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! We’ve got several anthologies this week including COSMIC SUMMER, 4 PAGES: 16 BARS and PROJECT: BIG HYPE, each with their own exciting lineup of creators and focuses.
Let’s get started!
COSMIC SUMMER – A Sci-Fi Vacation Anthology
Creators: Abbigayle Bircham (artist), Anna Bohac (artist), B Grieveson (artist), Charlie Sparks, Chief Schubert (artist), Scottie Jolly (artist), Samn Judge & Soph Price (artist/writer power couple), Raphael Cush (illustrator), Mara C. Moon (letterer, artist)
Goal: $3,972
End date: March 17, 2021
Goodies: Grab a virtual edition for $7, go print for $14, or pledge more for stickers and postcards.
A collection of short and sweet sci-fi comics and art full of fun summer vibes.
From Rat Pack Collective, the team behind Myth & Lesbians and Faemarket comes Cosmic Summer. This 52-page anthology is all about a cruise ship in space called the Alula and the stories of all the folks onboard. Across 8 full-color stories, backers will meet alien hitchhikers, mercs on vacation, romantic robots, and more. Cosmic Summer is an all-ages anthology, and likely a great investment for bored students – and adults – stuck at home.
4 Pages 16 Bars: A Visual Mixtape
Creators: Jiba Molei Anderson (publisher), Griot Enterprises
Goal: $3,000
End date: March 17, 2021
Goodies: Grab the digital version for $6, go physical for $25, or pledge more for back issues, an art book, and more.
An anthology series showcasing true diversity in the comic book industry.
4 Pages 16 Bars is returning for its sixth volume. Publisher Jiba Molei Anderson is continuing this series’ tradition of highlighting the names in comes you don’t hear about, and the art styles that exist outside the mainstream. Volume six will come to 126-pages and features work from nearly 20 creators of color including Sheeba Maya, Crystal Gonzalez, and more.
PROJECT: Big Hype
Creators: Doug Wood (editor) Big Hype Comics
Goal: $6,000
End date: March 19, 2021
Goodies: Grab any short in PDF for just $1, get the whole thing for $15, go physical for $25, or pledge more for postcard art.
A 300-page manga sized book-Shonen Jump for western comics.
PROJECT: Big Hype – like many of this week’s campaigns – is an anthology, albeit with some inspirations from manga, and Shonen Jump specifically. Big Hype is bringing together 72 creators for this project, totaling 24 unique stories over 300 black-and-white pages. As you can guess, that extensive lineup means a wide range of stories including, but not limited to, giant robots, huge swords, gunslingers, Hamlet references, and much more. For creator bios and teaser images, make sure to head over to the campaign page now.
I Am Hexed: Issue #4
Creators: Kirsten Thompson (writer), Amagoia Agirre (artist), Taylor Esposito (letterer)
Goal: $10,000
End date: March 18, 2021
Goodies: Grab the PDF for $5, go physical for $15, or check out higher tiers for back issues, exclusive Kickstarter variants, and more.
Equality is Magic: A comic book about the ongoing political struggles of modern day witches.
I Am Hexed is returning to The Beat’s crowdfunding column for its fourth and final issue. The series is a supernatural political thriller, incorporating witches into the ominous bureaucracy that is government. When this issue picks up, we find the hunt for our main cast of witches is still brewing, and it won’t be long before they realize the evil chasing close behind comes from inside and outside the government. Catch up, or jump in with the final issue of I Am Hexed and see how the cards fall.
The Tessellation #1
Creators: Mike Phillips (writer), Hernán González (artist), Javi Laparra (colorist), Julian Darius (letterer), Steven Legge (letterer)
Goal: $2,250
End date: March 19, 2021
Goodies: Get a download for $3, get physical for $13, or pledge more for behind-the-scenes content, additional Martian Lit comics, and more.
30-page first issue of a unique infinite-realities comic! It’s SLIDING DOORS meets THE GAME in the multiverse.
The Tessellation is another iteration of a familiar idea: what if every decision you made branched into another parallel universe? Of course many comics fans have seen this story played out, the team is taking a new approach with format. Instead of a story being told entirely on one page, The Tessellation divides several possibilities into one strip on every page, meaning readers can engage with every story at once, or read them all the way through one at a time.
Here some great, already funded projects:
- The Hostage: A Graphic Novel by Sal Abbinanti
- The Saddest Angriest Black Girl in Town
- Major Holmes & Captain Watson #3-4: Detective series FINALE!
- Gaining STEAM!: Illuminating Research through Art
- Goodbye, Battle Princess Peony
And don’t forget to check out last week’s campaigns!