Shaping A New World
Mark A Nelson is a comic artist with a CV that includes working for publishers like Dark Horse, Marvel and DC over a career that has spanned over five decades. Currently he is running a campaign to get his Thunder Hunters book funded on crowdfunding platform Zoop and Tripwire’s editor-in-chief Joel Meadows spoke to him to find out more…
TRIPWIRE: What was the genesis of Thunder Hunters?
MARK A NELSON: Throughout my career I have designed worlds and creatures for other people, or that are owned by companies. Thunder Hunters is my work of love, creating the look I want, and taking the time to do it my way. So, it has been a work behind the scenes, between freelance and art jobs.
TW: What made you decide to use a crowdfunding platform rather than a more traditional publishing model?
MAN: Mainly to keep the rights to my work. If I go through a publisher they will want to own 1/2 of it. Crowdfunding can also get the money to publish.
TW: What was your reason for picking zoop to fund the book as well?
MAN: They were highly recommended and they will do the fulfillment and handle the printing.
TW: What are the challenges for you as a creator here?
MAN: It is just like what the publisher faces. Doing a book and you don’t know how it will fit into the comic/art book world. Finding the people who want your book, doing your own PR. and in my case doing the lion’s share of the work.
TW: What are the pros and cons of running a crowdfunding campaign?
MAN: The biggest hurdle is getting the word out, reaching your audience, and hopefully putting out a good book. This is my first time doing this myself, so I’ll know more once it is wrapped up.
TW: How did you choose the page count and format here? How much of the material has been completed prior to publication?
MAN: I wanted to do it bigger than comic book size, so it is 8 x 11. All the artwork is done for these 104 pages. SO it will be finishing the design work, proofreading and then off to the printer.
TW: How would you describe the book in one pithy sentence?
MAN: An artist/naturalist’s journal of the uncharted Vermillion Sands.
TW: As a book set in a fictional world, did you create a world bible for yourself to use for reference when creating the book itself?
MAN: I did a Creating Fantasy World book for Dover. That cemented a the big picture, but I like to have a little more mystery and let me wonder a little.
TW: How much new material is included in the book that people haven’t seen before in any other formats?
MAN: One story was in Heavy Metal and the rest is unpublished. I have posted some of the work on FB and Instagram.
TW: Has this crowdfunding experience been a positive one so far and would you use this means to create future projects for yourself?
MAN: For keeping my rights, that is the important thing. I’ve done a lot of work for hire and seen my work on shirts and other things. But you don’t get anything for that.
And, I don’t know or feel what I want to do fits ins with the direction of the new comics.
Support the project at Zoop here
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