Posted in: Comics | Tagged: geroge pratt, joel meadows, kickstarter, Kickstarter Pathfinder: Wrath Of The Righteous, mcm, tripwire

Into The Red: George Pratt Vs Joel Meadows Over Kickstarter, Part 3

George Pratt Vs Joel Meadows and Tripwire over the Kickstarter campaign, part 3, as discussion kicks off at MCM London Comic Con

Last month, Bleeding Cool broke the news about the conflict between comic book painter extraordinaire George Pratt and Tripwire Magazine 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.  Last month, 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 fulfil the Kickstarter. Then George Pratt sent it back, as more questions and concerns were raised.

Joel Meadows has now run the following statements on the Kickstarter page. Earlier this month, following previous statements by George Pratt, he stated;

"Many of you have seen George Pratt's emails. Because he chose to make this public, I need to correct the record. Over the course of this project, Pratt expanded the print run from roughly 400 copies – enough to fulfil all campaign pledges – to 2,000–3,000. He switched formats from paperback to hardcover. He added 86 pages to the book without consulting me. He chose a printer without my input. He removed my name from the finished design. Each of these decisions, made without discussion, transformed a viable campaign into a financial liability. The book also ballooned to nine months to design, costing us a free festival table and significant pre-arranged retail opportunities that would have made the numbers work. Pratt claims I stole 60% of the funds. The reality: I paid myself $22,500 over twelve months as the campaign's publisher and operator – well below the ~$3,000/month industry norm for running a Kickstarter. I also paid $2,000 to the copy editor Pratt himself brought onto the project. Every payment is documented with invoices. The remaining campaign funds were intact and available for print when Pratt pulled the plug. On April 17, Pratt told you: "This book will happen, and you will all receive a copy." One week later he wrote: "When I'm in a position to bring it back the right way, you'll hear from me first." In the same April 24 email, he wired the $20,000 back to me – the money he had demanded and publicly accused me of stealing. These are not the actions of someone acting in good faith. Tripwire created and ran this campaign. We built the audience, contacted every retailer and distributor, and did twelve months of work to bring this book to life. I came to Pratt because I genuinely wanted to celebrate his art. What I got instead was a partner who kept moving the goalposts and then walked away. To be clear about what Pratt's decisions have left me with: a small independent publisher, personally liable for refunding a campaign that was made unviable by someone else's choices. That is the reality he walked away from. Today's communication from Pratt has made fulfilment impossible. By publicly instructing supporters to treat any copies of the book as unauthorised, he has ensured that no print run can proceed. This is my thirteenth Kickstarter campaign. In twelve previous projects – with Dan Panosian, Walt Simonson, Tomm Coker, Mark Chiarello, Frazer Irving, Shawn Martinbrough, and others – I have fulfilled every commitment. The situation with Into White is an aberration, and not one I take lightly. I want to be honest with you: because the funds were directed toward twelve months of legitimate campaign work rather than held in reserve – something no reasonable person would anticipate needing to do – I am not in a position to refund pledges in full. What I can do is issue a partial refund to every backer. It is not what any of us wanted, and I am sorry for that. I also want to specifically acknowledge those of you who pledged at the sketch tier. You have been most heavily impacted by Pratt's behaviour, and that is not something I take lightly. We are actively working on an appropriate way to compensate you and will be in touch separately. Refunds will be processed in a short period of time. This will be my last public statement on this matter. Thank you for your support of Tripwire and for your patience throughout this process. "

Then last week we received an update;

"We wanted to provide what will likely be our final major update regarding Into White: The Art of George Pratt. Unfortunately, the working relationship between Tripwire and George Pratt broke down during the latter stages of production, and despite extensive efforts to find a workable resolution, we were ultimately unable to complete the project in its originally planned form. As a result, the book is not able to proceed under the original Kickstarter campaign structure. Over the past few weeks, we have focused on resolving matters with backers as responsibly as possible within the constraints of the situation. Partial refunds have now been issued to all backers, and we have also been working individually with higher-tier supporters, particularly sketch-tier backers, toward additional resolutions where possible. We understand that this outcome is deeply disappointing for everyone who supported the campaign, and we sincerely regret that the project could not be brought to completion as originally intended. At this stage, we believe we have taken all reasonable and practical steps available to us to address the situation and support backers following the collapse of the project. We will, of course, continue responding to direct supporter enquiries where needed, but this will likely stand as our final substantive public update on the matter. Tripwire has successfully completed and fulfilled numerous Kickstarter campaigns over many years, and we remain committed to approaching both our supporters and future projects with transparency, professionalism, and care. We genuinely appreciate the patience and understanding shown by many backers throughout an extremely difficult situation.."

It is followed by a number of statements from backers, most of which were challenged by Tripwire and removed under Kickstarter Content guidelines. And now George Pratt has emailed his supporters saying, "I absolutely hate what has happened with this project, and I hate even more that you are the ones bearing the consequences of it. You believed in this project and in me, and that means more than I can say. You deserve a clear and honest account of everything that happened, so here it is."

• What Was Raised: The campaign closed on August 15, 2025 with 304 backers having pledged £41,237. At the exchange rate that day, that converts to approximately $55,893 USD. After Kickstarter's standard fees of roughly 8-10%, the expected net proceeds should have been between $50,300 and $51,400. Joel has publicly stated he netted $46,000 after fees. That is $4,000 to $5,000 lower than standard fee calculations would produce, and no explanation has been offered for that gap.
• August 24, 2024 Joel Meadows of Tripwire first reached out to me about partnering on a book project, proposing that Tripwire would create and manage the Kickstarter campaign and publish the book while I would create the work.
• March 28, 2025 With no written contract in place, Joel sent me his proposed reward tier structure and pricing. Throughout this entire process I have never received a signed agreement from Joel for this project.
• May 12, 2025 The campaign launched on Kickstarter. I began working on the design of the book around this time.
• June 17-24, 2025 While I was still in the middle of designing the book, Joel obtained printer quotes based on a 224-page count he had determined on his own with a print run of 1500 copies. 1000 paperbacks and 500 hardbacks. These quotes were solicited by and addressed directly to Joel at Tripwire. During this same period, I repeatedly asked Joel for samples from his printer so I could make informed production decisions. I requested paper stock, head and tail bands, spine coverings, case coverings, foil stamps, ribbons, color profiles, and print templates. I received a single paper sample. Nothing else. In a typical publisher and artist relationship, the publisher handles all communication with the printer and ensures that every necessary sample and template is obtained. That never happened here. My designer, Casey Burns, and I ended up managing all of it ourselves.
• July 9, 2025 I completed the first full draft of the book design. After showing it to trusted artists and designers for feedback, the consensus was that it read more like a catalog than a proper art book. I agreed with that assessment and made the decision to bring in additional help to elevate the work.
• July 29, 2025 I brought in Casey Burns, a well-respected professional artist and designer, for his first call on the project.
• August 4, 2025 Casey received my InDesign files and began his work on the redesign.
• August 15, 2025 The campaign closed with 304 backers having pledged £41,237.
• January 26, 2026 I contacted Joel by email to tell him about an exceptional printer in China that had been recommended to me by a trusted publisher known to both Joel and myself.
• February 6, 2026 Kickstarter provided me access to the Kickstarter campaign for the first time and I posted my first of only two official updates to backers.
• April 4, 2026 The redesign was completed and I sent Joel a low-resolution PDF of the finished book. He raised concerns about the page count, which had grown to 336 pages from the 250 listed in the campaign.
• April 5, 2026, During a Zoom call, I walked Joel through my proposed final page count, the shift to all-hardcover, and the printer in China. The production cost estimate covered 2,000 hardcover copies, approximately 304 of which would fulfill backer rewards, with the remainder intended for retail and distribution. Total production costs would come to approximately $30,000, well below what the campaign raised, while delivering a superior product. I explained that printing exclusively in hardcover would lower costs while delivering a better product than originally promised to backers. So all backers would receive a hardcover. I proposed that those who backed the campaign at a higher amount in order to receive a hardcover should receive something extra for their pledge, such as a special, limited-edition, signed print. After hearing everything, Joel agreed to all of it. That same evening I sent Joel a letter outlining everything that we discussed during the call.
• April 8, 2026, I asked Joel to pay the copy editor's $2,000 invoice. Though reluctant, he agreed, and also confirmed he would be prepared to cover an estimated $1,500 for printer proofs. It was in this same exchange that Joel disclosed there was only £17,000 ($22,610) remaining in the account, which would drop to approximately $19,110 after the copy editor and the proofs. I immediately requested that Joel wire me the remaining $20,000 to protect what was left. This was also the first time I became aware that Joel had paid himself any fee out of the campaign's funds. On that same date I wrote to Joel directly, putting my concerns in writing and requesting a full accounting of every dollar that had come into and gone out of the campaign account, including any interest earned. That request was never fulfilled. With that amount remaining, there was no path to printing and shipping the finished book, and all the add-ons, book plates, prints, and sketches. This was not a dispute about page counts or format. The money simply was not there. At this point, I informed Joel that I could not continue working with him under these circumstances.
• April 10, 2026, In an effort to understand how to best navigate this situation, I contacted Kickstarter directly. I explained the situation, and they asked me to keep them informed but offered no advice.
• April 15, 2026 at 2 am, Joel locked me out of the campaign entirely, removing my ability to respond to comments directly on Kickstarter. Joel then published a public update to backers stating that I had cancelled the book and that I was in possession of $20,000, with no clarity on how refunds would be issued.
• April 24, 2026 and April 25, 2026. Ultimately, I determined that distributing those funds directly would complicate backers' ability to receive a full refund through official channels. I wired the full $20,000 back to Joel. I also reimbursed Joel for the $2,000 copy editor payment from my own pocket at that time, along with the fees he would have to pay his bank for both transfers. Joel has always been the only person with authority to cancel the campaign, and is the only person who can issue refunds or answer questions about the campaign funds. I understand he has pointed some of you in my direction instead. I am not able to resolve this, and I want you to go to the right place: Joel Meadows and Tripwire directly. Neither Casey nor I have received any compensation for our work. Both of us have full-time jobs and put in countless hours on this project, including all-nighters, entirely without pay.
• Where Things Stand: I am working through next steps carefully and with legal counsel. This book still matters deeply to me, and so do you. When I am in a position to bring it to you the right way, you will hear from me first. Thank you for your continued support and for believing in my integrity through all of this. Sincerely, George

We will follow this concern with interest, and it was much discussed at MCM London Comic Con yesterday, with different people taking very different sides…

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