Kickstarter comics: A mid-year look at the numbers

It’s no secret Kickstarter is one of the most used and viable resources for indie comics creators to get their dream projects off the ground. Creators just starting out to comics legends have used the platform to get funding for their projects. From afar, one can see the huge successes, like BOOM! Studios’ BRZRKR in 2020, but how successful are folks when you look at the numbers?

We can today, as Kickstarter has supplied AIPT with a few key figures for 2023. First and foremost, 78.1% of all Comics projects met their funding goal. Out of 1,666 Kickstarter comics, 1,171 projects successfully met their funding goal. That’s a 13.5% increase compared to the same time last year. Considering a 14% increase in projects, folks are utilizing Kickstarter more than they did a year earlier.

Throw in the fact that there was a 22% increase in the number of dollars pledged, and the platform is as viable as ever for comics projects. In 2022 there was $14.4M pledged compared to $17.6M in 2023.

That growth will likely continue thanks to the hiring of Head of Comics Bryce Gold in May.

“In 2023 alone, comics fans pledged 17.6M dollars for Comics on Kickstarter, and 78% of all Comics projects launched on the platform this year have been successfully funded,” Gold told me. “These numbers are proof of the power of Kickstarter’s comics creators – who put out fresh ideas in the world that get people excited and inspired – and Kickstarter’s comics backers who rally to support the work they believe in.”

Globally speaking, 72% of all Comics projects in H1 2023 were from the U.S. That’s followed by 11% in Great Britain, 5% in Canada, and 1.8% in Italy.

Oriana Leckert, Kickstarter’s Head of Publishing & Journalism, added, “For me, what’s just as thrilling as the growth reflected in the data, is the energy and passion of Kickstarter’s creators. Each and every day there’s an inspiring number of creators who are out there supporting other creators and spreading the word about exciting new projects. There are other crowdfunding platforms, but there’s no other community like the Kickstarter community.”

To date, over 15,000 Comics projects have been funded on Kickstarter, raising over $188M in funds.

So what are the most funded comics projects? The top five between January and June 2023 earned $3.8 million pledges. Three of the five are licensed projects. They are:

• THE EXPANSE: DRAGON TOOTH: THE EXPANSE: DRAGON TOOTH is the first new story since the Season 6 finale of the acclaimed Amazon Prime Video series. Developed alongside James S.A. Corey and TV studio Alcon Television Group, superstar writer Andy Diggle (The Losers, Green Arrow: Year One) and rising star artist Rubine (Voltron: Legendary Defender) the book promised to tie together the threads of the show and answer lingering questions in this monumental 12-issue comic book maxi-series. The project raised over $1M in just six days, blowing past its initial $25K funding goal. In total, the project raised $1,405,859.

• HOW TO THINK WHEN YOU DRAW VOL. 6: How to Think When You Draw books are each 200-page, full-color, hardback books that bring together drawing tutorials from creator Lorenzo Etherington. Lorenzo is one half of The Etherington Brothers – a duo that has created comics, art and stories for many of the world’s biggest publishers and studios including Disney, Dreamworks, etc. Lorenzo came to Kickstarter to raise funds for the sixth book in the How to Think When You Draw series and to get funding to reprint the sold out volumes 1 – 5. The project raised $864,358 – more than 685x its original funding goal.

• POWER RANGERS: A 30TH ANNIVERSARY COMIC BOOK CELEBRATION: To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Power Rangers series, this BOOM! Studios Kickstarter campaign offered fans the opportunity to collect three brand new, Power Rangers 30 Deluxe hardcovers. The books spanned the first three decades of Power Rangers storytelling in comics–Power Rangers Archives Book One, Power Rangers Archives Book Two, and Power Rangers Lost Chronicles Book One. For its backers, BOOM! Studios also offered a variety of new commemorative comic books and merchandise, including an exclusive POWER RANGERS 30 Angel Grove letterman jacket. The project raised $676,733.

• LADY DEATH CYBERNETIC DESECRATION: Brian Pulido, creator of Lady Death came back to Kickstarter to raise funds for a new, 48-page graphic novel. The new story would see Lady Death thrust into an alternative dystopian future Earth where her evil persona Empress Death has nearly extinguished the human race. Empress Death’s mission is to eradicate the last 999 souls on Earth to achieve the death of all life on Earth. Can Lady Death, weaponless and alone, navigate this nightmare and defeat the most evil foe she has ever faced? The project raised $511,170 and earned its first $100K in pledges in just five minutes.

• MEGALITH: In 2018, Matt Kindt (BRZRKR) partnered with the legendary Lewis LaRosa (SAVAGE) to create a comic book. They spent a mammoth five years in production to create MEGALITH, a cosmic odyssey that kicks off when a gigantic, hundred-story tall humanoid crashes onto Earth. The team came to Kickstarter to raise funds to help bring the book to comic stores around the world. They raised $393,850, surpassing their $10K funding goal.

Seeing so many licensed projects in the top five is interesting as publishers continue to utilize the platform. In most cases, Kickstarter is used to get a project off the ground or at least prove that readers want the project before eventually sending the comic to comic shops for wide release. In the latter format, it allows publishers to stay viable and take fewer risks, which certainly is a value-add when considering the risk some publishers take weekly.

So what’s next with the stats showing great growth? As Gold puts it, “I look forward to keeping that momentum going, continuing to support our roster of top-tier independent talent, small presses, and major-league publishers, and finding new, exciting voices that will continue to bring the best comics in the world to life through Kickstarter.”

Something new for Kickstarter is a dedicated booth at SDCC, which fans can peruse at booth #1632. Those lucky enough to attend the convention can check out exclusive enamel pins designed by comic artists Ryan Benjamin and Amanda Conner (more info on their SDCC plans here). On Friday, 7/21, at 1:oo pm ET (Room 32AB), there’s also a “Lessons from successful Kickstarter comics creators” panel to gain some insights from creators like Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Brian Pulido, Kat Calamia, and Ryan Benjamin.

Given Kickstarter’s new Head of Comics role and the figures outlined above, it’s more than likely growth and success for all creators will be on the rise through 2023 and into 2024.