Welcome back to another installment of Indie Comics Showcase, the weekly blog where we signal boost a few truly independent comics that are currently crowdfunding their projects, crowdsourcing their funding in some way, or just completely self-publishing on their own. Every little bit of support for these creators matters, from a single dollar pledge to the twenty-five dollar bundle, and of course the higher tiers are usually fun too! Even if you can’t back a campaign or buy a book, you can share or tweet about these projects to your friends and followers.
On Indie Comics Showcase, we interview the creators, show off some art, and tell you how you can check out the product for yourself. Below we have some outstanding crowdfunding campaigns this week for you to learn about, enjoy, and hopefully support by backing one or more of them! Thanks for checking these out and for being the best part of Indie Comics Showcase. Let’s jump in!
MOJO RISEN
by Rog Mahan
A supernatural adventure set in the bayous of New Orleans…Mojo Risen battles for control of the city, and the world’s magic, against Bayounetta. There is no fury to match that of a jilted ex-lover, who may not be taking the separation (break-up) very well. But, with hordes of evil doers, looking to take the world’s magic for themselves, a pissed off ex-girlfriend, may not be the most important issue at present… may not even be the second… or third… and… there is always the battle pig, Brute….. Easter Eggs… voodoo… and you never know who could appear
Check out the campaign here!
Chris Braly: Tell our readers your elevator pitch for Mojo Risen issue #1. Briefly tell our readers what this is about.
Rog Mahan: Short version: it’s a 32 page comic set in apocalyptic New Orleans, the center of all magical power since the BIG WAR. Magic, Monsters, Mayhem and Mojo. The long version is “After the Big War and the death of the last Holder of The Magic, the magic has returned to its origin and is now up for grabs. Join our anti-hero, Mojo Risen, as he confronts Bayounetta, a jilted lover, Brute, a savage battle pig, and hordes of magic hungry beings of all forms, who are hellbent on taking and claiming the magic that is in the city of New Orleans for themselves, and becoming the next Holder of the Magic. Mojo is joined by the most motley of crews you’ll ever meet. Together they protect the magic. Who lives and who dies is a turn of the tarot card as they protect the Big Easy from the evil that is converging on the city.”
CB: This doesn’t look like typical superhero fare. What makes this project unique?
RM: Voodoo! It’s a mixture of supernatural elements, set in post apocalyptic New Orleans.
CB: Is this your first comic series? Tell us about any previous work and how you’ve brought your experience to this project and it all came together.
RM: Yes, first one. I have worked with another creators/publisher and helped them with their crowdfunding promotion, and in my day job I deal with millions of dollars worth of merchandise. So that all has helped with promoting, setting up and eventually fulfilling the kickstarter.
CB: When did you first get this idea and what made you decide to crowdfund it on Kickstarter?
RM: 2019, at a convention. I had been helping Greg Harms, the publisher of Third Empire with his booth at a convention. He had some down time and offered to draw me a pinup, I described what would become Mojo Risen to him. The crowd kept coming by and asking about the character, so knew it was something cool. The inspiration also came from music, specifically in this case the Doors song L.A. Woman. As for Kickstarter it was a good choice to get it out there into the world for others to enjoy and it’s a platform that I had used as a fan.
CB: Tell us a little more about the story. What do you think readers most like about it most? What kind of comic fans will this entertain most?
RM: Mojo the anti-hero has his hands full, an ex-lover, a battle pig and tons of evil little creatures, and some big ones want the magic for themselves! Fans of the supernatural, darker other-worldly themed will enjoy it. Anti-hero fans. Fans of the old Dr. Voodoo, Thor, Crescent City Monsters comics, and tv shows like Supernatural.
CB: Tell us a bit about your creative team or if other creators that have contributed to this? Or who may have inspired your work.
RM: Co-writer/artist: Manny Soto, colors: Edwin “Artex” Badillo, Letters: Keith Braun, pinups and alternate covers by Russell Oldham, Jim O’Riley, Jimmy Reyes, Sigmund Torre, and Greg Harms. The guys that inspired me are creators like Robert Kirkman, Walt Simonson, Greg Capullo, Scott Snyder, and just listening to music.
CB: Anything else you’d like to share about the project? And do you have any final words for our readers?
RM: Check it out on kickstarter, if you want a must-have indie book! As of the time of answering this, it has funded and is close to the second stretch goal! I just want to thank all those that have supported the project, whether it was a like, comment, share or pledge, you all did it! Now to get more stretch goal goodness, baby!
CB: Thanks for chatting with us, Rog! Good luck and we are rooting for you!
RM: Thank you! Appreciate all the help getting the word out!
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FORSAKEN GODS
by FresherLuke
In a fantasy world ravaged by war, a young woman must discover the secret behind the greatest weapon
CHECK OUT THE CAMPAIGN HERE!
Chris Braly: Tell our readers your elevator pitch for Forsaken Gods. Briefly tell our readers what’s up.
FresherLuke: FORSAKEN GODS tells the story of a young woman named Samara, an archaeologist in a fantasy world called Epic Earth. It’s a place filled with monsters, dragons and magic, and she’s trying to find relics from a war that was waged between the gods centuries ago. However, her expedition goes sideways, and she comes face to face with something she never anticipated.
CB: What are you learning from crowdfunding and creating through this process?
FL: I’m learning not only how to think like a creative entrepreneur. But also to really consider the consumer by putting myself in their shoes, considering where they’re coming from and what they look for when approaching a campaign, and what they weigh up as an incentive enough to pledge their hard-earned money in exchange for what I have to offer.
CB: You created a digital comic a few years ago called Bikini Cowboy. How did that project inform how you’ve approached this book?
FL: Well one thing that I learned was that people are less inclined to back a big graphic novel on a crowdfunding website than they are a smaller page floppy book. Partly because of the price differences, but also because I seem to be a relatively new face to the indie comics scene despite my resume and publishing history. I seem to have a knack of getting myself repeatedly memory holed every three to ten years lol. another thing I learned is that people seem to want to back colour books rather than black and white, I guess they like what they like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
CB: How did you bring your experience to this project? How did this all come together.
FL: I had been drawing Skull knight for years and years long before I came up with the story of the book. I was doing storyboards during that time, so over the years I eventually developed a story around him by asking myself the question of who he was and how he got to be the way we first meet him in the book. Eventually I thumbed out the whole first issue and started cleaning up some pages, the rest pretty much falls into place from there.
CB: Tell us a little more about the story. What do you think readers will like about it most? What kind of comic fans do you expect this comic will entertain the most?
FL: Samara’s trying to piece together the reasons behind a great war that happened between the gods centuries ago. It’s important to her because she lives in a world that has been populated with things like Dragons that terrorize the populace on a regular basis, and the reason for that is because of the kinds of tactics the gods used back then to try and win dominance, which caused these things to still be a problem decades after the fact (much like how landmines from old wars still affect a civilian populace long after a war is over). When her whole expedition gets killed and she’s trying to find her way out of the dungeon she’s entered, she quite literally awakens one of these weapons without knowing it!
Part of what I’m trying to do with the story is add a lot of philosophical and moral questions as well as a layer of mystery and intrigue in Samara and the Audience finding out the history and lore of Skull knight. These are story elements that seem to be lacking in a lot of comics and storytelling today. In finding out more about Skull knight, Samara in a way learns how to do the impossible: Empathize with a literal monster. I’m hoping the thing that readers will like the most is the great art, great story, but also the great characters and their unique traits that I’ll be introducing to them.
CB: Tell us a bit about your creative team or if there are any other creators that have contributed to this? Who or what inspired this work?
FL: There is no-one else that is working on this book ( I can’t afford to hire anyone else to help me), it’s all entirely me. As for Inspirations: Lots of different sources helped inspire this final product, people have commented it sort of reminds them of a cross between Iron giant and Ghost rider (which is fair). But the main inspiration is the old celtic mythological creature known as the Dullahan.
CB: Anything else you’d like to share about the project? And do you have any final words for our readers?
FL: Right now mainstream entertainment has fallen into a pit of mediocrity with nothing but sequels, reboots, and remakes populating the market. If people want to see great and amazingly fresh new ideas and products get made, then they can start by voting with their dollar and help support independent artists and their projects. We need good talent to be rewarded so that they can keep making great stuff to help repopulate and invigorate the content market again with excellent art and stories.
CB: Thanks for chatting with us! Good luck and we are rooting for you!
FL: Thanks for featuring my book on your site, I hope that this will be the start of something truly rewarding and creative that a lot of people will value and enjoy.
CHECK OUT THE CAMPAIGN HERE!
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BRIC-A-BRAC #2
by Ryan Haack
As the war on Planet Christmas escalates to incalculable heights, a boy must defend his home!
Check out the campaign here!
CB: You’ve had some success and some campaigns didn’t quite make their goals on Indiegogo. What are you learning from crowdfunding and creating through this process?
RH: Failure is a trophy. You should wear it as a badge of honor. I am proud that I’ve failed four campaigns and I tell people often because I think it’s badass. I won’t let that stop me from trying to find success. Crowdfunding is an experiment and even if you think you have everything covered, things go wrong. But it’s still such an awesome way to grow a fanbase and get your books out there. It’s one of the best deals out there. So I continue and won’t stop no matter how many times I fail!
CB: What advice would you share with other indie creators doing crowdfunding that you’ve learned?
RH: I think that it’s an experiment through and through. You can put something out there that’s cool and if other people think it’s cool, they will help you make it happen. Don’t take it too personally if you fail. That’s a trap. It’s sort of like a gamble, but once you get a steady fanbase, your likelihood of succeeding with every project gets higher and higher. Don’t strive for perfection, but for excellence in everything!
CB: Is Christmas your favorite holiday? How has your experience with the holiday informed this work?
RH: Christmas is a great holiday because it’s values are so clear. I know it’s cheesy to say “take away all the gifts and all the decorations” but if you look at Christmas at a base level, it’s simply about being the best person you can possibly be for a short amount of time. This is a value that everyone can understand. I love Christmas because it makes you feel good about yourself and about other people. It gives you an excuse to do something nice that you wouldn’t normally do on any other day. The gifts and the decorations are just an added bonus. The trick is, if we can implement the values of Christmas into every day of our lives, then we will be able to be the best versions of ourselves possible. Over the years, I’ve found that those are the reasons Christmas means so much to me.
CB: Is this your first comic work? Tell us about any previous work and how you’ve brought your experience to this project and it all came together.
RH: This is not my first comic book work. I have a horror comic anthology called the Unspeakable Text and am working on putting together stories for the second volume. It’s basically a program where I write a horror/suspense story, reach out to an artist and collaborate on it. They are all black and white stories that are in the tone of the Twilight Zone. With the second volume, I want to have thirty three-to-four paged stories within it!
CB: Tell us a little more about the story. What do you think readers will like about it most? What kind of comic fans do you expect this comic will entertain the most?
RH: Especially with the second issue, I think people will like the added depth given to the characters. These characters are so outrageous and fun, and although they are very far from real, I can still attempt to ground them emotionally. I think people will resonate with a young boy’s journey navigating through Planet Christmas, because in a way, it’s just like how we navigate through Christmas as we get older. Christmas gets more complicated when we grow older because people tell us how we should think about it and how we should celebrate it. Garret has to go on his own journey to find what Christmas means to him. Jack Frost is a tragic character who accidentally got himself involved in the war. I think people will resonate with his sad tale, and later, his redemption! But also, I can’t help but mention that I KNOW people will love Rafael Sam’s incredible artwork!
CB: Tell us a bit about your creative team or if other creators that have contributed to this? Or who may have inspired your work.
RH: I am the writer of the story, but I am working with the unbelievable Rafael Sam who’s doing the interior art. We also have the great Tom Barton who’s drawing the covers and the back-up story called the Tragedy of Jack Frost!
CB: Anything else you’d like to share about the project? And do you have any final words for our readers?
RH: I hope people see how much love and care has been put into this comic! I would encourage anybody reading this to check out the campaign and see for yourselves!
CB: Thanks for chatting with us! Good luck and we are rooting for you!
RH: Thanks for letting me talk about the campaign! 🙂
Check out the campaign here!
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That’s it for this installment! Support all these fantastic indie comics!!!
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