Why Crowdfund?

Recently, one of my fellow Kickstarter comics creators asked some questions about my campaign... How did I set my campaign goal? What does that amount actually pay for? How does it fit into my overall plan for Mantle and making comics? I thought some of you might be interested in the answers to those questions!

First of all, I'll start by saying — because it may not be obvious — that on our two campaigns so far, the goals do not even come close to covering the cost of paying contributors, printing comics, and all the other smaller expenses that go into publishing Mantle. Some Kickstarter campaigns work that way — raise the full cost of the project or don't do it at all — but for Mantle, the posted goal is simply the portion of the budget we're confident we can raise by making the comics available on this platform. For practical purposes, I hope for the campaign to cover some or all of the printing cost.

The way I see it, the Kickstarter is just the beginning. We've gone on to sell copies of Mantle #1 at shows and online, and hope to be doing that for a long time to come. I think the books will eventually pay for themselves, but at this point they're also not my full-time career. I have time to invest in the project and let it play out over the long haul.

All of that said, the Kickstarter campaigns are our biggest one-time sales events for each book. They are an incredible opportunity to launch each new issue of Mantle, raise awareness of the book, and reach an audience on a platform where readers are used to discovering new independent comic books.

Everyone has different long-term goals for their comics and Kickstarter campaigns. I'm working with the team to put together this one book, Mantle, for the love of comics. I want to tell this story. I want to work with amazing creators like Gian and Irma to do it. I want as many people as possible to read the book. I didn't start this project to become a publisher, sell stuff online, hawk Mantle at shows, post on social media, talk comics on podcasts, or post Kickstarter updates... but a lot of those things are actually kinda fun, I have to admit.

So if you're wondering why I set a low campaign goal or why my reward tiers aren't more expensive (when they probably could be), that's why. I'm trying my best to get Mantle to as many of you as possible.