Kickstarter

Following the huge success of Moonshot, the indigenous comics anthology, editor Hope Nicholson and publisher AH Comics announced a few weeks ago that they'd be bringing a sequel book to Kickstarter. Featuring stories by and about indigenous comics creators, the anthology collects comics from both new and established writers and artists, spreading their voice and stories around the world. With the campaign for the second Moonshot anthology now running on Kickstarter, Back Pages got in touch with Nicholson and contributors David Robertson, Elizabeth LaPensée and Richard Van Camp to find out what makes Moonshot such an important project, and what kind of stories they bring to the second volume.

Power & Magic: The Queer Witch Comics Anthology is a collection of stories about witches and witchcraft by queer women of color, including Devaki Neogi, Jemma Salume, and Aatmaja Pandya, curated by editor Joamette Gil. Currently running on Kickstarter, the anthology will be published by Gil's Power & Magic Press. To find out more about this magical project, Back Pages spoke to Gil about how it came about, what readers can expect from the stories, and her future plans for Power & Magic Press.

The weekend is here! Take a look back at what’s happened in the past seven days. New comics, new stories, new podcasts, new art being made — it’s all part of the ComicsAlliance Weekender!

With Deer Editor: Hack running on Kickstarter for the next few weeks, Back Pages tracked down the wild, roaming, Ryan K. Lindsay to find out how this weird comic first came together, to investigate the unique approach to crowdfunding that the project takes, and to learn just why the new face of hard-hitting journalism... is a talking deer.

Happily Ever Aftr is a new comic from Ricky Lima and Nicolas Londeix that launched on Kickstarter this week and blew through its initial goal of $3,095 within days, probably because of how interesting its story sounds: A kidnapped princess uses a dating app on her phone to summon knights to rescue her from the villainess who's in love with her.

A woman breaks up with her terrible deadbeat boyfriend and has to start a new life. That's been the start of many stories, but this one's a little different. The woman in question is the world's greatest assassin, and she and her awful ex both worked for a criminal mastermind known as Requin, and the ex's response to getting dumped is to declare her a traitor. That means the new life she must start necessitates taking down Requin and his entire criminal empire before they kill her. That's the premise of Kill Them All, the upcoming graphic by Kyle Starks, which he's funding with a Kickstarter campaign that launched today.

For the past few days, Osamu Tezuka fans have been patiently waiting to see what secret reveal lied at the conclusion of a countdown site teasing what appeared to be a mash-up game featuring a number of Tezuka's creations. With nothing but silhouettes of more recognizable characters like Astro Boy and Black Jack, a list of mangaka and game creators contributing and the idea to "Trust the Ministry," there wasn't a lot to go on. Today, all the truths have been outed, and Project Atom unveiled the Kickstarter campaign for Astro Boy: Edge of Time, a new digital collectible card game that takes place in one world wherein all the Tezuka characters live. There's just one problem; Astro Boy's gone missing.

Leeds-based cartoonist Kate-mia White has been working on a fairytale, a hand-crafted comic set into seven fantastical parts. A Dark Forest is the story of Elizabeth, a young woman who lives with her family in a small house in a tiny village. However, Elizabeth starts to wonder why everyone around her is acting so strangely, and it turns out that her sister, Grace, has a bit of a secret --- and everybody else in the village is suspicious. Now running a Kickstarter for the third issue of the series, White takes elements of folk tradition, myth, and dark fantasy and blends them into a unique, wonderful narrative. Completely hand-made --- every issue is hand-bound --- the sheer level of craft on display with this project is absolutely amazing. A Dark Forest is illustrated in keen detail, with a slowly unravelling narrative that feels like a fresh take on the classic fairytale. Back Pages spoke to White to learn more.

Robin Hoelzemann's webcomic Curia Regis has been running since 2010, an 18th century battle of wits (and sometimes weapons) centered on a power vacuum that can only be resolved when someone ascends to the throne. Whether that person deserves the throne is not important; the kingdom needs a regent! As Hoelzemann brings the series to Kickstarter to seek a print release of the first volume, Back Pages spoke to her about how the story came about, and how she keeps up her weekly routine of comics intrigue.

Czap Books is a new micropublisher from America, founded by Kevin Czapiewski. The goal of Czap is simple: to bring new works to print, and get notable comics in the hands of people who are going to love them. The 2017 line consists of Witchlight by Jessi Zabarsky, Don't Tell Me Not To Worry (I'll Worry All I Want) by Kelly Kwang, and Egg Creme #1 by Liz Suburbia, and Czap has taken to Kickstarter to fund the line, and has already hit the funding target of $12,500. That's an impressive feat, and testament to the drawing power of the three cartoonists. Czap Books has huge plans for the coming years, and this Kickstarter is just the start of it. Back Pages spoke to Czapiewski about the publisher's plans and what to expect for the future.