Anatomy of a Corporate Kickstarter Comics Master Class: What's New in Kickstarter Comics for June 16, 2025
First-glance analysis of the Kickstarter comics market, all summarized in one place!
The mission of The Comic$ Crowd is to curate the crowdfunding campaigns in the Kickstarter Comics category in order to identify and spotlight those projects most likely to yield actual comics and to yield the most high quality comics in terms of story, design, and cover/interior artwork.
To visit the Kickstarter page for any of the projects below, simply click on its title.
By the Numbers
Total # Live Comics Projects on Kickstarter: 279
Total # Comics Launches for These Dates: 18
The View from the Gutter
A busy Monday on Kickstarter heralded a busier week outside Kickstarter for me. Hoping to catch up by tomorrow. The primary reason this post took a couple of days to piece together is that a full 8 of the 18 drops in the Comics category on Monday were awesome. Check out the details below for each of those ‘Comics I Like’.
As a matter of focus, and based upon a recommendation from a reader, let’s scan over a massively successful Kickstarter Comics campaign that also launched on Monday and consider what’s working for this project that, as of this morning, topped $180K in funding:
Crimson: After Hours by Top Cow Productions
A new graphic novel in the shared universe of Sunstone and Blood Stain by Stjepan and Linda Šejić!
An anthology-type tale about a bunch of characters from our shared universe of stories meeting up for an after-hours party at the bdsm/burlesque club, Crimson. Here they get progressively drunker and as a game of truth and dare gets ever more ridiculous, during which we enjoy some slightly exaggerated tales of their intimate successes and failures.
Gorgeous, intriguing cover art & design
Incredible, painterly interior art, colors & composition
Goal: $20,000
End Date: July 16, 2025
Estimated Delivery: November, 2025
No. Pages: 200
Lowest Digital Tier Price: $15
Lowest Print Tier Price: $30
Well, it doesn’t hurt to be published by one of the original lmage Comics imprints, Marc Silvestri’s Top Cow Comics, and to supported by 3+ decades of brand recognition, marketing momentum, and accumulated cash. A successful, dare I say legendary, publishing partner is a rare commodity in Kickstarter land, but it generally produces these sorts of massive results.
Let’s just look at the Kickstarter page layout, which kicks off with a huge, full size image of one of the covers for Crimson: After Hours, an ensemble piece by master comics artists, Stjepan & Linda Sejic, followed by a warm, personal note from Stjepan and exact, particular details about the book, everything from book dimensions to page count to special cover treatments. And it’s all described concisely and understandably. Then, more full-size art from the Sejics, this time from the book’s interior.
I stress full-size when describing the art because so many campaign pages feature cover and interior art that is too tiny to be adequately visible and too tiny to be exquisitely enjoyed enough to entice backers. That’s not a problem here. These creators are supremely talented, so the massive images do the job of selling the comic.
I should also mention that Crimson: After Hours is an off-shoot of this team’s Sunstone universe, which is a BDSM-themed line they’ve produced for years. However, the images used on the Kickstarter page are sultry and suggestive without crossing the line into raunchy. You clearly get the sexual themes without resorting to gratuitous genital displays or 200 AI titty covers. Nothing on this Kickstarter page requires black bars.
The rewards are reasonably priced at $15 (basic digital) and $30 (basic print) for 200 pages of killer content. As of this writing, that basic print tier boasts exactly 1000 backers. That’s finding your audience and pricing to their expectations.
One of the big complaints about corporate comics is that they’re taking over Kickstarter, launching too much. In my research into this topic, that’s simply not true. In the case of Top Cow, this Kickstarter exclusive Crimson: After Hours is their first launch since December and only their seventh since 2020, most of which were prestige hardcover collections of Witchblade and The Darkness. I noted also the clear and frequent updates on some delays in fulfillment of their last campaign, due to the impact of global politics on shipping from China. Professional on every level.
While this campaign is certainly the beneficiary of corporate marketing budgets and brand recognition, it’s also an employer of simple Kickstarter strategies that we can all learn and benefit from. I encourage you to spend some time on this Kickstarter page and to take notes.
Comics I Like
Sanctuary by
A single issue sci-fi light hearted Mad Max type story written by Austin Hamblin with art by Colton Strathman.
Leroy and Megan have had to do unspeakable things to survive in this dystopian world. That is, until they discover their Sanctuary—a place full of greenery, water, and regular nonviolent people. Their nirvana gets disrupted when a gang of cannibals led by Blood Beard finds the Sanctuary! Leroy and Megan must team up to take them out!
Frenetic, eye-catching cover art & design
Dynamic, vicious black-and-white interior art & composition
Goal: $1000
End Date: July 6, 2025
Estimated Delivery: August, 2025
No. Pages: 32
Lowest Digital Tier Price: $3
Lowest Print Tier Price: $14
Quantum #5 - #8 Kickstarter Exclusive by Steve Tanner
The anthology of worlds that are not our own! (Catch up options available)
Within the pages of Quantum you'll find stories of western horror, steampunks in space, alternate worlds, historical adventure and twisted thrillers. There's even unique takes on superheroes!
Solid, inviting cover art & design
Terrific, pro-level interior art, colors & composition
Goal: $670
End Date: July 1, 2025
Estimated Delivery: July, 2025
No. Pages: 52+
Lowest Digital Tier Price: $7
Lowest Print Tier Price: $10
Catch-up rewards tiers available
Ships from the UK
The Phantom of the Opera, a graphic novel.... Book 2 by Rebecca Laff
Act II
After Christine Daaé vanishes from the stage in the middle of her aria, the Paris Opera House is swarming with rumors, but Raoul de Chagny knows the truth: the Phantom of the Opera has taken her prisoner in his underground home! But despite his pleas, nobody will take his story seriously...
Striking, enthralling cover art & design
Gorgeous, expressive grayscale interior art & composition
Goal: $10,000
End Date: July 16, 2025
Estimated Delivery: November, 2025
No. Pages: Not specified
Lowest Digital Tier Price: $20
Lowest Print Tier Price: $27
Catch-up rewards tiers available
PHANTOM LIMBS by Jason McNamara
A successful surgeon discovers his medical skills have been stolen by a very unique thief. A stand-alone comic book thriller.
Adrian is a successful transplant surgeon who seemingly has it all: a career, a house in the hills, and a beautiful woman on his arm. But just as he is about to perform the most challenging procedure of his career, Adrian is shocked to discover his medical skills have been...stolen?
Sharp, clever cover art & design
Remarkable monochromatic interior art & composition
Goal: $2200
End Date: July 8, 2025
Estimated Delivery: September, 2025
No. Pages: 24
Lowest Digital Tier Price: $5
Lowest Print Tier Price: $12
Slices of Life: A Comic Montage by Qu by Bulgilhan Press
Bulgilhan Press presents the complete English-language release of Qu's wonderful collection of sublime comics about life!
A masterful collection of comics of universal experiences that examine the small moments in life in all it's quiet beauty. Sublime comics that inspect and reflect the majesty of everyday life.
Contemplative, pretty cover art & design
Highly detailed, captivating interior art, colors & composition
Goal: $20,000
End Date: July 14, 2025
Estimated Delivery: October, 2025
No. Pages: Not specified
Lowest Digital Tier Price: N/A
Lowest Print Tier Price: $30
Interstellar Dust - Omnibus Vol. 1: NSFW Sci-Fi Action by C.J. Hudson
When a prison transport vessel breaks down, the ship's crew and inmates must do whatever they can to survive a riot in deep space!
In the distant reaches of space, justice is swift—and unforgiving. When a group of less-hardened criminals is sentenced to an off-world prison camp, their fate seems sealed. But when their transport vessel suffers a catastrophic malfunction, chaos erupts, and survival becomes their only goal.
Beautiful, expertly composed cover art & design
Stylized, expressive interior art, colors & composition
Goal: $2500
End Date: July 16, 2025
Estimated Delivery: April, 2026
No. Pages: 200+
Lowest Digital Tier Price: $20
Lowest Print Tier Price: $35
Worthy Chaos Redemption: Horror Supernatural Comics 1-14 by Corissa Grant
A fight for survival against destiny and the forces of the underworld. Think Buffy, Resident Evil, Silent hill, Horror & Supernatural.
The fate of heaven, hell, and the entire cosmos hangs in the balance. Seraphina, a descendant of angels, and demon descendant Draven, two souls bound by destiny, must unearth their forgotten powers, unlock the secrets of their past lives, and rewrite the eternal conflict between angel and demon.
Captivating, bold cover art & design
Striking, stylized and vivid interior art, colors & composition
Goal: $1000
End Date: July 5, 2025
Estimated Delivery: August, 2025
No. Pages: 28
Lowest Digital Tier Price: $5
Lowest Print Tier Price: $10
Catch-up rewards tiers available
Thanks for the shout out!
Thanks for the mention! Appreciate that!