“What do you think about comic book Kickstarter projects?” This is a question I have been asked to cover on the website for months. Kickstarter has offered a market for creators to get new projects off the ground, and many people wonder if it is a legitimate form of raising money to get started or to grow in the industry. The problem is, everyone, my jury is still out on comic book Kickstarter projects.
Giving More Opportunities than Ever: Positives
Kickstarter is giving more people opportunities than ever before. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. On one hand, comic book Kickstarter projects can give chances to people which never got their start in the industry. It could be that they never got that key interview because they could not get past an editor’s gatekeeper. It could be because a style they work in is something completely different than what is on the market right now. It might be that a creator was just too scared to go before a legend or editor in the first place. Comic book Kickstarter projects can give these deserving people their chances.
Giving More Opportunities than Ever: Negatives
I have noticed a steep incline of comic book Kickstarter projects. In my opinion, most of what I have seen does not deserve print, but I have also seen many exceptions and seen projects which I have pushed for. I worry that the market might become inundated with comic book Kickstarter projects and it could kill that method for struggling creators to get noticed. At the same time, I am concerned by any issue which could potentially damage the comic book industry in any way. If Kickstarter takes off even more than it is, could that shake up the market share?
Finding Funding: Positives
Finding funding is something difficult to do, and even comic book Kickstarter projects typically struggle to get over the hump they need to pass. On one hand, I applaud those with successful comic book Kickstarter projects because they are able to convince the end purchaser to support the project. These creators help to promote their passion by putting their projects online for support or open criticism.
Finding Funding: Negatives
I don’t know if it is because I was raised by parents who were born in the days before WWII, or if it because I have worked hard to get what I have – but the other hand of the funding question for comic book Kickstarter projects leaves a sour taste in my mouth. In a way, Kickstarter can be overly easy to raise money. In fact, many projects raise loads more money that was expected. It is almost like the public is simply handing some people the win. This is not the case with all comic book Kickstarter projects – but the few spoil the rest for me. Maybe, in time, my mood will change on this question, but it is the hardest hump for me to get over.
I have been following Kickstarter for a few years now.
A lot of people (this is a general observation, and not aimed at you, or the article Larry) seem to have the notion that an idea is less brilliant because the publisher didn’t have a life-changing struggle while trying to get their vision to the market. I call B.S. on this.
My favorite thing about crowd-sourcing is that I can find an idea I love and step in at the ground floor. From day one I can watch the project evolve over the course of weeks and months, watching the idea blossom, take shape, even change. So, as a consumer it gives me an intimate sneak peak into a side of my favorite hobbies I would normally never see. I friggin’ love that!
P.S. If you browse kickstarter – and imagine yourself as an old lady, with a cup full of quarters, sitting at a slot machine – and throw $0.25 into a multitude of projects, then by this time next year you can brag that you helped in shaping pop culture as a whole.