Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, entertainment, kickstarter

The Madness Of KickstARTer

Published Sun, 25 Oct 2015 14:00:32 -0500

Chris Taylor writes,

A quote from Henry James' short story "The Middle Years." has special significance for those of us who choose comic books as a career, and undertake a Kickstarter:

"We work in the dark – we do what we can – we give what we have. Our doubt is our passion and our passion is our task. The rest is the madness of art

Darkness, doubt, passion, and madness. It sounds like a negative sentiment, but it's not. These are the things that drive us to create. We do this not only for ourselves, but also for you, the reader, because we need an audience to dispel the doubt, and to witness the madness.

My name's Christopher Taylor. I've written for Creepy and Eerie for Dark Horse Comics, and Hellraiser: Bestiary for Boom! Studios. My stories have been well reviewed. But that doesn't mean a damn thing. I struggle to find writing work. I constantly send pitches to editors. And I wait. But while I wait… I write more pitches.

The covers for the books Chris has written for.

The world of Punktown — Jeffrey's prose — is vivid, terrifying, and universally human, even in its largely alien population. It runs the gamut from cyberpunk to horror to noir and beyond. It begs for visual adaptation. I wanted to help make that happen.

Visions from Punktown was born.

Concept art for the VISIONS FROM PUNKTOWN story "Monsters." Art by Dug Nation.

Author Jeffrey Thomas has over 17 novels and solo collections to his name, and many more stories in group anthologies and magazines and ezines. He has been nominated for the prestigious Bram Stoker and John W. Campbell awards. Critics, peers and fans have praised his work.

Just a few of the covers for Jeffrey Thomas's books.

But that doesn't mean a damn thing.

Jeffrey still struggles. As do most of us who choose the creative path. Just because tens of thousands of people may have read your work (Jeffrey's, not mine!), that doesn't mean it translates into dollar figures.

But that doesn't mean a damn thing.

Because this is the passionate madness of art. We have to create. We. Have. No. Choice. If we give up, then we weren't really a writer or artist or musician, etc., to begin with.

Page 1, 2 & 3 of "Monsters" from VISIONS FROM PUNKTOWN. Art by Dug Nation.

We have no idea what will become of our creations, and that is why we need you, the audience, to tell us. But, truth be told, we'd do it if our only audience were the four walls we sometimes stare at for hours.

Sometimes, we find a way to get that madness into your hands. Kickstarter is the vehicle. Anthologies are notoriously difficult for publishers, but exceedingly popular on Kickstarter.

I have hand picked eight artists to bring eight of Jeffrey's stories to the graphic storytelling medium: Rafa Garres, Hüseyin Özkan, Eric York, Steven Russell Black, Sinclair Klugarsh , Dug Nation, Stéphane De Caneva, and Frank Walls. Each artist has a quality that represents the many-layered world of Punktown, a melting pot of alien cultures overlapping each other on the planet Oasis.

Six of the other artists in VISIONS FROM PUNKTOWN. Clockwise from top left: Rafa, Garres, Stéphane De Caneva, Steven Russell Black, Sinclair Klugarsh, Frank Walls, and Eric York.

Some of the artists, like Rafa Garres, are already well known in the comic book world, especially for his striking cover work for companies such DC, Marvel, IDW and more. The rest will make their presence known by their work on this book. Each artist is working at a considerable pay cut in order to help make this happen. Many of them are delaying higher paying gigs in order to free up their schedule to work on Visions from Punktown. Many of them have already done a considerable amount of work without knowing if they even will get paid.

Promotional art for "The Library of Sorrows" from VISIONS FROM PUNKTOWN.

Art bu Hüseyin Özkan.

But that doesn't mean a damn thing.

They understand the Madness, the Doubt, but most of all, the Passion to create. Jeffrey's work has inspired us. As comic book creators, we recognize the vast potential in Punktown. Not potential for making money; but potential for telling stories. That is what matters most to us.

The stories in Visions from Punktown are not your typical cut and paste adaptions. Jeffrey has graciously granted us incredible freedom in altering his stories to fit the format. This also allows his existing fans to experience a different take on their favorite Punktown story, while giving new fans a reason to read the originals for a different experience, as well.

We humbly ask that you give us a few moments of your time to see for yourself what we have to offer. Please visit our Kickstarter:

As a special thanks to those who contribute from reading this article, we have a couple of freebies for you to go along with any contribution at the $15 level or higher.

Two of Jeffrey's Punktown novels, Blue War and Deadstock (John W. Campbell nominated) have never been made available in the digital format. This will finally happen in a couple of months. We will provide you one of those titles free! Just send us a message with the code "Bleeding Cool," and the title of one of the two books you desire after you've pledged, and we'll note your name and send you the book of your choice as soon as they are available in 2-3 months.