Collecting the Submerged arc of Tart in an elegant hardcover fit for your home library.
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
This campaign has been a whirlwind. We had over 100 join us on the first day to prove this was a project that should exist in the world. And we've slowly, and methodically built up to over 300 backers and over $17,000 in funding... which means...
MORE PAGES!!!
Ludo and I have been sifting through our computers to find things to add value to this book for you. I found a short story I wrote years ago called "The Last Show at the Wreck Bar" which is VERY loosely based upon my visit to the last Mermaid Show they had before The Yankee Clipper (which coincidentally my grandfather worked security for in his retirement years, probably because it made it likely he would see women in bikinis... I mean for some extra money) renovated the bar. There was a possibility that the Mermaid Show they ran every Friday for like five decades might not return.
The good news is, The Mermaid Show is back. The better news is I got a story out of the visit! You can learn about The Wreck Bar here:
https://www.boceanresort.com/mermaids-at-the-wreck-bar/
Because of your amazing support you will be able to read the short story when the books arrive.
I'm going to work with Ludo to create a PDF packet of these extra pages to share with our digital only backers so you'll get the short story too. You helped us get there, you should receive the rewards too!
I will be celebrating the close of the campaign tonight night at 11 PM EST the way I spend every Friday night. With Will Allred and some creators with campaigns running on various (mostly Kickstarter) crowdfunding sites. There will be one small difference. We're going to stop at about 11:48 PM to countdown and rejoice at the finale of this campaign. I'd love to have you with us (If you aren't already in bed or out on a hot date or excellent adventure) on the Youtube page. This wouldn't have happened without you. I want you to enjoy it too (I'd also be fine with you being in bed, on a hot date, or an excellent adventure. Those three things are all perfectly acceptable alternatives).
The campaigns we will be discussing are:
CURIOUSER: WE'RE ALL MAD HERE
I already introduced this project in update #8. But I will remind you that every Tart backer of the $15 digital bundle tier or above who also backs any physical level of this Alice in Wonderland update will receive a free print illustrated by Tart co-creator Ludovic Sallé.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lastemberpress/curiouser
TALES FROM THE CLOAKROOM
An anthology pulled from the minds of students in Scott Snyders writing workshop, every story in this anthology flows from a single word as a prompt. That word: jacket.
From their Kickstarter page they also have this to say about the creators in the book:
<<Hot on the heels of Scott Snyder's inaugural Comics Writing Class comes Scott Snyder Presents Tales From The Cloakroom, a 120-page, multi-genre anthology comprised of 20 short comics. With a commitment to uplifting emerging voices and underrepresented communities (over 50% of creators are 2SLGBTQIA+, women, BIPOC, and/or differently abled), we chose stories based on their professional quality and emotionality.>>
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cloakroom-comics/scott-snyder-presents-tales-from-the-cloakroom
MERAKI
I also talked about Meraki in Update 8. But it's a comic with Greek Gods, space age tech, and LGTBQ representation baked into a fun adventure comic.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mk-palmer/meraki-6-a-futuristic-odyssey-adventure-story
Mystery Comic
Our last campaign is for a comic that is funding elsewhere. I think that's great. But I have hours left, and don't want to anger anybody who might see this so... tune in and find out what it is.
All jokes aside. This has been an amazing, stressful, productive, exhausting month with you. Thank you for being there with us until the not-bitter-at-all end.
Kevin
We have been making steady progress toward adding the extra back matter to the Tart: Submerged Hardcover. I dusted off the the mermaid story I'll be contributing and was pleasantly surprised. It does what I hoped it would do, and feels how I hoped it would feel.
I feel like it fits the tone of some of our Tart stories in a way as well. I'll leave those specific reasons I think that to myself, however. I can have an intent, but I don't want to shadow anyone else's experience with my stories, especially before they might read them.
Ludo is looking through his artwork to find cool work in progress artwork to show his process, and we have reached out to a writer we respect, and just as importantly like to write an Afterward. And now that we have gotten to within $1,000 (thanks to everyone receiving this update, but also to one specific backer who decided it was time), I can reveal who it is.
I make no bones about the fact that White Ash is one of my favorite comics I have had the pleasure of backing. The art team of Conor Hughes and Fin Cramb work together to take a twisting tale of intrigue and make it sexy, fun, scary, and exciting. But as amazing as they are, they aren't my friend.
I asked White Ash writer Charlie Stickney if he'd honor our book by writing an Afterward for Tart because he is a fabulous writer. But also because he is a great person. And I'm pleased as all get out to say he was excited to do so.
I don't know what he's going to say in it. And I don't care. Charlie is a great guy, and his book is amazing. So whatever he chooses to write about will make ours even more incredible.
If you've somehow missed White Ash, you can ask your local comic shop to order you the Scout Comics editions, wait for his next Kickstarter (I'll definitely be mentioning it when it is live), or even grab copies off The Scout Website here:
https://www.scoutcomics.com/collections/white-ash
Some other incredible Kickstarters I can't believe I was late on. And want to make sure you don't miss the chance to check them out.
FOR GOODNESS' SAKE
My first interaction with Writer/Artist K Lynn Smith's work was her wonderful western adventure Plume. I was late to the party there, but heard enough good things to back her hardcover collection of the entire series. It is not just an amazing comic story, but the design of the book is simply breathtaking.
So if you haven't heard of For Goodness' Sake yet, I can tell you it is a going to be a book worth checking out. First of all, I've read this one. It is a story with a lot of humor, sadness, and depth. It's a buddy/anti-buddy (can I trademark anti-buddy?) road trip adventure where the lead characters seem to veer from wanting to redeem each other to wanting to kill each other from page to page. Second of all, I know how K. Lynn Smith collects her stories. Phenomenal attention to detail.
I'd mention this book no matter what. But the fact K. Lynn is putting together a gorgeous hardcover while we're putting together a different style of gorgeous hardcover, made it a priority.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fgs-omnibus/for-goodness-sake-the-completed-omnibus-hardcover
(Oh. And K. Lynn is a fellow backer of yours so there is that kinship as well!).
Viscairian Tales
Writer Wyndi Gayle (also a fellow backer! I'd share these even if they weren't but I do want to celebrate it) is launching her first ever Kickstarter campaign to take the fantasy world she created with her husband Chuck Pineau over the last two decades and turn the story into a fantasy comic.
The story is about a young girl who hopes to be mentored by the king's chosen assassin. Knowing that showing up at a magical elf killer without any basic skills might be closer to suicide than a job interview, she finds a band of marauders to teach her skills.
Hardcore fantasy fans should definitely check this one out and see if it is up their alley.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/202914154/viscairian-tales-marauders-masquerade-1-of-3
There are just days left in our campaign. It's exciting and a little bit scary. But that's alright with me.
Kevin
We have one week to go in this campaign to print the nicest version of the Tart Submerged Hardcoover possible. And if you receivedthis update, you've done your part to get us to our goal, and a good portion of the way to our first stretch goal: adding 16 pages of back matter to the volume.
Ludo is looking through his files to see what type of early art he can add, and I found a short story I wrote after visiting the Mermaid Show at the Wreck Bar located in The Yankee Clipper hotel down here in Fort Lauderdale.
We went because the hotel was about to go through a renovation, and nobody knew if the Mermaid Show was coming back. Spoiler Alert: it did. But the characters in this short story don't know that. I was pleased to still enjoy it when I read it for the first time in years. I also have a lovely piece of art in my home that Ana, the artist who introduced Ludo and I to each other many years ago created for the short story. I have to make certain she is okay with me publishing it in the Hardcover, but I think I can share it with you without bothering her.
I have also asked a writer whose work I admire greatly if they can write an afterword for us. They have agreed, but I'm going to withhold their identity until we break the $16,000 mark. Sort of a mini-stretch goal on our way to the stretch goal. If by chance we hit 300 backers without passing $16,000 I'll reveal it then. Since 300 backers is always a benchmark I personally want to pass. It shows we have a strong, returning core of readers, and to the 12 year old that runs most of my actual wants and needs, it allows me to use the "This is Sparta!" gif from 300 which always tickles me to no end.
I feel very confident we are going to hit that stretch goal, and then move on to add the bookmarks into the book as well. I just checked the dashboard and we have 320 people following the campaign who have not pledged yet. If we can even get one third of them, this campaign might go from great for the future of Tart to gobsmackingly unbelievable. I will live with great... but I wouldn't mind gobsmackingly unbelievable.
Since it is Friday, I want to remind you that if you have time this evening (11 PM EST), I'll be broadcasting this week's Explain Yourself with Will Allred and a really amazing group of creators and projects. You can watch and comment on my youtube channel:
We plan to dive into three really cool and unique campaigns and would love to have you join us.
THE GOLEM OF VENICE BEACH
Sometimes I have a little advance warning on these projects and get to read them, but for Golem, I was sold immediately The first thing that got me was the summary on their Kickstarter page:
-- This 152-page epic about the adventures of a 400-year-old Golem spans from 16th century Europe to the horrors of World War II to modern day Venice Beach, where the Golem becomes entangled in a war between a gang and the police. The Golem of Venice Beach is both a riveting narrative and a celebration of Southern California. --
The second... DID YOU SEE THE ARTISTS INVOLVED WITH THIS CAMPAIGN!!! HOLY MOLY AND MANY OTHER WORDS THAT WOULD NOT BE ACCEPTABLE IN PLEASANT CONVERSATION!!!
As I put it on Twitter. I dare you to look at the creators involved in this book and not back. It is a literal All Star team with so many big names I don't even know where to start. I figure I'll let you go to the page and discover the entire team yourself as opposed to leaving somebody deserving out.
And since I'm working to create a beautiful hardcover myself, I've got an extra bit of comradeship with this campaign.
THE DARK SIDE OF PURITY ANTHOLOGY
This is a very intriguing project from the point of view of women and non-binary creators. In their words:
-- Inside these pages and panels you will find many different points of view on the traditional values of “purity," “chastity," and “womanliness." These stories and poems shine a light on how society has used Purity Culture as a means of control, and how these creators feel about it. You'll hear many different voices all lashing out against these tools of oppression and suppression. --
I look forward to reading this as the father of a 13 year old moving toward womanhood. Heaven knows how easy it is to mess up even on a good day. If I can avoid putting pressure on her outside of my own personal failings and weaknesses, then I want to do so.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bandofbards/the-dark-side-of-purity
SCORPIO
I've actually had the chance to read Scorpio 1 and 2. So I can tell you it is a fun and intriguing story about a young man who inherited his father's tech company, and that's not all. Daniel Shim was also left, and shunned, a magical power that is needed to protect the world. Instead he has used his time and energy to build technological marvels for his family's Security Corporation.
And now a group that could be good, and could be evil (I'm still trying to sort that out), is determined to have the power he has forsaken. There is a ton of fun action in this with a mix of super heroics and martial arts wrapped into a magical power system that is based within the Zodiac.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ivwall/scorpio-vol-1-issues-1-3
If you want to learn more about any of these comics, please visit their Kickstarter pages. But if you want to ask specific questions about them yourself... see you at 11 pm EST!
Kevin
One of the unexpected joys of creating comics, primarily funded by Kickstarter, is the people you meet.
I like to think that I'm (usually. For the most part. Okay, sometimes) likable. But I didn't start writing comics with the thought I'd make friends doing so. That is exactly what has happened in dozens of cases.
Our editor on Tart, Cassandra Bell was a reader we met at New York Comic Con. After about a year of interaction online she answered a call to look over one of our Kickstarter pages. When I got back her eviscerating, thorough, and correct (I put that Oxford Comma in specifically for her to enjoy) suggestions I knew we needed her on the team. Well, that's not exactly true. She also let me read a screenplay of hers. When I saw she was an amazing writer as well as a Hardass Grammarian, I knew we needed her on her team.
Guest artist on Tart 6, Karl Moline was just a pro artist with a hole in his schedule when I met him. But even years later, I know I can call or text Karl with requests for help, or suggestions on art.
Same with backers. I've made friends with people around the globe that I would have never met if it wasn't for this. I won't use his name, but there is one of you I would let operate on me if I was dealing with acute belly pain and visiting England. Now that's friendship (I honestly don;t know if he could do the operation because of said friendship, but I don't care. He can cut me)!!!
I like to share other campaigns in case you find anther book you can love through them. It has happened multiple times that a backer will reach out months later and say, "I heard about __________ through one of your updates. It just arrived and it's incredible!" Everybody wins in that case. The backer, the other creator and me (left that Oxford Comma out, Cassie. Deal with it!). When the other creator is also a friend and a collaborator, the win for me is multiplied.
Three creators I've become friends with and who I have worked with in one way or another on Tart have campaigns that just recently launched.
CURIOSER: We're all Mad Here
If you like the way this Tart Kickstarter page looks you have three people to thank. Ludovic Sallè and Karl Moline for their amazing artwork. And Brant Fowler who designed basically everything else you see. Brant and his wife Lisa, just launched a sequel of sorts to Alice in Wonderland, this time with a big boy lost, instead of a little girl. Alice's son Alec is brought to Wonderland for some more magical, and mystical adventures.
If there was a tea I could drink to read it right now, I would. But I'll have to simply stare with heart eyes at their version of The Mad Hatter instead.
Memo to self. Put Tart in more top hats.
We are announcing a fun freebie to everyone who backs both Tart and Curiouser. Ludo has created a print starring Tart and The Knave of Hearts that anyone who backs Tart at the $15 digital level or above, and backs Curiouser at any physical level will receive for free (Brant and Lisa will be fulfilling on their end, so you have to pay shipping through their campaign for us to be able to get it to you free of charge).
Digital backers of both campaigns can get a pdf of the image. I love that it is reversible so Tart readers can frame it with Tart on top, and Curiouser die-hards can do so with the Knave of Hearts on top. Either choice is fine by me, but you have to back both campaigns to make that choice.
Curiouser can be found here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lastemberpress/curiouser
Meraki
If you enjoy the animated Tart Logo that bursts into flame at the beginning of our video, you enjoy Meraki writer MK Palmer's work. MK created a world that mixes Greek myth with science fiction, and made sure it also worked as a world that represents LGTBQ characters in all facets. As heroes and villains,. Saviors and shit heads. MK's characters get to be real, three dimensional people. But they also get to be their for readers who are looking to see themselves on a comic page.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mk-palmer/meraki-6-a-futuristic-odyssey-adventure-story
I really dig this series and think most readers of Tart would too.
MISKATONIC HIGH
A few years back I saw this intriguing series pop up on Kickstarter. Miskatonic High. I think it was probably issue 5 or 6 when I first jumped on. And I was glad I did;. MH is simply fun. A group of Hish School kids basically live in an area of the world that is beset at all sides by the monsters and horrors of HP Lovecraft. Ghosts, Rat People, Squid Monsters in the Ocean. Yes, they have to deal with all those while also making sure to get the internship that will help them be accepted to the college they'll attend IF they survive senior year.
As impressed as I am with the art and story, I'm even more impressed with the Miskatonic High team's
work ethic. They have passed us by launching a campaign to print the FIFTEENTH issue of their series. That is amazing. It makes me more proud of our 14 issues when I sit back and think of how gobsmacked I am that they've done 15!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1442861719/miskatonic-high-issue-15-survive-until-dawn
Now. I said that each creator I'm highlighting has done something with Tart, and I told you what Brant and MK have done. But I can't EXPLICITLY say what Miskatonic writer Mike Shea has done, and will do in the world of Tart.
Let's just say it is kind of crazy. Which is sort of the exact way to get me onboard. It is unique, and big enough that it is not ready to share, or use in this campaign. Rest assured, however, that at some point in the future the kids of Miskatonic High and the Toxic Fruit will have an adventure together... but in a form we've never seen any other Kickstarter creators do.
I will already start giving Mike the credit for this. It was his idea, and because he has a better sense of how the story will be provided to you (how do you like that for evasive wording) he did most of the concrete writing. I can't speak for him, but I had an absolute blast brainstorming this kooky thing with him for most of the first week of this Kickstarter campaign.
We'll tell you more when we can tell more, but until then, please remember that I couldn't make long range plans to do crazy things with other creators if you hadn't supported this campaign (and possibly previous ones). Our backers are the foundation we build everything from. Thank you for being there for us.
Kevin