Comics Crowdfunding Round-Up: CAT WISHES STORIES, TORRENT, and 3 more projects we love!

Welcome to the first Comics Crowdfunding Round-Up of 2023! The column spotlights crowdfunding campaigns by queer creators, disabled creators, women creators, and creators of color, which we think are a great investment, whether it’s for a one-shot story or a sprawling anthology. This week’s round-up includes an illustrated light novel about catgirls, some queer slipstream horror, and a graphic novel about a German boarding school with LGBTQIA+ themes.

Are you ready to dive in? Let’s get going!

Cat Wishes Stories

Creators: Alex Zandra Van Chestein
Goal: $500
End Date: January 29, 2023
Goodies: 64-page book with a color cover, kiss-cut sticker sheets, your name/nickname on the book’s thank-you page, signed edition, Cat Wishes Combo (includes both novels), All Cat Bundle (Cat Wishes 1 & 2 + Feline Therapy), Zandraverse Bundle (includes all seven of Zandra’s light novels), individual copies of Zandra’s back catalog, and retail bundle

My Friends And I Were Turned Into Catgirls But That Was Just The Beginning Of Our Cat Wishes Stories (or, Cat Wishes Stories), is a sequel to my light novel, Cat Wishes, and adds another 64 pages of adventures to the cat-eared cast. And I need your help to bring it to print!

For a 2019 Comics Crowdfunding Round-Up, The Beat‘s C.K. Stewart covered a previous crowdfunding campaign by Zandra, describing her style as “always filled with feeling — she has a kind spirit and gleeful sense of humor that permeates all of her books.” Now, Zandra’s crowdfunding her seventh illustrated light novel, Cat Wishes Stories, about three shy, nerdy college roommates who, after a chance meeting with a cat goddess, are given the ability to turn into catgirls, and their new abilities lead them on a journey of self-discovery. A Cat Wishes sequel, Cat Wishes Stories takes place a year later and consists of a series of illustrated short stories that focus on different cast members, all revolving around the same theme: what happens when becoming a catgirl doesn’t solve all your problems?

Become a backer here. 

Green & Gold, Vol. 1

Creators: Lisa Brenner
Goal: $8,139
End Date: February 3, 2023
Goodies: 124-page full-color graphic novel (PDF, softcover, or hardcover), and every printed book comes with a free postcard of Piet, bookmark, sticker sheet, signed bookplate, and A5 print

Teenagers at a German boarding school. What can go wrong?

An illustrator and comic artist based out of Germany, Brenner (Luna Wunderwald) has been publishing an ongoing creator-owned series, Green & Gold, for free online since 2016. Originally aimed at German audiences, now, Brenner is bringing the story to international audiences with an English-language edition. In Vol. 1, new readers will meet sophomore student, Piet, and his 7th-grade mentee, Tim, who is having trouble opening up to his assigned mentor. Green & Gold includes LGBTQIA+ themes. 

Become a backer here. 

Pixiv Presents Artists in Taiwan and Korea

Creators: These deluxe books showcase over 150 artists, representing just a small fraction of the talented artists actively engaged on the pixiv platform.
Goal: $10,000
End Date: January 31, 2023
Goodies: Artists in Korea digital PDF/book, Artists in Taiwan digital PDF/book, sticker sheets, set of ten 5×7 prints, set of six rock band-style buttons, Kickstarter exclusive trading card set, t-shirt with art by MAKAI, and t-shirt with art by VIVINOS

Two collectible art books with stunning artwork from the pixiv community, featuring 150+ amazing artists in Taiwan and Korea!

With over 80 million users and more than 3 billion page views monthly, pixiv is one of the world’s largest creation platforms. Thus, Media Do International, Inc. and Clover Press are partnering with the platform to crowdfund two stunning art books on Kickstarter featuring pixiv artists: Artists in Korea, featuring 78 fantastic Korean artists, with a cover by Tiv, and Artists in Taiwan, featuring 83 incredible artists from Taiwan, with a cover by VOFAN. Check out exclusive images from the art book here. 

Become a backer here. 

Pink Midnight Presents: The Butterfly House

Creators: Paul Allor (writer), Juan Romera (artist), and Claire Napier (editor)
Goal: $4,000
End Date: February 15, 2023
Goodies: PDF or physical copy, virgin variant cover by Jody Edwards, get both covers (physical & digital), a printed copy signed by the writer, your name listed on a special thank you page, art print, ‘No Pain No Gain’ enamel pin, retailer bundle, script review with suggested edits, PDFs of Allor’s Clockwork Vol. 1 and Strange Nation, Romera original art pages, and Romera digital commissions

Pink Midnight Presents: The Butterfly House is the first in a planned series of weird, one-shot comic books from writer Paul Allor, artist Juan Romera and editor Claire Napier, all presented in Juan’s stunning black-and-white art.

The first issue in an anthology series, The Butterfly House, is a deeply personal story for MMPR and G.I. JOE writer Allor, described as one “part existential horror story” and one “part allegory for Paul’s discovery of their gender identity.” To tell the slipstream horror story, Allor is teaming up with Romera, one of the first artists they worked with when they started writing comics, on Strange Nation. This book checks all of my diversity boxes, it is a horror story (a major plus) and offers fans of Allor/Romera team-up work another look at the duo. Read the interview with Allor here.

Become a backer here. 

Torrent

Creators: Leonie O’Moore (story and art) and Micah Myers (letterer)
Goal: $1,300
End Date: February 16, 2023
Goodies: Standard PDF edition (52 pages), featuring Cover A; extended PDF edition (64 pages), featuring variant Cover B; digital comics bundle, including Torrent – Extended Edition, From Savage Seas, Double Dead Collected Edition, Invoked, and Don’t Fall; Torrent print edition, featuring variant Cover C, which comes with a bookmark; and retailer’s bundle

This strange tale follows three women from different points in time who are connected through a weather event.

I love O’Moore’s colorful art style and focus on female characters, so I was excited to see her first solo crowdfunding project on Crowdfundr, aimed at mature readers, Torrent, a 52-page one-shot comic about three women connected through a weather event, dealing with themes of death. O’Moore is only offering a small print run based on orders placed during the Crowdfundr campaign, so this is likely your only chance to get a print edition of the book. This campaign is a Keep-it-All model, meaning pledges are paid out over the course of the campaign, and the creator will only make as many orders as she receives. That translates to: get a copy while it’s hot! 

Become a backer here. 

Here are some already-funded projects worth checking out:

And finally, here are some projects that haven’t launched yet, but that look to be worth keeping an eye on:

Miss any of our previous Comics Crowdfunding Round-Ups? Check out the archive here!

Related