Posted in: Comics | Tagged: boom, Comics, entertainment, fairy quest, humberto ramos, john campbell, paul jenkins

Paul Jenkins Steps Up Over John Campbell Kickstarter Controversy

Published Thu, 06 Mar 2014 07:00:17 -0600

Comic book author Paul Jenkins, currently writing Deathmatch and Fairy Quest for Boom Studios, just added an update to the Fairy Quest Kickstarter funder, addressing the donors to John Campbell's Sad Pictures For Children Kickstarter that has caused a little controversy of late.

He writes,

The other day I was drawn to the plight of the creator behind another Kickstarter project called Sad Pictures for Children. It seems the creator, John Campbell, decided he had just had it, and told his backers he wasn't going to finish his fulfillment. He basically told them to get lost, and that he was going to burn books every time someone asked him where their items were. This brought about a lot of hard feelings and created a lot of confusion amongst his backers. I first got wind of this because I saw a number of people – including prominent creators and comics websites – basically tooling on this guy. While I understand what John did was wrong, I don't think he deserves animosity. I feel he deserves compassion and understanding. In my opinion, the stress of doing Kickstarter got to him – he made a bad decision or two and it got worse. John has admitted issues with depression – I hardly think it's appropriate to attack a guy who is clearly showing signs of a breakdown.

I understand how a bad decision can affect what we are trying to do. I hope you have seen that I am quick to respond to questions, and I am very open and approachable. Frankly, I love doing Kickstarter projects and I plan on doing a lot of them. Some of you may know that last year, I announced my retirement from mainstream comics (at least for a while) because I felt they just did not provide a creative outlet that I was comfortable with. I'm a story guy, not a crossover/event guy. Kickstarter, to me, is a very honest form of publishing. It's a fishbowl, I grant you – every decision I make or word I type is right out there for you guys to see.

I've made sure with the good folks at Kickstarter that I am not violating any terms or conditions, so here's an official announcement: if you know anyone who pledged for Sad Pictures For Children and received nothing, please do me and them a favor and ask them to email me at ramosandjenkins@gmail.com. I am going to make sure that we send them a free PDF of Fairy Quest #1. I realize ours is a very different book but I believe this small gesture will help put a smile on their faces. Kickstarter is a great community, and as a creator who has seen and done it all it is very much a community I want to be a part of. Neighbors help each other. So please, if you happen to know anyone on that project, ask them to come on by and get their copy of Fairy Quest. We're going to get the word out via social media, and our friends at Boom Studios have offered to send word out via their channels.

Thanks, everyone!

No, thank you, Paul…

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