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 Bone Herder, a project originated in Gail Simone’s Comic School, Digitopia, and more.
Let’s get started!
1. The Bone Herder
Creators: Zaire Lanier (writer), Tumo Mere (artist), Morgan Madeline (concept artist) and Sam Willoughby (additional art)
Goal: $5,000
End date: July 14, 2020
Goodies: $15 nets a digital copy and a credit in the back page, $25 for a physical copy, with higher tiers including buttons, prints, and more.
Every generation, a child is chosen to travel from village to village punishing wrong doers, by flaying their bones and burying them. Cass is the first to break the tradition, but in doing so breaks an ancient pact with the Flesh Folk.
The Bone Herder is an Afropunk fantasy horror comic created by writer Zaire Lanier and artist Tumo Mere. It follows Cass Ilondyri, the forced apprentice of Anelleli Yosi, and their tenuous relationship. Cass vows to take vengeance, and Anelleli struggles between what’s right and what’s expected. Lanier’s worldbuilding takes nods from pre-colonial African cities, including Carthage and Kush, for a world that bucks Western stereotypes in fantasy.
2. Digitopia 1 + 2
Creators: Farhan Qureshi (writer), Tom Hoskisson (artist), Simon Robins (colorist), Hass Otsmane-Elhaou (editor)
Goal: $891
End date: June 28, 2020
Goodies: $6 for a digital copy, just $8 for a paperback with higher tiers adding wallpapers, postcards, and more.
Jay and Libra are being hunted down by the army, by bounty hunters and by a civilisation that is imploding on itself.
Digitopia is not post-apocalyptic – but pre-apocalyptic. It’s a setting that Qureshi says is one intentionally similar to the world outside our window, the direct result of the rise of the hard right, state brutality, and media biases. This campaign is primarily to help fund the last push for art, as the team is still in the inking stage for Digitopia 2.0. Although the first in the series is already live, backers can still jump on board now and grab both issues.
3. Like Father, Like Daughter #1-6
Creators: Kat Calamia (writer), Wayne A. Brown (artist), Lisa Moore (colorist), Matt Bowers (letterer)
Goal: $5,000
End date: June 25, 2020
Goodies: For $5, you get a digital copy (plus an indie bundle), $10 for physical with higher tiers bringing variant covers.
A high school girl, Casey Ryder, inherits the very powers that made her superhero father leave their family.
Following several successful Kickstarters for single issues and a TPB collection, Like Father, Like Daughter returns. The story follows Casey, a young woman who discovers that she’s inherited superpowers from her absentee father, Invulnerable, who’s also the world’s only superhero. Now, just as the two are able to rediscover their relationship, the villains make their move. Catch up, or stay on board with the series’ latest campaign.
4. Duplicant #1-3
Creators: Karla Nappi (writer), Marianna Strychowska (artist), Carlos Mangual (letterer), Leila del Duca (covers), Owen Gieni (covers)
Goal: $6,000
End date: July 10, 2020
Goodies: a digital edition with scripts, pencils and inks runs $10, with the “catch up” edition including all three issues slated at $15, and higher tiers including physical editions.
Duplicant is a chilling original story that’s “Minority Report” meets “Repo: The Genetic Opera.” Issue 3 is a 30-page, saddle-stitch comic
Inspired by cyberpunk film, Duplicant is story of hope in dystopia. In this world, a contagion wreaks havoc on humanity’s innards, forcing many to undergo transplants – and become indentured servants when they can’t foot the bill. The scientist who creates these organs, Matt Travers, becomes suddenly entrenched in the mystery of the pandemic and starts to pull on the strings of society.
5. Tower 25: The Graphic Memoir
Creators: PJ Patten (author)
Goal: $2,900
End date: June 25, 2020
Goodies: An Ebook version runs for $8, while higher tiers include physical versions, and additional memoirs from the Cloudscape Comics library.
A graphic memoir about homelessness, addiction, trauma and recovery.
Tower 25 is a first-hand account of homelessness and the inherent struggles one has to overcome to escape it. In his first graphic novel, Patten conveys these experiences by tapping into his own Japanese heritage, and the tradition of Haiga, an art form combining images with small verses that results in a conversational tone that emphasizes how this struggle could happen to anyone.
And, here are a few more that are definitely worth checking out:
- Fallen #1-2 The Death of a God Was Just the Beginning
- Mythic Creature Trainer #1
- Drawn to Sex – Our Bodies and Health
- Southeastern Artist Showcase
- Monkeys Fighting Robots: The Magazine
- The Nib: Greetings from the Wasteland
