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. This week’s round-up includes queer werewolves, a new Power & Magic Press project, and … Scott Pilgrim?
Let’s get going!
1. Bookwyrms 1 | A fantasy comic about rebel librarians
Goal: Approx $2,307 USD
Ends: Thu, October 24 2019 4:06 PM EST
Creators: Lorena Garcia
Best Value Tier: Approx $7 USD for a digital copy
Bookwyrms follows the story of Rogier and Suzzen, two childhood friends who end up living and working together at Undine Library, as they discover that someone is tampering with the books and they begin a dangerous investigation that will lead them to secret societies, mysterious abilities and remote locations. This story can be enjoyed by readers from all ages.
Lorena had me at rebel librarians, but the rich, moody art of Bookwyrms will get you too. This campaign is to fund a print run of the first volume (179 pages of the 200+ currently online) with edits and additional concept art. Webcomic campaigns are great for the try before you buy aspect — as someone who always wants to try more webcomics but has a short memory and prefers to binge read, it’s nice to check out a few pages to make sure I’m interested before I pledge. This looks like a fun one, and $7 for 179 pages is a great deal.
You can back the campaign here.
2. OLD HEAD
Goal: $20,000 USD
Ends: Sat, November 2 2019 6:23 AM EST
Creators: Kyle Starks (Cartoonist), Chris Schweizer (Colorist)
Best Value Tier: $7 for a digital copy
OLD HEAD is a 124-page graphic novel. It’s the madcap action-horror story of the world’s toughest former pro-basketball player returning home with his daughter to learn about his destiny and his mother’s mysterious past, while—right next door— Dracula and his goons are on the eve of their bloodiest holiday.
Sports! Fights! Families! Extremely spooky neighbors! This graphic novel has everything! Old Head looks gleefully weird and Kyle Starks’ art is just joyful to look at. This one just looks flat out fun. $7 will net you a digital copy of the book, but if you love a little extra with your Kickstarter rewards, $30 USD plus shipping will net you a physical and digital copy along with a rad enamel pin.
You can back the campaign here.
3. POWER & MAGIC: The Queer Witch Comics Anthology VOLUME 2
Goal: $52,900 USD
Ends: Sat, November 9 2019 6:33 PM EST.
Creators: Anthology, published by Power & Magic Press
Best Value Tier: $13 USD for a digital copy of Vol 2; $23 for Vol 1 and 2
POWER & MAGIC: The Queer Witch Comics Anthology Series is back for a second volume of Young Adult fantasy comics starring queer witches of color! In addition to this 200+ page, black-and-white, softcover anthology, we’re also reviving the long-out-of-stock POWER & MAGIC VOLUME 1 with its first ever reprinting.
I can’t tell you how excited I was to see Joamette Gil’s Power and Magic Press was gearing up for another volume of their Power & Magic anthology series. P&M always delivers incredible anthologies by superstar creators — their Immortal Souls anthology is one of my favorite anthologies ever. Featuring stories by creators like Che Grayson and Steenz, Wendy Xu, and Ahmara Smith, with an enamel pin reward by the inimitable Hannako, this is a can’t-miss campaign if you’re itching for more supernatural comics in your life. If you’re new to the Power & Magic series, the $46 tier featuring digital downloads of this volume and all three of their previous anthologies is absolutely worth the money.
You can back the campaign here.
4. Moonlight: A Queer Werewolf Anthology
Goal: Approx $8,330 USD
Ends: Tue, November 12 2019 7:00 PM EST
Creators: Anthology, edited by Bones McKay
Best Value Tier: Approx $4 USD for a digital copy
Moonlight is an anthology of short stories and comics about queer werewolves, by queer creators. The collection spans genres, settings, and identities. From the wild west to the surface of the moon, this anthology has you covered.
There aren’t enough queer werewolf stories in the world, and Bones McKay, Ursula Gray, and a team of more than a dozen talented creators are here to give the people what they need. The campaign is a little light on details about how big the anthology will be, but the digital tier is fairly low-risk at approximately $4 USD for a PDF and the campaign looks fairly no-frills to help make fulfillment easier. Jay Fondin‘s and Emmett Nahil’s story looks gorgeous, and if you were wondering what would happen to a werewolf astronaut, Ilinca Barbacuta and Shannon Kao have answers.
You can back the campaign here.
And a challenger appears …
5. Scott Pilgrim Miniatures The World
Goal: $50,000 USD
Ends: Tue, November 5 2019 10:00 PM EST
Creators: Renegade Game Studios
Scott Pilgrim Miniatures The World is a competitive board game where one team takes on the role of Scott and the other good guys to fight against the League of Evil Exes. The action takes place on a pop-up board with large pre-painted miniatures, custom dice, and 3D constructible objects for smashing and throwing.
Another not quite comics, but comics-adjacent project! Renegade Game Studios, the makers of Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Card Game, have returned to deliver a brand new game for Scott Pilgrim diehards designed by Erica Bouyouris. At $90 for the base game, this one is definitely an investment, but you’ll get oodles of pre-painted miniatures in Bryan Lee O’Malley’s iconic style.*
You can back the campaign here.
The following campaigns from previous round-ups are still running:
- Task Force Rad Squad: The Collected Edition (Ends 10/19)
- The Technomancer (Ends 10/24)
- Why Always Wins (Ends 10/24)
- La Voz De M.A.Y.O. Tata Rambo #3 (Ends 10/28)
- Machina Corpse (Ends 10/30)
- Neverender: Issue One (Ends 11/1)
- Heartbreak Quadrant Issues 1-3 (Ends 11/1)
- Campfire Stories – A horror comics anthology (Ends 11/11)
- Strange Waters (Ends 11/18)
- The Plague and Doctor Caim
*Disclosure: The Beat is owned by Polarity, which also owns Oni Press.
