Support Project Autumn, again!!

Approximately a week and a half ago I wrote a post asking the world (well, anyone that reads my stuff anyway) to support Project Autumn (see the post here).

Well, yesterday, I discovered that Adam-James Foulkes, the mastermind behind the project, had decided to call time on the Kickstarter late Friday. The reasons for this have been posted onto the Kickstarter page but Foulkes has emphasised that he doesn't consider it a failure but instead thinks of it as more a change in direction in order to fully bring his dream to life.

This change in direction consists of releasing the story in the form of an ongoing, single issue series, which will presumably see a different world within each installment (kinda like the Sliders TV show), each drawn by those previously announced different artists (that's not like Sliders).

Now, while I'm obviously disheartened that the original idea isn't going to work out, I have to admit that I'm glad to hear that the project will still come about. In fact, I truly believe that the change in release style will be much more beneficial to the story long term for a number of reasons.

First up is the production costs. Because of the size, a graphic novel often needs extra funding to be made. However, with the single issues format, the each issue will be much easier to produce as it'll be one at time. In fact, as the first issue will be very much pre-funded (as A-J told me when I asked), this'll mean the book doesn't need another Kickstarter to come to be, meaning the only thing to rely on fans for is to buy it.

And this is the second advantage. According to the Kickstarter page, issue one will only cost less than the whole book would have. This will mean that readers will be more inclined to buy that first issue and, should they like it, they will be enticed to return for issue two and beyond. I also think that if the first issue is a success, it gives Brambletyne the option to resurrect the GN Kickstarter, only now with a greater interest.

Of course, there are problems with the format, such as giving each issue enough to bring readers back next time as well as correctly utilising the multiple artists which the project originally boasted. Of course, However, from what is said, both on Kickstarter and by A-J himself to me, these are problems he's expecting and completely planned for in the story, which still gives me faith in the idea, enough to at least to want to see that first issue.

So, with that in mind, to the two (or is it three?) of you who read this, please give your support to this new incarnation of Project Autumn, though not because I need a copy on my shelves because I'll already be arranging that.