A Fistful of Comics: Crowdfunding Roundup September ‘18

The leaves are turning and the pumpkin spice lattes have reappeared, so it’s time to settle down with some quiet, contemplative, and comfortable comics—and Kickstarter has your back! From experimental woodland horror comics to explorations of Black hair or magazines for young witches, now’s the time to back a book that will remind you of warmth when it arrives this winter.

Hazel #3: Magic Words

Lucy Kagan
Ends September 13

Hazel is a witchy little magazine that’s easy to imagine in the universe of Kiki’s Delivery Service, handed to young witches in the year or so before they leave home and tucked carefully into their baggage when they do. In fact, Lucy Kagan cites Kiki as an inspiration for the magazine trilogy, which is aimed at young women who might feel lost or need reassurance as they move into uncharted waters in pursuit of their dreams. This third issue of the magazine is digest-sized, full color, and includes contributions from 26 women creators.

The Call of the Copse

Katie Whittle
Frisson Comics
Ends September 21

Katie Whittle’s Woodland Horror trilogy is an ongoing experiment in narrative technique, and The Call of the Copse is the second installment. Whittle is using a limited, contrastive palette and illustrative lettering techniques to play with how she conveys information in the 36-page, full color comic. The visuals on display on the Kickstarter page have a really encouraging poetry to them, and the campaign is strictly meant to fund Call of the Copse’s print run—which she hopes to have done in time for Thought Bubble, immediately after the campaign’s conclusion!

Sakana Enamel Pins

Mad Rupert
Ends September 23

Mad Rupert’s long-running webcomic Sakana has been a landmark of my internet awareness for nearly a decade now, and while I lost track of the comic in one of my many life upheavals over that same decade, I’m always happy to see it alive and well! Mad is making badge-like hard enamel pins for the comic’s four main-est characters, with other characters waiting to be unlocked as stretch goals. The pins will each be 1.5” in diameter, each with its own catchy palette!

Tension third printing

Pearl Low
Ends September 25

Pearl Low’s Tension has blazed through two printings already, and she’s finally bringing it to perfect-bound glory. Tension is autobiographical, exploring Low’s own experiences growing up as an Afro-Asian teenager with curly hair in a predominantly East Asian community. As Low herself says, there isn’t a singular Black Hair Experience, but rather an ongoing conversation about a multitude of experiences. Tension is an important entry in that conversation.

Gurls with Curls: A Coloring Book

Sarah the Artist
Ends September 26

Gurls with Curls is a short and sweet coloring book with gorgeous, intricate art—perfect for coloring! Each illustration depicts a bust of a woman with natural hair alongside fruit and flowers, in a fully summer-y display. If coloring isn’t your speed, though, don’t worry: Sarah has colored each illustration herself, too, and you can also pick up the full-color artbook as part of the campaign.

Sparkler Monthly: Year 6

Lianne Sentar & Rebecca Scoble
Chromatic Press
Ends October 2

It’s time for Sparkler Monthly’s sixth year! Sparkler Monthly is a digital magazine in the style of Shonen Jump or Shoujo Beat (or Good Boy), a periodical collection of installations of five different webcomics. Subscribers receive the magazine each month, well before they’re eventually posted online for free. Sparkler also makes sure to pay its creators and give them editorial feedback, as well as functioning as a publisher for both the periodic editions of the comics and their eventual collections. This campaign is essentially a membership drive, meant to gather funds and renew subscriptions for the magazine’s sixth year!

The Life of Melody

Mari Costa
Hiveworks
Ends October 3

So I just read the description of The Life of Melody and I believe I may have melted into a happy puddle of goo, so read the rest with that in mind. The Life of Melody is the print compilation of Mari Costa’s Patreon-exclusive webcomic of the same name, and it follows the infancy and childhood of a tiny human raised by fairies. Melody’s parents, the fairy Razzmatazz and the beast Bon, are varying degrees of hapless and unprepared, and the whole thing just seems deeply sweet in the best possible way. If you’re a fan of Mari Costa’s free-to-read webcomic Peritale, this story exists in the same universe—so this is a great way to get more story!

Small Hours

Grace Helmer
Funding until complete

Small Hours is, as creator Grace Helmer says frequently on her campaign page, a story about death, dating, and drawing. An autobiographical look at Helmer’s transition from part time work to full freelance… in the same few weeks that her grandfather died (an unfortunate coincidence) and she fell into a tinder hole (…probably less so). The comic promises to be introspective and, hopefully, relatable for those who need it most.