Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, zombies

Phoenix Run, an Example of Comics Success, Distribution and Zombies

TJ Walker has a new comic book coming to Indiegogo about a super-powered zombie apocalypse. You know, the kind of thing Marvel and DC were publishing at some point. But Phoenix Run has a very different origin story. Telling everything you need to know about this crowdfunding campaign and this project as a whole, with something special for Bleeding Cool readers, TJ Walker writes,

The internet has certainly played a role in the way comics are made and the way we read them. Piracy is often the main topic that is brought up when discussing about this, but we also have to take into account how webcomics have become somewhat of a trend in recent years and it has allowed young creators to work on their own properties and slowly developing a better understanding of the medium and what they can achieve with it.

One prime example of this is my project Phoenix Run, my name is TJ Walker, I'm an award-winning filmmaker and comic book creator that is mostly known in the web series world as the creator of Phoenix Run, which is one of the highest-regarded comic book projects on the web in recent times and even went as far as wining Geek Film Fest Best Web Series Gold Award at Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic-Con, for a grand total of 20 awards internationally. That goes to show the level of the project that we have in our hands right now.

To expand our brand and reach a lot more people, we are making a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to offer a new Phoenix Run comic book, this time on a physical level as well and with a lot of very interesting perks.

Crowdfunding has become more and more prominent in the comic book industry as independent artists and writers are looking to have more control and influence with their own properties, using platforms such as Indiegogo or Kickstarter to finance their own projects and deliver to their backers in a much more precise and manner, so we are taking this route in order to expand our brand and reach out to our fans to make this project happen.

As far as the story goes, Phoenix Run has a very interesting take: What if we lived in a world mixed with zombies and superheroes? In this story we find a man named Shawn "Man" Jones, who is trying to survive in this new world with all the different challenges that it presents and dealing with a post-pandemic reality that is exacerbated by dealing with the natural threats of zombies and superheroes.

Considering that we are living in 2020, one can see a few parallels with the pandemic situation, but you may find it much more interesting on how we take this premise and push it even further with supernatural elements, which is something that I personally like very much–comic books are supposed to be over the top and present something that we would not watch in our daily lives, although I admit that is my own personal take in the matter.

t is amazing to see the progress that Phoenix Run has enjoyed throughout the years since the early 2010s when we consider that this comic started as an independent web series and it has become much more prominent and significant, even going as far as having our own development deal for a full feature movie with the film production company Gunpowder & Sky and developing a following of our own, which goes to show the power and influence that comics can have if they are done with passion, interest and with a very fascinating premise that a lot of fans can be very invested in.

But I personally think that our Phoenix Run crowdfunding campaign is not only interesting because of the possibility of getting a physical copy of a very fun comic book, but also because of the fact that you are going to get a very few good perks as well.

For example, one of the most unique perks that you are going to get is that, once the campaign reaches its $3500 stretch goal, you are going to get an interactive cover. This is how the interactive cover works: you are not only going to get the deluxe edition of the comic, but you are also going to have the possibility of downloading the Phoenix Run app for free, which allows you to enjoy a story with multiple choice and paths, thus contributing to the reader to feel much more included in the storyline and that is something that we don't find very often in fiction–the possibility of the reader making his or her own decisions as they read the storyline.

Another strong selling point, is the wonderful artwork made by Leo Colapietro. I'm one of those comic book readers that are very drawn to high quality art and Colapietro's work is very energetic, detailed, stylized and with a long of life into it, which marks a very strong contrast to the somewhat dour storyline we are reading. After all, this is a visual medium and we can reach a lot more readers if the art we are offering is visually appealing, which Phoenix excels at tremendously.
I'm not only a comic book creator, but also a trans-media content creator, working on many different industries, including films and my input on the Phoenix Run film has been instrumental to make this project happen.

So you are not only going to get a very good comic book and an app that offers a lot for you in terms of interaction, but it also has the possibility of giving you a soundtrack to complement your comic book reading experience and the possibility of downloading three short films about the Phoenix Run franchise. To be honest here, what more can you ask?

I'm one of those people that believe that now, more than ever, it is the time for comic book creators to build their own properties and to do their best to succeed. I'm not even talking about getting movie or TV deals because that should be on the side and just be a byproduct of hard work and success–it should be focused on delivering a quality product that fans can enjoy and we are delivering in that front with one of the most fascinating comic book crowdfunding campaigns that you are going to find in the market right now.

Get the Bleeding Cool exclusive perk. Pledge $25 or more. You receive the 27 page Phoenix Run #0 comic with a limited edition Bleeding Cool cover in print and digital format, you will also receive a digital download for 3 Phoenix Run short films.

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