Digital Comics and why you should add Multimedia with your Stories

I’ve been reflecting on the Madman of Magic comic book Kickstarter Campaign we ran in 2012. Specifically on what worked with promoting the campaign.

What I have found is that utilizing multimedia/multi-franchising to connect with an audience can make the difference between making a living and just making art.

The focus of this post is for people who have digital comics online, but this can be adapted to artist/creator who wants to increase their fan base and find alternative income streams in any media.

Ghost of Comic Book Past (recent past)

Comic books have been a means of entertainment and fascination for me ever since I was a child. Growing up, the heroes depicted in The Punisher, X-men and Batman were the people I pretended to be on the playground (I was always Beast or Wolverine).

Madman of Magic Reviewed by Noah Bell

I wanted to share this review of my comic book by Noah Bell AKA @NoahTheGeek on Twitter.

Packing Time: A Kickstarter Update

We are finally on the last leg of the Kickstarter Campaign.  We received the Comic Books from the publisher and they look great.

Leah and I will be packaging the Rewards this weekend.  Your package will be shipped out by Monday.  If you did not get a survey from Kickstarter asking for your address (for those that need to receive rewards via mail) please contact me through Kickstarter.  I still need several backers’ addresses to ship their rewards.

We want to thank everyone for the wonderful support and your patience in getting the Rewards out.  It has been a wonderful experience and an eye opener to the possibility of making this a full time career for my wife and me.

To support this we have:

• 2,800 Twitter followers
• 500 Facebook Fans
• 430 YouTube Subscriber (with 27,000 views!!!)
• And the best friends ever (we consider all of you our friends)

Madman of Magic Kickstarter Update 10

For those backers that are suppose to get a .pdf copy of the comic, they were sent out last week. If you are suppose to get one and you didn’t please email me. No new news on the printer and the timeline on distribution, but I will have all that figured out by Monday.

“Thank you” section

For those backers of $5, $10, and $25 or above please check the last update to make sure your name is on the list, is spelled correctly, and is how you want it to appear in the comic book.

I will need any changes and/or corrections by January 1st.

Reviewers are in on the digital comic book (.pdf version) and people are digging the comic.
Here are the reaction I have received from backers so far.

Madman of Magic #1 update #9

At the bottom of this update is the list of all of those who are in the “Thank You” section.  If you are supposed to be on the list (backers of $10 or more and $5 backers), please check that your name is on the list and spelled correctly.

We are still doing changes to the comic book, but we are very close!

The entire family is helping

Down to 3 printers

Comic Book Printing Good News and Bad News for Kickstarter Update

Good News = We are only a few pages from completing the comic book.

Bad News = We are not going to be able to get the physical comic books to you before the end December.

The Good News Explained

The Good news is that we are almost done with the comic book and currently ahead of schedule on getting the final copy ready for printing. We have been working hard to make the changes from the original script to this new and improved one… We are very excited to hear what people think.

The Bad News Explained

We talked to the printers today and it turns out the company we had planned on using has several hidden costs they do not mention in their pricing list online and it turns out their standard turn around time for a order our size is 5 weeks.

We are currently looking for a new printer.

What does this mean to Backers?

More Madman of Magic Questions

I got some more questions via facebook message and YouTube Comments that I felt others might find interesting.  You can see my Last Q&A Session at

jasonloveslife.com/kickstarter-madman-of-magic

Question

How much would it cost to make the comic book in total.

Answer

It is a hard question to answer.
Easily $2,000. According to my research. A starting comic book writer would get paid $1800 and the artist around $2500 (I can find my references on this, but that is what I found online). So for a company hiring people to make the comic book it would be $4,300 (not including a colorist) plus publishing costs, marketing, fixed costs, etc. etc. For us to do it, the biggest cost is our time. For those using kickstarter you have to include Kickstarters 5%, Amazon’s 5%, cost to create rewards, postage, and other costs that pop up.

Not sure if this is what you meant, but I hope it helps.

Question

I love the project, but I am broke and can’t afford to back it.