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Spreading The Anthology Love Through Kickstarter

Published Sat, 24 Jun 2017 16:00:31 -0500

Ally Shwed writes,

Ah, the humble comic anthology. A way for up-and-comers to get their work published and readers to get more bang for the buck. The thing is, comic anthologies are really only known to comic readers. Ask your average Barnes & Noble shopper what the last comic anthology they read was, and they'll give you a blank stare, unless maybe they're familiar with the Best American series. (Actually, does anyone shop at Barnes & Noble anymore? Let's say Amazon shoppers, then.) While both Amazon and Barnes & Noble have comic anthology sections on their websites, they're not getting the traffic that those up-and-comers need to transcend that status, nor will you find much beyond collected EC titles or those Blizzard Entertainment collections.

Why is this all worth mentioning? Well, as one of those hopeful up-and-comers, I've found the proverbial light in the anthology darkness through Kickstarter. For comic creators in general, Kickstarter has proven to be a solid publishing avenue, whether you're an established name like Fantagraphics or you're a newbie, like me . Have you heard of my name before? Probably not. But my first three Kickstarters were successfully funded, and now I'm on my way to starting my own micropress, Little Red Bird. For many, Kickstarter has become the 21st century Diamond.

Tyler James of the ComixLaunch podcast cites the statistic that, while the success rate for Kickstarter projects in general has fallen over the past few years, the success rate for comic projects has risen 2.5% since 2015—which might not seem like a lot, but considering over 600 comic projects have been launched in 2017 alone, those aren't bad numbers. And a few years ago, when I was at a crowdfunding panel at San Diego Comic Con, the stat was thrown around that, if you considered Kickstarter as a comic "publisher," it'd be the third largest based on output, after the Big Two.

So when I got the idea to put together a comic anthology of online dating experiences, I didn't debate how I'd go about doing it, and the reason was two-fold: Kickstarter helps fund comics, and Kickstarter reaches wide audiences. Anthologies shouldn't appeal only to comic book circles, especially when the topics are so universal, like climate change, food, and sex. And the people who are on crowdfunding sites want to see projects succeed—no niche marketing necessary. It's a community that I'm hopeful can surpass the omnipresent stigma of comics not being real literature, only being for nerds, etc. etc. etc.

You've heard that phrase "Comics are for Everyone," right? Well, it's true, on so many levels. And I'm hoping Kickstarter and my little ol' anthology will help prove that.

Blocked is currently running on Kickstarter. It's a collection of over 25 comics and illustrations all inspired by true online dating horror stories. Like a guy who almost dated his uncle's new wife via Tinder. Or a woman who was hired to ghostwrite dating profiles for someone else. Or the relationship that ended because of a blanket fort. We've got some unbelievable but true stories, in comic form! The campaign is live through July 13:

As a special thank-you for Bleeding Cool readers, we'll throw in something a little extra: if we reach the halfway mark in funding by halfway through our campaign (which will be on Tuesday, June 27), all BC backers receiving physical rewards will get an exclusive linocut print made by me! Just include the code BClove17 in your backer survey, and we'll include your print.