Alex is creating Graphic novels
Makes books, writes comics, starves.
28
$215
Milestone Goals
Breathing Easier
This means that I can afford daycare AND not working at my part time job that day for about 6-8 days a month, so I can write and letter comics and basically have enough concentration to approach more serious writing work.
Making books!
This allows me a little financial flexibility (healthcare!) AND lets me give some money to artists to draw approximately 5 pages of a graphic novel a month. So when I do kickstart books, we have a lot more done for people to look at. Obviously you get to see those 5 pages first!
Serious bookapalooza
I could potentially afford to move into somewhere bigger than my tiny 1br apartment (shared with 3 dogs and a toddler. There is no escape.), afford health coverage, AND STILL get about 8 new pages of graphic novel drawn a month! It adds up.
About
Writer. Filmmaker. Mom. Fighter. Taker of no prisoners.
Location
Durham, NH, USA
Top PatronsSee all 28
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My name is Alex de Campi. I am an Eisner-nominated, New York Times-reviewed graphic novellist and comics writer. (I also make music videos, but not often.)
However, the comics industry as a whole really hates graphic novels. Publishers don't fund them, as they're too risky/cost too much up front. It's an incredible uphill struggle just to get a 200+ page graphic novel (y'know, a BOOK) produced, and it almost always involves crowdfunding like Kickstarter. If you're really lucky, you get maybe a $5-6,000 advance from a publisher, which barely gives the artist $30/page for art on a 200-page book. Given that a page of art can take 1-2 days to produce, that's not a living wage.
Even on Kickstarter, trying to raise money for art and printing and sending often ends up as more of a fundraising target than backers can stomach. I am always struggling to raise enough money -- both for graphic novels on Kickstarter and for my monthly comic book series (like Grindhouse at Dark Horse Comics -- USA Today's "most insane read" of 2013 and one of Bleeding Cool's Top 10 Series of 2013) -- just to be able to help the artist survive, and get the book into your hands.
I take nothing for writing and lettering the book. Obviously I'd love an advance too, but there never is enough cash left over. Ever.
And post-production royalties? Well, so far I've earned zero from either Grindhouse or Smoke/Ashes (in fact, due to shipping cost rises, I went $8,000 out of pocket shipping Smoke/Ashes.)
So the act of creation for me is one of almost constant suffering. I have no health insurance. I struggle to buy groceries every week. I juggle various part-time jobs and life as a single mother, and am constantly exhausted.
But still I make books. This year, two major graphic novels (the noir Bad Girls and the existential horror Margaret the Damned) and a shorter kids' work (The Adventures of Scarlett Svensen) are all set to begin production. They are written and have artists attached/working on pages already. My ongoing webcomic Valentine will also continue to give you a weekly dose of thrills and spills as Christine and I create new episodes for it all the way to its final conclusion. And I'll be writing my next books in the time I have between being mom, working part-time as much as I can, and producing/lettering the current books.
I would love it if you would help make this process a little easier for me. I'm so broke that literally $500 a month in patronage would make a massive difference in my quality of life. In return, I will give you extensive looks at works in progress, and for sponsors over a certain level, free comixology codes and pdf downloads so you can read every book I create during your patronage.
PS: I'm sorry I didn't do a video. I don't actually have a camera with video capability at the moment, and I also have a real horror of my own image on screen. I'd prefer you just enjoy my work than actually see the old dork behind all of it. Pay no attention to the girl behind the curtain...
However, the comics industry as a whole really hates graphic novels. Publishers don't fund them, as they're too risky/cost too much up front. It's an incredible uphill struggle just to get a 200+ page graphic novel (y'know, a BOOK) produced, and it almost always involves crowdfunding like Kickstarter. If you're really lucky, you get maybe a $5-6,000 advance from a publisher, which barely gives the artist $30/page for art on a 200-page book. Given that a page of art can take 1-2 days to produce, that's not a living wage.
Even on Kickstarter, trying to raise money for art and printing and sending often ends up as more of a fundraising target than backers can stomach. I am always struggling to raise enough money -- both for graphic novels on Kickstarter and for my monthly comic book series (like Grindhouse at Dark Horse Comics -- USA Today's "most insane read" of 2013 and one of Bleeding Cool's Top 10 Series of 2013) -- just to be able to help the artist survive, and get the book into your hands.
I take nothing for writing and lettering the book. Obviously I'd love an advance too, but there never is enough cash left over. Ever.
And post-production royalties? Well, so far I've earned zero from either Grindhouse or Smoke/Ashes (in fact, due to shipping cost rises, I went $8,000 out of pocket shipping Smoke/Ashes.)
So the act of creation for me is one of almost constant suffering. I have no health insurance. I struggle to buy groceries every week. I juggle various part-time jobs and life as a single mother, and am constantly exhausted.
But still I make books. This year, two major graphic novels (the noir Bad Girls and the existential horror Margaret the Damned) and a shorter kids' work (The Adventures of Scarlett Svensen) are all set to begin production. They are written and have artists attached/working on pages already. My ongoing webcomic Valentine will also continue to give you a weekly dose of thrills and spills as Christine and I create new episodes for it all the way to its final conclusion. And I'll be writing my next books in the time I have between being mom, working part-time as much as I can, and producing/lettering the current books.
I would love it if you would help make this process a little easier for me. I'm so broke that literally $500 a month in patronage would make a massive difference in my quality of life. In return, I will give you extensive looks at works in progress, and for sponsors over a certain level, free comixology codes and pdf downloads so you can read every book I create during your patronage.
PS: I'm sorry I didn't do a video. I don't actually have a camera with video capability at the moment, and I also have a real horror of my own image on screen. I'd prefer you just enjoy my work than actually see the old dork behind all of it. Pay no attention to the girl behind the curtain...