Ahoy all!
For the last several weeks (well…months, honestly), Rick, Eric, and I have been engaged in an ongoing discussion about the best way to produce and distribute our first trade. We’ve gone ’round and ’round enough at this point that we’re verging on chasing our own tails, in fact, and that’s what brings me before you today.
We want your opinion. We want your input.
This is basically a two-option poll. Please read the below, and my apologies if this is a little too much information about how the sausage is made.
Option One is to go with an established comic publisher. There are immediate benefits to this, not the least of which being wider potential distribution, including comic book and potentially mainstream book stores. This avails us of the professional resources of the publisher in question, and we would, in the main, dictate the form and mode of the trade. Financially for us, any profits from the sale of the trade would first go to cover production, publisher fees, printing, distribution, etc, before we would then split any further profits between said publisher and ourselves. Profits would come in the form of royalties. We would retain our rights to the material, and would not obligate ourselves to continue publishing Lady Sabre trades through the same publisher, meaning we would establish reversion and the right to self-publish any future trades (the webcomic remains ours entirely) as we see fit.
There are cons to this, as well. We would ultimately be obligated to the publisher’s parameters of design and production, though our input would be heavily weighted. There is no guarantee that we would sell enough to see profit via royalties after all fees are paid for production. Bonus content would be somewhat limited, and, as far as I know, digital distribution of the trade would be contingent on the publisher’s agreement with their digital arm/partner, and potentially be subject to any further deals with said arm. There would be no means of determining a base line of sales, i.e. no means to determine how many copies would initially be sold.
Option Two is to attempt a crowd-sourcing venture of some sort, most likely via Kickstarter. This would allow greater community investment and even input in the final shape and form of the trade. It would allow us to modify our trade goals depending on funding levels reached, ie, paper dolls at X level; ship blueprints at X+Y level; deluxe hardcover; digital and print packages. We’ve got a long list of potential “rewards,” as well, including remarqued copies, signed copies, character/cast options, and the like. In addition, any funds raised over our costs that are not immediately returned to the project allow us a clear margin of profit, something which is crucial to me personally, as neither Rick, Eric, nor myself has taken any payment for our work here thus far. A crowd-sourced trade would further establish a clear initial number for the first printing. Additional copies would be sold via the website here and by Eric, Rick, and myself at shows.
There are cons to this approach, as well, not the least being what happens if we fail to reach our funding goal. Further, there is a question as to how wide an audience we will be able to reach, and how many new readers we may acquire. Bookstore and comic book store placement becomes problematic, and potentially unviable. Finally, the majority burden of production, design, and distribution work falls entirely on ourselves, and thus there may be a delay of six months or potentially even longer before the trade becomes a reality (though this would be mitigated should funding raise enough to allow us to focus on Lady Sabre exclusively).
So, as you can see, there are good reasons both for and against each of these options, and that, gentle readers, is why we’re stuck. After discussing this yet again and weighing all our options, we’re still stuck, and so we turn to you. The results of this poll will not dictate our final decision, but I can say with certainty that your answers and your comments will weigh very heavily in what we decide to do.
If you have questions, please post them; if you have thoughts, please do the same; if you have thirst, I recommend a nice cup of tea.
Hold fast!
Greg
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My vote was for Option 2, though if you go with Option 1, I’d suggest a publisher such as Archaia, who shows great care in regards to the format of its books.
This is exactly how I feel. I would like to see Greg, Rick & Eric end up with a greater reward for their efforts but being published by Archaia would be a an acceptable 2nd choice. Good luck!
If you can get the word out to the various steampunk groups that you’re putting up a kickstarter project for publishing the trades, I would be surprised if you weren’t able to raise enough to make it happen.
I voted option2 because I hope that taking this option will help show what is possible outside the traditional comics publishers. I would be happy with option1, too.
One of the strengths of webcomics is the unedited voice of the creators. Carry that over into the collections – the format, the design, the bonus content.
Option 2.
I think crowd-sourced funding is the way to go, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming demand. While this does require a lot of effort in fulfilling the rewards, shipping, and all that, I think the connection you make with your fans is worth it for this and future books.
I voted for the crowd-funded option too. Odds of success would largely depend on how large the target would be and how large your current audience is – things only known to you. However, as an example both ‘Atomic Robo’ (granted, that’s going to be animated) and ‘The smut peddler’ (yeah ok, sex sells…) attracted pledges in the high five-figures. As I’ve mentioned I don’t have the facts but in this instance a low-five figures target would probably be likelier to succeed.
How many opportunities you foresee to get mentioned somewhere in the media (interview etc.) is also a factor – relying exclusively on the fans to spread the word usually seems to work… not so well, especially considering they’ve all probably harassed their entire social circle at least half a dozen time lately about other projects.
Finally, don’t set the project timeline too short (like 1-2 weeks), in spite of what Kickstarter advises – that only works for projects with a pre-existing (or potentially interested) large audience they can tap quickly. Smaller projects that need time to get noticed by as many people as possible seem to gain much more from the extra time available than they might lose because of the “buzz dying down” – at this scale, the slow but steady incremental accretion dominates the start / finish rushes. If all else fails, you can of course always just try again with a more realistic goal, or simply decide to go the other route.
I went Option 2, but only because I think (hope) you can both trade on your names to get stores to stock your book anyway. I want a copy of the trade, but I also want the trade to be available in bookstores so I can point it out to friends and say “get that, it’s awesome.”
I voted for 2, because I support self publishing generally, but I’d much rather purchase a trade from my local store than online, even if it is directly from the creators. I also think that getting the book in distribution is an investment for increasing sales of future volumes and print runs as it seems one of the few ways to actually expand your readership. Self-publishing and getting into stores seems to be the grail.
I like Kickstarter (and IndieGoGo as well) as ways to reach people. With the right Kickstarter, you’re reaching a lot of people you might not otherwise reach. While it does limit the ability to get it into the bookstores, it can also be a good place to start. There is a fine balance to a Kickstarter – between donations and rewards and not over committing on a timeline vs getting products out in a reasonable length of time.
That and I think the extra rewards on something like this, if they’re cool enough, can help bring in people that you wouldn’t otherwise get. I pass Kickstarters around to my friends all the time.
I am in the minority and think that you should go with an established publisher that gives you both freedom because I am leery of kickstarter but these comments may show that for this project it is bust.
While Option 2 sounds great to every one who reads and already knows about this comic, I have a feeling it will profoundly limit its ability to gain traction outside of the people who already read it and are already going to buy it. If your aim is to cater to your current group of readers, I’d say go with #2. If you aim is to reach a wider audience, get into book stores where people who are not on the internet shop (and there are a lot of those people), well, you have to go with #1. I doubt there’s a single person reading this comic that will not buy the book whatever option you choose.
Oh yeah, and I don’t want a physical copy, I want a digital one in pdf or similar format, so whatever option you do choose, please make sure you include digital sales too.
Agreed. To all points.
I’m voting for option 2, but I’d also like to say that as a comic store employee, I really would love to carry Lady Sabre trades and hope you can get this distributed through Diamond. It would make talking to my boss about stocking the trade a bit easier.
I’m not 100% familiar on what it takes to be distributed by Diamond, but I do know that there are a few self-publishers that they carry. Terry Moore, Jeff Smith, and Dave Sim being the big ones I can think of, but also comics by small comic groups like GG Studios.
Before going with KS I would see if there are good conversion statistics available someplace: if you have X readers/viewers/listeners, what percentage of them will pledge? What percentage of those pledges actually go through?
I assume you gents have good numbers on your own traffic so you’ll have a solid baseline to make those calculations. That’s information I would want before putting the fate of my book in the hands of the public.
I’m for crowdsourcing, but you should also think about print-on-demand; companies like Blurb make very nice books, good printing on good stock, and you’re upfront costs are, well, almost nothing. Design and layout of the book, really, would be it. And you could offer hardcover or paperback, or even ebook. You may get less press, because Kickstarter is very cool these days, but POD would open up a lot of options that would keep your costs down. You could always order up a pile for cons and things like that, but anybody mail-ordering would be fulfilled by the POD company—no muss, no post office. You could also offer a discount to stores who wanted to order copies and mark up for ‘retail.’
I’ve backed Kickstarter projects, where in addition to the provided rewards, the book was then published by traditional publishers. Examples: Carbon Grey (Image), Tanpopo (Dynamite), Ashes (Image, I believe)
I voted for option 2 too. I’ve back many Kickstarter projects and will do for Lady Sabre. The main problem is that you have to do everything yourself and it seems to be a really time-consumering option.
Chose option #1.
While I certainly realize the value of Kickstarter (and if it shows up there I’ll no doubt be ordering it) with today’s economy if I really want to get in some ways the books I want I have to order them via Amazon or B&N’s website which will give me the discounts I need to really afford the books.
And there’s always a concern that through Kickstarter, the prices asked for MAY (stress that word exceedingly) not give me the proper amount of value (page count, extras, etc) for the prices. One of the books I really wanted to get was Fairy Quest from Jenkins/Ramos but in no way could there be any justification for a 48 page HC for $30 bucks.
Not that I expect anything like that here, but its something that will always be a concern when checking out just what is being offered.
I think self-publishing is the better way to go personally; I’ve seen plenty of KS projects take off like crazy going way beyond what was needed for that additional run, meaning you have funds to cover your costs, take care of yourself and fund future projects. I know that doesn’t always happen, but it sure as hell is possible.
After reading about others in general that went with traditional publishing for many years, my impression is that you put in A LOT of work before you ever see any kind of pay-off worth anything. If you’re going to work hard, you may as well get the biggest piece of the pie you can.
I suspect you have more fans and more support than you give yourselves credit for too; go the KS route and enjoy the results
I went with Option 1. In my heart, I’d prefer to see you have complete control over the package, and I would pledge to a Kickstarter campaign if you did one. But of the Kickstarter campaigns I’ve pledged to, only one has actually produced what they promised to produce on time. (A couple of others haven’t produced their product yet, but they’re new and aren’t late.) Of the two campaigns my wife has pledged to, neither one has borne fruit. So we’re wary of Kickstarter at this point.
Kickstarter. Ideologically, I have to pick it. If it get printed by Dark Horse or Image, I’m sure it’ll be great, but they didn’t make this. You guys made it.
Good luck with the decision.
I voted for option 2 this morning. I was just on kickstarted looking a projects and, looking at similar comics project, I’m sure you would have no problems getting funded. I’m also curious about the potential rewards.
Of course it is a much more time consuming option. To be honest, I will be buying the book no matter which option you choose.
Option 2. Proud to say, I’ve supported many Kickstarter programs and would be happy to support this one. Dork Tower has been webcomicing for a while and offers books of their collections. Wonder how they do it?
I voted for Option 2. Like Kyle says above, I’m sure other publishers would do a good job with it, but it wouldn’t be the same. No slight on them, but I never think of this comic solely as creator owned. I rather think of it as creator owned AND operated.
I suppose the risk of not getting funded is always in the background. That said, Greg, I feel like you and Rick are such well known and well respected creators that it couldn’t help but succeed. I know I’ll contribute all I can (and a little more) if you guys launch this campaign.
1. What’s the advantage of being in comic stores? Is your Marvel/DC Zombie also the demographic for Sabre?
2. Bookstores. They’re kind of going by the wayside. That being said, it’d be nice to be on the shelves at Barnes & Noble. Personally, I think Amazon & bn.com is more important.
3. I’m not into eBooks, but there’s certainly that. Of course nothing precludes you from doing a physical book AND also selling it in downloadable format. Basically, the same source file…
4. Talk to the Foglios, Warren Ellis, and the Atomic Robo guys. Self publishers and guys who’ve used small publishing venues.
My bottom line is, don’t kill yourself to get in traditional venues (that’s no longer important.) Know where your readership congregates.
1. I think it’s safe to say that we’ll reach a larger audience with (comic) book store placement; while the mainstream demo may not pick it up, there may well be others who do.
2. Brick-and-mortar vs. online is academic – both would require the kind of placement that’s much easier done through an established publisher.
3. Something we’re considering ourselves, actually; physical copy and a PDF, perhaps.
4. Have spoken to many people already, and are continuing to do so.
Knowing where the readership gathers is absolutely crucial; knowing who amongst them would want to buy a trade is the problem
Well, yes and no. You can go do it through Lulu and have it available on Amazon, B&N, iBookstore and such (as a part of their services.) I’m sure there’s other places with similar deals. The rest are questions about what your time is worth, handling orders, dealing with distributors, etc.
I see the merits of both methods. I also see the rewards of self publishing. However, I voted for Option 1. This is primarily due to the ability to access a wider audience. While both of you are widely known in comic circles, the fact that this is not a Bat/Spider/X project will automatically mean that there will be fewer people aware of it’s existence. Even though there has been vast growth of non-traditional markets over the last few years, the majority of sales are still thru comic stores and Amazon/B&N. I’m sure the both of you have access to sales figures of your DC/Marvel work vs creator owned. There’s been plenty of online chatter from other creators regarding sales, as well.
If you go the traditional production route, sales of the first volume can be the driving force behind the decision on how to market subsequent volumes. One could only hope that Lady Sabre has success similar to the Walking Dead in terms of growth.
Regardless of your ultimate choice, I will be buying it. However, everything looks beautiful on my brand new ipad, so a digital bundle should eventually be considered as well.
Go with the self-publishing. Once you’ve produced the trade, the methods available for offering it for sale via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other bookstores via distribute are incredibly simple now (drop me a line, I’d be happy to help with details) — and would get far wider distribution than the comic-store route. Remember, there are only about ~2K comics specialty shops in the US.
Why is this a win-lose decision? Personally I’ve seen a number of Kickstarter projects (Leisure Suit Larry comes to mind, but i may misremember) that were incredibly well-researched and specific about what exactly the operational and overhead costs were, which as a supporter made it incredibly easy to see where my pledge money would be going – and I firmly believe it gave the artists greater confidence that their pledge request was firmly grounded, realistic and didn’t leave them dead for six months.
Research, research research – spend another month or two finding out the *exact* costs for every step. Get price quotes. Find specialists who would take on some of the tasks that you’ve never done (or would do only under duress), get quotes from them, and build that into your pledge target. Make this something you would *enjoy* doing rather than dread (or feel constantly under the gun). Think about how you could outsource some of the work in the stretch-goal rewards too.
In the pledge request, outline all costs, the expected (not “if everything goes well”) timeframe from “go!” to release. If it reaches the goal you’d need to make this successful *and* pleasant for you, great! If not, THEN take it to a publisher and take the traditional route.
It sounds like doing it all yourself brings with it a sense of dread. F that – there are plenty of freelancers who can help. Portland is a land-o-plenty to find such creatures.
Mike — I’m sure Greg and/or Rick will also respond to this, but I wanted to note that we don’t see this as a win-lose situation in the slightest. We’ve said over and over in our conversations that either option we go with is a win. Each has its pros and cons, but either way, we’ll have a trade, we’ll have had control over its production, and we’ll retain all of the rights ourselves.
When we started discussions of how to collect, we always wanted to have a topic like this where you all got to share your opinions. As much as I’m sort of jokingly referred to as the silent partner, we see our readers in that role. The idea I’ve pushed for since the beginning, and I’m pretty sure that Greg and Rick are behind it 100%, is that a webcomic truly lives in the community that it cultivates (and that cultivates it in return). When Greg talks about “community investment” via the Kickstarter option, know that this is one of the biggest pros to the crowd-sourcing model that we see.
The sad part is, I’ve got a backlog of participatory things I want to open to you all, but haven’t had a hell of a lot of time for because of my dissertation (which is, funnily enough, about communities in digital storytelling!). I’ll have one up next week, promise!
Regarding your other points — research, timeline, outsourcing etc.: these are things we’re currently working on establishing for both options. Your comments here let us know we’re on the right track!
I’m echoing what Eric has said already, Mike, but I tried to make it clear in the post that this wasn’t a win or lose situation. If it was, it’d be an easy decision to make, frankly, and not one I’d feel the need to discuss at such length.
As to the rest, please, be assured, we have researched, we are researching, and we continue to research. I’ve got calls out to a whole slew of creators, as well as publishers, and we’re looking into everything. Whichever (or even both) decision require us to know as much as possible about the requirements, the fees, the expectations, the timeline, and on and on. Believe me, we’re on it. I can’t guarantee we’re not going to trip or fumble, but we’re doing our best.
With regards to the sense of dread, the only one of us who has had any hesitation about the self-pub route is Rick, and that’s because he once worked in advertising
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I voted for option 2. It doesn’t preclude the use of option 1, especially if you go with image. Jimmy Palmiotti’s Queen Crab was a kickstarter project that was published by Image. If I recall correctly in case such as this, you provide press ready files and the funds needed for printing, marketing and distribution. I’m sure if Jimmy has time he’ll talk to you guys about it.
I haven’t cast a vote either way (which, yes, isn’t useful), but I see advantages either way. Even if you went Kickstarter, you could probably get some of the better comics shops to get on board. I shop at Big Planet Comics in the D.C. area, and they carry and enjoy carrying books that aren’t available through the traditional Diamond route. Also Alex De Campi found a way to involve stores in her Ashes Kickstarter.
I think it is pretty close to a foregone conclusion that if you went with Kickstarter you could get fully funded and even funded to a level of some pretty cool extras. The question is, can you make a big enough splash there to let you pull off the double whammy of self-publishing and getting into Diamond and a large number of shops? If you can, then that would be very cool for web comics and self-publishing in general. I’ve no idea if you can scale that barrier, but it would be tres cool if you could.
Selfishly, I like the crowd-fund, self-publish option, but is it your best play? Is it the best for my friends who own comic shops? Dunno.
I understand your concerns, but I’m absolutely sure the book would get funded, and I’d be first in line to support it.
I vote kickstarter, simply because I’ve seen some of the stellar launches some properties have done over there, some even with some kind of deal with Image (like Jimmy P’s 2 books). I’m quite sure your project would reach its goal and there would then still be the opportunity for an established publisher to jump in & do a ‘mass market’ ’2nd’ print. But look at Sullivan’s Sluggers, which did nothing when first solicited and has now made just shy of 100,000 of a required 6,000.
Of course, you’ve already been building more of an audience, having the work on here.
I went with option 2.
I think ultimately either would be fine and I’ll be buying it either way.
Most likely in print and digital (were it to appear on say a Comixology).
I voted for option #2, the crowd sourced, self-published route. I’m sure y’all know how many unique hits each installment here receives, and can find estimates of how much of an audience can be expected to pledge.
There is one concern I have about that route, however, and it is the growth of the audience which you mentioned. Some mainstream outlets seem to be more willing to cover comics these days, and the recent success of comic properties in other media has raised their profile generally. Perhaps those two things will help to get Lady Sabre in front of more eyes.
I voted Option 2, Greg. Primarily because you said you aren’t afraid of the work AND because I want you to see how many of us are out here!
Solid arguments for both. Nevertheless, I’m also for Option 2. As far as getting it into comic shops, I’ve seen more than a few book and comic KS projects that include one or more “Retailer” level perks – higher-priced levels that garner the supporter x-number copies, shelf talkers, promotional posters, etc. This, of course, would require a bit more direct marketing to the LCS community, but would help you retain all the positive aspects of Option 2.
My two cents.
I’d lean toward Option 2, as it also provides a way to determine what, exactly, your demand *is* in a way that will make it easy to take to a “real” publisher later if desired. Not that I won’t likely be buying either way.
Kickstarter. I like the idea of no corporate masters. And, you’ll ultimately have more freedom, me things. Audience funded projects are the future. My favorite radio guy in Chicago, Steve Dahl, has abandoned radio and gone to a paid podcast and it’s great because the are no corporate guys telling what to do and trying to run the world via polls and market studies (that I don’t think ever really measure the market).
Just my two cents.
MPH
I will echo many others suggesting option two. You’ll get a better sense of how big your audience could be.
I’m not convinced that just put copies of Lady Sabre in a comics shop will grant you more visibility. You may well try advertise it more on the net with the likes of projectwonderful.
I read many web comics and I only stumbled upon LS very recently through the belfry comic list, maybe you will benfit from being more visible.
I’m also sure that having rised funds through Kickstarter (or whatever) will put you on a stronger position when negotiating with a publisher, should you decide to go that path at a later time.
All the comics I follow that went on KS raised far more than 100% of their initial request, I don’t see why this shuldn’t be the case for you.
Good luck!
I really want whatever would lend to the nicest hardcover edition of the book. Really nice hardcovers are where 80-90% of my print comic budget goes these days.
i went with 1. i guess i am in the minority. i would rather see your (and Rick and Erics) efforts be focused on the creative aspects vs the logistics etc of self publishing. The one caveat would be compromising your vision of the work for the publisher. It seems to me a deal like Ed got for Fatale at Image would ne a nice fit, IMO. They have the infrastucture and the ability to promote……
My bookshelves contain comics of both types. I just got a gorgeous self published REMIND Vol 1 hardcover from Jason Brubaker, and have Aaron Neathery’s ENDTOWN on the way. I also have Lora Innes’ The Dreamer, which she published through IDW, and I bought thru Amazon. Obviously, I was already familiar with these before buying. Perhaps the Kickstarter model followed by a regular press. You would show a sales track record that would make it easier to sell. Perhaps you should talk to some other folks to see how they like their experience. Either way, I echo above sentiments. I want a copy of this beautiful work.
Yeah, that’s sitting on the fence, but what do I know?
I voted for Option 2 for a few reasons. Of late, Kickstarter has offered a lot of comic book professionals a chance to have total control over the tradeback/collection process. The Legend of the Stick was able to raise over 1 million dollars for its reprint process. Paul Jenkins, Paul Duffield, James Stokoe, Jimmy Palmioti, Kazu Kibuishi, Garth Ennis, Joseph Krzemienski, Tony Harris, and Mark Andrew Smith are all comic book professionals that have raised successful Kickstarter campaigns. IMO I think that Greg Rucka (with the possible exception of Garth Ennis, but he was doing a children’s book on Kickstarter) ‘s a much wider known name in the comic book world than any of those aforementioned writers and artists. It may be that not many people know of this webcomic. However, I suspect, once the news hits Comic Book Resources, Newsarama, and the rest of the internet that Greg Rucka has a kickstarter campaign that it will be backed with a matter of days, it will allow this site to print additional copies that can be sold in the web store, and increase readership of the webcomic significantly. The only downfall of this is that the trade backs will not be distributed by Diamond to traditional Brick and Mortar comic book retail stores. I am not sure if thats a real negative aspect, but it certainly is less traditional. It may behoove your campaign to offer a backing that retailers could order from that would supply them with 10, 20, or 30 copies of the book. You could even pull a Mark Millar and offer to fly out to the comic book store, bookstore, or library that orders the most amount of copies for a signing of the book after it has been printed. Just a thought. Personally, I can’t wait to own my very own copy of the first volume.
Sorry to double-post, but after my previous post I checked the “funded” projects on Kickstarter and found a few more “professional” comic book artists and writers. While it can easily be argued that anyone who has published a successful comic book project through Kickstarter can be labeled a comic book “professional”, the following are more well known (I guess that is how I would label them):
Lance Roger Axt (Titanium Rain)
Rob Balder (Erfworld (webcomic))
Jason Brubaker (reMIND (webcomic))
CBLDF
Kody Chamberlain (Sweets)
Daniel Corey (Moriarty)
Clayton Crain
Evan Dahm (Riceboy, Order of Tales (webcomic))
Steve Ellis
Harvey Pekar Estate
Travis Hanson (The Bean (webcomic))
Tyson Hesse (The Boxer Hockey (webcomic))
Daniel Lieske (The Wormworld (webcomic))
Gordon McAlpin (Multiplex (webcomic))
Hoang Nguyen (Carbon Grey)
Brahm Revel (Guerillas)
Dave Ryan (War of the Independents)
Richard Stevens (Diesel Sweeties (webcomic))
Katie Tiedrich (Awkward Zombie (webcomic))
Womanthology
This included work from:
Barbara Kesel
Gail Simone
Annie Nocenti
Ming Doyle
Devin Grayson
Lauren Montgomery
Fiona Staples
June Brigman
Samantha Newark
Bonnie Burton
and many more
My two cents, for what it’s worth: I just ‘tuned in’ to this comic about two weeks ago – because a fellow Steampunk mentioned it on his Facebook feed. I learn of many new things through that community, and I’m reasonably certain that word would get around the community quite quickly about a Kickstarter – because if there’s one thing we love to do is share and geek out over our cool stuff.
I’ve seen a lot of kickstarters for webcomics that have not only been successful, but WILDLY successful. You boys have enough of a name in comics AND fiction itself that word of mouth alone will probably do the trick. Rick at the KC PlanetComicon is how I jumped on board! Go, Rick Burckett Advertising Agency! You likely have enough readers (and if you give enough little incentives for each price ‘donated’) that if you have a problem raising the cash, *I’ll* be shocked. Enough people are interested in seeing the small time folks make it now and screw the big names. The small timers are putting out better quality stories, art and don’t rely on the latest event-du-jour to ‘sell’. Fans aren’t stupid. We know the difference between the good stuff and the crap being pushed at us for our money…usually. LOL!
Just 2 cents: would you consider an electronic version? Having something to read on my computer or iPad would be great. Perks might include behind the scenes stuff and extra artwork that you’d sometimes find in printed versions, higher resolution art (retina iPad, please!), and knowing that you’re supporting great art. Thanks for the consideration!
Absolutely – we’ve been discussing an electronic version of the trade, but, of course, it’s yet another thing we need to further educate ourselves about.
I haven’t discussed it with Rick and Greg, but yes, retina-resolution and extras, probably an infrastructure based in HTML5. These are all in my notes on how it should be done.
Kickstarter has begun enforcing a rule prohibiting rewards of bulk-discounts for retailers. I don’t know if this will affect the decision regarding the Lady Sabre collection, but I just saw an article and thought I’d pass it on in case it’s pertinent.
http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/23564.html
Thanks for giving us the heads up on this.