Welcome to The Beat’s crowdfunding round-up: a collection of some of our favorite campaigns from the week including one-shots, on-goings, anthologies and everything in-between! This week, we’re checking out Afua Richardson’s The Book of Mer, the brand-new Bittersweet Candy Bowl omnibus, Pop Kill and more.

Let’s get started!


The Rotted Lyre and Apocrypha #1: A Discordia Winter Special

rotted lyre

Creators: Kristopher Jerome (writer), Patrick Buermeyer (artist), Sam Blanchard (artist), Sam Espina (artist), Toben Racicot (letterer), Dark Tidings Press
Goal: $3,000
End date: December 30, 2020
Goodies: Both PDFs are $8, print versions are $17, and other tiers include maps, back issues, and more.

Two Discordia spin-offs to chill your blood before winter arrives.

Here with a little holiday horror is The Rotted Lyre and Apocrypha: the former is a collection of poems, legends and folktalkes illustrated by a variety of artists, and the latter is the first in a series of stand-alone one-shots. Both take place in the world of Discordia which, ICYMI, launched earlier this year from Dark Tidings Press. Check out one or both of these series, along with the main title, in a variety of tiers over at the campaign page. 

Become a backer here.

The Bittersweet Candy Bowl Omnibus

bittersweet candy bowl

Creators: Veronica Vera, Oliver Bareham (authors)
Goal: $40,000
End date: January 1, 2021
Goodies: Grab an eBook for $29, the physical omnibus for $49, or pledge more for a signed copy, deluxe edition, and more.

A sweet little comic about high school drama — completely revamped.

Bittersweet Candy Bowl is back in a big way – the biggest way, honestly. For the first time ever, the webcomic is being collected into one massive omnibus. Not only that, but the series is being redrawn, reworded, recolored, and remastered. For the uninitiated, BCB is a webcomic that began around 2006, inspired by strips like Garfield and following high schoolers through lighthearted fun and psychological drama. Check it now on Webtoon. 

Become a backer here.

Aquarius the Book of Mer

book of mer

Creators: Afua Richardson (author)
Goal: $25,000
End date: January 8, 2021
Goodies: Grab the audio book and eBook for $5, a physical copy for $10, or pledge more for Kickstarter exclusive variants, musical audio tracks, and more. 

A modern retelling of Mermaid myth and aquatic legends from the world over. A new series from Image comics by Afua Richardson.

Eisner-winning creator Afua Richardson is taking her next series to Kickstarter for a multi-media experience. Aquarius the Book of Mer is being released by Image in May of 2021, and this campaign is aiming to fund the first issue, along with music produced, performed, and written by Richardson, along with a slew of talent including Run DMC’s Darryl McDaniels. The series itself follows the lesser-known iterations of the mermaid mythology. For more, check out Richardson’s show-stopping art on the campaign page.

Become a backer here.

Palmiotti & Johnson’s POP KILL Issues #3 & #4 FINALE

pop kill

Creators: Jimmy Palmiotti (writer), Dave Johnson (writer), Juan Santacruz (illustrator), Brian Reber (colorist), Sean Konot (letterer), John J. Hill (designer)
Goal: $32,000
End date: December 25, 2020
Goodies: Grab a PDF for $10, get physical versions for $35, or pledge more for back issues, variants, and more.

 The last two issues of POP KILL- a comic book series created by Jimmy Palmiotti, Dave Johnson and Juan Santacruz.

 Pop Kill is back with its final two issues in this campaign; the adult mini-series takes place in a world where the two most preeminent Cola companies are run by twins dead set on murdering the other by any means necessary. It’s corporate espionage, assassination – and pop! On the rewards side, the team has enlisted talent like Bill Sienkiewicz and Amanda Conner for exclusive backer variants, along with sticker sets and mystery prints.   

Become a backer here.

The Psychedelic Singularity

The Psychedelic Singularity

Creators: Shen Leidigh (author), Ben Schipper (lettering), Corey Godbey (editor)
Goal: $12,000
End date: January 4, 2020
Goodies: The physical book is $35, plus with higher pledges you can snag prints, limited editions, and more.

A 170-page full color Graphic Novel about friendship, futurism, and magic.

Check out the name, and you know what you’re getting into. The Psychedelic Singularity is a nature-inspired story of the near-future; a trippy ride including characters like a sentient cluster of cellphones, a mysterious figure from legend known Mother Mushrooms, and more. Leidigh has already written, composed, penciled and inked all 170 pages, and has coloring underway. Check that out on the campaign page, and look for it to debut in November of next year. 

Become a backer here.

Halftone Horrors: The History of Horror Movie Comic Books!

horrorhound

Creators: HorrorHound Publishing
Goal: $25,000
End date: December 16, 2020
Goodies: Grab a digital version for $25, a hardcover version for $35, or pledge more for comic sets, shirts, and more.

A 240 Page Hardcover Guide to the World of Horror Film Comic Adaptations.

Fans of horror movies, rejoice: Halftone Horrors is here to collect the story of horror movies and how they’ve trickled over into sequential art, as well as how to find your own copies of these little-known adaptations. This massive compendium has been extensively researched and with your help, it can catalog an important niche of entertainment history. The book is ready to go, and only needs the funding in order to be printed; if all goes well, it’ll be in your hands next Spring.

Become a backer here.


And don’t forget to check out last week’s projects: