Welcome back to The Beat‘s weekly crowdfunding comics round-up! Each week we’ll spotlight comics projects we think would be a great investment, whether it’s a one-shot story or a sprawling anthology. In this week’s round-up, we have two fresh spins on superhero comics and supernatural tales galore to get you primed and ready for this coming spooky season, including the public domain crossover anthology Monster Mashup.

Let’s get going!

1. Incident Report Issue #1

Incident Report

Goal: $1500 USD
Ends: Sun, September 8 2019 12:05 PM EST
Creators: Brian Sippin (Creator), Mary G. Puppo (Creator), Mark Romero (Creator, Writer), Ryan Best (Illustrator), HdE Ponsonby-Jones (Letterer), Claire Napier (Editor)
Best Value Tier: $7 USD for a “deluxe digital” edition with 11 pages of extra content
Ten years ago Anne walked away from the dangerous life as an ICA agent to start a family. Anne can shoot fire from her hands, but her true calling is helping kids like her get the support they need to grow up. When an old friend is mysteriously killed in the line of duty, Anne finds herself pulled towards the life she left behind. Along the way she encounters Vladimir Markov, a Russian ICA agent sent to investigate the murder.

If you’re a fan of the beaurocratic side of superhero stories, Incident Report has got you covered. It’s got a little of everything — flying babies? Superpower registration? Intrigue? At $4 for a digital issue and $7 for a “deluxe digital” that includes more world-building and backmatter, Incident Report is worth checking out. Per the campaign, the book is done, and the digital copy will be sent out once the book goes to the printer. If you’re looking for more indie superhero tales, this is a safe bet.

You can back the campaign here.

2. Monster Mashup Comic Anthology

Monster Mashup

Goal: $2,000 USD
Ends: Sun, September 1 2019 2:55 AM EST
Creators: Anthology
Best Value Tier: $15 USD for a digital copy
Monster Mashup is built upon a simple idea of combining a multitude of public domain characters into a single book. With the premise being built around classic monster mashups, we knew we had something special. Everyone loves a good crossover event and we know you’ll love this as well.

There’s been a lot of chatter about public domain characters the last couple of days, what with all the big superhero rights ownership hullabaloo, and Monster Mashup is here to show you just what makes the idea of public domain characters so much fun. Featuring 21 stories by 47 creators, Monster Mashup offers a slew of genre-bending tales that allow the Velveteen Rabbit and Zeus to exist in the same book (not necessarily the same story). This is such a weird and delightful idea, and exactly the kind of project that makes Kickstarter such a great place for comics.

You can back the campaign here.

3. Help Wanted Volume One

Help Wanted

Goal: $4,700 USD
Ends: Sat, September 14 2019 7:54 PM EST.
Creators: Payton Francis
Best Value Tier: $10 USD for a PDF copy
Anne Black just graduated college and, wishing for a change of pace from her rural home town in North Dakota, she packs up all her stuff and moves to the nearest big city: Minneapolis, MN! She takes the first job she can get, which happens to be a live in caretaker at the Lynnhurst House, a historic apartment building owned and run by Hally Ksiezyc. … Anne, being a little oblivious, doesn’t seem to realize the house’s tenants are all actually supernatural!

Queer supernatural romance? Sign me up. Help Wanted Volume One is a sweet (and slightly spooky) tale about finding love in the most unexpected places — like maybe with a werewolf. Writer and illustrator Peyton Francis’ art is lively and frankly adorable, with a welcome range of body types, particularly for a romance comic. This is Francis’ first Kickstarter, but $10 for a 190 page graphic novel is a solid price, making the PDF worth investing in.

You can back the campaign here.

4. The Bay – Volume 1

The Bay

Goal: Approx $3637 USD
Ends: Wed, September 11 2019 11:11 PM EST
Creators: bbz
Best Value Tier: Approx $6 USD for a PDF
The Bay is an ongoing comic about a young politician, a programmer and a rich flamboyant kid in the Martian capital city, Isidis Bay. A light hearted slice of life comedy, with a dash of drama, queer romance and lots of palm trees. The Bay is an ongoing webcomic available to read on Tapas and on Patreon.

The best part about crowdfunding campaigns for webcomics is they offer an extremely safe “try before you buy” option. bbz’s The Bay – Volume 1 is no different, but her soft lines and dreamy colors will get you hooked just from the campaign preview art. If, like me, you’re a binge reader who enjoys the comfort of collected volumes, the PDF of the first three chapters is approximately $6 USD and will include an additional twenty pages of sketches.

You can back the campaign here.

5. Weekend Warrior Comics #1

Weekend Warrior

Goal: $2,000 USD
Ends: Thu, September 19 2019 10:31 AM EST
Creators: Anthology
Best Value Tier: $5 USD for a PDF
Weekend Warrior Comics is a new digital and print magazine specializing in superhero comics. We’re raising funds to print our pilot issue for the series, a 36-page installment featuring 5 comics stories, one prose story, and an exclusive interview with cartoonist Michel Fiffe!

Weekend Warrior Comics #1 offers bite-size snippets of several stories in its debut issue, which is complete and ready to go to backers. As someone who previewed it, the magazine offers some stellar stories (“Stop Time with Me” by Ten Van Winkle and Francesca Lyn, with John S. Troutman, is my personal favorite) that run a gamut with slightly more emotional depth and diversity than modern capes comics tend to offer.

You can back the campaign here.

The following campaigns from previous round-ups are still running: