MermaidShells

Pokemon-Pikachu and Ash’s Reunion

If there’s a question we get a lot it’s probably this one: Why did you decide to make a webcomic? The answer? Freedom. By creating a webcomic you are literally free to create whatever you want. You can tell whatever story you want. You can create any kind of world or lack there of you want. You can use any themes, any subject, and medium, and any style you wish. When you go indie the only thing stopping you from creating is you. Do you want to read a comic series about a young acolyte who falls in love with the goddess she serves? Well, there’s a webcomic for that called Lady of the Shard. Oh! How about a series that talks about the intricacies of interracial love and dating when you’re older? There’s a webcomic for that too, called Alone. What about the wacky adventures of rum runners during the prohibition era where everyone’s a cat? Webcomic called Lackadaisy. Reviews of sex toys and reasoned informed talks about sexuality that even kids can understand? Another webcomic called Oh Joy Sex Toy. How about a hard-boiled fantasy tale about a cursed sword that drains the life force of it’s owner? Check out the Hunter Black series. Story about a grumpy samurai who becomes an adoptive father? Yet again a webcomic called Grassblades. What about something that covers the complexities of faith in a world without water? Look up Suihira. Everywhere you look online there’s a webcomic going on, it’s all free to read and it’s all doing great things for their creators. By creating comics and releasing work online creators get the chance to show off their artistic abilities, practice their storytelling skills, and entertain all in one fell swoop. For small investments or the ever popular crowdfunding campaign artists can grab printed magazines of their works to sell at conventions, and local shops. Through places like Comixology you’ll find webcomics packaged for digital distribution so readers can flip through pages on their tech of choice. For every dollar you spend on a product produced by a webcomic creator almost every penny goes straight into that artists pocket. These artists put sweat, blood, tears, time, and talent together and create entire bodies of artwork that land them jobs at established companies, published books, even animated TV shows such as Axe Cop. Webcomics are the frontier of comic storytelling because they touch on subjects, characters, themes and styles that publishing companies aren’t willing to take a chance on. The webcomic arena is simultaneously a training ground for new artists, and a powerhouse of creative talents that have built up a property that they control. With distribution platforms such as Wordpress, Tumblr and Tapastic getting a comic out there is easy. The hard part is getting noticed, which is where the community comes in. The webcomic community is tightly knit, supportive and engaged. They’re a collective of passionate and professional people who want to see their peers succeed. I have never seen such a welcoming group of people online as I have within the community at Tapastic.   When we started off as an animated series pitch, one of the core principles we agreed on was to never wait for someone else to give us approval to tell the story. Webcomics have allowed us to reach the fans we knew existed for a story like Kamikaze without waiting for a network or studio to buy in. We’re taking our next big step in telling our story by printing our first graphic novel of the comic. So far, the overwhelming amount of support our Kickstarter has received has been from existing fans excited to help raise the project higher. That wouldn’t have been possible without the freedom to create and share that webcomics continue to provide us. — Back us on Kickstarter to get your hands on our first graphic novel Kamikaze: Volume 1! Thank you to everyone whose backed us and shared!! 

After nearly two years online, over 130 pages of comic content created and winning a Glyph Award, the comic Kamikaze is FINALLY coming to print! The book formatting is done, the printer is ready, all we have to do is get the funds.

The book will have the entirety of Ep. 1 in full color, will include detailed world building notes, never before seen pin up art, and development artwork! Backer rewards include everything from digital downloads, wallpaper packs, original art, prints and copies of Kamikaze: Volume 1!

If you’ve enjoyed the comic, the story, or just like the art please support us by backing the Kickstarter and spreading the word. With your help we can get this comic printed.

Let’s make a book together! Love,

- Team Kamikaze PS. The comic will resume normally next week!