You don\u2019t have to draw comics to love comics. But who hasn\u2019t looked at an incredible\u00a0panel and wanted to do it themselves? For those who have the itch and the talent, there\u2019s never been so many ways of sharing your stuff with the world. And one of the best ways is crowdfunding.<\/p>\n
From the charming to the terrifying to the whimsical, here are some Kickstarter proposals that caught our eye. Some are beginning to take off, and some are still obscure. Many are fully funded, but some haven\u2019t reached all their goals yet, so if you like them, support them!<\/p>\n
What it\u2019s about: <\/em>Billy<\/a> is a teenager struggling to deal with a background of abuse. When he discovers that a government research institute has been experimenting with his genes\u00a0and given him\u00a0the ability to produce fire, his life really gets complicated, for better and worse.<\/p>\n Why it needs to exist: <\/em>Billy\u2019s far too cool to wear a superhero suit, and he\u2019s not afraid to let people know it.<\/p>\n Raised: $2,639 of $5,500<\/p>\n What it\u2019s about: <\/em>Inspired by an obscure Japanese video game released in the early 90s, Jose Majors is working two jobs: struggling veteran baseball player, and ninja. He fights<\/a> baseball-themed villains to recover objects stolen from the Baseball Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n Why it needs to exist: <\/em>One of the villains is a giant baseball with a face and a pair of hands.<\/p>\n Raised:<\/em> $1,278 of $1,000<\/p>\n What it\u2019s about: <\/em>A long-running webcomic looking to become a book, Aidan Casserly\u2019s Scapula<\/a><\/em>\u00a0features a supervillain, and he\u2019s not very good at his job. He mostly commits petty crimes and tries not to tread on the toes of criminals, villains and other figures from San Francisco\u2019s seedy side.<\/p>\n Why it needs to exist:\u00a0<\/em>A truly disturbing gallery of bad heists and misfits.<\/p>\n Raised: $5,938 of $5,000 (stretch goal $6,000)<\/p>\n What it\u2019s about: <\/em>Tim Hill<\/a> is an innocent man sentenced to death. But there\u2019s one hitch: when he\u2019s executed, he doesn\u2019t die. And forever is a long, long time to spend on death row.<\/p>\n Why it needs to exist: <\/em>It\u2019s a vivid and seriously dark take on prison. Creator CW Cooke says he\u2019s been working on this story since he was a kid.<\/p>\n Raised: $7,138 of $3,500<\/p>\n What it\u2019s about: <\/em>The cover of the first issue of Squarriors<\/em><\/a> raises questions. But those questions have answers. Yes, that squirrel has an axe. And yes, it just killed another squirrel. In a Watership Down-<\/em>type\u00a0tale gone very, very bad, tribes of intelligent squirrels have inherited the earth from extinct humans. Now they\u2019re fighting their own murderous instincts, not to mention each other.<\/p>\n Why it needs to exist: <\/em>The artwork is seriously lush. But it\u2019s not for the squeamish.<\/p>\n Raised: $15,299 of $12,000. They asked for cash and they got cash.<\/p>\n What it\u2019s about: <\/em>There are apes<\/a>, and sometimes they wear capes. Set in a vividly imagined, noir-ish world where humans and intelligent apes coexist, a human, George Tremayne, is charged with giving leadership to a human race that has lost its way.<\/p>\n Why it needs to exist: <\/em>Shifting alliances between humans, monkeys, and sunbears. The sunbears are sentient, organized, and real mean<\/a>.<\/p>\n Raised \u00a3632 of \u00a3400 (stretch goal \u00a3625).<\/p>\n What it\u2019s about: <\/em>Mike Freiheit<\/a> was once a chef at a primate sanctuary in South Africa. Did he cook for the humans or the monkeys, you ask? Both.<\/p>\n Why it needs to exist:<\/em> Freiheit\u2019s best friend in the series is a monkey called Kismit.<\/p>\n Raised $4,052 of $3,500 (stretch goal $4,000)<\/p>\n What it\u2019s about: <\/em>Dawn of the Furries<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>is set in Pittsburgh\u2014a.k.a. Gotham on the Allegheny*\u2014and\u00a0follows a besieged band of coworkers as they try to survive an attack by furry creatures devastating the city.<\/p>\n Why it needs to exist: <\/em>Each character gets a chance-of-survival rating, which keeps you from getting too attached. Did we mention the furry creatures are also zombies?<\/p>\n *\u2026 and the Ohio, and the Monongahela.<\/p>\n Raised:<\/em> $2,495 of $2,000 (stretch goal $2,600)<\/p>\n What it\u2019s about: <\/em>We can\u2019t put it any better than its creator<\/a> did: \u201cThe story of a young prince, his lost birthright, and the beginning of his journey to become the most notorious space viking ever.\u201d<\/p>\n Why it needs to exist: <\/em>The importance of the quest to become the most notorious space Viking ever.<\/p>\n Raised: $849 of $4,800 (Canadian dollars).<\/p>\n What it\u2019s about: <\/em>This ran back in 2012<\/a>, exceeding its fundraising goal by an incredible 281%. We love the strangeness of the concept\u2014the first chapter follows Floating Head Bounty Killers as they roam through strange canyons. In the second chapter (spoiler alert!) these canyons turn out to be lines on the hand of an astronomer, who sits armed with a rifle and a telescope among the ruins of an ancient civilization. Since then, creator Matt Rebholz has gotten to chapter three, and it\u2019s fair to say things get weird<\/a>.<\/p>\n#2: Ninja Baseball Man<\/h2>\n
#3: SCAPULA: World\u2019s Worst Villain<\/h2>\n
#4: Solitary: A Superhero Prison Drama<\/h2>\n
#5: Squarriors<\/h2>\n
#6: Apes\u2019n\u2019Capes<\/h2>\n
#7: Monkey Chef #2<\/h2>\n
#8: Dawn of the Furries<\/h2>\n
#9: The Saga of Metalbeard<\/h2>\n
#10: The Astronomer<\/h2>\n