This one is a heavy-hitting week in indie comics and pop culture. You won’t want to miss this Crowdfunding Round-Up!
FLESH & STEEL Vol.1
Creators: Warrick Walker (Creator/Writer), Kevin Cataniero (writer/Artist), Simon Kercz (Artist), Facundo Lopez (Writer/Artist), Dave Peloe (Writer/Artist), Erwin Papa (Artist), Marcus Georgiou (Writer/Artist), Vlad Legostaev (Artist), Raymar Brunson (Writer/Artist), Clayton Rozman (Writer), Mauricio Leyzaola (Artist), Eric Rivera (Artist), Bryan Dominguez (writer), Esa Espantapajaros (Artist), Mykell Pledger (Writer/Artist), Alec Morgan (Artist).
Goal: $4,000
End Date: September 3, 2026
Goodies: Get the digital copy for $12, the physical for $25, and the retailer bundle for $60.
A fantasy-themed comic book anthology forged in Blood and Ink.
Indie sword and sorcery has captured a lot of my attention lately. I think back to THE CONSUMED as just one of the many successful benchmarks the genre has found on Kickstarter, and I’m happy to say FLESH & STEEL is now part of that same success.
The project is an ongoing comic book anthology written by Warrick Walker alongside several other creators, with multiple stories and artists scattered throughout this beautiful project. Yes, I do mean beautiful. If you don’t think the same after taking your first look at the cover art by Ewan McLaughlin, paired with one of the grittiest logos by Bob Kurthy, then I don’t think we’re looking at the same comic.
And if that isn’t enough, a look through the various preview pages should be more than enough to get you there. I mean, genuinely, Walker and Kevin Cataniero’s story, A Simple Job, featuring a shrouded jungle man staring down from the trees at the fools who dare hunt him, looks like something I would compare to Daniel Warren Johnson’s work. Then there’s Walker and Legostaev’s Old Bones, where the art feels as though it was ripped straight out of Mike Mignola’s own sketchbook.
From what I’ve seen so far, FLESH & STEEL looks like the kind of anthology that understands exactly what makes sword and sorcery so fun and compelling: grim worlds, dangerous characters, and art that makes you want to stop and stare at every page.
I have gone way past my word limit, so let me be clear: do not miss out on this project.
Seth Green’s Freshmen: 20th Anniversary Hardcover Edition
Creators: Top Cow Productions (Publisher)
Goal: $
End Date: September 17, 2026
Goodies: Get the digital copy for $15, the physical copy for $39, or the premium bundle for $75. Higher tiers also include the Freshman Deluxe Savings Bundle for $99.
Seth Green and Hugh Sterbakov’s superpowered tale in a collected hardcover graphic novel that includes an all-new one-shot.
This one has been one in the making for a long time, twenty years after its debut, Freshmen is returning with Freshmen: 20th Anniversary Hardcover Edition, a collection that celebrates the cult superhero comedy while presenting an all-new story from co-creators Seth Green and Hugh Sterbakov. The original series followed a group of freshmen at Freese College whose lives changed after the Ax-Cell-Erator explosion gave them unusual powers tied to what they were thinking about at the time.
Now, the new Freshmen: 20th Anniversary Reunion Special catches up with those characters two decades later, bringing former classmates and friends together to explore how their adulthood, old relationships, friendships, and unfinished business have changed them since their superpowered college days.
La Borinqueña 10th Anniversary
Creators: Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez (Creator)
Goal: $5,000
End Date: July 30, 2026
Goodies: get the variant cover bundle for $60, the 5-book bundle of issue #1 for $100, the 5-book bundle signed for 4125, or at higher tiers, get the #1 cover collection for $200
The independently published and Eisner-Award winning superhero comic series LA BORINQUEÑA is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and to commemorate we’re reprinting La Borinqueña #1 (2016) with 10 different limited-edition covers by superstar artists!
There are plenty of reasons to check out La Borinqueña, but honestly, the fact that this series has spent the last decade proving superheroes can be about more than just punching villains should be enough. Created by Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, the Eisner Award-winning series celebrates Puerto Rican identity, culture, history, and community, and this 10th anniversary campaign gives readers a chance to celebrate where it all began with a special reprint of La Borinqueña #1 featuring 10 limited-edition covers from an incredible lineup of artists, including Ariel Jesús Colón, Manuel Preitano, Juan Paolo Cagampang, Kei Zama, Chris Sotomayor, Humberto Ramos, Edgar Delgado, Elena Casagrande, Dave Wilkins, and more.
What really makes this campaign stand out is what happens beyond the pages. Through the La Borinqueña Grant Awards, the project has already contributed more than $250,000 to nonprofits throughout Puerto Rico, with a portion of the money raised through this anniversary campaign continuing that philanthropic work. That gives this campaign something I always love seeing in crowdfunding: the chance to support a great comic while knowing your contribution can also make an impact outside of it.
Ex.Mag Volume 7
Creators: Patrick Crotty (Creator)
Goal:
End Date: September 14, 2026
Goodies: Get the digital copy for $16, the physical for $24, the dustjacket bundle for $41, or at higher tiers get the retailer bundle for $246!
The 7th volume of Ex.Mag. An Eisner-nominated and award winning genre-based anthology series from Peow2. The Genre: Witch
Ex.Mag has been mentioned in the Round-Up before, and honestly, it is hard not to include it whenever I come across the beautiful covers and artwork packed into each release. Yet, the award-winning comics anthology always finds a way to bring something new to the table with every volume. The best part? Each release takes on an entirely new genre, and this time around, Volume 7 is all about MAGICK. Spanning more than 300 pages, the collection is printed on dark pthalo green and cursed rust paper and features more than 11 comics alongside a dedicated illustration section. I mean, genuinely, what an incredible project to stumble across on Kickstarter, and an even better reminder of just how much creativity is coming out of the independent press. Make sure you check this project out.
LOBA LOCA, a graphic novel by Run and Guillaume Singelin
Creators: Label 619 Magnetic Press (Publisher), Guillaume “Run” Renard (Writer), Guillaume Singelin (Artist)
Goal: $7,500
End Date: September 4, 2026
Goodies: Get the digital copy for $12, the softcover for $25, the deluxe hardcover for $39, or at higher tiers, get the Loba Loca Limited Edition Slipcase for $75.
Legendary wrestlers become unwitting heroes in the twisted world of MFKZ.
The 2017 animated feature film MFKZ is a direct screen adaptation of the multi-volume graphic novel series of the same name, created by French artist Guillaume “Run” Renard. Both the comic and the film share the same core characters, dystopian setting of Dark Meat City, and central premise surrounding Angelino, a young man who discovers that he is half-alien.
The comic and feature film have both won multiple awards, so imagine my surprise when Loba Loca popped up on Kickstarter- even better, to learn it was about Legendary wrestlers becoming heroes in the same messed-up world of MFKZ. I was enamored, not only because of the clear Latino roots that surround the story, but also because of Dark Meat Ctites: seventeen-year-old Guadalupe “Guada” Mayflower as she comes to terms with her family’s true past in search of her own future. Apart from the amazing artwork and stellar story, this is a project that can be yours for just $25, which will lead to even larger projects from these groundbreaking creators. Do yourself a favor and check this project out before it’s too late.
For more from The Beat’s Crowdfunding Round-Up, check out our archived posts here!
