Crowdfunding

Ahead of the Johnny Wander omnibus release, ComicsAlliance talked to Hirsh and Ota about what it was like to revisit their old work, how they set boundaries for their comic, the Kickstarter process and if they see themselves returning to autobiographical comics in the vein of the omnibus.

There are many cities which could be considered a "home" for comics, and Toronto is right up there as one of the biggest creative communities in the medium today. With a number of the most famous writers and artists in comics today hailing from Canada, and a rising number of conventions and events taking place across Toronto itself, there's a real sense of activity coming from the city these days. And with Toronto itself also having a fascinating history of its own, why not explore that a little? With Toronto Comics, editor Steven Andrews has been able to bring a sense of that spirited community to comics, and currently has a Kickstarter running to help fund the latest in the series of anthologies themed around Toronto --- and featuring comics creators from the city --- to life. To find out more about the project, ComicsAlliance spoke to Andrews about his work on the series, and what readers can expect should the latest volume be funded.

Escapist fantasies are seductive in their power to take us away. Whatever mundane, excruciating chore you find yourself mired in, forget it. Imagine yourself in a fairy tale, where the fantastic and enchanting and eye-catching come to life. Or fashion yourself with some unshakable destiny, charted on a world-saving path that is only yours. In Megan Lavey-Heaton and Isabelle Melançon's Namesake, Emma Crewe gets both of those — she's plopped into a world of inter-stitched classic fairy tales (Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz) to find herself expected to serve as a "Dorothy." Her fantastical escape might not be quite what she expected. ComicsAlliance spoke with Melançon and Lavey-Heaton about genre subversion, color choices, and the problem with "grimdark."

I love GI Joe in all its forms, but even with 27 different variations of Snake Eyes and a small army of Destros, I've always felt like my action figure collection was missing something. Like, say, a godlike figure who could walk among them, shaping their extremely complicated destinies. And now, I finally have the chance to add that with the Larry Hama: A Rea American Creator action figure, currently available from Bill Murphy in an unofficial, not-at-all-affiliated-with-Hasbro-or-GI Joe Kickstarter campaign.

Mike Kingston has described Headlocked, the comic he writes with artist Michel Mulipola as a cable TV drama-style take on the world of professional wrestling, centered on an aspiring actor who gives up on theater to focus on making it in the King of Sports. With three volumes funded through Kickstarter campaigns, the series has become a cult favorite among wrestling fans and comics readers, both for the ongoing story and the involvement of pro wrestlers as writers and artists for bonus stories included in the paperbacks Now, as the campaign for Headlocked Volume 4: The Hard Way is rolling along, I sat down with Kingston at Emerald City Comic-Con to talk about bridging the gap between comics and pro wrestling, the strange journey he's taken, and what it's like to share a table at a comic book convention with the legendary 16-time world champion, Ric Flair.

When Emet Comics absorbed Rosy Press, we knew that would lead to more diverse queer romance comics, and quite possibly more of Fresh Romance, the anthology title that first launched back in 2014. And our dreams have come true, with Emet announcing a new Kickstarter campaign to fund Fresh Romance Volume 2, a collection of all new romance stories to be published as five digital issues as well as a print collection.

In Tabula Idem, editors Hye M. and Iris Jay have taken the conceit of tarot and used it as a conduit to tell stories about queer characters from queer creators. The project is running on Kickstarter now and looking for a funding target of $44,000, and every story features a card from the tarot deck, with the stories in some cases serving as a sort of "origin" for how the card gained its meaning and relevance, and found a place in the deck. It's a fabulous-looking project from a team that only began work on the anthology at last year's Emerald City Comic-Con. One year later, and with the project heading to print, ComicsAlliance spoke to both editors about their vision for Tabula Idem, and what readers can expect from the completed collection.

In 2010 Professor John Jennings and Dr. Damian Duffy joined forces with Magnetic Press for an art book called Black Comix: American Independent Comics Art & Culture. Featuring work from a number of prominent African-American creators, the book proved a great success on Kickstarter, with a fully funded print run. Seven years later, the duo have re-teamed for Black Comix Returns, adding David Dissanayake as co-editor, and featuring artists including Sanford Greene, Afua Richardson, and Ben Passmore, plus many, many others. As before, the book has proved immediately popular; the Kickstarter has hit its target and is rapidly racing through its stretch goals. ComicsAlliance spoke to Duffy about the project and how it came together.

The Golden Age of comics is best remembered for the creation of the iconic superheroes such as Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. But for every lasting success story, there were other characters who were created and then seemingly forgotten. Whatever happened to those heroes? A new anthology spearheaded by Einar Másson and Matt Harding looks to answer that question. Not Forgotten is a collection of stories that revives some of the other heroes of the Golden Age, in the hopes of returning these relics to new relevance. With an impressive line-up of creators, the anthology is currently running on Kickstarter, seeking a funding target of $25,000. ComicsAlliance spoke to Másson and Harding about how the project came together.

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!