Kickstarter

People may say that superheroes are still the biggest thing in comics in 2016, but don’t be fooled: romance is where it's at. The comics scene is increasingly packed with different anthologies and stories finding new ways to explore romance, connection, love, and friendship. There’s no end to what you can do with a strong romance story, and that’s evidenced brilliantly in the new comics anthology Strange Romance, which is running on Kickstarter right now. Back Pages spoke to editor Adam Prosser about how the book came together, and what strange, weird love stories readers can find inside.

Decrypting Rita is a singular vision for what comics can be. The invention of Margaret Trauth, this story of a lesbian robot whose perception of reality slips across multiple dimensions is highlighted by a bizarre, incredible, all-digital artistic style that throws you straight into the story without any excuses, hand-holding, or frills. This is pure glossy adrenaline, with a story that unravels and unfolds in unstoppable, unpredictable, yet memorable fashion. It's utterly fantastic work, and Trauth is currently running a Kickstarter to help fund the third and final volume. As the Kickstarter wings towards the funding target, Trauth spoke to Back Pages about her inspirations and aspirations for the story, and offers some in-depth advice for anybody who might be considering crowdfunding themselves. Get ready for a lesson in how to do it, everyone.

Ladies' Night is a comics book club for women that grew into a collective determined to make their own comics. That vision was realized in the form of a series of anthologies, with three volumes currently in print. Now the fourth Ladies' Night anthology is raising money on Kickstarter. The project is a huge undertaking, and one that has built up a dedicated and passionate following. Back Pages spoke to editors Lauren Burke, Megan Byrd, Summer Sparacin and Caitlin Rosberg about what to expect from volume four, "Eat it Up!"

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!

“A dragon, a faun and a young troll boy are on the run from the United States government.” That’s how Paul Allor describes the premise of Past the Last Mountain, the comic book he created with Imaginary Drugs artist Louie Joyce. After being initially published on Comixology this year by Comics Experience, Allor and Joyce are now funding a deluxe print edition via Kickstarter.

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!

The Elements Anthology is the latest comics anthology spearheaded by editor Taneka Stotts, who you should know as one of the fine folks who brought Beyond to life last year. A collection of comics by people of color, Elements is planned to be the first in a series of books --- each one of which, no surprise, will focus on an element. First up? Fire. That should gives you an idea of just how hard the series plans to hit straight out the gate; the emphasis is on passion, rage, emotion, raw power. You should expect to find all of that in the pages of Elements if it reaches it's Kickstarter goal. ComicsAlliance spoke to Stotts about her role as editor, why she wanted to strike the match and start the anthology up, and what people can expect when the Fire hits this year.

Enough Space for Everyone Else is a space and sci-fi themed anthology with a difference: the book promises to feature absolutely no stories about war, imperialism, or anything that looks to turn the grand unexplored majesty of space into yet another battleground. With the galaxy stretching out infinitely, why do so many authors seem intent on using that canvas as merely another place to do a war story? Editor J.N. Monk's PG-13 anthology looks to truly make use of the endless possibility of space, widening the types of stories that can be told within its limitless scope. ComicsAlliance stopped to explore the galaxy with J.N., and find out what they have in store for the project.

The Kickstarter for Raised on Ritalin by Eisner-nominated cartoonist Tyler Page pulls from two sources. The first is the series of hard science journals that detail attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), how it is investigated, and what it means for those who have it. The second? His own life. Diagnosed with attention deficit disorder as a child, Page has been a "hard drug user" since before he was ten years old, prescribed the drug Ritalin by doctors and left to grow up with the medication. Both approaches have plenty of value, but it's the combination of the two very different perspectives that make the comic so memorable and important, as both a story and journal. With the Kickstarter for Raised on Ritalin just reaching its target goal this week, ComicsAlliance spoke to Page about how the project works, why he started it, and what he hopes it will offer readers and other people with ADHD.

Between them, writer John Ostrander and artist Jan Duursema have done some amazing comics work. Ostrander is best known as the creator of Suicide Squad and co-creator of Oracle with his late wife Kim Yale; Duursema has artist and writer credits ranging from Sgt.. Rock to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Together, they've worked on a Hawkman series, the old Star Wars Expanded Universe, and more besides. Now they've teaming up again and have turned to Kickstarter to fund original graphic novel Hexer Dusk, a 72-page full color book written by Ostrander from an idea by Duursema, illustrated by Duursema. The book is in the final stretch of its campaign, but there's still time to get on board.