Hey Everyone
Hope everyone is doing well. It’s been quite a week for crowdfunding. Kickstarter has instituted new guidelines due to their credit card processor, Stripe, coming down on spicy content.
It really is too soon to tell what the fallout from this will be, but one of the biggest frustrations creators are having is the lack of clarity as far as guidelines go. For the record, the last book we launch was Mercy: In Prison. The book itself was r-rated. Presumably it should have no issue, but then last week a friend had his campaign flagged because there was an image that was deemed too violent.
I’m not a fan of censorship, but I do understand some of the issues as there has been a subsection of books that, well, they’re porn. And that’s fine. Heck, I did a topless cover for Mercy - not something I’d consider porn, but others might. And that’s fair. Content like that should probably have age verification just from a legal liability standpoint (ie. someone’s kid used their mom’s credit card and ordered a comic with sex in it… lawsuit!). There’s also the issue that Stripe doesn’t process adult material - basically, they’re lumping comic creators with actual porn production companies that are typically rated as high risk. (There are separate processors for that and the fee charged is usually in the double digits).
So what happens next? I wish I knew. But right now people are moving ahead and working with and around the new guidelines. Hopefully things will work out positively.
Which brings be to Monster Matador! The next issue is ready to go and it is going to launch in July. The Battle for Mexico is underway and the Matador must fight his way through the hordes of enemies and Kaiju to rescue his daughter. It’s gonna be epic! You can sign up to get notified on launch, HERE:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/monstermatador/monster-matador-blood-of-the-matador-1-3
Above is the main cover by Fabio Alves and Alex Zief. And below is a variant cover from Jesus “El Kartun” Pedroza who has absolutely been killing it with his variants lately.
Our final variant from Rafael Navarro (WB Animation, Sonambulo) will be revealed soon (I just approved the concept sketch).
On another note, I should have some big news in the next update. I know, I’m such a tease.
Convention-wise, I’ll be at MONSTERPALOOZA May 29-May 31 (Mr. Hyde - Table 159), Fan Expo Anaheim June 26-28 (Artist’s Alley) and San Diego Comic Con (Small Press M-03).
What I’ve been watching:
Pusher Trilogy - these 3 films were the debut for Nicholas Winding Refn. Each film takes place in the Copenhagen underworld, following a different character, yet all are connected in some way. Highly recommended if you like crime films and Magnet just put the whole trilogy on 4k. It’s priced at around $20 and well worth checking out.
Send Help - I loved this. I know it’s directed by Sam Raimi, but I didn’t know much about it going in and didn’t realize it was a horror film (duh). Really great performances all around. I checked it out on Hulu.
What I’m reading:
This week I started the Defenders Omnibus 2 (no, I haven’t read 1). I picked this up for the low price of $30 from eBay seller funaticals (who has a ton of omnibus at discount prices, you’re welcome). I’ve always wanted to read Steve Gerber’s run and it’s all collected here. It definitely lives up to its reputation and is a really fun ride. I’m about halfway through. One of the storylines could have been ripped from today’s headlines (unfortunately) as the Defenders fight white supremacists. Here’s what might be my favorite couple of panels in a comic ever:
Don’t mess with the HULK!
Have a great week,
Steve
See ya at SDCC