Bonus Episode: What About Crowdfunded Comics?

Book Club for Masochists: a Readers’ Advisory Podcast

What About Crowdfunded Comics? By Matthew Murray 🦇 and Mara L. Thacker

Published in Comic Books, Special Collections, and the Academic Library edited by Brian Flota and Kate Morris

Read the full book chapter.

Notes

1. Caitlin McGurk and Jenny E Robb, “Comics in Special Collections: Purposeful Collection Development for Promoting Inclusive History,” in Comics and Critical Librarianship (Sacramento, CA: Litwin Books, 2019), 169; examples of crowdfunded comics providing a platform for marginalized voices include Black Comix Returns: African American Comic Art & Culture, Bystander: Stories, Observations & Witnessings from South Asia and Sensory: Life on the Spectrum—An Autistic Comic Anthology
2. Todd Allen, “Is Kickstarter the #2 Graphic Novel Publisher?,” PublishersWeekly.com, July 10, 2012, https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/52925-is-kickstarterthe-2-graphic-novel-publisher.html.
3. “Kickstarter Stats,” Kickstarter, accessed August 12, 2021, https://www.kickstarter.com/help/stats.
4. Chris Arrant, “These Are the Titles Driving Kickstarter Comics to Their Biggest Year Yet,” gamesradar, July 21, 2021, https://www.gamesradar.com/these-are-the-titles-driving-kickstarter-comics-to-their-biggest-year-yet/.
5. “Monthly Ranking for Patreon Comics: Ranking for Top Creators by Month,” Graphtreon, accessed August 12, 2021, https://graphtreon.com/monthly-ranking/comics.
6. “Ended on Ulule,” Ulule, accessed August 12, 2021, https://www.ulule.com/ discover/?categories=bandes-dessinees&offset=0&statuses=ended&languages=fr.
7. Oriana Leckert, “Pow! 2020 Is the Best Year Yet for Comics on Kickstarter,” Kickstarter.com, October 20, 2020, https://www.kickstarter.com/articles/2020-is-the-best-year-yet-for-comics-on-kickstarter.
8. Kat Calamia, “Should Major Publishers & Creators Be Crowdfunding Comics alongside Independent and DIY Creators?,” GamesRadar+, September 22, 2020, https://www.gamesradar.com/should-major-publishers-and-creators-be-crowdfunding-comics-alongside-independent-and-diy-creators/.
9. While Image Comics is a well-known comics publisher, they tend to operate more like self-publishing than many traditional publishers as they do not pay page rates or advances, provide minimal editorial oversight, and charge a flat publishing fee.
10. “Drainers—An Underground Graphic Novel,” Cloudscape Comics, Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cloudscape/drainers-an-underground-graphic-novel; Robert Jeffrey II, “Route 3: Vol 1,” Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.kickstarter. com/projects/1484007393/route-3-vol-1; Richard C. Meyer, “‘No Enemy, But Peace’ Graphic Novel,” Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/863672719/no-enemy-but-peace-graphic-novel; “Are You Ready for War in the Neighborhood?,” Ad Astra Comix, Indiegogo, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/1856162.
11. A “stretch goal” is an amount above the initial amount asked for at which point additional rewards are “unlocked.”
12. A “tier” is a level of support tied to a specific amount of money.
13. The campaign for “Atomic Robo and the Spectre of Tomorrow HARDCOVER” lists “Fifty copies for Libraries + another Print in Print Set!” as a stretch goal in an image but doesn’t describe these goals in text anywhere on the project page.
14. Rachel Seeger, “SPROUT: A Wordless Comic Book for Kids,” Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1511570919/sprout-a-wordless-comic-book-for-kids.
15. Tom Humberstone, “Solipsistic Pop 4: Maps,” Indiegogo, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www. indiegogo.com/projects/solipsistic-pop-4-maps#/; Becca Hillburn, “7 Inch Kara Volume 2: An All Ages Watercolor Comic,” Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.kickstarter.com/ projects/beccahillburn/7-inch-kara-volume-2.
16. Isaac Cates, “Cartozia Tales: Ten Issues,” Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www. kickstarter.com/projects/1765342446/cartozia-tales-ten-issues; “Life Finds a Way,” Cloudscape Comics, Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cloudscape/ life-finds-a-way.
17. “Aztlan Graphic Novel,” Astlan, Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.kickstarter. com/projects/aztlan/aztlan-graphic-novel; Joamette Gil, “Mañana: Latinx Comics From the 25th Century,” Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/powerandmagic/manana-latinx-comics-from-the-25th-century; “Chicken Soup and Goji Berries,” Cloudscape Comics, Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cloudscape/ chicken-soup-and-goji-berries.
18. Including the “Reading Rainbow” DVD campaign, the only non-comic related crowdfunding project we found that specifically mentioned libraries.
19. Seeger, “SPROUT”; “Barefoot Gen for Schools and Libraries,” Last Gasp, Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1784498350/barefoot-gen-for-schools-andlibraries; JD Sweet, “The Ring Masters Comic—Continuing the Adventures!!,” Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/trmvsshiaraku/the-ring-masters-comic-continuing-the-adventures; Levar Burton and Reading Rainbow, “Bring Reading Rainbow Back for Every Child, Everywhere!,” Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.kickstarter.com/ projects/readingrainbow/bring-reading-rainbow-back-for-every-child-everywh; Jeff Douglas Messer, “The Adventures of Young Robin Hood Comic Book,” Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https:// www.kickstarter.com/projects/jeffdouglasmesser/the-adventures-of-young-robin-hood-comic-book; Sean Lykins, “Lora and the Paper Mirror (Children’s Comic),” Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/739841783/lora-and-the-paper-mirror-childrens-comic; Sweet, “The Ring Masters Comic”; “Happy AlternaWeen!,” Alterna Comics, Indiegogo, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/2419865.
20. Megan Lavey-Heaton, “Valor: Fairy Tale Comic Anthology about Courageous Heroines,” Kickstarter, accessed January 12, 2021, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1987386669/ valor-a-fairy-tale-anthology-about-courageous-hero.
21. Debra A. Riley-Huff et al., “Crowdfunding in Libraries, Archives and Museums,” The Bottom Line 29, no. 2 (January 1, 2016): 67–85, https://doi.org/10.1108/BL-03-2016-0014.
22. “Crowdfunding and Public Libraries: The Record so Far,” Public Libraries News (blog), June 28, 2018, https://www.publiclibrariesnews.com/campaigning/increasing-income/crowdfunding-andpublic-libraries-the-record-so-far; K. W. Colyard, “15 Crowdfunding Campaigns For Libraries To Donate To This National Library Week,” Bustle, April 12, 2017, https://www.bustle.com/p/15-crowdfunding-campaigns-for-libraries-to-donate-to-this-national-library-week-50736; Caroline Lewis, “Crowdfunding the Library,” Library Journal (April 17, 2013), https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=crowdfunding-the-library; Tom Mukite, “Bring the Hulk to the Northlake Public Library,” Indiegogo, 2013, http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/386975/fblk.
23. Kay Ann Cassell, “Do Large Academic Libraries Purchase Self-Published Books to Add to Their Collections?,” in Self-Publishing and Collection Development, ed. Robert P. Holley, Opportunities and Challenges for Libraries (West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2015), 27–36, https:// doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1wf4dpf.7; Heidy Berthoud, “Going to New Sources: Zines at the Vassar College Library,” The Serials Librarian 72, no. 1–4 (May 2017): 49–56, https://doi.org/10.1080/03615 26X.2017.1320867.
24. McGurk and Robb, “Comics in Special Collections”; Jerry Spiller, “Decoder Ring-Digital Comics: Ownership vs. Access,” Against the Grain 25, no. 5 (November 1, 2013), https://doi. org/10.7771/2380-176X.6628; Jerry Spiller, “Decoder Ring--Collaboration Is King in Cartozia,” Against the Grain 25, no. 6 (2013): 2; Jerry Spiller, “Decoder Ring—Fireside Fiction Keeps the Stories Coming via Crowdfunding and Subscription,” Against the Grain 27, no. 3 (June 1, 2015), https://doi. org/10.7771/2380-176X.7114; Jerry Spiller, “Decoder Ring—Unexpectedly Musical Updates,” Against the Grain 27, no. 5 (November 1, 2015), https://doi.org/10.7771/2380-176X.7213.
25. Matthew Z. Wood, Comic Book Collections and Programming: A Practical Guide for Librarians (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).
26. McGurk and Robb, “Comics in Special Collections”; Izabella Penier, Martin Paul Eve, and Tom Grady, “COPIM—Revenue Models for Open Access Monographs 2020,” Zenodo, September 8, 2020, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4011836.
27. Tom Bruno, “Self-Publishing and Libraries: The Slush Pile Is the Platform,” in Self-Publishing and Collection Development: Opportunities and Challenges for Libraries (West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2015), 125–38, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1wf4dpf.14.
28. “Kickstarter Comics at the Library—The Seattle Public Library,” BiblioCommons, accessed October 16, 2020, https://seattle.bibliocommons.com/list/ share/104354882_shelf_talk/1146745557_kickstarter_comics_at_the_library.
29. “Review Copies and What We Cover,” No Flying No Tights (blog), accessed February 5, 2021, http:// www.noflyingnotights.com/about/submitting-review-copies/.
30. “Best Graphic Novels for Adults—FAQ,” Text, Round Tables, April 20, 2020, http://www.ala.org/rt/gncrt/-bgna-faq.
31. Perry Chen and Aziz Hasan, “The Future of Crowdfunding Creative Projects,” Kickstarter, December 8, 2021, https://www.kickstarter.com/articles/the-future-of-crowdfunding-creative-projects.
32. Heidi MacDonald, “Kickstarter’s Switch to Crypto Platform Alarms Creators,” The Beat (blog), December 9, 2021, https://www.comicsbeat.com/kickstarter-crypto-platform-alarms-creators/.
33. Rob Salkowitz, “Why Comics’ Top Crowdfunder Is Leaving Kickstarter For Her New ‘Poorcraft’ Project,” Forbes (February 7, 2022), https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2022/02/07/ why-comics-top-crowdfunder-is-leaving-kickstarter-for-her-latest-project/.

Further Reading

Stretch goals: Launching crowdfunded comics collections in academic libraries by Mara L. Thacker and Jason Larsen