Every few weeks we sift through all the dozens of crowdfunding communications we receive here at BF every week to bring you a handful of the more intriguing, exciting, experimental and daring uses of the form that we spot, along with some interesting campaigns we’ve found ourselves. These are comics that both fit the Broken Frontier coverage ethos and that we think deserve your backing!
Usually we look to push a few worthwhile projects your way in this Crowdfunding Corner section but every so often we spot something so deserving of your time that we run a Crowdfunding Corner Extra edition. Today we’re looking to raise the profile of the No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics documentary. Here’s a few thoughts on why you may want to give it your support!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1077551457/no-straight-lines-four-decades-of-queer-comics
The who and what: Springboarding from Justin Hall’s 2012 anthology No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics this documentary film on the history of queer comics (directed by Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Vivian Kleiman) has already shot interviews with such important creators as Alison Bechdel (Fun Home), Howard Cruse (Stuck Rubber Baby), Mary Wings (Come Out Comix), Ed Luce (Wuvable Oaf) and many more.
The project now needs our help to complete principal photography with filmed contributions planned from artists like Rupert Kinnard, Jen Camper, Ivan Velez Jr., and Scout Tran. You can watch a trailer for the film and find out more about those involved in its production here.
What’s on offer: This one’s more about helping to back a work-in-progress as it continues to find its way into the world but there’s a plethora of rewards for supporting this ongoing project. They range from exclusive video content focusing on seminal LGBTQ graphic novels and the No Straight Lines book, through to a private WIP screening of the documentary or lunch with the filmmakers.
Why you should back it: Usually in this final section of any Crowdfunding Corner entry at Broken Frontier we like to give you our own quick soundbite perspective on why this is a project you should be backing but this time around we think the campaign puts its so succinctly and so beautifully that we really can’t improve on these sentiments:
“Comics, like any medium, are at their best when they reflect the complexity and diversity of the real world, and we’re excited to have the chance to spotlight the people who are bringing that authenticity to the comics page. With your help, we can give these stories the big screen treatment they deserve.”
This film promises to be a crucial documentation of a vitally important area of comics history from first hand sources. Give it your support if you’re in the position to do so!
