Welcome to The Beat‘s comics crowdfunding round-up for the week of August 8th! This week, we have indie comics campaigns from across three crowdfunding platforms—Crowdfundr, Kickstarter, and Zoop. The more, the merrier, am I right? As usual, I think the world’s creators have dreamed up some interesting stories that bibliophiles won’t want to miss from vampire roller derby to space gays!

Without further adieu, let’s get into The Beat‘s comics crowdfunding round-up for this week!

Ricochet and the Fangz: Roller Derby Vampire Comic Book

Ricochet and the Fangz: Roller Derby Vampire Comic Book Comics Crowdfunding Round-Up

Creators: Emily Alvarez (artist) and Jake Smith (writer)
Goal: $3,500
End Date: August 31, 2022
Goodies: Copy of the book, exclusive Alvarez-designed tee, keychain, sticker sheet, and 30x16inch movie-style poster

Ricochet and the Fangz is a fun, fast-paced story about The Harpies, a badass team of tight-knit roller derby chicks.

People tell me that roller derby is about loving your strengths and appreciating what your body does for you (not what it looks like). So I’ve always wanted to try roller derby, but I’ve never had the chance, living vicariously through comics about badass roller derby teams. Generally not teams from 2005, however, because those “thots” are too cool for school Ollie (I’ve never let myself being too uncool for something stop me from supporting something before though, so why would I now?)

Become a backer here. 

Home Free: Issues 1 & 2

Home Free

Creators: John Kratky (writer), Michelle Lodge (artist), and Eduardo Camacho (letterer)
Goal: $2,500
End Date: August 14, 2022
Goodies: PDF or print issues #1 and #2, sticker, bookmark, postcard, every backer receives a thank you in the comic, Tobias Gebhardt variant cover and limited edition print, 4 Days with May short story, Kelly Brack variant cover, enamel pin, and noir portraits by Lodge

Two women on a desperate mountain chase in this modern noir comic.

I haven’t read The Black Wall, a webcomic that’s set in the same world as Home Free: Into the Woods, but apparently, it’s not necessary to read the previous work to understand this one. Preferably, I could read the previous comic before recommending this one, but I don’t have time. So instead, I am recommending it off of Lodge’s artwork. The sample pages create an atmosphere that reminds me of driving from California to Nevada via the legendary Donner Pass, which despite being a very busy road still gives me the willies and that distinctly creepy feeling in my gut on a deserted interstate road.

From the campaign: “By the way, this is Fatty, John’s cat, and who the restaurant Fatty’s is named after in issue 2. Some insider knowledge for ya!”

Become a backer here. 

The Dancer #1-3: A Psychological Martial Arts Thriller

Creators: Kat Calamia (Writer), E.V. Cantada (Pencils), Danny Faubricio Sànchez Chaves (Colors), and Brant Fowler (Letters)
Goal: $5,000
End Date: September 1, 2022
Goodies: PapurrCat variant cover, Mauricio Mora variant cover, Sebastián Franchini variant cover, Mystery Bi Boxes, stickers, prints, trading cards, and more

A dancer/ASSASSIN is forced to deal with her childhood trauma of witnessing her parents’ deaths.

Mia will come face-face with the daughter of the parents she killed in the 23-page penultimate issue of The Dancer. If you’ve been following along with Calamia’s work, then this is the latest Kickstarter campaign from the creator and journalist. If you haven’t, The Dancer explores the duality in dance and martial arts—and a whole lot more. For today, I am recommending it for exploring the duality of dance because of the dance world’s brutality and the unnatural vocabulary of ballet and its impact on the body.

Become a backer here.

Resonance (Space Gays) Volume 1

Resonance (Space Gays)

Creators: River Kai
Goal: $8,000
End Date: August 30, 2022
Goodies: Hardcover or paperback collecting the first four completed chapters in WEBTOON (and Tapas) series, all backers’ names will be credited, bonus pages (part four preview, character sheets, fun facts, the never-before-seen “WHY THEO IS TERRIFIED OF FROGS” mini-comic, extra illustrations, and more), NSFW 18+ edition, special hardcover edition, merch pack, launch suit jacket

The starry-eyed, gays-in-space romance the world craves. A 200-page graphic novel featuring trans and bi leads and 18+ bonus editions!

The genre of space gays is one of my favorite genres, and this story features trans and bi leads… even better. Resonance is created by a pansexual, transgender man who survived a nearly fatal battle with chronic Lyme Disease, whose mission is “to write LGBTQ+ stories with disabled characters for others like me to see they’re not alone,” and I want to support that mission. And well, there’s something about that “Theo effect,” and seeing those freckles on the physical page would take the art to the next level.

There are also a TON of cool add-ons for this Kickstarter campaign and some other cool eco-conscious additions that River Kai included in the shipping process. Kudos!

Become a backer here. 

Our Lady Maven

Our Lady Maven

Creators: Emily Crose (writer) and Sarah Allen Reed (illustrator)
Goal: $4,000
End Date: August 19, 2022
Goodies: PDF or hard copy of Our Lady Maven issue #1, signed edition, set of three cigarette cards, cover art print or original art, postcards, and portrait commission

Paris, 1944. Anna Leavenworth, a spy for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), has just been re-assigned. Will she survive the twists and turns of a brutal war?

This Zoop campaign draws on the true life story of legendary allied spies and saboteurs. It’s always fun to learn about the history of lady spies, and comic books are an amazing medium for educational content. But the Our Lady Maven writer, Emily Crose, brings a personal element to the spy genre that always makes spy stories better: she actually spent seven years working for the US intelligence community (in fact, she is currently featured in two cyber security exhibits at the International Spy Museum in DC).

Become a backer here. 

Here are some already-funded projects worth checking out:

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

And finally, here are some 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!

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