CBR: Strickler Kickstarts Comics

[CBR News]

One of the comics industry game-changers of 2010 was the discovery of the crowd-funding website Kickstarter. Co-founder and CEO Yancey Strickler spoke with CBR News about his company's mission and philosophy.


Full article here.

[dupont2005]

I dislike Kickstarter to the point that in the very small chance that someone actually reaches their donation goal and gets their Kickstarter comic published, and it's actually good, I still won't buy it.

[the_speedball]

I dislike Kickstarter to the point that in the very small chance that someone actually reaches their donation goal and gets their Kickstarter comic published, and it's actually good, I still won't buy it.

That seems silly, but to each his own I suppose...

[dupont2005]

With print to order services all over the internet these days, and people using them capable of providing a comic at as little as $3 per issue, there is no way I'm pre-ordering someone's pet idea that may or may not ever happen for between $10 and $50 for a hard copy off nothing more than a page or two of character designs. The way I see it, if you really want it to happen and don't have the money to make it happen, go print on demand.

[noh-varr]

With print to order services all over the internet these days, and people using them capable of providing a comic at as little as $3 per issue, there is no way I'm pre-ordering someone's pet idea that may or may not ever happen for between $10 and $50 for a hard copy off nothing more than a page or two of character designs. The way I see it, if you really want it to happen and don't have the money to make it happen, go print on demand.

And what about the other projects that have nothing to do with comics? Or you know the majority of the projects on the site? The artists, writers, directors, and others who use the site?

[Kody]

With print to order services all over the internet these days, and people using them capable of providing a comic at as little as $3 per issue, there is no way I'm pre-ordering someone's pet idea that may or may not ever happen for between $10 and $50 for a hard copy off nothing more than a page or two of character designs. The way I see it, if you really want it to happen and don't have the money to make it happen, go print on demand.

I think you may be missing the point of how Kickstarter actually works. It's not designed to be a publisher. It's just a way to generate funds to start a new project. You can use your funds to do whatever you want, and for some people, that includes publishing costs.

My book, SWEETS, was already set up to be published by Image Comics, so I used Kickstarter to help generate marketing budget for the book because that's a very large expense and it's often overlooked by many creator owned comics. The Kickstarter contributions helped cover things like printing ashcan preview books, shipping those ashcans to reviewers, web banner ads, Facebook ads, convention and trade show booth fees, etc.

But filmmakers are using it to buy cameras and lights, musicians are using it to buy studio time, and comic creators are using it for all sorts of things. I had a great experience and I recommend it to anyone looking to get a project off the ground.

[dupont2005]

And what about the other projects that have nothing to do with comics? Or you know the majority of the projects on the site? The artists, writers, directors, and others who use the site?

I haven't seen them spamming the boards asking crazy amounts for digital copies of their book that is never gonna happen so they don't bother me as much. Outside of comics I have only seen two kickstarters and both were successful, one was crazy successful. His goal was $15,000 in sales and last time I checked I think he was bordering on a million. But I honestly did think Kickstarter was a comic book based site until I saw those two others. Anyway, there is a system set up for getting comics in print without any up front cost to the creator, so there doesn't seem to be any reason to have to ask for money on Kickstarter for a comic. As far as other things, people are still stuck with going to a bank and hoping for a loan, and if being turned down looking around for investors. Things like actual manufacturing.
http://mashable.com/2010/12/17/kickstarter-ipod-nano/
And with this watch that was amazingly successful, there is no manufacture on demand system out there. Also, his preorder prices were not severely inflated with the rationalization that you can be in on the ground floor of something new, it's just a fair price for an innovative product. But even so, when I first saw this (before he broke 200k in sales), I thought "Why didn't he go to a bank and get a loan? This is a great idea and 15k isn't a lot of money..." but it looks like it worked out for him anyway.

[DonC]

If someone were to give contributors something of actual value, I wouldn't be opposed to donating. For example, Athena Voltaire creator Steve Bryant was giving out original art if you donated $100. I might have done that, but by the time I saw the listing it was over.

Most comics ones I've seen, however, look far too amateurish for me to even think about donating.

[jediracer]

Boo Kickstarter -- nothing worse than a bunch of cash-poor artists panhandling online.

[justinpeterson]

I'm kind of surprised by the response to this article. So much so, that I had to register just so I can chime in.

I'm currently using Kickstarter to fund my graphic novel. I'm, by no means, a "cash-poor" artist. I'm not here to panhandle for your money. In fact, I make a pretty decent living being a full time artist as it is. However, the costs to print and promote a comic are beyond that of my budget. Especially to print any significant amounts of a 175 page graphic novel.

I'm using the funding (once it ends) to cover the costs of printing the book, along with covering the costs of travel AND set-up expenses at major conventions across the country. C2E2, MoCCA Fest, NYCC, SPX, Comic-con, etc. My hope is that the book will sustain itself, allowing for more printing and more promotion.

I understand the worry that some of you may have over 'pre-ordering a book that may or may not happen'... but you don't ACTUALLY get charged until/if the funding is reached.

Are there some amateurish books on that site? Yes. There are. But, there's also some great talent on there, too. Tony "Ex Machina" Harris is using Kickstarter for his own original graphic novel! It's not just small time artists like me.

And some of those people offer cool rewards for your contribution. Some of my rewards include a limited edition sketch book, a oversized hard cover edition, you can become a minor OR major supporting character, sketches, pages, t-shirts, posters... so on and so forth. I made sure to make it worth it for you to help me out. I also update my blog and Facebook pages will preview art from the book on a near daily basis.

I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for $10 bucks for a 175 page graphic novel, seeing as most books in that price range are well above $15 or more.
I don't even think it's unreasonable to ask for $5 for the digital copy. You're paying $2.99 for Marvel books digitally, and that's only 22 pages!

My goal is to get this book into as many small and large publishers hands as possible. I also am aware that it's not an easy task. I don't want to just "print on demand", and sell 10 copies to my friends. I want to be able to go to conventions, talk to fans, get them as excited about my book as I am. Using Kickstarter, I'll be able to do these things.

You've got to start somewhere, right?

Like I said earlier, I'm not here to self-promote with a link to my website/Tumblr/Twitter/Facebook/Kickstarter/WHATEVER... I SHOULD, I COULD, but I won't. That's not the point of my post.

If you're interested in my book, I'm sure you're savvy enough to figure out how to find it. :)

END RANT

[Pro]

The way I see it, if you really want it to happen and don't have the money to make it happen, go print on demand.

That only helps with printing costs. It takes a pretty big chunk of time to make a comic and that's unpaid time.

Kickstarter doesn't seem all that different from any other form of financing: you ask a third party to invest in your product. The better you present your product the more likely you get your financing complete. The difference is that you can request financing from an audience that has a genuine interest in your product rather than some bankmanager.

[justinpeterson]

That only helps with printing costs. It takes a pretty big chunk of time to make a comic and that's unpaid time.

Kickstarter doesn't seem all that different from any other form of financing: you ask a third party to invest in your product. The better you present your product the more likely you get your financing complete. The difference is that you can request financing from an audience that has a genuine interest in your product rather than some bankmanager.

EXACTLY. Yes.

[dupont2005]

I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for $10 bucks for a 175 page graphic novel, seeing as most books in that price range are well above $15 or more.
I don't even think it's unreasonable to ask for $5 for the digital copy. You're paying $2.99 for Marvel books digitally, and that's only 22 pages!

I don't think it's unreasonable to ask ten bucks for a graphic novel either, but more commonly I see them asking $30-$50 for a floppy copy as their third or fourth tier of contribution, the first tier not even offering a digital copy at all. I don't think it's reasonable at all to ask $5 for a digital copy. I don't think it's reasonable for Marvel to ask $3 for a digital copy either, and I don't pay it. At least in Marvel's case though, the comic actually exists and if you agree to pay the $3 you will guaranteed get your digital copy, and although super hero comics are not my cup of tea, for that three dollars Marvel does employ the most in-demand talent in the industry. And I still think three bucks is too much for a digital copy of a 22 page floppy.

That only helps with printing costs. It takes a pretty big chunk of time to make a comic and that's unpaid time.

Kickstarter doesn't seem all that different from any other form of financing: you ask a third party to invest in your product. The better you present your product the more likely you get your financing complete. The difference is that you can request financing from an audience that has a genuine interest in your product rather than some bankmanager.

Seems like more than that to me. Plenty of indy creators out there create the artwork for their first issue without getting paid. Eastman and Laird, Dave Sim, Wendy Pini, pretty much everyone that created a self published comic before Kickstarter figured they would have to do it on weekends and after work and things were working out fine. What Kickstarter does is allow people to ask for funds while providing nothing in return more than a five dollar digital copy, or a thirty dollar 20 page floppy. If they actually looked for investors they would have to not only make something happen with the money they borrowed (Nothing about Kickstarter guarantees any of the contributors that they will get anything, only that if the fund raising goal is not met they will not be liable for their pledge. If the fund raising goal is met and the creator still can't get his shit together and make the comic happen, then what? How about those that pay hundreds of dollars to be featured in a later issue, what if there is no later issue?), but they aren't paying interest on a loan, they aren't paying dividends or selling partial ownership to investors, just collecting money. It seems there are a few cases where artists that actually have a following are offering original art at competitive rates as part of their Kickstarter, but I haven't seen that. I do see a lot of Kickstarter threads in the Indy section and occasionally here. I do click on them just for amusement. I find that every single one I have clicked on was severely overpriced floppies and digital copies, grossly overpriced promises of appearances in later issues that will never happen, and little to no production art or sample pages available. Just spend $30 on a comic from some guy you never heard of with zero exposure to his work. I am a huge small press supporter. I do spend $10 on floppies from Johhny Ryan. I follow several comics that can only be bought on Esty or through people's blogs. I gladly pay an extra dollar or two knowing what I bought is self owned and self published. Often when a creator joins this site to promote his new comic, I buy it. I bought Chaotique, Eeek!, Song Of Songs, Allison, and more that I can't think of off the top of my head. I still think every Kickstarter link I have ever viewed was a total scam.

[justinpeterson]

I see them asking $30-$50 for a floppy copy as their third or fourth tier of contribution, the first tier not even offering a digital copy at all.

Well, see, that's a problem to me. I made sure even the lower tiers of mine were/are fairly priced. I understand asking $25 dollars is a lot for a 175 page graphic novel, a 20+ page limited edition sketchbook, your name printed in the thank you section AND the digital copy... however, I CLEARLY state that the funds are also going to promotion, as well.

I leave it to the user. You can just get the book for $10. Probably a couple bucks cheaper than I'll price it normally. I think it's a pretty great deal. You get to help me, you get some (in my opinion) quality entertainment, everyone wins.

Plenty of indy creators out there create the artwork for their first issue without getting paid. Eastman and Laird, Dave Sim, Wendy Pini, pretty much everyone that created a self published comic before Kickstarter figured they would have to do it on weekends and after work and things were working out fine.

I'm not asking to be "paid" for the book. I'm not being paid for it right now. I have 5 pages I'm working on at this moment, when I could be doing freelance work that DOES pay me. I understand that plenty of people that have come before me worked day jobs and created their comics out of love never knowing if they'd ever get a dime.

Some of these guys and girls might be seeing this as a way to collect a paycheck, print a couple comics, and call it a day.

I don't see it that way. Every single dime is going right back into the book. In fact, at the end of the day, I'm going to lose money on this in the short term probably. My normal job pays my bills. Kickstarter pays for the comic. Those indie guys 20 years ago didn't HAVE this to help them. If they did, they may have used it. Why wouldn't they? And why should I feel bad for using it now? Without it, I can't go to C2E2 or MoCCA or NYCC... I can't print more than 20 copies of the book... I can't afford it otherwise. With it... I can print hundreds of copies, buy tables at major comic conventions, promote the book all around the country, instead of just having a few copies in my local comic shop.

It CLEARLY states when you start a project on the site that if you fail to produce the product that you've promised your backers that you could face legal action. I don't know how many people take that seriously, but I'm taking it very seriously.

People have put their money on the line... for me, for the comic, for both, and I'm not taking that responsibility lightly. I think you'd probably find that most (maybe not all) see it the same way. But I can't speak for them. I can speak for myself.

I still think every Kickstarter link I have ever viewed was a total scam.

I hope I have/can change your view on that. If it means posting 20 or 30 or 40 pages of the comic, I'll gladly do that so you can see that maybe not EVERYONE is out to scam people on Kickstarter.

[dupont2005]

You don't have to prove anything to me. I really don't wish you ill will or anything like that. If your book isn't a scam then good for yoou, I still think being associated with Kickstarter and all the unprofessional types and scam artists on there is more of a negative than a positive though.