Feb '24 newsletter - Killtopia: Nano Jams Kickstarter sign-ups begin!
Plus novels, Run 'n' Gun book progress and more...
Hi everyone, Dave here writing to you from Scotland, which has been battered by wild storms and wind lately (thankfully everything is still standing!)
Most importantly, I’m glad January is finally over as it never seemed to end! Spirits are lifting again, and I’m back working on a few exciting things behind the scenes. I’m also now on TikTok to try and extend my marketing reach with videos about my comics and some fun little clips about retro gaming.
This month’s newsletter will focus mostly on our cyberpunk anthology Killtopia: Nano Jams - as Kickstarter sign-ups are live NOW! (hit the link to get an alert when we launch)
But we’ve got some more new things - including your chance to give me feedback on what I’m working on next.
Let’s jam!
1. Killtopia: Nano Jams Kickstarter sign-ups are live!
Killtopia: Nano Jams is the first short story anthology set in the world of my mainline cyberpunk comic series, Killtopia. It’s a 70+ page book that includes 20+ stories about what the future of media technology might be in our dystopian cyberpunk future.
So basically, it’s Ghost in the Shell meets Black Mirror.
We now have over 40 contributors (almost 50 now!) with such new additions as returning Killtopia letterer, Micah Myers, writers Andrew Clemson and David Taylor, and artwork from the incredible Zak Kinsella. Pleas e check them out through the links and follow their great work.
See the full list of contributors here!
Be the first to know by signing up now!
You can sign up for our Kickstarter now, which means you’ll get an alert as soon as the campaign launches. I’m aiming to have it live around the end of March, but I’ll announce a firm date soon - anthologies are huge projects and I have a few final things to work out before we can commit to a date!
I waned to give all you lovely subscribers a little exclusive preview of the campaign page and the kind of rewards we’re offering.
Your exclusive look at the campaign page
You can check out a preview of the work-in-progress campaign page here - and there’s even an option to leave me some feedback about anything else you’d like to see or anything you think it’s missing!
I have been pretty blown away by the response to our new Killtopia tee, which you can get by backing the campaign (so thanks to anyone who gave feedback on Twitter at the start of the month.
The design is by StickyHunter (go check out their work and hire them!)
2. Killtopia, the novel?
This is the part of the newsletter where I’m keen for your thoughts in the comments.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since I decided to start slowing down on comics in January. It might not seem like it if you follow my social media. I post a lot to keep people up to date, but largely I’ve been taking it far easier.
I’ve signed up to less cons this year, benched all of my future comics - aside from slowly working on my script for Yuta (which I announced in my January newsletter), and spacing out my Kickstarters more.
In short, the only new comics you’ll see from me this year are entries to my existing series - Bust, Ninja Baseball Spirits and BPM: Beatdowns Per Minute - as I want to finish those for our brilliant readers who have supported us all these years.
That aside, I’ll only start new comics this year if they’re work for hire gigs for publishers or if I land a publishing deal for something. I have a few things in the works on this point, but they’re still TBC (I’m crossing my fingers though).
After this year, if I feel ready and up for it, normal service should resume.
Wait, what’s this got to do with novels?
Well, another reason I’ve been slowing down on comics is due to the cost of creating them. Prices are going up for printing and shipping, and collaborators are (quite rightly I must add!) raising their rates to afford living in our brutal economy.
It’s getting to the point that the sheer cost of making comics - even after raising money on Kickstarter - is becoming unpalatable. I just don’t want to do that any more.
So, a few of my comic writer friends have recently felt the same and suggested I turn my Killtopia sequels into novels instead. There’s no art to pay for, no shipping costs, it’s easier and cheaper to self-publish on demand, and I could find a publisher for them.
I’ve written a novel before, but I never released it - as it was 2011 and I wasn’t that good at writing then. But it’s something that appeals to me more and more as my comic spend goes up and up.
So that’s the question really - would a Killtopia sequel novel be appealing to you, or does it need the art to stay appealing? Does it only work as a comic, or could it work as a novel?
Please let me know in the comments, or tap the poll here:
3. Lastly, some good news about my run ‘n’ gun history book!
This is a short one. Basically, it’s now gone to print! After almost two years of exploring the entire run ‘n’ gun genre, this colossal tome is now in production.
I’ll share Bitmap Books’ official reveal and any future launch updates on my socials. Give me a follow if you want to stay in the loop :D
Whatever path you choose for killtopia, the story needs to be there, so maybe give it some schedule time and go for the outline. In the end you will still have a story and you can evaluate the situation at that time to see if you can add some chapter illustrations or do a 2nd edition later with them, or if there’s an in story event that everyone liked you could focus the next comic in there. Mainly the “make it one, sell it lots of times” idea.
But Im just a small voice in your head and like you said, there are other things happening so take your time and see what you want to focus on the coming months, all projects can always be paused if someone throws money at you