Kickstarter

The LiveAboard Volume One, Issue One DOCK DORKS

The LiveAboard is an autobiographical web comic that has been seen at http://www.cynxing.com/liveaboard/ since 2009.  It chronicles the adventures of a former landlubber in her straight-up learning curve living on a 30’ sailboat.

It is not a cartoon strip, or a graphic novel, so I call it a docucomic. 

The pages are sequential within the page but not generally from page to page.  The stand-alone vignettes are tiny stories of people I’ve met and things I have experienced, told in the way you might relate an incident to a friend.  Added up, they give an overview of what life is like for this LiveAboard.

This first issue covers January 2008 - May 2010, when my boat La Bonita was berthed in Pete’s Harbor in Redwood City, CA. It is called Dock Dorks and will be 80 5.5" x 8.5" pages, half color, half b&w.  Dock Dorks is a teasing name for the denizens of the Boaty World, specifically the ones who stand around and talk at you.

Half of the pages to be included are on the web already, check them out.  The other half have not been seen in public yet.  My goal is to raise enough money to print at least 1000 copies for distribution to the public and to publishers. 

If sufficient money comes in by June, I will be able to commit to getting half a table at the Alternative Press Expo in SF on October 13 &14, 2012, ( APE is an independent comic producers venue).  My hope is that someone who sees Dock Dorks there will be inspired to partner financially with me on many years of future issues.

Right now I am in the process of cleaning up the cartoons using Adobe Photoshop, replacing my sometimes funky handwriting with a computer font for easy deciphering, and laying out the pages chronologically.

Long term plans:  I am now in year five living on my boat and have berthed in three distinct marinas and areas.  Each one has had it's own cast of characters, learning opportunities, victories, let downs, and joys.   Future Issues 2 & 3 in the first volume about Northern California are called The Berkeley Bubble and Delta Dog.  After that, it’s off to So. Cal and the Rest of the World.  Stay tuned.

Disclaimer:  While this comic stems from real life, not all stories tidily fit onto a single page.  I have taken artistic liberties to sometimes mash several events together to make a point, or merge several personalities into one character when needed.  I often change names and do not cartoon people who have requested to not appear in the pages.  So, The LiveAboard is in no way an historical or strictly factual document, although sometimes conversation recorded is verbatim.  If you think you recognize someone it may be because that character is representing a stereotype frequently seen in and around boats. 

My financial goal with Kickstart is $10,000.  After Amazon, Kickstart, and the taxman take their share, $6500 is left - I think.  That amount should take me through the printing to October and APE.  Thank you for your consideration and I am happy to answer any questions anyone might have about this project and include the answers here.