#KickstartTHIS- Joshua Covey's "BAAKO" Vol 1

Check out some preview art to BAAKO, the upcoming fantasy graphic novel by up-and-coming cartoonist Joshua Covey (FREELANCERS). It's clearly a passion project for Covey, who is looking to fund the production on Kickstarter...

"This kickstarter will be a means to dedicate the necessary time and funds needed to finish and print the 1st of 3 books in a series" Covey reveals on the project page, "and to make the book available for anyone and everyone via shops and online."
Covey, who has cut his teeth doing freelance cartooning is learning what we all learn soon enough: Freelancing is not an endgame.
"I truly appreciate every opportunity I've been given. Kickstarter though, is my chance of doing a book without limitations. It gives me the ability to do the book how I envision it, and it opens up so many other possibilities."

 Covey is doing something lots of people object to, but that I applaud: He is planning to use donor funds to create the space to finish BAAKO free from having to load up on other paying work. 

 "I'm not going to lie," Covey confesses "a good portion of the funding will enable me to take time away from my full time job and to dedicate my time and efforts into making this book a reality. Yes, I could do the book in my spare time. But there is no telling how long it would be before I would actually be able to print the book."

I have seen lots of resistance among comics fans- many of whom are amateur or semi-pro cartoonists themselves- against people like Covey using Kickstarter in this manner. The idea being that one should only try to crowdfund a book once it is totally completed. I have even heard of fans that say anyone who seeks to do this has a "sense of entitlement" and shouldn't be allowed to divert attention away from people who have already created the comics and built their fanbase, say on a webcomic.

I personally think it's great to see artists out there testing the waters to see if they can drum up support for their unfiltered artistic vision. Whether it's established pros or newbies, I say if you have the creative skills, track record and marketing chops to make a crowd-funding campaign work, more power to you! Joshua Covey certainly has the drawing ability and a proven record at being on-time and up to par creatively. We'll see if he has the marketing game to raise the loot to get this made. He must be doing okay. He got my pledge...
Click here to see the rewards he's offering and to back his campaign.

holla!
-samax.  

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