Campaign Corner: May 14th Edition

Welcome! I like to start off pretending that nobody knows who you are. So, here is your chance, tell us all about yourself.

Lesser Known Comics a fourteen person team with writers and artists in New York, Maryland, Virginia, Texas, Wisconsin, and California (as well as artists in Argentina and Spain).

We started Lesser Known Comics in November of 2020 with the goal of making dope comic books and changing industry standards for how artists are treated. Lesser Known Comics creates and publishes original comic books while also publishing independent creator-owned comics.

Lesser Known Comics is committed to putting art before profit. Our artists have among the most favorable contracts in the industry that focus on giving them the most creative freedom, best work/life balance, and the strongest collective bargaining rights.

We also have a “no Amazon” policy. Which means that our comic books are exclusively available at local comic shops or through promotional events like Kickstarter campaigns. Everything we do is focused on driving business to local comic shops. We’d rather give someone a comic book away for free through a local comic book shop than sell it on Amazon. And we’ve already given away hundreds of comics through dozens of local comic book stores this year. 

We are currently working on a collection of about a dozen mini-comics (5-15 pages) all based in the same “Lesser Known Universe”. Each artist takes on different but overlapping storylines within the universe and will sometimes even capture the same scenes from different perspectives. 

These mini-comics are sneak peaks for our upcoming full-length titles and the stories will come together during our “official launch” in October.

Our flagship series will be called “Bruja”. It follows a punk rock Latina witch as she goes on adventures, dabbles in vigilanteism, and kills fascists. We have Halloween special issues planned which will feel like Pineapple Express meets Nightmare on Elm Street.

What does the next year look like for you in comics?

After we finish these first dozen mini-comics and release our Halloween special issues, we will announce our featured titles for 2022 and beyond.

What were the influences on this story?

Speaking for myself as a writer (Mark Bernal), when I first saw Ed Piskor’s “X-Men: Grand Design”, I knew I wanted to try to build a an entire comic book universe. Many of my favorite stories were from Marvel and I’ve always loved anything Chris Claremont made. Not sure why I decided NOT to go superhero genre even though its 99% of what I grew up reading.

What are your plans for the future of this story and/or series?

We are hoping to invite artists and writers to create new characters to be incorporated into our “Lesser Known Universe” whether those are stand-alone issues or short story arcs. We do everything collectively at Lesser Known Comics and the writers and artists have certainly taken the initial story in exciting new directions.

What is your favorite reward item for this campaign?

Getting featured and/or killed off in our comics. Some people have opted to have themselves killed off while others thought it was funny to have their friend killed off. 

What else can you tell us about your campaign?

Anyone who backs this campaign will get a lot more than just the rewards they selected. We have partnered with some amazing folks to develop some pretty rad bonus rewards that will be included in everything we ship out. 

Thank you for coming on and talking about your current works. I am looking forward to seeing what is next!

Support the Kickstarter by clicking here: Back and Share Lesser Known Comics Batch 2 here!