March is a time for anthologies and yearly fundraising, and Kickstarter and Indiegogo have delivered a host of exciting collaborative projects to my eyeballs. I’ve had my wallet threatened by everything from contemplative autobio to exciting debut issues this month, but I’ve whittled ‘em down for you. Check out this month’s favorites below!
The Saddest, Angriest Black Girl in Town
Robyn Smith
Black Josei Press
Ends March 16
For several years, Robyn Smith lived as one of the only Black people in a rural Vermont town, and if you’ve ever been to rural Vermont you might have an idea of the toll that could take on a person. The Saddest, Angriest Black Girl in Town is a 32-page comic that explores Robyn’s lived experience and the effect it had on her mental health. This campaign, run by the same press behind Wash Day, is to reprint the comic after Smith’s 2016 self-publishing.
Gaining STEAM!
Rashpal (Rush) Dhillon, Caleb Dillingham, Hallie Funk, Jaye Gardiner, Kelly Montgomery, Amy Moy, Khoa Tran
JKX Comics
Ends March 17
Gaining STEAM! is a project close to my heart in ways I didn’t expect to see on Kickstarter! A crew of grad students at the University of Wisconsin, Madison—where I spent my high school years—is putting together an anthology of science comics aiming to make the concepts in their research interesting and accessible to kids. The sciences as an institution have always had a fraught relationship with communication outside the industry, and I’m incredibly excited to see a group of up-and-coming academics outright dismissing the ivory tower’s need for superiority in the interest of connecting their work to kids now. JKX Comics have been creating work digitally for a few years, but this campaign is meant to help them get books in print in order to access communities they haven’t reached through their website.
What’s Left?
Arledge Comics
Ends March 22
What’s Left? is an anthology about picking up the pieces and finding a way forward after enduring the grinder that was 2020. The 70-page anthology from Arledge Comics is full of stories of hardship and healing, and will—I hope—be a source of catharsis both for the creators and for readers. All of What’s Left’s contributors have donated their work, and the campaign’s goal is just enough to print a small run of books. Any extra will be split into $100 grants for creators adversely affected by Covid, and the rest will go to the Marsha P. Johnson institute.
And more!
Cosmic Summer – A Sci-Fi Vacation Anthology. Ends March 17.
I am Hexed #4. Ends March 18. Check out our interview with writer Kristen Thompson!
Loquita, A Supernatural Latina Superhero Graphic Novel. Ends March 23.
2021 Birdcage Bottom Books lineup. Ends March 29.
Where No One Grows. Ends April 2.
The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya: Volume II. Funding until complete. We wrote about Volume I a few years back!
