Posted in: Comics | Tagged: George Pratt, joel meadows, kickstopped, Kickstrarter, tripwire

George Pratt Sends Joel Meadows His $20,000 Back… But What Now?

George Pratt has sent Joel Meadows his $20,000 Kickstarter art book funds back... but what is going to happen now?

Published Mon, 27 Apr 2026 10:58:10 -0500

Last week, Bleeding Cool broke the news about the dustup between George Pratt and Tripwire publisher Joel Meadows over the Kickstarter campaign for Into White: The Art Of George Pratt, a 200-page 9×12 collection of his work, which raised around $55,000, which we also covered last year. Then last week, George Pratt pulled the book, or at least Tripwire's part in it; Tripwire sent him $20,000, which they said was due to him to fulfill the Kickstarter. And there were lots and lots and lots of comments online. Especially regarding the fact that Joel Meadows was off to Lake Comic Con in Italy this past weekend. Now both parties have sent another missive, George Pratt via email and Joel Meadows/Tripwire as Kickstarter updates.

First, Joel Meadows stated: "Dear Into White supporters, The trip I am currently on is connected to a visit to the Lake Como Comic Art Festival but when it was booked a few months ago, it was also intended to be a trip that included meetings with European retailers and distributors to promote Into White through a series of signings with George Pratt himself. I had intended to set up signings with the artist to promote and sell the book in places like Paris and Milan. When we couldn't promote the book as we had originally intended to do so (we were offered a table at Lake Como this April where we would have sold quite a few) I had to consider other ways to promote the book. When Pratt cancelled the book, we couldn't cancel the trip. I also intended to speak to a number of retailers and key people at Como this month related to the book. I am here to promote current and future Tripwire projects like the Mad Cave collection. So I felt that as a few people questioned why I am away, that is the reason. "You need to cease talking with distributors, shops, etc. You no longer represent this book or my work." Email from Mr Pratt dated 15 April 2026"

Then from George Pratt: "First, I want to say how sorry I am that you've been caught in the middle of this. You backed this project because you believed in it, and you deserve better than what's happened here. When I discovered that approximately 60% of the funds raised for the Kickstarter campaign for my planned book, "Into White", had been withdrawn without my knowledge, I asked for the remaining $20,000 to be transferred to me so I could make sure it was protected. My instinct was to return it to you directly, and honestly that's still what feels right. But the reality is that going around the official Kickstarter process would only make things more complicated for you, not less. The campaign is owned and operated by Joel Meadows / Tripwire, and the cleanest path to getting you a full refund is through that channel. So as of this morning, Friday April 24 at 10:03 AM ET, I wired the full $20,000 back to Joel. A screenshot of the wire confirmation is attached with account numbers redacted. If you're looking for a refund, reach out to Kickstarter and Joel Meadows / Tripwire directly. That's where the money is and where the process has to start. I also want to be straight with you: I have not paid myself, any of the team, or recovered a single dollar of my own costs on this project. This book still matters to me. I believe in it and am beyond thankful for everyone that believed in it enough to back it. When I'm in a position to bring it back the right way, you'll hear from me first. Thank you again for your support." Pratt also claimed that the copy editor had not been paid for the book, though that was later retracted.

And now from Joel Meadows: "So I have seen that George Pratt has returned $20,000 to ourselves. We have had quite a few enquiries about refunds and currently I am hopeful that we can get the high res files from him so that we can publish the book and fulfill the campaign copies. Mr Pratt's maths is slightly off as it wasn't 60 per cent of the campaign that was taken out and $2000 was paid as requested to the copy editor for working on the book. If Mr Pratt sends us the high res pages, we are able to print the book. If not, then we cannot. I have always wanted to get this book out and I hope he will facilitate this."