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One of the leading independent comic publishers in the United States, Fantagraphics Books, is turning to Kickstarter to ensure half of its catalog for the next year. The publisher of such critically acclaimed and groundbreaking titles as Love & Rockets, Tales Designed to Thrizzle and Chris Ware‘s Acme Novelty Library is looking for $150,000 to fund its entire spring and summer catalog for 2014.
In an interview on Comic Book Resources to promote the crowdfunding campaign, publisher Gary Groth described Fantagraphics as “a fragile financial ecosystem,” and admitted that “publishing alternative comics almost always has to be subsidized in one way or another.”
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He continued, “We’ve always been acutely aware of the need to balance commercial needs with aesthetic priorities, and we’ve always managed to figure out a way to do that — crowdfunding is just another way to accomplish our goal of publishing the kinds of books we do.”
When it comes to the Kickstarter campaign itself, Groth said that the goal was to create something that was “enticing, fun and functional.” Pledge level rewards include signed books, limited edition prints by some of the artists whose work appears in the books issued during that season, and, he promised, “more imaginative offerings, wacky, and even masochistic ones.”
The campaign looks to be successful, judging by its first hours. Since launching earlier this morning, it has already raised more than $10,000. It runs until December 5.
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