When comics household names are turning to Kickstarter, you know it’s real. In this case it’s Paul Jenkins (WOLVERINE: ORIGINS, INHUMANS) and Humberto Ramos (SPIDER-MAN, RUNAWAYS) with FAIRY QUEST.We’re just going to post the six page preview right here — this is gorgeous, gorgeous stuff. The funding level is high though — $60K of which $26K has been raised with 29 days to go. The art is very persuasive, however. Below you’ll find a statement on the project.

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Acclaimed comic creators Humberto Ramos and Paul Jenkins are gambling on the potential of crowd-funding website Kickstarter to help finance the reprinting of their labor-of-love graphic novel, Fairy Quest. The 56-page, hardbound edition was previously only available at conventions, where it sold out within just three days. Hoping to reach a worldwide audience of fans who are unable to attend shows, Ramos and Jenkins have brought Fairy Quest to Kickstarter.com where over 300 backers have pledged to the project to date. Yet the pledge drive has only thirty more days to reach its $60,000 goal. If successful, both creators will commit to funding all subsequent issues at Kickstarter, essentially collaborating with the fans as printing and publishing partners.

The phenomenon of crowd funding is quickly increasing in popularity, where sites like Kickstarter allow project backers to pledge funds towards aspiring projects in return for tiered incentives. At Kickstarter, a project must meet its intended fundraising goal or the campaign receives no funds. However, once the goal is met or exceeded, the project receives its funding, allowing backers to claim their incentives.

While there has been much debate over the participation of established, mainstream creators, both Ramos and Jenkins are happy to risk putting their financing in the hands of the fans. A recent article written and posted by Kickstarter editors suggests the inclusion of well-known creators adds positively to the bottom line of multiple projects – ( http://www.kickstarter.com/blog/blockbuster-effects ) and Jenkins is inclined to agree:

“Humberto and I feel a book like Fairy Quest retains its true spirit if published and guided every step of the way by its two creators. We realized the emergence of Kickstarter provided a perfect opportunity to bring a group of dedicated and caring people directly in touch with the projects they want to support. When I think of Jack Kirby in his later years working with the folks at Ruby-Spears and creating such wonderful stories and characters, I believe if Kickstarter were to have existed during Jack’s time here he would have been a frequent and enthusiastic participant. We’re hopeful our direct collaboration with the fans at Kickstarter will bring in many other creators, and that this in turn helps bring more traffic to those who already have projects on the site. Nothing would make us happier than to be able to produce the content ourselves and then collaborate with the Kickstarter community on special printings for many years to come.”

Fairy Quest is set in the sinister world of Fablewood, where all of the stories that have ever been told live side-by-side. Under the watchful eye of the dreaded Mister

Grimm and his Think Police, the characters must keep their story straight or risk having their minds wiped inside the Mind Eraser. Despite this, Red Riding Hood and her Wolf (Red and Mister Woof) have become friends. And they are about to risk everything to try and escape from the clutches of their oppressors and find sanctuary in a mysterious place called the Real World. Red and Woof will undertake a difficult and perilous journey through all of Fablewood, hoping against all odds that they can remain as friends forever.

“In a way,” says Jenkins, “it’s probably no coincidence that our story is about two friends taking a risk. After all, that’s exactly what Humberto and I are doing by throwing our lot in with Kickstarter. And we could not be happier with our decision.”

1 COMMENT

  1. Cheers! I had an eye on this beauty since they showed it at the summer conventions.

    Needless to say I have already backed it on kickstarter!

  2. Bovy, its because American comics have a tradition of making more money for people who’ve never touched pencil to bristel board than the people who make the actual comic.
    The currect popularity of Kickstarter is one of the ways creators and cartoonists are fighting against it and cutting out the middle men.
    It’s not a perfect solution, but this new fan-as-investor model is certainly a step in the right direction.

  3. @The Beat

    I don’t wish to comment on KS stuff that is in progress – but I certainly would appreciate a thread discussing/dissecting why some KS offerings have succeeded and some have failed.