Our Story
Based in Ypsilanti, Toronto, Brooklyn, Champaign-Urbana and McKinney, The Cultural Gutter was founded in May, 2003 by writer, filmmaker and game designer Jim Munroe and comics critic and artist Guy Leshinski to provide thoughtful writing on disreputable art. Since then, we've had twelve editors in two countries and seven cities write on comics, genre cinema, filmi b-movies, tv, science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance, video games, and porn. And in all that time we paid our writers, both editors and Guest Stars. Then we lost our funding grant, but a small, rag-tag band of donors joined forces with the Gutter to keep us online and help us keep our commitment to paying writers for their work. Thus, the Gutterthon was born.
The Gutter offers thoughtful, well-written articles on topics like: Godzilla vs. MechaRealism; Duran Duran & William S. Burroughs' Wild Boys; Letting something you love reboot; the queerness of Mario Bava's Danger: Diabolik; Jedi Noir; the life and career of African-American cartoonist Jackie Ormes; quality Bollywood villain lairs; "Rhyme, Reason and Random Terrible Things"; draculas (vampires) and "Letting The Wrong One In." Now our survival depends on the Gutterthon. So please click "Back It" and keep the Gutter flowing with the writing you love. Even if you can only throw in a buck, we will thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
What We Need & What You Get
$250/year/writer or about $20/article; $250/year for the Evil Overlord for publishing, promoting, finding new writers, day-to-day site management, co-ordinating the in-progress site redesign, making sure the perks are shipped out, and preparing Return To The Cultural Gutter, a new collection of essays from the Gutter. The remaining $350 will go towards domain registration, backing up the site, printing and shipping perks, promotional materials, paying occasional guest writers and paying Indiegogo and Paypal fees.
In return, you get our undying and eternal thanks and your choice of some sweet perks.
Perks Include:
A Cultural Gutter Membership package including a numbered and dated CG Membership Card and a decryption key for decoding the CG Secret Messages posted at the top of the Sponsor's Page.
The British Fantasy Award-winning press Fox Spirit Books has provided perks in the form of totes, travel mugs and digital copies of K. A. Laity's White Rabbit! "Sometimes the shadows that haunt us are what lead us back to the light Disgraced former police detective James Draygo has sunk as low as his habit allows, working as a fake psychic despite his very real talents. When a media mogul’s trashy trophy wife gets gunned down at his tapping table he has to decide whether he can straighten up long enough to save his own skin. He may not have a choice with Essex’s loudest ghost bawling in his ear about cults, conspiracies and cut-rate drugs. Oblivion sounds better all the time…"
As well as digital copies of Dana Fredsti's Murder for Hire: The Peruvian Pigeon! "Connie Garrett knows that a trenchcoat and a fedora don’t make a detective. She’s the co-founder of 'Murder for Hire,' an acting troupe that specializes in spoofing, not sleuthing. When MFH performs at a sleepy coastal community’s mystery gala, celebrating the works of a famous hard-boiled mystery writer, the bodies start stacking up, and Connie finds herself on the case whether she likes it or not. Now Connie is committed to solving the murders while trying to keep both the show-and her love life-afloat."
Print copies of our first book, The Cultural Gutter (2011), published by Carnegie-Mellon University's ETC Press. The Cultural Gutter (2011) collects pieces published on the Gutter from Jim Munroe, James Schellenberg, Carol Borden, Chris Szego and Ian Driscoll. This print version also has fantastic infographic illustrations by artist EJ Lee.
The Cultural Gutter Presents Secret Diagrams of Mantis Fist! Long rumored and often denied, the Cultural Gutter's have been presented in this volume for the first time. In publishing these diagrams, we hope to reassure those who have claimed that we have been hiding martial arts secrets for our own benefit. Instead, this volume contains not only the recently discovered diagrams detailing stances of Mantis Fist kung fu, but places them in context with a brief historical overviews, film reviews and even the accusations of diagram skeptics in their own words. Featuring art by author/illustrator Evan Munday and crazy talk by the Gutter's own Carol Borden. Designed by friend of the Gutter, Andrew Nahem.
A signed copy of Marvel's Civil War: Exploring the Moral Judgment of Captain America, Iron Man and Spider-Man (2016) by the comics professor himself, Mark D. White!
My Pretty Zombie cosmetics sets including the Dolly Deadly collection, which features a signed dvd of the movie, Dolly Deadly! The Su Madre and Aquatic Ailments sets are discontinued and available nowhere else!
A Sassy Diabolik Mug featuring a design by Brian Kirby!
Three lucky contributors will receive a personal ringtone designed by the amazing band, Chica Non Grata! In previous Gutterthons, Chica Non Grata has geektastic written songs for donors including, "Fortune Cookie," "See Me" and "At The Library." So give them a listen and then take advantage of this sweet opportunity!
A gray 3.5 x 5.5" pocket Moleskine with a red Krampus handprinted on the cover by the Gutter's own Carol. Just in time for Krampuslauf!
Stephanie Johnson is creating 12 x 18" poster versions of the sweet campaign banner above--also designed by Stephanie Johnson!
Julie Beman from Chica Non Grata will make a papercraft nightmare for you! Either describe a nightmare for her to work from or have her make a new one for you!
A Medusa Moleskine handprinted by the Gutter's own Carol! A gray 3.5 x 5.5" pocket Moleskine with a green Medusa handprinted on the cover. Guaranteed 100% non-petrifying!
A Space Ladies 2020 mug featuring artwork by Nick Hanover. Sip hot cocoa, tea, coffee or even the brains of recalcitrant humans from this lovely mug in your choice of "The Future is Orange" or "Sensible UN Blue." (Let us know your choice in the comments or via Twitter @CulturalGutter).
Edward Stafford of Gamerunner Mercantile Emporium is providing 5 cute robots, aka, "Disgruntled Droids," each with its own name and backstory!
A mug and notecard set featuring a space lady and her love beyond all computation designed by Brian Kirby of Shelf Life Clothing Co.!
We will be unlocking more perks as the campaign continues, but even $1 gets our Undying Thanks! (Really, a buck makes a difference).
If we don't reach our goal, we'll use the funds to print and ship your perks and see how much we can pay each editor. If we exceed our goal, we would use the extra funds to print promotional materials, hire additional guest writers, or even consider working on some additional books .
SOLD OUT: A Cinema Detroit t-shirt from our friends at Cinema Detroit!
SOLD OUT: A needle-felted Metaluna Mutant hand-made by friend of the Gutter Kerry Gately-Fristoe! Terrifying! Adorable!
SOLD OUT: Author and cult film icon Todd Stadtman has provided signed copies of his books. That's right a signed copy of the YA punk mystery, Please Don't Be Waiting For Me (2017) and his indispensable to 1970s Bollywood movies, Funky Bollywood: The Wild World of 1970s Indian Action Cinema (2015)!
SOLD OUT: A gray 3.5 x 5.5" pocket Moleskine with a green Cthulhu handprinted on the cover by the Gutter's own Carol. Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!
SOLD OUT: A sinister 9 x 12 x 1" grimoire with a cover decorated by the Gutter's own Carol and containing blank pages for your unspeakable notes and abominable ideas!
SOLD OUT: Steampunk gun designed and modified by Edward Stafford of Gamerunner Mercantile Emporium! One of a kind and made to order!
We know that times are hard for a lot of people and any little bit helps, even a retweet or sharing our campaign on Facebook. Indiegogo has tools that make it easy. Please consider using them even if you can't contribute with cash. Anything you do to help is much appreciated. Thank you from all of us at The Cultural Gutter!
