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Welcome back to another installment of Indie Comics Showcase, the weekly blog where we signal boost a few truly independent comics that are currently crowdfunding their projects, crowdsourcing their funding in some way, or just completely self-publishing on their own. Every little bit of support for these creators matters, from a single dollar pledge to the twenty-five dollar bundle, and of course the higher tiers are usually fun too! Even if you can’t back a campaign or buy a book, you can share or tweet about these projects to your friends and followers.
On Indie Comics Showcase, we interview the creators, show off some art, and tell you how you can check out the product for yourself. Below we have some outstanding crowdfunding campaigns this week for you to learn about, enjoy, and hopefully support by backing one or more of them! Thanks for checking these out and for being the best part of Indie Comics Showcase. Let’s jump in!
Check out the campaign here!
Chris Braly: Welcome back to Indie Comics Showcase, Clint! Tell our readers your elevator pitch for Downcast 3: Submerged – Briefly tell our readers the pitch and get newcomers up to speed.
Clint Stoker: At its core, Downcast is about a brother and sister, Jax and Joanne, who live in a floating city above the earth. They’ve been through a lot already, but now they are both working at apprenticeships and trying to get back to life when a mysterious diver, the Monstro, shows up looking for revenge and outlandish stories about the ‘gods’ of Strata. Joanne and Jax are forced to choose between pursuing their new lives, or joining the Monstro in war that could permanently destroy all happiness they’ve built.
CB: Where did the idea for Downcast come from, and what led to you deciding to crowdfund it?
CS: Initially Downcast was my high-budget comic concept. I pulled influences from 90s video games, like Final Fantasy 7 and Jet Moto. Beyond that, I was really fascinated with the concept of power corrupting people. The first story arch was very much a political thriller in this sci-fi world. The submerged story arch has more of a straight-forward superhero bend inspired by Frank Miller’s run on Daredevil.
CB: What kind of comic fans do you expect this comic will appeal to the most?
CS: Comic readers looking for something a little different from the traditional superhero fare and traditional YA novel readers who have felt the genera abandon everything they liked in favor of the social-political trash filling the shelves now. Downcast is the logical next-step that both comics and novels have seemed to have missed or completely ignored.
CB: Are there further stories to tell in this universe?
CS: Absolutely. Part of the challenge here is to allow the series to grow organically – not over commit. I have a larger storyline that is intended to take 3 more books, after Submerged. However, the more I work on this book, the more ideas I get. This world has so much potential. I could easily explore a lot more of this world with more great stories.
CB: Let’s get into the creative and production side a little. Tell us a bit about your creative team that have contributed to this project?
CS: It’s primarily me and Ignacio “Nacho” Lazaro with Eric Weathers on letters. Nacho and I have worked together for years, but this time he’s doing all the colors himself.
CB: What’s the workflow like? How do you like to work?
CS: This book has been near-perfect as far as the workflow. Nacho and I agreed on a schedule beforehand, I had deadlines for the 3 scripts that make up “Submerged” and he had deadlines in 10-page increments. This has been the most organized production schedule and it really shows. Nobody was rushed, and at the same time, the book was finished before we launched the campaign. Everything was written in full-script, but Nacho has a lot of power to get creative with the story beats. We are like a well-oiled machine.
CB: You were crowdfunding comics for the first time two years ago. Now that you’ve got some campaigns under your belt, what have you been learning from crowdfunding and creating through this process?
CS: Crowdfunding is such a task and an art. I’ve learned to keep my expectations modest, always, but plan for ways to capitalize on every opportunity along the way – or try to at least. That means making the campaign simple, but provide enough material for those backers that want more than just one book. I think I’ve got a good thing going. $20 for a book, but if you are willing to pay $75, then I can ship you a really nice haul of books and extras. So it’s about making it accessible for new backers, and giving super-backers something they can get excited about.
CB: Thanks for chatting with us again, Clint! Good luck and we are rooting for you!
CS: My pleasure! Thank you so much!
Check out the campaign here!
Chris Braly: Tell our readers your elevator pitch for Damegang – Briefly tell our readers the pitch.
Billy Nunez: In our world some people are born with conditions such as dwarfism. In this world some women are born with giantism, where they grow to be super tall and extra thick. In the story of DAMEGANG we follow a select few of these giantesses, when they end up getting super powers from an ancient artifact and are thrusted into a plot even bigger than themselves.
CB: What was the genesis for this project, where did the idea for this comic come from, and what led to you deciding to crowdfund it?
BN: I’ve been drawing these types of women for most of my life. I thought that taking it to the next level would be to give them a story. Combining characters like Chun-Li and Laura from Street Fighter, with Power Rangers, X-Men, giantesses, and other things. I wanted to create a project that included as much of the stuff that I like to draw all in one universe.
CB: What kind of comic fans do you expect this comic will appeal to and entertain the most?
BN: Whoever is tired of mainstream comics making all their women unsexy, and want to see some hot female heroes going on fun adventures.
CB: Let’s get into the creative and production side a little. Tell us a bit about your creative team that have contributed to this project?
BN: I’m doing this all by myself.
CB: What’s the workflow like? How do you like to work?
BN: I like to work in phases. Spend some time doing nothing but drawing, then spend time doing nothing but inking, then coloring, etc.
CB: Your first crowdfund appears to be a collection of illustrations. What have you learned from crowdfunding and creating through that process?
BN: Part of the point of that book (Future Face Vol. 1) was to learn the crowdfunding process. Getting used to the shipping process, printing, communicating with the backers, so it could be easier to deal with when doing a larger project like DAMEGANG.
CB: What is your purpose for telling this story and what are your plans beyond this book? Are there more stories to tell?
BN: I wanted to give the types of sexy female characters I draw all the time a story and a world to live in. This book is just part 1 of 3 of the origin story. After that I have many stories I’d like to tell with these characters.
CB: Thanks for chatting with us, Billy! Good luck and we are rooting for you!
BN: Thank you!
Check out the campaign here!
Grab a copy on Amazon here!
Chris Braly: Tell our readers your elevator pitch for Raze – Briefly tell our readers the pitch.
Samuel Willis: Raze started off as a “What if” question among two kids 15 years ago. Since then, it has transpired into the horror/action-themed comic book series we have today. It takes place in modern day New York during an outbreak of an unknown and deadly virus. Our protagonists will have to band together if they want to survive the outbreak as well as discover the truth behind its origin. We really want to give our readers something they can connect with, which is why we try to use as many real people and real locations as possible.
CB: What was the genesis for this project, where did the idea for this comic come from, and what led to you deciding to self-publish?
SW: The idea for the comic book really derived from video games. We grew up on zombie video games such as Left 4 Dead and that really launched our ideas to be something different and cool. As far as the self-publishing aspect, it really was our only option. We have been on a limited budget and have limited resources as two indie creators.
CB: What kind of comic fans do you expect this comic will entertain the most?
SW: We really believe this comic will appeal more to horror fans, but it also has more of a reach than just the horror genre. We see ourselves as a horror/action comic book. If you like a good story and you like all of those elements mixed together, then this is the book for you!
CB: Let’s get into the creative and production side a little. Tell us a bit about your creative team that have contributed to this project?
SW: Our production has definitely been an accumulation of trial and error. We have worked with many people and the artists who have stayed are the ones who make up our fantastic creative team. We have Ivan Lugomer, all the way from Croatia, who works on covers. My little brother, Ben Willis, is the one who does all of the storyboards and panel structures. We have one artist, Montis Echoe Boeher, who gives us the line work for all the pages and does a fantastic job. We also have my co-creator, Tre Primm, who puts the lasting touches on our pages. He is responsible for inking all the pages and gives our comic the style that we have. Last but not least, I come in at the end and put all the speech bubbles together and Tre helps me with any final edits. It really is a well- oiled machine and everybody has their part and everyone that works on this project is nothing short of excellent.
CB: What other comics work have you been involved with before this comic?
SW: We haven’t been involved in any comics prior. This is our first comic and it actually took several tries and years to come out with Issue 1.
CB: What have you been learning from independent creating and self-publishing through this process?
SW: The one thing I think I have learned from self-publishing this title is that you have to put yourself out there. We have traveled to numerous stores and we have laid the groundwork to being accepted in over 10 stores on the East Coast. We are shooting for more and more stores each month and we don’t plan on stopping until RAZE is in every store in the U.S.
CB: What is your purpose for telling this story and what are your plans beyond this book? Are there more stories to tell?
SW: The purpose for telling this story all started from two kids who had nothing better to do than to make each other laugh. My co-creator (Tre Primm) and I started doing this in middle school and it’s amazing that we were able to bring something from our childhood into this type of medium. As for our plans for beyond this book and more stories, the answer is YES. Raze is a giant universe and we have been planning this for over 10 years now. We have all the content we could possibly need to give our soon-to-be fans an immersive universe.
CB: Thanks for chatting with us, Samuel! Anything else you’d like to add?
SW: The only thing I would like to add is thank you for the opportunity! If you are interested, go to comixology.com and follow us on our Facebook page! We are Raze Comics and we hope you pick up a book and join us on our journey. Thank you!
That’s it for this installment! Support indie comics!!!
Follow Indie Comics Showcase on Twitter at @Indie_Comics and reach out to them if you want us to consider featuring YOUR crowdfunding comic project!
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