mariateresa Susca
Goal: $20,000
End Date: March 17, 2023
Goodies: Digital or physical copy, name credit in the back of the book, trading cards, printable coloring book with B&W page from each story, PDF 5×7 print pack, variant covers, wham! stand, Band of Bards anthology collection, a unique cosplay pin-up cover featuring Ani-Mia, and a retail pack
A 110-page anthology of cosmic love stories told by indie comic creators. This romance/sci-fi anthology will get you in a loving mood.
From Band of Bards Comics comes Amongst the Stars, a galaxy of romance in 110 pages of comics presented in a perfect bound trade paperback printed on 70# paper with a thick 80# card stock cover by Comics Well Spring. The science fiction anthology will include 14 stories from a team of nearly 40 indie comics creators. Importantly, for this column, some of those science fiction romances are gay.
Here are some other already-funded crowdfunding projects worth checking out:
- Magic Powder Vol. 1
- The Complete Witchblade Volume 3
- Night is Falling: Volume One
- Is’nana the Were-Spider: Drums of Ogoun
And don’t forget to check out last week’s campaigns:
- A Thing Called Truth Vol. 2: Drive Home
- Octopus: A Memoir of Flailing
- Ten Thousand Beloved Communities
And finally, here are some projects that haven’t launched yet, but that look to be worth keeping an eye on:
- MechaTon #4 & 5: A Rule-of-Cool Comic with Mechs and Kaiju
- Cuca: A Horror Folktale Comic Book Mini-Series
- Land of Danger #1
- Boston Metaphysical Society: Mystery at Pikes Peak #1-2
- FOR MOLLY: Modern Fantasy Graphic Novel with Talking Dogs
Miss any of our previous Comics Crowdfunding Round-Ups? Check out the archive here!