Why Are Some Kickstarter Comics Campaigns Invisible to Backers?: What's New in Kickstarter Comics for June 14-15, 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: 281
Total # Comics Launches for These Dates: 10
The View from the Gutter
Of the 8 weekend launches that were actually for comics (1 is for a pin-up book, and 1 is for a how-to-draw book), half of them currently have 4 or less backers. 2 others have 39 or less. The other 2 are big indie franchise comics for Drew Hayes’ Poison Elves (313 backers) and Fred Perry’s Gold Digger (285 backers).
Let’s look closely at the campaigns with single-digit backers and attempt to diagnose some of their particular issues:
Scent of Death - A bloody tribute to the cult slashers of the 1970s
# Backers: 4
2 previous successful campaigns
Funding Goal: $489 ($162 raised)
Interesting cover art
Interior sequential art samples
One-paragraph story synopsis
No PDF reward option
Lowest reward tier high ($17) but not outrageous for 30 pages on Kickstarter (includes shipping to Canada)
ADDAX: Unbound Fury #2 With catch up tiers. = ADDAX is the Chosen One Universe’s first Super Powered Vigilante. He is on a mission of VENGEANCE to stop those who ruined his life!
# Backers: 4
Funding Goal: $1000 ($171 raised)
2 previous successful campaigns
Cover art samples
Interior sequential art samples
Story synopsis
Fairly priced entry reward tiers ($5 PDF & $12 Physical)
Nightmare/Graphic Novel - while we can control our urges, in the nightmare world, people are one hundred percent controlled by their Instincts.
# Backers: 1
Funding Goal: $5000 ($703 raised)
0 previous successful campaigns
No cover art samples
No interior sequential art samples
One-paragraph story synopsis
Only pledge option is “Make a pledge without a reward”
Trinity's Creatures: Beware of Stronghold Castle - Welcome to Stronghold Castle! A fortified castle where the souls of the lost roam aimlessly while begging for mercy.
# Backers: 2
Funding Goal: $1200 ($300 raised)
2 (out of 4) previous successful campaigns
Cover art samples
Interior sequential art samples
Story synopsis
Fairly priced entry reward tiers ($8 PDF & $15 Physical for 50 pages)
One surprising finding is that 3 of these creators have at least 2 successful campaigns to their names. The problems with the other (Nightmare/Graphic Novel) are obvious…it’s an empty campaign with no comic to offer and no rewards that should’ve never been approved by Trust & Safety to launch. But those by previously successful creators also include all the basic elements of a comic, as well as fair and routine rewards structures.
So, I took a little dive into their handling of previous campaigns and here’s what I found:
The creator of Scent of Death has one outstanding campaign not due for fulfillment until October, and the one prior was fulfilled on time.
The creator of ADDAX: Unbound Fury fulfilled their first campaign 14 months late and their last one nearly 6 months late, likely damaging backer confidence among their already small base.
The creator of Trinity's Creatures has posted a grand total of one update between 2 campaigns that ended in 2023.
So, the situations vary, but there are potential backer communication and trust concerns with a couple of those. Subjectively, the art and overall presentation of the products for these campaigns lags substantially behind the standard for consistently successful Kickstarter creators, which may also be a factor. One might also conjecture about the impact of receiving late and/or substandard comics on a lack of returning backers. I won’t speculate on how the search algorithm may demote these poorly trafficked projects in its results.
Comics I Like
PRYME8 Issues #1-3 by Konkret Comics
A military test subject with a bulletproof mask and the strength of a silverback fights to keep the peace in a lawless city.
When a radical new district known as the Liberated Nation shakes the city of New West, a mysterious vigilante with superhuman strength rises to dispense justice to those who want to burn the Nation and its people to the ground. And sometimes, spilling blood is the only way to make a point.
Cool monkey cover art & design
Wicked, painterly interior art, colors & composition
Goal: $1200
End Date: June 29, 2025
Estimated Delivery: November, 2025
No. Pages: Not specified
Lowest Digital Tier Price: $25 (bundle)
Lowest Print Tier Price: $10
Catch-up rewards tiers available
Fluorescent Killers #1-2: A Cyberpunk Neo-noir by M Gedela
A dark and gritty sci-fi thriller set in dystopian Antarctica about a lonely assassin, and a hard-boiled detective
Antarctica, 2138. Crime's hard, and killers are out of jobs. A lonely assassin resorts to a dating app that's exclusive to serial killers to meet fellow professionals who can get her out of her boredom. Meanwhile, a hard-boiled detective is desperate for leads in a crime involving stolen brains.
Captivating, bold cover art & design
Striking, stylized and vivid interior art, colors & composition
Goal: $800
End Date: July 30, 2025
Estimated Delivery: July, 2025
No. Pages: Not specified
Lowest Digital Tier Price: $5
Lowest Print Tier Price: $15
Catch-up rewards tiers available
Poison Elves Book 3 Hardcover by Drew Hayes Poison Elves
The 3rd archival volume of the iconic 90s comic, collecting Drew Hayes Poison Elves #21 to #40 from Sirius Entertainment.
Lusiphur experiences his biggest traumatic loss since childhood. The Guild want to assassinate Luse, the police want to hang him and the wizard Tenth wants…something more. Lusiphur reunites with his pal Jace and then things get really complicated. Hyena and Widowmaker are also on hand to battle for Lusiphur’s very essence.
Slick, deceptively simple cover art & design
Classic, epic interior art & composition
Goal: $15,000
End Date: July 15, 2025
Estimated Delivery: April, 2026
No. Pages: 448
Lowest Digital Tier Price: $35
Lowest Print Tier Price: $95
Catch-up rewards tiers available