What If This One Doesn’t Fund?

Building takes time

As I write this, there are only hours left in the Voodoo Nations Kickstarter campaign. Maybe by the time you read this, it will have been funded. Maybe it won’t. The truth is, I don’t know.

I’ve raised more than $300,000 through Kickstarter over the course of my career. I’ve published more than 50 comic books, been fortunate enough to have my work nominated for a Ringo Award, and have worked alongside creators who have collectively raised nearly half a million dollars for independent comics. Shit, this year I have gone to multiple conventions that I am a guest at because people desire my books and feel i could be a draw. Looking at those numbers and my status in the comics community from the outside, it would be easy to assume I’ve figured this whole thing out.

I haven’t.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that success doesn’t make you immune to failure. Every creator has projects that exceed expectations and projects that struggle to find their audience. Every writer has books they wish had sold better, pitches that were rejected, campaigns that came up short, and moments where they wondered if they were doing the right thing. The difference between someone who has been creating for twenty years and someone who has been creating for two isn’t that one has avoided failure—it’s that one has learned how to keep going after it.

A while back, someone commented on a vague book post with four simple words:

“Lol with the begging.”

This guy is one of my Top 10 least favorite people in comics. However, when your ‘op’s” as a friend of mine would say does something it shouldn’t bother you but it does… its a weakness of mine. Now, he said this because i shared that VOODOO NATIONS wasn’t at a great start at DAY 2. I am always upfront, but I never beg. My first response was gonna go all Samuel Jackson, you know, right after he shares Ezekiel 25:17. Let’s go to war and bring out the guns, but then I remember the second time Jules says it in Pulp Fiction and he says this instead right after.

”I been sayin’ that shit for years. And if you ever heard it, it meant your ass. I never really questioned what it meant. I thought it was just a cold-blooded thing to say to a motherfucker before you popped a cap in his ass. But I saw some shit this mornin’ made me think twice. Now I’m thinkin’: it could mean you’re the evil man. And I’m the righteous man. And Mr. .45 here, he’s the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or it could be you’re the righteous man and I’m the shepherd and it’s the world that’s evil and selfish. I’d like that. But that shit ain’t the truth. The truth is you’re the weak. And I’m the tyranny of evil men. But I’m tryin, Ringo. I’m tryin’ real hard to be the shepherd.”

I keep trying to be that shepherd in indie comics not someone who thinks he is better then every other comic creator on the planet, like this fool.

I’ve thought about that comment more than I probably should have. Not because it hurt my feelings, but because it represents a misunderstanding of what crowdfunding really is.

When I launch a Kickstarter, I’m not asking for charity. I’m not standing on a street corner with my hand out. By the time a campaign launches, I’ve already invested months—sometimes years—into the project. Scripts have been written. Artists have been hired. Colorists, letterers, editors, and designers have all been paid or committed to the work. Countless hours have gone into building something that I genuinely believe is worth reading.

When I ask people to back a campaign, what I’m really saying is, “I made something I believe in. If you think you’ll enjoy it too, I’d love for you to come along for the journey.”

No one owes me a pledge.

No one owes me their support.

If someone looks at my campaign and decides it isn’t for them, that’s perfectly okay. Independent comics aren’t for everyone, and not every story is meant for every reader. I also will never make a comic for IP. I make a comic to bring a story in the world.

What has always fascinated me, though, is that some of the same people who criticize creators for asking readers to support a project are often the first to express frustration when an independent comic gets canceled, when a creator can’t afford to continue a series, or when a campaign doesn’t succeed. We can’t expect creator-owned comics to exist while also criticizing the very model that allows those comics to be made. Crowdfunding isn’t begging—it’s the marketplace deciding what it wants to support. The fact that this guy doesnt see that connection is a deep reflection of that person's character.

Now, that doesn’t mean it always works.

As I sit here writing this, Voodoo Nations may very well fail to fund. If it does, I’ll be disappointed. I won’t pretend otherwise. This isn’t just another comic to me. It’s one of the most personal stories I’ve ever written. It’s about brokenness, redemption, unconditional love, and hope in places where hope shouldn’t exist. Bringing all five issues together into a collected edition has been a goal of mine for years, and coming this close only makes the possibility of falling short more painful. This book has often been painful to get across the finish line, but that doesnt mean it doesnt deserve to be made.

If the campaign doesn’t make it, I’ll ask myself the same questions every creator asks after a setback. Did I market enough? Was the timing wrong? Did I communicate the value of the book well enough? Was there something I could have done differently? Those are healthy questions because every failure has something to teach us.

What I won’t do is let one campaign define my career.

One campaign doesn’t erase the more than $300,000 readers have entrusted me with over the years. It doesn’t erase the 50-plus comics I’ve helped bring into the world. It doesn’t erase the conventions, the friendships, the late nights, the lessons learned, or the readers who believed enough in my work to come back again and again.

Most importantly, it doesn’t erase trust.

One of the things I’m most proud of isn’t how much money I’ve raised. It isn’t the awards or the number of books on my shelf. It’s that when someone backs one of my projects, I do everything in my power to deliver what I promised. In an industry where missed deadlines and unfinished projects can damage confidence, I’ve always believed that keeping your word matters more than having the biggest campaign.

I’ve never wanted to build my career on hype. I’ve wanted to build it on trust.

Too often, we tie our identity to outcomes. If a Kickstarter funds, we tell ourselves we’re successful. If it doesn’t, we convince ourselves we’re failures. But neither is true. A Kickstarter only tells you whether enough people wanted to buy one specific book at one specific moment in time. We all remember the COVID times and the super backers. It doesn’t measure your talent. It doesn’t measure your worth. It certainly doesn’t determine whether you’re supposed to keep creating.

If Voodoo Nations falls short tonight, I’ll be disappointed. I’ll take a hard look at what I could have done better. I’ll thank every person who believed enough in the project to back it. I know this isnt my greatest outing and like i have been hinting at in the last few messages, some personal stuff is going on that I haven't shared that prevents me from being 100% on my game. However, those are excuses and not solutions. I want to give solutions. So, once this is all said and done and I’ve had a little time to process it, I’ll sit down and start writing the next story.

Because that’s what creators do. There is a musical called TICK, TICK BOOM by one of my favorites Playwrights named, Jonathan Larson. Jonathan, if you dont know, wrote the hit musical RENT. A MAJOR SUCCESS ON BROADWAY. However, he only did that after failing MANY TIMES before it, and when he got his break and made it to Broadway.

THE GUY DIED ON OPENING NIGHT.

Its a devastating story that I think about often, and i wonder if I'm never gonna see the success that I am after. Anyway, back to TICK, TICK, BOOM, here is ANOTHER CLIP from that . (Its a YouTube Day)

For those who doesnt want to watch a YOUTUBE clip here is the QUOTE

”You start writing the next one. And after you finish that one, you start on the next. And on and on, and that's what it is to be a writer, honey. You just keep throwing them against the wall and hoping against hope that eventually something sticks."

It’s the devastating, soul-crushing thing about being a WRITER. However, its what you do and its whats im gonna do. So, whether you’ve followed me from Coins of Judas, Granite State Punk, Holiday Spirits, Upheaval, Voodoo Nations, or you’ve only recently discovered my work, I want to say thank you. Your support has helped me build a career I never imagined was possible, and I don’t take that for granted.

Maybe this campaign funds.

Maybe your pledge can help.

Maybe it doesn’t.

Either way, tomorrow I’ll still be a writer.

And tomorrow, there will still be another story waiting to be told.

Travis Gibb

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https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/orangecone/voodoo-nations-trade-paperback