Comixlaunch: Crowdfunding For Writers, Artists & Self-publishers On Kickstarter... And Beyond!

Kickstarter added a new feature to their updates, now supporting polls. In this short session, Tyler will break down the new feature, discuss its strengths and limitations, how creators might use in upcoming campaigns, and end with some suggestions for improvement to better support how creators actually use polls during launches.

In this session's ComixLaunch Pro spotlight, Clay Adams interviews David Chaucer La Forest, an African-American disabled veteran, award-winning poet/author, and founder of Asani Entertainment, about building an Afrocentric shared fantasy universe rooted in positive representation.

In this session, Tyler trains creators on Kickstarter’s new feature for gifting free items to backers by adding existing reward items to individual backers or filtered groups via the Backer Report, with some UI quirks requiring multiple clicks and scrolling.

It's been a cold winter, so Tyler is rolling through with a bounty of wins from comic creators and crowdfunders to keep us focused on the right stuff. We'll start with some psychological truisms and wrap with a ton of positivity in the form of real wins from hardworking comics launch listeners.

In this session, Tyler responds to a question about whether there's a reason for a seeming spike in cancelled pledges when launching projects today? It turns into a discussion about the importance of distinguishing “noise” during a live campaign from meaningful “signal.” Then we discuss ways to turn observations into comparable rates and introduces a simple DIY metric called “negative backer volatility.”

In this ComixLaunch Pro Spotlight, Clay Adams talks to Randy Stone about his journey in the comic book industry, highlighting his various roles in comics creation, including writing, drawing, inking, and lettering. Randy discusses his early inspirations, starting with Marvel Universe trading cards, and his shift from aspiring artist to self-published comic book writer through Altruist Comics.

ComixLaunch hits episode 550, and instead of glossing over the milestone, Tyler leans all the way in. Fresh off wrapping EPIC #1–5 and pushing ComixTribe past $1.5+ million raised on Kickstarter milestone, this episode looks back on the road from 2012 to now—and the hard-earned revelations that only show up after dozens of launches, wins, stumbles, and resets. If you’ve been listening from the beginning, some of this will sound familiar, but with new layers, sharper clarity, and lessons relearned the hard way. This is a value-packed reflection on initiative, systems, collectibles, relaunches, people, and why finishing things still matters more than brilliant ideas.

Let's talk launching not just a comic but an entire comics universe with the brilliant creators behind the Summit Universe! Tyler welcomes Travis Gibb, Marcus Jimenez, C. J. Hudson, and Karla "Moon" Medrano, who are among the 30+ creators who have come together to create a brand new shared superhero universe. Learn about their debut project 'Summit Pinnacle #1,' currently live on Kickstarter and the unique collaborative process that sets Summit apart from other indie comic ventures.

AI tools are everywhere and agentic AI promises a world where even complicated, intellectual tasks like warming an audience for an upcoming Kickstarter campaign can be completed by bots. Is this something scrappy independent comic book creators should be considering doing? Can your audience relationship building efforts largely be outsourced to LLMs? Let's dive head first into this thorny topic!

Last year, there was an increased focus on pre-launch, with Kickstarter making a number of platform changes enabling creators to get their pre-launch pages up earlier and with less friction, and make visible the conversion power of pre-launch followers. As a result, many creators are bumping up their pre-launch plans. However, is there such a thing as pre-launching too early? Tyler shares some indicators that there might be... Let's discuss.

As the new year gets underway, the spotlight turns to ComixLaunch Pro Farhan Qureshi. Farhan shares his journey, from his origins in film and animation to finding a more efficient medium in comics. He discusses the importance of systems and organization, community support within the ComixLaunch group, and the balance between personal vision and market trends.

Tyler shares five of his biggest new lessons learned over the past year and how he'll be applying them in the new year. A must for comic creators and crowdfunders!

Tyler shares a new post-Kickstarter, post-survey, pre-fulfillment sales strategy, and reflects on some of the communication challenges in the new world of Pledge Over Time backers.

Tyler shares some insights from a recent survey of his ComixLaunch Pro community, including how they're holding up after a chaotic 2025, biggest wins of the year, and the top challenge they're currently facing. Then, Tyler will share three tangible solutions for tackling some of those issues in the new year.

In this ComixLaunch Spotlight episode, Clay Adams interviews Frank Martin, a prolific comic writer and producer. Frank discusses his journey from writing the comic anthology series 'Modern Testament' to creating a variety of one-shots, including the popular sci-fi fairytale mashup 'Grim Space.' He shares insights on his successful Kickstarter campaigns, the role of the ComixLaunch course, and his collaborations with Gerald Von Stoddard. Frank offers valuable advice for creators, emphasizing the importance of storytelling, community, and learning from mistakes.

Backerkit has launched a first-of-its-kind crowdfunding event featuring READY TO SHIP rewards that will arrive in time for the holidays, to provide creators a trusted platform for online sales and collaboration and community cheer to ideally expand their reach! In this session, Tyler will chat with Rob Multari, who is participating in the event to discuss how it fits into his overall creative goals.

Tyler James interviews Adam Freeman, founder of Prana Direct Market Solutions in a free-wheeling discussion about the present and future of the direct market, insights into the current comic book landscape, including the impact of the new generation of readers and the importance of quality and engagement. This episode is a must listen as it delves into interplay of Kickstarter, marketing, and building a brand in the comic book world.

Tyler hosts a dynamic roundtable discussion featuring an expert panel of comic creators, including Roy Johnson, Sam Johnson, and Ben Lacy. Tune in for valuable insights on engaging with the Kickstarter community, the importance of backer support, and tips for setting up effective campaigns.

The team behind Attic Door Media step into the ComixLaunch Pro spotlight, sharing lessons learned growing their audience beyond Kickstarter by participating in Backerkit Crowdfunding special events, getting out of their comfort zone with marketing, and persevering through tough creative times!

On November 1, nominations will open for The Zelda awards, a new honor celebrating the outstanding achievements of women in comic book culture. In this session, Tyler is joined by founder Karla Medrano and committee member Sarah Cooke to discuss this new initiative, why it's necessary, why now, and how female comic creators and their allies can get involved!