GeekDad’s Dave Banks explores the current state of indie comic’s with New Brighton Archeological Society co-creator and writer Mark Andrew Smith.
Finally, here was an all ages graphic novel that treated kids intelligently and was really entertaining at the same time. So we were surprised to see that the sequel was going to require some Kickstarter funding to get going. Surely a critical darling like The New Brighton Archeological Society didn’t need funding to get off the ground, did it?
Unfortunately, as with many creators in the indie scene, the answer from Mark and co-creator Matthew Weldon, is a resounding YES. “We’re eight thousand dollars in the red on The New Brighton Archeological Society Book One for coloring and lettering costs… We front the cost of producing the book and promoting the book. The publisher (Image Comics) prints it and the distributor (Diamond) distributes it… In the model we’re publishing under, we’re the last to recoup.”
The recent fundraising success of Jeremy Bastian’s Cursed Pirate Girl and others has made Brooklyn-based Kickstarter a game changer in the world of comics — providing micro-financing to projects that wouldn’t otherwise get made in this current state of shifting business models and economic woes.
Support Mark and Matthew! You can donate to the NBAS Kickstarter project and help bring the much anticipated sequel to reality. Or buy the first book.