Crowdfunding has become an increasingly common outlet for comics, for both independent creators and major publishers. Iron Circus Comics was among the first to explore the possibilities of funding indie comics on Kickstarter, and now the publisher is taking another leap forward with their latest project. The Poorcraft Cookbook is skipping Kickstarter entirely and running an entirely independent crowdfunding campaign.
The Poorcraft Cookbook is the third volume in creator Spike Trotman's Poorcraft Series, following the original Poorcraft: The Comic Book Guide to Practical Urban and Suburban Frugality and Ryan Estrada's travel-focused spinoff Poorcraft: Wish You Were Here. This latest volume, which features a combination of budget-friendly recipes and sequential stories, is written and drawn by cartoonist Nero Villagallos O'Reilly.
Check out an exclusive preview of The Poorcraft Cookbook in the slideshow gallery below:
"Every successful independent publisher needs to innovate. And in 2022, as a Black-owned, independent, progressive comic publisher, it’s absolutely essential that Iron Circus Comics innovates like never before," Trotman tells IGN. "When we launched our initial crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter in 2009 for the first ever Poorcraft graphic novel, we asked for $6,000 to fund the book. The project was funded our second week, and the entire experience was thrilling because we were building something new, something other people told me, repeatedly, would not work.
Trotman continues, "Having now run over 30 successful Kickstarter campaigns, the time has come to leave Kickstarter. We are independently crowdfunding The Poorcraft Cookbook on ironcircus.com, which we’ve never done before. We’re asking for $6,000, like we did for that first campaign, as a symbolic nod to our roots. I’d love it if all the folks who backed our previous projects showed support and we were funded on Day 1. If this is the first time you’re hearing about Iron Circus, here is what you need to know. We are always looking for underrepresented creators and subject matter, because we know the audience for these projects exist, because we are the audience. Heck, it’s why our mission statement is ‘Strange and Amazing.’ If you want comics that innovate, that are strange and amazing, comics that you literally won’t find anywhere else, help us build the future on ironcircus.com."
The crowdfunding drive for The Poorcraft Cookbook is live now.
Even major publishers have turned to Kickstarter to fund new comics, including BOOM! Studios with Keanu Reeves' BRZRKR and Legendary with their graphic novel adaptation of 2021's Dune. However, those campaigns weren't without controversy, with Dune in particular being criticized for relying on crowdfunding despite being backed by a major Hollywood production company. Previously in 2015, Archie Comics canceled a Kickstarter campaign after receiving similarly heavy criticism.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Continue reading...
The Poorcraft Cookbook is the third volume in creator Spike Trotman's Poorcraft Series, following the original Poorcraft: The Comic Book Guide to Practical Urban and Suburban Frugality and Ryan Estrada's travel-focused spinoff Poorcraft: Wish You Were Here. This latest volume, which features a combination of budget-friendly recipes and sequential stories, is written and drawn by cartoonist Nero Villagallos O'Reilly.
Check out an exclusive preview of The Poorcraft Cookbook in the slideshow gallery below:
"Every successful independent publisher needs to innovate. And in 2022, as a Black-owned, independent, progressive comic publisher, it’s absolutely essential that Iron Circus Comics innovates like never before," Trotman tells IGN. "When we launched our initial crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter in 2009 for the first ever Poorcraft graphic novel, we asked for $6,000 to fund the book. The project was funded our second week, and the entire experience was thrilling because we were building something new, something other people told me, repeatedly, would not work.
Trotman continues, "Having now run over 30 successful Kickstarter campaigns, the time has come to leave Kickstarter. We are independently crowdfunding The Poorcraft Cookbook on ironcircus.com, which we’ve never done before. We’re asking for $6,000, like we did for that first campaign, as a symbolic nod to our roots. I’d love it if all the folks who backed our previous projects showed support and we were funded on Day 1. If this is the first time you’re hearing about Iron Circus, here is what you need to know. We are always looking for underrepresented creators and subject matter, because we know the audience for these projects exist, because we are the audience. Heck, it’s why our mission statement is ‘Strange and Amazing.’ If you want comics that innovate, that are strange and amazing, comics that you literally won’t find anywhere else, help us build the future on ironcircus.com."
The crowdfunding drive for The Poorcraft Cookbook is live now.
Even major publishers have turned to Kickstarter to fund new comics, including BOOM! Studios with Keanu Reeves' BRZRKR and Legendary with their graphic novel adaptation of 2021's Dune. However, those campaigns weren't without controversy, with Dune in particular being criticized for relying on crowdfunding despite being backed by a major Hollywood production company. Previously in 2015, Archie Comics canceled a Kickstarter campaign after receiving similarly heavy criticism.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Continue reading...