Welcome to this week’s installment of The Beat’s Comics Crowdfunding Round-Up! This week we’ve got five high-quality projects from well-known creators and publishers from various backgrounds, from a Gideon Falls t-shirt raising some money for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine to an incredible funk anthology raising awareness about thre musicians who defined the genre. Let’s get right to it!

WE CAN FUNK!

We Are Funk crowdfunding

Creators: David F. Walker, Stephanie Williams, Jim Mafhood, Joe Eisma, Gary Phillips, Joseph Illidge, Meredith Laxton, Uko Smith, TC Harris, Greg Burnham, Hannibal Tabu, Julian Voloj, and Fabrice Sapolsky
Goal: $35,000
End Date: May 24, 2022
Goodies: An anthology and funky cookbook, enamel pins, bookplates, bronze and gold membership to MPLS Museum, Vinyl picture disc, and WE CAN FUNK tote bag.

A graphic journey in2 Funk Music from James Brown to Prince!

This campaign is brought to you by the same team who created Noir is the New Black and is spearheaded by our ambassador Jellybean Johnson (original member of THE TIME and THE FAMILY/F-DELUXE, drummer and guitar player, co-founder of the MPLS Sound Museum), WE CAN FUNK! includes stories about the finest musicians ever born. The funk artists included in this anthology are Prince, George Clinton, Cameo, Teena Marie, Sly Stone, Zapp, and more! If you enjoyed MPLS Sound by Illidge, Tabu, Laxton, Tan Shu, Troy Peteri, and Ryan Lewis, then this is the Kickstarter to back this week.

And let’s not forget the B-side! A funky cookbook! Prepared by French chef and Funk fanatic Sarah Benlolo, THE FUNKY COOKBOOK brings 50+ recipes inspired by the Legends of Funk. A sweet and savory treat illustrated by Compton based artist Marcus Newsome. Here are a few examples: The James Brownie, The Teena-Marie-Su, Sly & the Family Scones, etc.

Become a backer here. 

Slice of Life #1-2 – Queer WEBTOON with an Anime Twist

Slice of Life 1 and 2

Creators: Kat Calamia and Phil Falco (co-creators), Taylor Esposito (letterer), Valeria Peri (artist), Brant Fowler (graphic designer), Garth Matthams (WEBTOON letterer)
Goal: $12,000
End Date: May 5, 2022
Goodies: A 52-page comic book that will also contain a 5-page exclusive story, a Lady Vengeance plush doll, trading cards, a sticker pack, and variant covers.

Gritty anime protagonist, Lady Vengeance, comes to life and falls in love with a high school cheerleader.

Queer content, cheerleaders, and metafiction are always a great combination… And who can resist the Rafi de Sousa cover with the pansexual flag, lesbian flag, and recently redesigned Pride flag ALL on display? Not me. The campaign page describes the queer romance as a deconstruction of the “slice of life” genre, “unpacking the importance of everyday narratives to tell a larger story about the meaning of life from the POV of a fictional character.”

Some of the first comic books I read as a kid were during dance rehearsals, and if comics were as acceptable as today, I  would have kept reading them in high school during cheerleading practice. The printed edition of the webseries is a perfect gift if you know someone who wants a comic to read during the commutes to a cheer competition.

Become a backer here. 

Gideon Falls #1 UNICEF Tee

Gideon Falls Unicef

Jeff Lemire posted on his Substack that he would be donating to humanitarian crisis in the Ukraine. Although this is not a traditional crowdfunding project, it is a worthy cause, consider donating! Lemire wrote, “Andrea and I wanted to do something to raise some money for the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine so we are offering this Gideon Falls T-shirt with 100% of our profits going to Unicef. Thanks for the support and please consider helping out if you can. I will also be donating 100% of my profits from any of my original artwork sold through Cadence for the next two months.”

Become a backer here.

Moonspawn and the Defenders of the Dark #0

Moonspawn and the Defenders of the Dark crowdfunding

Creators: Adam Barnhardt, Alex Ogle, San Espina, Rolands Kalnins, Jerome Gagnon, Hernan Gonzalez, Stonie Williams, Nicolas Santos, Marta Gasperoni, LetterSquids, Marco Ventura, Stefano Cardoselli, Drew Pritchett, Juan Angel, Samir Simao
Goal: $3,500
End Date: May 9, 2022
Goodies: 

Horror, comedy, and superheroes mix in a five-story anthology taking readers into terrifying worlds unknown.

If you are pop culture nerd then you’ve probably read some of Barnhardt’s writing before and now the journalist is heading into the world of SH*TSHOW. In total, Moonspawn and the Defenders of the Dark #0 includes five stories by a dozen creators. Together they tie together and set up the Moonspawn and the Defenders of the Dark mini-series. 

Become a backer here. 

FOREST FOLK Vol 1-2. Quirky Animal Comic Strips for All Ages

Forest Folk crowdfunding

Creators: Dax Gordine (author, artist)
Goal: $11, 892
End Date: May 5, 2022
Goodies: Kickstarter Exclusive Limited Edition, 2″ Limited Edition collector coin featuring Thomas, 8 x 11 in. signed print of Filburt and Thomas, and a patch of Filburt.

NEW BOOK: Vol.2, BANDS & SHENANIGANS. Sunday Funnies crash headlong into Looney Tunes. Whimsically madcap misadventures of a Fox & Elf.

Go on a second adventure with Filburt the Fox, a jokester and a know-it-all with a knack for finding trouble. Lucky for Filbert, he has a best friend, Thomas, a happy-go-lucky elf, whose magic drawing quill can conjure the solution to any of their woes–well, most of the time. The rest of the cast includes Barry Bearista, Grumpy Cat Gus, and Benni the Bunny. This project is for fans of Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson and MUTTS by Patrick McDonnell and can be checked out for free at ForestFolkComic.com.

Skottie Young, who worked with Gordine on Marvel Comics Giant-Sized Little Marvels Infinity Comic along with colorist Jean-Francious Beaulieu and letterer Nate Piekos, gives Forest Folk his stamp of approval, saying on the campaign page, “You’re going to experience all the charm, humor, and cartoon mastery that no one Dax’s age should have. But he does.”

Become a backer here. 

Here are some already-funded projects worth checking out:

Last Week’s Crowdfunding Projects

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

Crowdfunding to Come

And finally, here are some crowdfunding projects that haven’t launched yet, but that look to be worth keeping an eye on:

Miss any of our previous Comics Crowdfunding Round-Ups? Check out the archive here!

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR