Send Orang Utan Comics to C2E2 in 2014!
Donation protected
Hi there! I'm UK based comic creator Ian Sharman, and I'd like YOU to help Orang Utan Comics get to C2E2 in 2014!
What is C2E2, I hear you ask?
The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo - also known as C2E2 - is a convention spanning the latest and greatest from the worlds of comics, movies, television, toys, anime, manga and video games. Bringing the best of popular culture to Downtown Chicago, C2E2's show floor is packed with hundreds of exhibitors, panels and autograph sessions giving fans a chance to interact with their favourite creators and screening rooms featuring sneak peeks at films and television shows months before they hit either the big or small screen! Find out more at www.c2e2.com
Ok, that's cool, but who the hell are you?
I'm Ian Sharman! This is me:
Don't worry, I don't generally carry a sword with me...
I'm an award winning writer and artist, having created such comic book greats as Alpha Gods, Hero: 9 to 5, Hypergirl (Winner of the Comixology Comixologist's Choice Award for Favourite Debut Comic) and the editor of and a contributor to the Eagle Award Nominated anthology, Eleventh Hour. I'm also a Group Editor at Markosia and co-founder of Orang Utan Comics.
Orang Utan Comics, who are they?
I'm glad you asked me that! Orang Utan Comics are a group of creators, mainly based in the UK, but also working with artists across the world, who produce comics and graphic novels that we both publish ourselves and also publish in partnership with Markosia. We also do freelance work for a whole range of other publishers too, from Marvel and Image to Top Shelf and Slave Labor. Basically, we figure that we can achieve more by working together rather than on our own. To find out more about Orang Utan Comics, visit our website at www.orangutancomics.co.uk
So why do you want to go to C2E2?
We exhibit at most of the big UK conventions, and many smaller ones too, from London Super Comic Con, London Film and Comic Con and Thought Bubble to the Melksham Comic con and the Glasgow Comic Con. We've pretty much got the UK covered, but now it's time to spread our wings a bit and introduce ourselves to the USA. Last year Ian exhibited in the Artist Alley at C2E2 and the trip proved to be a very positive experience, we'd not only like to repeat that in 2014 but we'd also like to expand on it. We'll have a whole range of new books out in time for the show in May, and while our initial funding goal only covers the cost of getting Ian to the show, we'd ideally love to be able to pay for David Wynne (Hypergirl/Ideasman/Particle Fiction) to take the trip too.
So why should we pay for it? And aren't we just paying for you to go have a holiday and have fun in Chicago?
Make no mistake, a big trip to a US con is very expensive for a UK based creator. Not only will it be three days of hard work for us, plus two days of almost non-stop travelling, we will almost certainly lose money. Even if we sold every single book that we took with us, and David spent the entire convention sketching, there's no way that we could cover the costs of the flight, accommodation and the cost of the table. This trip is not about making money, it's about introducing us and our work to a whole new audience. Not only that, but we very rarely get US publishers at UK cons, so this is our chance to get our work out in a forum where it can be seen by US publishers, both big and small, and that they can talk to us and find out what awesome people we really are! Will it be fun? Of course it will, it's a huge US comic-con, we'll have a great time! Will it be a holiday? Not in any way shape or form. We are not a business, we are a group of creators, and as so we simply don't have resources to fund a trip like this ourselves, which is where YOU come in!
So, please, we'd really appreciate it if you could help us out. If you give a little or you give a lot, every donation will be greatly appreciated. Honestly, it'd be lovely to reach our goal just through thousands of you donating £1 each.
Ok, that's awesome, I'm convinced, I've just got a couple more questions, firstly, what happens if you vastly exceed your goal?
Well, firstly, as we've said above, our initial goal is to get Ian to the show, but for as little as £500 more we could probably get David to the show too (it's hard to be 100% certain due to the fluctuating nature of the price of airline tickets). If we were to blow past even that goal then we'd start looking into the viability of getting a booth at the show, rather than just having a presence in Artist Alley, and beyond that we'd be looking into doing further shows in the US, such as NYCC, SDCC, ECCC and so on. Or, you know, we'd just know that we had the money in the bank to do it all again in 2015.
And, secondly, the not so nice question, what happens if you don't raise the money, or if you aren't accepted into Artist Alley at C2E2 for 2014?
If that happens then the money will go into a rolling fund to either do the show in 2015 or to do another US show, this money will be earmarked for getting us to a US show, however, and will not be used for any other purpose.
Well, thank you for your time, and we hope that we can count on your support! To C2E2 and beyond!
If you want to know more, feel free to contact Ian via Tumblr or Twitter.
What is C2E2, I hear you ask?
The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo - also known as C2E2 - is a convention spanning the latest and greatest from the worlds of comics, movies, television, toys, anime, manga and video games. Bringing the best of popular culture to Downtown Chicago, C2E2's show floor is packed with hundreds of exhibitors, panels and autograph sessions giving fans a chance to interact with their favourite creators and screening rooms featuring sneak peeks at films and television shows months before they hit either the big or small screen! Find out more at www.c2e2.com
Ok, that's cool, but who the hell are you?
I'm Ian Sharman! This is me:
Don't worry, I don't generally carry a sword with me...
I'm an award winning writer and artist, having created such comic book greats as Alpha Gods, Hero: 9 to 5, Hypergirl (Winner of the Comixology Comixologist's Choice Award for Favourite Debut Comic) and the editor of and a contributor to the Eagle Award Nominated anthology, Eleventh Hour. I'm also a Group Editor at Markosia and co-founder of Orang Utan Comics.
Orang Utan Comics, who are they?
I'm glad you asked me that! Orang Utan Comics are a group of creators, mainly based in the UK, but also working with artists across the world, who produce comics and graphic novels that we both publish ourselves and also publish in partnership with Markosia. We also do freelance work for a whole range of other publishers too, from Marvel and Image to Top Shelf and Slave Labor. Basically, we figure that we can achieve more by working together rather than on our own. To find out more about Orang Utan Comics, visit our website at www.orangutancomics.co.uk
So why do you want to go to C2E2?
We exhibit at most of the big UK conventions, and many smaller ones too, from London Super Comic Con, London Film and Comic Con and Thought Bubble to the Melksham Comic con and the Glasgow Comic Con. We've pretty much got the UK covered, but now it's time to spread our wings a bit and introduce ourselves to the USA. Last year Ian exhibited in the Artist Alley at C2E2 and the trip proved to be a very positive experience, we'd not only like to repeat that in 2014 but we'd also like to expand on it. We'll have a whole range of new books out in time for the show in May, and while our initial funding goal only covers the cost of getting Ian to the show, we'd ideally love to be able to pay for David Wynne (Hypergirl/Ideasman/Particle Fiction) to take the trip too.
So why should we pay for it? And aren't we just paying for you to go have a holiday and have fun in Chicago?
Make no mistake, a big trip to a US con is very expensive for a UK based creator. Not only will it be three days of hard work for us, plus two days of almost non-stop travelling, we will almost certainly lose money. Even if we sold every single book that we took with us, and David spent the entire convention sketching, there's no way that we could cover the costs of the flight, accommodation and the cost of the table. This trip is not about making money, it's about introducing us and our work to a whole new audience. Not only that, but we very rarely get US publishers at UK cons, so this is our chance to get our work out in a forum where it can be seen by US publishers, both big and small, and that they can talk to us and find out what awesome people we really are! Will it be fun? Of course it will, it's a huge US comic-con, we'll have a great time! Will it be a holiday? Not in any way shape or form. We are not a business, we are a group of creators, and as so we simply don't have resources to fund a trip like this ourselves, which is where YOU come in!
So, please, we'd really appreciate it if you could help us out. If you give a little or you give a lot, every donation will be greatly appreciated. Honestly, it'd be lovely to reach our goal just through thousands of you donating £1 each.
Ok, that's awesome, I'm convinced, I've just got a couple more questions, firstly, what happens if you vastly exceed your goal?
Well, firstly, as we've said above, our initial goal is to get Ian to the show, but for as little as £500 more we could probably get David to the show too (it's hard to be 100% certain due to the fluctuating nature of the price of airline tickets). If we were to blow past even that goal then we'd start looking into the viability of getting a booth at the show, rather than just having a presence in Artist Alley, and beyond that we'd be looking into doing further shows in the US, such as NYCC, SDCC, ECCC and so on. Or, you know, we'd just know that we had the money in the bank to do it all again in 2015.
And, secondly, the not so nice question, what happens if you don't raise the money, or if you aren't accepted into Artist Alley at C2E2 for 2014?
If that happens then the money will go into a rolling fund to either do the show in 2015 or to do another US show, this money will be earmarked for getting us to a US show, however, and will not be used for any other purpose.
Well, thank you for your time, and we hope that we can count on your support! To C2E2 and beyond!
If you want to know more, feel free to contact Ian via Tumblr or Twitter.
Organizer
Ian Sharman
Organizer
Begin your fundraising journey
