Kickstarter: Chumbawamba Style

The saying “Comics will break your heart, kid” is often attributed to Jack Kirby. There is some doubt that he actually said that and if he did, whether he was serious or not. This week I felt that as we cruised through the first stretch goal of Feed Them to the Crows #1…only to get knocked down to just about our funding goal by a large cancellation, where we’ve sat since. What a roller coaster of emotion. I’m not going to let this setback get me down. We’ve got a few days left in the campaign and we’re going to finish strong.

While this was a bummer, I’m trying to take it in stride. This frees up Roberto Duque’s original artwork for his Tales from the Crypt homage variant cover. This one-of-a-kind reward could go to one lucky backer. If it doesn’t, that’s not the end of the world. Sure, I could use the extra funds on the campaign, but I would also love to have this artwork for myself. If this doesn’t get scooped up, I am 100% buying this from Roberto.

I’ve learned a lot during this campaign and I’m taking it in as I prepare for not only the second issue of this series, but my next one that will launch shortly after the fulfillment for Feed Them to the Crows #1. So, if you want to pick up the awesome original artwork as seen above or just the comic itself, you have just a few days left to back the Kickstarter campaign.

In other news, I dug into Project Pirate over the weekend, finally starting in on the actual script for issue #1. I have tinkered with the outline for ages and I got it in a space I feel comfortable enough in. I’m already seeing the areas where I need a little more or a little less space. I’m happy with how it’s developing so far.

When I write a script, I start with the panel descriptions. This gives me a good idea of the flow of the story. I find that I often move things around so one of the parts of the writing process I hate is putting the page number on top as those change a lot. I had tried putting it in the header of the page so it would update automatically, but that meant that every page had to fit on one page of the document. That’s not a bad challenge in the scheme of things.

Once that’s all set up, I’ll add in dialogue to finish up the first draft. By that point, I have the beats mapped out and it’s just a matter of making sure that the emotional elements are shining through.

Making comics can be weird sometimes because I’m currently promoting a series that I wrote a few years ago while working on another one that could not come to fruition for another couple years. I’m still excited about all of these stories, however it feels different as I started those in completely different times in my life. It’s weird, but still very fun.

I have finally jumped on the Dungeon Crawler Carl bandwagon. I’ve heard of this novel series from Matt Dinniman for ages, but I haven’t checked it out until recently. I don’t read a lot of physical prose books anymore as I prefer to listen to audiobooks. Since this series is an Audible exclusive, that meant that the audiobooks are only available through the Amazon-owned platform and you cannot get them through your local library. I have a lot of feelings about that.

I finally bit the bullet and got an Audible subscription to pick up Dungeon Crawler Carl and a few other exclusives. Despite my feelings on keeping this behind the paywall, I absolutely loved this production. It started out a little hokey as I was getting used to the humor. Once it got going, I found myself laughing out loud on numerous occasions.

This is really a testament to what you can do in audiobooks. There are a variety of voices that give you a full, immersive experience. Narrator Jeff Hays does a tremendous job and really brings you right into Carl’s head. Within a short amount of time, you are right there with him in every step in this bizarre journey.

The book is obviously very influenced by video games and table top games. Carl is dumped into a literal fight for his life, gaining experience points to level up and get stronger as he makes his way through a dungeon made of what’s left of planet Earth. I loved how the monsters are mashups of alien and other creatures and stuff from our world. My favorite was the Krakaran, a mix of a Kraken and a Karen.

Needless to say, I can’t wait to check out the rest of the books in the series. The eighth one just came out so I’ve got a lot of listening to do. Then I can cancel my Audible subscription and go back to my comfortable Libby. Support your local library, folks!