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Hey all! I'm Matt Warwick, an artist known as 'DrDubz', who for the past few years has been working on his debut comic series 'FERAL'. It is packed full of awesome contemporary martial arts action and deep characters, setting it apart from most of the anthropomorphic character comics available. My goal is to make a great story that will be appreciated by anyone into action comics, even outside of the 'furry' circles. So far, two books in, it's certainly been the case.
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If you wish to get a quick overview before reading, check out the official FERAL website, where you can also purchase the books in paperback form.
FERAL is the story of a proficient fighter and hustler named Hayley Rosa, who in previous two books has made huge leaps within the fighting circuit 'FERAL' in an incredibly short time, quickly breaking into the top tier. Despite this however, events unfold that take a toll on her confidence, and awaken her dangerous nature.
The third book in this series will follow the results of her now unbridled rage, and it's heavy cost. The narrative will now focus on Brandt's point of view, who's shown concern over Hayley's destructiveness, especially now that she has her sights set on his good friend and the circuit's number three, Krista Toporasku. Will Hayley overcome the challenge in her mentally fragile state? Or will she finally be broken by the fearless ex-soldier she now must face...
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FERAL is an ongoing comic series that I have worked on yearly. It began late 2011 as a small experiment while living in Australia, starting as a 50 page taster for my abilities, to be sold at a convention in Melbourne. However, since its almost instant success due to its deep, interesting characters and intricately crafted fighting scenes, it has blown up exponentially. Some have even gone on to say that it's a hidden gem in the furry comic community that is over saturated with rom-coms, unnecessary sexual content and goofiness.
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From the initial teaser to the two main books, both together totaling over 320 pages of martial arts action,
FERAL is both my first foray into comics and also my greatest achievement to date. It's garnered much interest from furs and non-furs alike, and I am hoping that it paves the way for greater things in the future. It is not just me reaching out to a niche audience, but rather a genre and story that I have a passion for, as both an avid action cinema junkie, and martial arts practitioner.
I have degrees in both moving image media (ND) and digital animation (BA with HONS), where my martial arts love also seeped into my final major project. Since then, I have used the knowledge gained to apply to comic art, where the two mediums share a common story telling aesthetic. This also gave my art a sense of motion, which has been a major advantage in getting the action in FERAL just right.
If you've been following the story so far, you will not want to miss this, as it is the start of Hayley's darkest chapter! If you're new, be sure to grab a book from the main website, or even simply grab the digital versions by supporting this campaign!
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To echo what has been confirmed in the last two books, the fans are the reason this comic exists. Many have applauded it's fresh perspective on anthropomorphic comics, while others also appreciate being part of the comic itself as members of the crowd or more. Regardless of the reason, I could not be more thankful.
Like the previous campaigns, the funding goals remain roughly the same. I require basic funds to cover the cost of self publishing, which are mostly printing costs for both the merchandise and books. While living costs are also factored in, the initial $2000 will NOT be used for living expenses, rather it will be solely used for printing! Anything else beyond the funding goal will be used to help cover unseen technical problems (like equipment failure etc), as well as extra merch ideas such as t-shirts. The excess will go on living, so I can focus more on the comic without being swamped in commissions, since art is my only job.
I am also coming clean. The A4 books that the last campaign promised will also need funding. I've decided to make a double compendium, both volumes 1 and 2 put together in a limited run of 300+ page A4 sized books, with colour pages included with the black and white. This will mean better value all around, and a more collectible product.
$2000 makes about £1200 after Paypal takes it's cut. To break down approximate costs -
- 100x A5 books @ 160+ pages - £250 - £300
- 25x A4 books @ 300+ pages - £230 - £250
- 25x A2 posters and 50x A3 posters - £100 - £120
- Misc (stickers, postcards etc) - £150 - £250*
- Postage - £300+ (wold-wide shipping can be expensive when books are involved.)
* Dependent on type of printers and product availability.
In the end, everyone will be treated to Part 3 of FERAL, as well as other awesome perks. The perks in question range from the ever popular exclusive fight commissions, to the returning 'be in the book' slots that went like hot cakes for book 1. I'll also be including personalized desktop wallpapers for your computer, some awesome new merchandise, digital and physical copies of the books and other cool little digital goodies. Last campaign, contributors got badge sized commissions, like the two shown below.
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Book 2 was fully funded within 3 days of it being put up. It was insane, and I'm hoping that this time will be even more successful. Since I've now gotten used to the ins and outs of Manga Studio, book 3 will be made quicker and better than ever. I am now also aiming to allocate funds to help get me to more conventions to sell this comic to more people, which will hopefully be subsidized by sales of books 1 and 2.
Due to a few people also asking how they could help after the campaign, I have decided to opt into the 'InDemand' funding option on Indiegogo. If you want to donate, even if the campaign is over, this will allow you to. Though no perks will be available to contributors, I shall endeavor to provide some kind of compensation, such as access to the digital goodies and PDF comics etc. I might even throw you a little sketch if you start getting generous. Regardless, thankyou in advance if you believe in me enough to essentially become a patron.
IMPORTANT - ONCE YOU HAVE FUNDED THE CAMPAIGN BY SELECTING A PERK ABOVE $80, PROMPTLY SEND AN EMAIL TO - mightydubz@gmail.com - WITH REFS AND OTHER NECESSARY INFO!
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So much money!!! What do I do when I get excess funds? Well apart from using some of the money to register for major European conventions to spread the comic about, I'll also start up side projects, including a planned tabletop game based around the
FERAL universe! Extra funds will also mean extra help, as I can then pay other artists to take the weight off my shoulders with inking.
To give you an idea of what I'd need to pay out, here's a brief overview -
- at $3500 I'll be able to take on a second paid hand to help with the inking, so that the comic is shot out faster, allowing more time to add content and work on other things. $400 - 500 is a decent wage for an hour or two a day for a month, adding flat shades to pages. They can work this around their usual jobs or work, since they only ink pages as I finish them. I may have them do the work for longer than a month as well, so I'll need to keep on top of paying the artist for their hard and, frankly, tedious work.
- at $4500 I'll be able to comfortably afford to register for Eurofurrence, which is the absolute biggest anthropomorphic fandom convention in Europe. I may also be able to allocate funds to set up for MCM in October of 2016, all depends on waiting lists and availability.
- at $6000 I'll be able to start making prototypes for a possible FERAL tabletop game. This will allow the many people who've donated their characters to be in the comic and feature in perk commissions to actually be more involved as a fighter. It will be a mixture of role-playing combat and character building, a faster paced D&D if you will, where you can develop your own fighter to be pit against your friends and of course, the FERAL elite. It is aiming to be accessible and quick to play for any level, but also rich and strategic, allowing for many types of players to emulate real life martial artists.
As well as all that, I'll be able to spend more on merchandise for you all. More money, better product, everyone wins - especially you guys.
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The risks are the same as last year, and now I can manage them much better. That doesn't mean that I get off with a 'get out of predicament free' card. All creators know they should assume that what can go wrong, will go wrong.
- The biggest problem with a fully digital comic is equipment failure. Everything I work on is backed onto the Hard drive I bought with last campaign's money (which has served me reliably, an awesome piece of kit), so while all work is halted while I replace hardware, no data is lost. Hardware breaking will only result in delays, which will be shortened with a spare computer on hand and my tablet being fairly cheap to replace.
- Speaking of delays, the deadline for the comics is the 25th May 2016, in time for the major British furry convention, Confuzzled. Last time I barely made it, due to wrestling with programs and printing schedules on short notice. This time, now that I'm fully trained with the programs and have templates at the ready, I should be able to get the third book done with time to spare.
- Since I still have to live, I will need to allocate time for commissions work on the side. This can eat up valuable comic production time, which hopefully the campaign's funding should be able to subsidies till the bulk of the work is done, such as all the rough layout and some inking. I am also looking into getting paid help again to assist inking, like last time, to take weight off my shoulders.
Frankly, as I have said before, even without the funding and despite the problems, FERAL will never become a dead project. Not mentioning the amount of time invested already to just give up, this has been a dream that I plan on seeing through to completion. Book 3 will be the mid-way point of the saga, so through Hell and high water, this is a project that I plan on completing, for myself and the fans I have gathered so far.
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Times are hard, I understand. Doesn't make you any less entitled to jumping on this awesome ride, so if you want to help out, simply spread the word and hype the project up! I mean there's a lot to be hyped about, after all.
Alternatively, you can follow the Feral page on Facebook, where I am most active with posting updates (
click here).
You can also throw people in the direction of the online store, so they can access samples and also purchase the first two books in PDF or paperback formats -
http://www.feral-comic.com/store.html
Even the smallest voice can make a huge difference. Every droplet of help, be it monetary or otherwise, is greatly appreciated. Without a fanbase, FERAL wouldn't even exist.
From the bottom of my heart -
Thankyou.
-Matt 'DrDubz' Warwick.