The Story:
When you wake up in a morgue drawer with a hole in your chest the size of a cantaloupe, it's only natural to have certain questions. Neill is no exception, and, after extricating himself from the morgue and finding himself some clothes, he sets out to find answers. The first question is, simply, "What happened?" So he heads back to his girlfriend for answers, but the answer to that question raises a plethora of others, such as "Was I murdered?" and "How am I walking around when I have no pulse?" and, most important to Neill, "Why was my brand new TV repossessed while I was dead, and how do I get it back?"
As Neill searches for answers he learns a great deal about the true nature of the people around him, from his girlfriend Sarah (who, it would seem, didn't exactly wait for Neill to be dead to start seeing other guys), to Neill's vampire friend Bradley (a name he hates), to a young ghost girl (with questions of her own) who's accompanied by a large gorilla and a parrot...
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The Plan:
Soulless is not an on-going series. Currently, the plan is for this to be a six-issue narrative, although it's possible that this may take an Eternals turn, and receive an extra issue if the story needs it. This Kickstarter campaign is to fund the creation and production of the first issue. Following its release and disbursement to all you fantastic donors, it will be used to elicit interest in the rest of the series. The best case scenario (and I'm crossing all my fingers and then, while crossed, using them to rub my lucky rabbit's foot, which I'm knocking on wood) is that it gets picked up by an indie publisher. However, I'm a realist, and I figure to be producing this whole baby myself. Which is fine since I'm a big fan of autonomy. However, having issue #1 in-hand to show people will go a long ways towards being able to fund the rest of the series when the time comes.
The Money:
$3,500. It's no small amount. It's roughly twice as much as my current savings balance (one, small clue as to why I'm unable to produce this solo). However, every penny is needed. First off, there are the fees. Kickstarter takes a cut, and then Amazon takes a cut, the end result of which will render this figure significantly smaller. Give or take, the actual net funds will end up being roughly $3,150. So let's call it 3k. Of that money, $2,000 is for my artist, who's already working at practically criminal rates. Following that, another $500 will be used for the cover, which will be drawn by industry legend Ben Templesmith. The remaining $500-$600 will be allocated to printing the comic and getting copies out to all you wonderful people. It's a simple breakdown. Also, I am not budgeting myself into this project. I love this story, I love to write, and my sole goal is to get this story into people's hands.
In terms of over-funding, that money will go towards higher-quality printing as well as, depending on the amount, funding future issues.
The Artists:
George Kambadais is a comic artist, a freelance illustrator, a concept artist, a graphic designer and sometimes a writer. He lives and works in Greece and has worked on a variety of projects with a variety of publishers, including Comicdom Press, Arcana Comics, and Big City Comics. George is a fantastically-talented jack-of-all-trades, and he will be the entire artistic team from lines all the way to lettering.
We are also very excited to have the opportunity to commission Ben Templesmith for the cover. Mr. Templesmith is an Australian-born comic artist who's worked for Image, Dark Horse, and IDW. His best-known works include 30 Days of Night, Hellspawn, Silent Hill, and Dr. Who.
Final Pitch:
Some of you may be asking, "Why is he doing this? What does he get out of it?" And truth of the matter is somewhat cliche, more than a little sappy, and whatever the opposite of pragmatic is. Money is great, sure, but there's nothing I want more than to entertain people. It's why I grew up shoving my short stories into the hands of family and friends whether they wanted them or not. I want nothing more than to see this comic in print, whatever its future, and I can't do that without your help. So, if you've made it this far, thank you for reading, and I sincerely hope you consider contributing.
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Funding period
- (45 days)