Kickstarted and Not So Much

The printed small collection

Madeline Strum Photography

HALF WRITING, HALF DRAWING

The writing half seems to be winning out

Kal picked up “Fat Bird” at New Jersey Comic Expo. I don’t think we talked to Scott Ebisch or anyone at his table for long, but I remember liking them. Trying to find his work now, he’s writing about life for medium.com. The blog posts on his art site (ebzartstudios.weebly. com) are dated 2020 and kind of bleak. “Truth be told, I am having a little bit of a hard time creating right now,” Ebisch writes. “I know this quarantine situation isn’t helping in the least.” He writes that he sees “a lot” of his peers posting work online consistently, but he is not.

The site highlights quotes from creators like Matt Groening who say cartoonists are people who can’t quite draw and can’t quite write, but “combine the two half-talents and come up with a career.”

For now, you can catch Ebisch’s writing on Medium and send him some positive energy as he works on his writing and cartooning.

ebzartstudios.weebly.com

KICKSTART A FAVORITE

A limited series about a time-traveling teenage cop

Making comics is a labor of love. Image published Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare’s Rocket Girl in October 2013 after 1,585 backers pledged $38,037 on Kickstarter to help create an advance for the creators and gain behind the scenes access for themselves. As Reeder told Comic Book Resources, “A small percentage of money goes to Kickstarter. A lot of it goes toward fulfilling rewards. The rest goes to Brandon and me” and the page rate is good but not what they would net from working on a Marvel or DC title.

If you backed just $1, you received weekly updates as well as access to exclusive podcasts and Q&As. They tried to keep the rewards close to what backers would pay in a normal market and then figure the fulfillment process into time they would not be generating income. Royalties from sales on the initial publication help propel the series forward. In the end, there are two tight story arcs available.

The card from 2013

Madeline Strum Photography

“Clever premise, charming scenario, kickass girl hero, snappy script, and luscious, expressive art. I need this. You need this. Everyone needs this,” is the praise from writer Gail Simone.

Catch Reeder on Amethyst from DC Comics and Montclare on Ludwig van Beethoven - The Final Symphony: A Beethoven Anthology from z2comics.com.

NOT SO MUCH

Some creators changed course, others changed businesses

This page is numbered in the desktop layout

Madeline Strum Photography

1 If you want Princess Leia on her back, then this might be your site. I don’t really want to double check what was there for fear of what virus my computer might catch.

2 Bakeries with “8 Bit” in the name are easy to find, but this Bakeshop does not seem to be around anymore.

3 We featured GoodWoodNYC in our 2013 NYCC issue based on their wood versions of comic book covers, but what used to be a local company doesn’t seem to be producing anything now.

4 Tigra’s absence from the market is not really that surprising when they were one of too many companies at 2017 Book Con trying to bring coloring pages to life.

5 The metallic card is cool, but we couldn’t find Ms. Jaksic all these years later.

6 This company name is pronounced “curious.” The only current link seems to be Mr. Caballero on LinkedIn.

7 Kid Brooklyn hasn’t posted an update in a number of years. Hopefully they’re on a new adventure.

8 According to our 2013 NYCC issue, Forge Studio 3D printing on demand was founded by some guys who wanted to start a bar instead. Maybe they’ve done that now.

9 No good results came up for Little Miss Philippines or Ms. Concepcion’s Hit Girl.

10 Super Heroine Magazine does not seem to exist.

11 Queen Helene does not seem to be cosplaying.