After weeks of anticipation, Professor Elemental and his longtime collaborator Christopher Mole launched their Kickstarter campaign for The Art of Professor Elemental, a 220-page full-color hardcover book showcasing the chap hop maestro’s comics, novels, art prints, album art, and other visual works.
The Professor described this as his biggest project ever.
The book, they said, will include almost every story from the first five issues of Professor Elemental Comics as well as comics associated with his albums Apequest and Nemesis. It will also feature art from his merchandise plus unpublished sketches and original pieces created for the volume.
Featured artists include Charlie Adlard, Brian Kesinger, Jamie Keys, V.V. Glass, and Jennie Gyllblad.
Pledges begin at £15 (US$19) for a digital version and £30 (US$38) for the hardcover edition. Additional rewards include a bookmark, postcards, sticker sheet, art print, and handwritten lyrics.
Things get more interesting when pledges hit £100 (US$125) or more. At that level, backers will be name-checked in a Professor Elemental song. At £200, Mole will offer two hours of editing for writers of comic book scripts, including help with plot, dialog, and characters.
At £250 or more, the Professor will compose a customized verse on a topic of the backer’s choosing. At £500 or more, backers will get the bespoke verse and a commissioned drawing by Jamie Keys. At £550 or more, the Professor will compose an entire song for the backer.
The book is complete, the creators said, and will go to press once the campaign concludes. They estimated an August delivery for all rewards.
The campaign launched on Monday, April 24 and seeks £6000 (US$7491) by May 24. As of Tuesday, it had reached more than 80 percent of the funding goal. You can get all the details on the Kickstarter page.
Update: The campaign met its funding goal on Friday, April 28.
New Book Series
Also new this week on Kickstarter: The Clockwork Adventures, Parts One and Two, a steampunk adventure series for young adults by Alexa Rayburn. The story involves a 14-year-old boy from modern-day Florida who encounters Pebby, a delivery dog from a Victorian steampunk town in an alternate world. The town is ruled by a dictator who uses an automaton army to control the populace.
Part One, entitled The Search for Norwall, was released in 2021. Part Two, The Circles of the Realm, is new.
“Alexa Rayburn” is the pseudonym of Nan Kopitnik, an attorney and addiction medicine physician from Orlando. She’s teamed with illustrator Clara Kay to form TinyDogBooks, publisher of the new series.
The books are available in standard editions and “artist editions.” The latter, which include behind-the-scenes content and concept art, will be available only if the campaign meets a $3000 stretch goal.
Pledges begin at US$15 for a copy of either book in the standard edition, and $45 for both books plus an art print and button set. The author is offering early-bird deals for both tiers. She estimates delivery in October.
The campaign launched April 25 and seeks US$2000 by May 23. Learn more on the Kickstarter page and the publisher’s website.
Other Campaigns
As we reported last week, several other steampunk-related campaigns are also active on Kickstarter:
Freelance illustrator Maciej Frolow is crowdfunding the “Steampunk Edition” of his Victorian-themed playing cards, which he created using Modo 3D graphics software. The campaign seeks €6000 (US$6584) by May 18. Learn more on the Kickstarter page.
Gary Ljamin of Gamble Art in Tallinn, Estonia is raising funds for another steampunk-themed card deck, this one entitled Once Upon a Time in Baltimore. He described it as a “hybrid deck” created partly with AI assistance. He’s seeking US$5500 by May 11. See the Kickstarter page for more info.
E.M.Press Publications of Shrewsbury, UK is crowdfunding Issue No. 1 of First Men on Mars, a 48-page steampunk-themed space adventure comic. As of late Monday, the campaign had reached more than 70 percent of its £6000 (US$7491) funding goal. Learn more on the Kickstarter page.
Artist and author Cary Gray is crowdfunding Death Cats, a coloring book featuring steampunk-themed drawings of cats. He’s seeking US$3000 by May 17. See the Kickstarter page for more info.
This story was updated with information about the Clockwork Adventures Kickstarter.
