Posted in: Comics | Tagged: kickstarter, Mythic Creature Trainer, Rene Pfitzner

Rene Pfitzner Returns To His Mythic Creature Trainer on KickStarter

Rene Pfitzner writes for Bleeding Cool about his crowdfunded creation, Mythic Creature Trainer #2.

The main character in Mythic Creature Trainer is Ulrick. He's one of the royal stable hands. he loves his work and demonstrates a talent for taming the king's mythic creatures. It's just a pity he has trouble turning up on time. With his job on the line, Ulrick's boss charges him with making a special potion to cure a baby dragon of fever. Ulrick does his best, but his actions have far-reaching consequences that not even he could have predicted!

As the story develops, Ulrick tries to get his housemate, Felka, to help him out of a tight spot. Now, I've had some interesting feedback on the relationship between these two characters. One podcast reviewer mentioned that as an older guy (in his 50s?), he personally found it unusual for a male/female flatting situation to be depicted in a comic for kids.

Sometimes it gets awkward when your roommate asks too many favors.
Look, they're not the chummiest couple, but this is typical of the experience I've had with most of my flatmates—be they blokes or sheilas. Felka doesn't really care if Ulrick succeeds or fails, but she'll pitch in this time and joins the adventure.

Who will like this comic? Well, you don't have to be a fan of high fantasy, but it helps. If you find bird-lions confusing or green-skinned characters upsetting, then maybe give it a miss. I'm not saying I dig up every fantasy trope in the book, but Mythic Creature Trainer certainly has its fair share.

Griffins, goblins, and questing, oh my!

This isn't my first Kickstarter project, but every time I launch one, the question hangs over me: will this project fund or not? Hitting the 'Launch Project' button can feel a bit like stepping into an abyss. Last year I printed issue 1 through Kickstarter. Now I'm bringing issue 2 to press.

Sometimes, the timing of a Kickstarter can be tricky. In early 2020 I was in two minds about running a crowd-fund for issue 1 in the middle of a pandemic. Would I get blowback for promoting my work when life was getting harder for so many people? Many Kickstarter projects were being canceled or postponed at the start of Covid.

In the end, I decided to go ahead. I knew my readers were ready for my book to launch. In addition, my local printer was good to go, and the postal service was still running, so there was nothing in the way of getting my book out.

All masked up with nowhere to go. June 2020, Melbourne, Australia.
The pandemic is still affecting many people all over the world in 2021, but folks realize that online shopping continues, regardless. And that includes shopping on Kickstarter.

My new campaign is now live, but on February 18th (about a week in), a new pledge level opens, and I'll start taking sketch requests from backers. Last year I got some amazing requests: a werewolf in a laundromat, ninjas vs. dragons, a githyanke on a hoverboard, and an owlbear eating pizza on the couch, just to name a few! Sketch requests are so much fun.

Sometimes I make a video of the drawing process.

The Kickstarter for Mythic Creature Trainer issue 2 will run from February 10, 2021, till March 12. The entire story will run over four issues.

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