Okies are among those finding Kickstarter comics success
The crowdfunding site Kickstarter keeps growing as a way for independent publishers to launch comics, including many in the Oklahoma community.
In October, Kickstarter reported more than 10,000 comics projects have been successfully funded in the site's history.
It's been a record year thus far in 2020, with more than $22 million pledged to comics projects. More than 74% of comics projects are successfully funded.
Two Oklahoma projects are among those currently seeking funds on Kickstarter. From Literati Press, “Glamorella's Daughter.” And from writer Jared Blount and artist Tyler Kelting, “Strange Animals.”
Jerry Bennett, Brandy Williams and Charles J. Martin created “Glamorella's Daughter.” According to Kickstarter, its goal is “to explore the difficulties children face when trying to relate to their working parents in this middle grade comic series.”
Literati released a limited black-and-white version of the comic in 2019 locally. With this campaign, the team aims to fund full-color printing of issue 1 and support national campaigns to market “Glamorella's Daughter.”
“This story reflects my experience as a father learning to adapt to a brilliant
child with a mind that works so differently from my own,” Martin said. “I'm encouraged to have heard from other parents who've identified with Glamorella and Comet's struggle to relate to one another. I wish I'd known more as a young father about the gifts and challenges of parenting a child on the spectrum, so I'm hoping this comic might help families lucky enough to have their own Comet in their lives.”
The campaign can be found at: https://www.kickstarter. com/projects/literatipress/ glamorellas-daughter-1
For those seeking darker fare, Blount and Kelting's “Strange Animals” might fit the bill. The dark comedy features an intertwined story of three serial killers in a small town.
Blount in 2019 directed “Evil Dead: The Musical” for Pollard Theatre; Kelting is the writer/artist for the comic “My Friend Death” and the color artist for the comic “Morgan's Organs,” which has been optioned for development as a TV series.
The “Strange Animals” Kickstarter can be found at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tkink/ strange-animals-1-a-tale-ofintertwined-serial-killers
Matthew Price, matthew@ matthewLprice.com, has written about the comics industry for more than two decades. He is the co-owner of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman.