BULLET GAL: The Kickstarter. What is it, and why bother?

Hey, it's been a while between posts here — sorry 'bout that.

Like a zillion other people, their flying monkeys and the odd enterprising pet, I currently have a Kickstarter campaign running.

Verily, this is something everyone I know on social media like Facebook and Twitter would've realized by now — sorry, mates. I tend to harp a lot. Anyhow, disclaimers and apologies aside, here's a sneak-preview of the promo video thanks to the cool cats at Under Belly Comics in Canada, who're steering the fundraiser:



I overly harp, as I mentioned, because (a) this promo video is a knockout, and I want for this to be a success in order to repay the trust and support that Under Belly has thus far provided — as they do for a lot of other indie outsiders — and (b) I love this project.

But of course I should.

I'm biased as all hell, so don't listen to me. I hope you do listen to people like Shawn Vogt (who reviewed all 12 issues of the series at Weird and Wonderful Reads), or Steven Alloway at Fanboy Comics and Paul Bowler at Sci-Fi Jubilee, both of whom just reviewed Bullet Gal #6.



Plus the Australian Comics Journal and crime novel reviewer Elizabeth A. White makes (I think!) great cases. Ta, mates.

We now have 70% pledged funding, which equates to $3,502, thanks to 79 incredible individuals.
Even so, that leaves a somewhat giddy $1,498 that still needs to be bid before the Kickstarter campaign is successful, and we need to accumulate this within 13 days. The big, somewhat leading question here is why? — one reason I chucked the word in the title of this entry.

Well, there's the story: More nods and winks than you can poke a long stick at, an homage too many, and tongue kind of firmly in cheek — beneath other levels of hardboiled noir, crime, sci-fi, abstract expressionism, the surreal and a superhero romp gone wrong. And for those interested in my other work, this is a stand-alone link between the novels Depth Charging Ice Planet Goth and Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa?

The character herself, Mitzi, is obviously a special one for me and I'd dearly like to see her get beyond the limited-edition comic we're currently publishing monthly in Australia.

Feedback to the 12 issue run of Bullet Gal, which is being collected together in this trade paperback, has been nothing short of amazing, and I'm still awaiting the savage critiques. Aside from two pieces of such, the rest has sat exceptionally pretty so far as I'm concerned. The Cult Den referred to the series as "a warped masterpiece", Spartantown said there's "nothing like it in comics", while Sequart wrote it's "consistently impressive".


To further my cause, I've been able to write rambling pieces for Graphic Policy, Pulp Pusher, The Next Best Book Blog and Bleeding Cool.

I also did extensive interviews on Bullet Gal and the ideas behind the series with We The Nerdy, ComicBuzz, and 8th Wonder Press.

And you know what? There are so many artists working now or who've previously worked in comic books that I love. Five of the current crop are David Aja (Hawkeye), Mike Deodato (Original Sin), Walter Geovani (Red Sonja), Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night) and Steve Epting (Captain America/Velvet)... and all five of them this week supported the Bullet Gal Kickstarter on Twitter. Just wow. Thanks, lads, and hats off.


Finally? A further doff of the boater to the 76 people who have pledged financial support to the trade paperback, and the people who've helped spread the message of this silly project or ours. 

You all seriously rock. That's why.