Hey, got some Kickstarter cash in your budget? There’s some things you might want to look at.

• Charles Brubaker has done licensed SpongeBob comics, done work with the usual gang of idiots, and a series of web strips that lean heavily on the cute. The latest of these, The Fuzzy Princess, has reached the point where an upgraded print collection makes sense. Crowdfunding, ho:
  

  I had two paperback volumes of “Fuzzy” printed, but due to limited resources they were released in black and white. I always dreamed of having it put out in color, however, and made it my goal to do so.

  This is where this Kickstarter come in, to reprint the first book volume in color. It’s not just a color version of the black and white books, I’m also adding new materials: title-page illustrations for each chapter, behind-the-scene sketches, as well as remastering old comic pages, with cleaned-up art and dialogue for clarity and general improvement.

  Given that Brubaker’s done this before, everything’s laid out and ready to send to the printer, so the promised August 2019 for fulfillment is eminently doable; physical copies start at US$20, which is pretty damn good for a 192 page book in color. There’s another 28 days to go and Brubaker’s coming up on 40% funded, but that backer count is a little low; it looks like he’s got a devoted group of superfans, but he’s going to have to get a broader base of support to make the (very reasonable) goal of US$5000. If you ask me, 20 bucks is a pretty fair price to take a flyer on a new comic. Give ‘er a look.

• I don’t usually point at Kickstarts that haven’t happened yet, but I’m making an exception. Inhibit is new to me, but it’s got a killer hook:
  

  As a kid, Victor dreamed of training to be a superhero. That didn’t go so well.

  Now, nine years later, Victor is a resident at the Earl Estate, a home for kids who haven’t yet demonstrated that they can control their powers. With his 18th birthday — and a transfer — only a few weeks away, he has one last chance to prove he is capable enough to receive his licence and go home.

  That comedown in the first line is great.

  Like I said, I like to promote stuff I’m familiar with, and while I’ve started a quick read of the archives, Inhibit’s been updating Wednesdays for four years and that’s 200+ comics to catch up on. The reason I’m mentioning it here is creator Eve Greenwood took the time to put together an announcement with a clear description of who they are, what they do, what they hope to accomplish, and where to go for more info. As a hack webcomics pseudojournalist, this makes my life a hell of a lot easier.

  Greenwood also dropped in some good images showing off various parts of the story as well as the cover¹, and gave me the full rundown: the campaign launches on 28 Jan (that’s next Monday) at 5:00pm GMT, and runs for 30 days. The goal is £4500 (approximately US$5800), with books starting at £20 plus shipping (which hopefully won’t be a bankbreaker). Now exactly what else is up for grabs at what support levels, and where the stretch goals go? We’ll learn together.

  I’m taking a flyer on this one myself because Greenwood’s obviously thinking and planning and treating their career seriously (having graduated university this past November with a Masters of Design in Comics & Graphic Novels) and I want to encourage that. Want me to take a flyer on you? Gotta bring your game up to at least Greenwood’s level. And if the Inhibit Kickstart craters, you’ll have to do even better, so we’re all rooting that that the followthrough will be as good as the prep.

Spam of the day:

Explore the Glory of Single Russian Women

The fine print at the bottom indicates This is an advertisement for services offered by SOL Networks Limited, which makes me wonder if they know what SOL stands for.

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¹ Which I have to say really grabbed me. Those faces are great and have oodles of character.