Silver Sprocket is both one of indie comics most exciting publishers – and one of San Francisco’s coolest bookstores. Unfortunately just being exciting and cool doesn’t always pay the bills, and after 15 years of publishing award winning comics they are launching a fundraiser on their website. Rewards include monthly and yearly subscriptions and a bunch of exclusive posters, as well as signed books and more.
As for why a fundraiser? Well, as the announcement puts it:
As Silver Sprocket celebrates 15 years of publishing artist-forward, socially conscious comics, finally winning an Eisner Award, multiple Ignatz Awards, and many other incredible accomplishments, we’ve come to the realization that we need some extra help from the community we so proudly serve.
As many other independent publishers do, we are fundraising to help keep the lights on at Silver Sprocket HQ and our retail shop. This fundraiser serves as an effort to mobilize our community to support a sustainable Silver Sprocket for everyone we’ve worked with, letting local cartoonists use our equipment and resources to make their own comics, year-round community events, initiatives like the Pride In Panels: Queer Comics Festival and to support everyone who works at Silver Sprocket (15+ employees) to make this sustainable. These efforts aren’t profit-driven, nor do we want them to be—everything we do is central to our mission of supporting indie comics and the community above all else.
Silver Sprocket is a grass roots type organization, so a grass roots mobilization to raise funds seems totally in character.
Artists contributing to the effort with prints include Lemony Snicket, Michael Deforge, Julia Wertz, Katie Skelly, Caroline Cash, Jenn Woodall, Ashley Robin Franklin, Alex Krokus, Eddy Atoms, and many more. There may be more stretch goals as the campaign unfolds.
The main driver of the campaign is a subscription to Silver Sprocket’s comics (which are all great so buy with confidence.) A print sub is $39.99 a month and digital only is $14.99 a month. With a sub you get:
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- Subscription to every single book we publish and exclusive extras (shipping included) delivered to your door every month
- Welcome Gift: Silver Sprocket Tote Bag included in your first box!
- 10% discount on all store purchases
- ♻️ Easily swap titles if you don’t want a particular book or already have it on pre-order
- ⏰ Get reminders before each shipment
- USA only (for now)
We can attest to the awesomeness of Silver Sprocket Tote Bags – we’re carrying the Halloween themed one on errands as we speak. Silver Sprocket titles include the award winning, earth shattering Pee Pee Poo Poo by Caroline Cash; and upcoming works by Hyaena Hell, Alec Robbins, Madeline Mouse and more.
A sampling of the prints:
The Cartoonist by Meggie the Ramm
Silver Sprocket Rules, OK! by Jenn Woodall
Light a Match by Blue Delliquanti
Sketchbook by Tillie Walden
And perhaps most appropriately for the season, Mothman by Matt Emmons
And lots more.
Silver Sprocket is a huge part of both the local and global community. I hope this campaign is a big success – it’s not really for one store or one publisher. It’s to keep the entire spirit of comics as a vital, punk artform alive.
