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 the Afro-fantasy series, Nani, taking another look at the Insider Art anthology, the graphic novel adaptation of Woodland Creatures, and more.
Let’s get started!
NANI – A Graphic Novel Inspired by African Mythology
Creators: Ziki Nelson (writer/creator), Jasonas Lamy (illustrator), Nyasha Mugavazi (editor), Cristina Alvarez (colorist), Bill Masaku (inker)
Goal: $13, 326
End date: October 1, 2020
Goodies: Backers at any level get an immediate download of the first 40 pages of volume 1, $12 pledges include full digital versions, and higher tiers include, swag, paperback versions, and more.
Nani is an epic fantasy comic about two sisters who find themselves transported to a magical world inspired by African myths and legends.
Nani is an Afro-fantasy series about two sisters thrown into an unfamiliar, magical world called Samma, which is specifically inspired by West African myths and legends. As they immerse themselves deeper into Samma and learn from their newfound mentor Laye, the sisters cultivate a new relationship with their heritage and begin to learn more about themselves. Anyone curious can check out a free digital preview at the link on the campaign page. Each of Nani’s two volumes come in at 140 pages, or 300 in the collected hardback edition.
GANGLAND ALLSTARS- A Trilogy of Digital Thrills
Creators: Abhay Khosla (writer), Alfredo Torres (artist), Diego Gueraa (artist), George Kambadais (artist)
Goal: $69
End date: September 29, 2020
Goodies: Grab digital versions of each comic for $2 a piece, the whole set for $8, or pledge higher for a look at annotated scripts.
Three Digital Comics Set in a Crime-Soaked Universe of Sin.
A tribute to the successes – and misgivings – of ‘80s genre comics, Gangland Allstars is a set of three digital only comics, focused on one-and-done thrillers. Born from a love of growing up with these pulpy floppies, they’re edited with an acknowledgement of their inherent angst, pretentiousness and problematic writing. Story-wise, Gangland Allstars follows a “Guy in a Car, On a Mission”, a “Violent Stewardess,” and a “Renegade Doctor Squad,” stemming from the hero/femme fatale/team set. As a bonus, each comic is accompanied by in-universe back matter, like ads, comics, movies, and more.
INSIDER ART
Creators: Shelly Bond (editor), Kris Simon (editor), Mariah McCourt (editor), Nicole Bosoe (editor), Chris Simon (editor), Elizabeth Brier (editor), Megan Brown (editor), Chrissy Williams (editor), Sofie Dodgson (editor), and many, many more
Goal: $25,000
End date: September 11, 2020Goodies: Pledge $20 for a softcover version of the anthology, or pledge higher for loot bags, postcards, and more.
A Print Compendium of Comics, Crafts & Cats
Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the comics community – like many other industries – struggled, especially in its marginalized spaces. Insider Art was created to answer that call for women and non-binary folx. With each section based on a different room of the house, it collects over 270 pages of shelter-in-place comics, created by over 150 comic pros. Insider Art made a digital run initially and raised over $5,000 for participating retailers, and is now looking to fund a print run that will compensate those creators who generously donated their time and talent to make this project a reality.
Woodland Creatures Wild Souls #1-2
Creators: Cristina Roswell (author), Tomás Aira (illustrator), Rafael Ruiz-Davila (script), Gonzalo Duarte (colorist)
Goal: $3,344
End date: October 1, 2020
Goodies: Grab a digital version for $7, a physical version for $14, and pledge more for back issues, postcards, and more.
Callie, a killer who’s mind-linked to a wolf, and Chris, a PTSD-suffering soldier, must stop the US army from weaponizing their kind.
An adaptation of a novel of the same name, Woodland Creatures tells the story of two lycanthropes who don’t turn into wolves, but instead can mind-link with one wolf specifically. It’s not long before the US Army general comes to learn of folx with this ability and, of course, attempts to oppress and weaponize them against foreign countries. This campaign is for the second volume of the series, but does allow backers to catch up on the first volume with its struggling protagonists and some spectacular art from Aira and Duarte.
Mark & Zark: Meet the Martian!
Creators: Dan Moynihan (author)
Goal: $700
End date: October 1, 2020
Goodies: A physical version of issue #1 is just $6, the latest issue is $9, or you can grab both for $14.
An all-ages comic about an Earthling kid who meets a Martian kid.
Mark & Zark is a sweet all-ages comic following the newfound friendship of a boy starting at a new school and a young martian starting life on a new planet. Together, they’ll navigate the trials and tribulations of being kids – and teach each other a little bit about what life on their respective planets is like. Moynihan is an artist with credits in Nickelodeon Magazine, Heeby Jeeby Comix, and more. You can check out the first issue of this story here.
Dragon Nanny
Creators: Justin Currie (artist)
Goal: $17,448
End date: October 1, 2020
Goodies: A digital copy is $10, the physical GN itself is $23, and higher pledges include coloring sheets, art prints, and more.
It’s up to a lone robot and his to find the hidden dragon eggs on a slumbering world and restart the cycle of life!
It’s hard to look at Currie’s artwork and not immediately get drawn in. Dragon Nanny boasts a pastoral, painterly aesthetic with fantasy and sci-fi vibes peppered in for good measure. It tells the story of an alien world, where a determined little robot setting out to save dragons from extinction by finding and hatching as many eggs as it can. The 100+ page graphic novel will also include behind-the-scenes content, tutorials, and concept art – all to help inspire future generations of artists who may be reading!
And don’t forget to check out last week’s ongoing campaigns:
- Indigi-Show 2020: A Modern Indigenous Art Convention
- Ma’Ari #4: Paranormal Mystery
- HAWI #1-2: Epic African Fantasy Story
- The Moonstone Diadem by Angela O’Hara
- God Puncher Vol. 1 “Tim Finnly: Wanted!”
Loving these recent round ups on crowdfunding. It’s really great to finally have a resource that highlights stuff i would have never found otherwise, so thank you. I’ve backed a few good ones on the indigogo platform too. Do you have any plans to cover some of the crowdfunding projects there too or is your series solely focused on Kickstarter projects?
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