Kickstart From The Heart: At Odds, City Of Emeralds and Warzone

  Project: At Odds

Creator: Brady Blankemeyer and Federico Zumel

Concept: "At Odds follows the life of Mat, a person struggling to make it in the world.  Mat has been kicked around by everyone, from the people in his apartment to his place of work.  Customers that are giving Mat problems, thinking they're better then him and show it.  You can only take so much before it becomes unbearable.  Well the right (or maybe wrong) set of situations in one day were enough to make Mat snap.  Now he's out for his own version of revenge and he's not taking any lip from anyone again.  To bad for Mat he's struck by lightning outside his apartment… or is it?  Why are there three Mat's now?  Who knows, you'll just have to read to find out.

Fundraising for: "The main purpose of this fundraiser is to raise funds that will go towards paying the artist who is waiting to complete the remaining artwork for the first issue to the series; then it's off to inking and lettering of comic. The script for the first issue is completed and the artist is waiting to continue with the interior artwork.  Once the goal has been reached any excess funds will be put towards advertising and the production of future issues."

Sweet Spot: Pledge $10 or more. Writer signed copy of the first issue with your name in the thank you section of the comic and a PDF download.

Cool Zone: Pledge $80 or more. Own an original piece of interior art from the book along with other rewards like a t-shirt, print and signed copy with your name in the thank you section.

<This is the least expensive original interior art reward I've seen on Kickstarter – sd>

Tipping point: Talking about split personality disorder.  This has a lot of potential.  It has to be better than Michael Keaton in Multiplicity.

So far: $60 of $2,000 with 4 days to go

 

Project: City of Emeralds

Creator: James Nelms and Visual Storyline

Concept: "The story opens as a still traumatized Lieutenant Gale recounts the events of her incredible ordeal to an Army board of inquiry, two weeks after her rescue from a remote mountain region near the Cambodian border. What unfolds over the next seven issues through Lt. Gale's narrative and first-person flashback, is a bizarre account of jungle survival that borders on schizophrenia.

While City of Emeralds parallels the original Wizard of Oz novel closely, it is far from a children's book. Themes of war atrocity, racism, drug abuse and child abuse are all explored as Dorothy and her companions travel to Oz to seek rescue and redemption."

Fundraising for: "I am seeking $5,000 in KickStarter funds to finance the artwork for the first issue only."

Sweet spot: Pledge $20 or more. A PDF download of the Issue One script plus PDF downloads of the Issue One artwork both completed or in progress! See firsthand how a graphic novel evolves from script to completed page.

Cool Zone: Pledge $200 or more. The autographed hand bound hardcopy of the Issue One script which includes glossy color pages of the finished art and the snyopsis of the whole novel with B&W cover art! Your name will be printed in the list of backers in the final printed compendium or website. Also included are all the PDF downloads of the first three scripts and artwork.

Tipping point: Much like Peter Panzerfaust, this takes a childhood fairy tale and places it in the middle of a very different setting.  Out of all of the projects I've seen on Kickstarter, this is the one that I've gotten the most excited about.  I only wish that they would guarantee that backers could get a copy of the finished first issue, but I'll be contacting them about changing that.

So far: $1080 of $5,000 with 7 days to go

 

Project: War Zone

Creators: Jesse Grillo  and Jack Lewis

Concept: It's a story about Johnny, an ex-marine that is suffering from post traumatic stress and has become a methamphetamine addict. He and his best friend Ray get involved in a drug deal gone bad and Johnny barely makes it out alive. The incident triggers an outbreak with his post traumatic stress and Johnny begins to hear voices telling him to seek revenge on the drug dealers and the corrupt cops of the town. He tries not to listen but they begin to take control.

Fundraising for: "The money from this kickstarter will be used to pay for the penciler, inker, colorist, letterer and printing costs to finish this 3 issue mini series."

Sweet spot: Pledge $25 or more. "Receive the graphic novel, War Zone that will include issues 1-3 and a one of a kind cover."

Cool Zone: Pledge $3000 or more. "I'll get a tattoo of whatever you want on my body.It can be a company logo, your face or something discussing. I don't care. It can't be that big 3×3 inches is ideal and I would like it to be on my legs, back or arms but I'm open to talk about it. I will keep the tattoo on me for at least 5 years. I'll pay for the tattoo unless you want it to look really good then you might have to pay for some of it. I've never had a tattoo and I'm kind of scared of needles but I am dedicated to getting this comic produced. The thought of getting this done is a small price to pay."

Tipping point: War Zone has the feel of a Vertigo feel to it both in story premise and art style.

So far: $1197 of $2,000 with 8 days to go