THE STORY
I lived on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain when I was of the comics-reading age, so I knew next to nothing about British comics as a kid. A pen-pal from Leeds once sent me an early issue of Whoopee! which made a profound impression on my 10-year-old self, and inspired me to try my hand at the genre. I freelanced for Lithuania’s national humour magazine for quite a while in my twenties. At one point in the early ‘90s they even nominated me the cartoonist of the year!.. Then other things in life took priority, and it was only in 2007 that I got back to my old hobby – this time as a collector of British comics, and starting from 2012 – an active blogger and owner of http://kazoop.blogspot.co.uk
It didn’t take me long to discover the genius of Ken Reid. To me, his strips in WHAM!, SMASH! and POW! comics published by Odhams Press in the ‘60s stood in splendid isolation above the work of his fellow-cartoonists, and I couldn’t help but wonder why they weren’t collected under one cover for fans – and the whole wide World – to appreciate and enjoy… They represent Ken Reid at his very best, and are a proud landmark of British comics heritage.
A few months ago I finally decided to stop wondering and take action instead! I negotiated a license with copyright owners – Time Inc. (UK) Ltd. I have all the scans cleaned and ready, I arranged for a talented young artist to draw sumptuous cover illustrations (front and back), obtained enthusiastic introductions from well-known folks in the British comics industry and secured further entertaining intros from Ken’s son Antony J. Reid, who kindly allowed me to use his dad’s archive material – my ultimate resource when researching and writing a detailed biography of the artist, covering the years 1964 – 1969 when he worked for Odhams (also included in the collection).
Layouts are now in preparation, and this campaign is the final step before the books go to the printers! They will be printed offset by one of Lithuania’s top printing houses with lots of experience in printing editions of this kind.
Your contribution will help me release this remarkable collection that is long overdue, and I am sure you will be satisfied with the final product. THE POWER PACK OF KEN REID will consist of two hard-cover 200 page volumes, available both individually and as a set. Backers of this campaign will enjoy the privilege of the boxed-set edition and the free prints of original artwork:
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SPREAD THE WORD!
Even if you don’t want or can’t contribute to the campaign – please, get the word out by sharing it on social media and telling your friends, relatives, neighbours and passers-by all about it!
WHAT HAPPENS IF…?
The money I am raising will be used to cover production costs. I have strong faith in the project, and I am confident the campaign will reach the goal of $9,970 (roughly £8,000), but you may be wondering what happens if it doesn’t...
Well, differently from many other comics crowdfunding campaigns, this reprint collection is published under license, which had to be paid for in advance. The cover artist, the layouts designer, etc. – those people also don’t work for free, which means I have already made quite an investment, so THE COLLECTION WILL BE PRINTED NO MATTER WHAT. Furthermore, I have no intention of making fewer copies than the license allows me to. In other words – if the whole print run is not pre-ordered during this campaign, the books will eventually be available to buy online, but not as a boxed set and without the free prints of original artwork as these incentives are reserved exclusively for supporters of this campaign.
SCHEDULE
- The plan is to print the books within two or three weeks after this crowdfunding campaign ends in the first days of July 2018.
- Individual books (Vol. 1 or Vol. 2) will be dispatched to their backers as soon as possible after they arrive from the printing house.
- Boxed sets will be dispatched two or three weeks later because the slipcase will be manufactured only after the books have been printed.
This is an estimated but realistic time-frame. It will be updated in an unlikely event if something unexpected happens.
SHIPPING COSTS
The books can be shipped anywhere in the World. All packages will be shipped using the recorded delivery priority (airmail) service of Lithuanian Post.
INDIVIDUAL BOOKS: one book can be shipped for the standard flat rate – $15 (approx. £11) for the UK/the EU, and $22 (approx. £16) for the rest of the World.
THE POWER PACK: both books in the slipcase will weigh more than 2 kilos and will have to be shipped as a parcel, which costs more. Rates differ by country. Shipping costs to a few destinations are quoted under the POWER PACK perk. If your country isn’t mentioned, please, contact me and I will obtain a quote for you from Lithuanian Post.
Note regarding shipping cost to the UK: anticipating that the majority of those heavier POWER PACK parcels will go to the UK, I have negotiated a special rate of £15 with the local office of TNT. HOWEVER, the rate will apply only provided the minimum number of packages I submit to them in one go is 200. If the quantity is achieved, I will refund the difference to all UK supporters who choose THE POWER PACK perk.
Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions about the project.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
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UPDATE REGARDING POSTAGE COST TO CONTINENTAL EUROPE
I received a few emails from fans of Ken Reid in France and Greece, and this calls for an update.
It turns out I neglected to include postage cost to the EU with the POWER PACK perk… My apologies, folks!
I can’t add new destinations to the existing perk, so I have now created a new one which is identical to the Featured Perk, but offers postage to many European countries. You can find it at the bottom of the perks column. I will increase the number available if (and when) the 10 I have included now are claimed.
Backers from the UK, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – please use the FEATURED PERK at the top of the column because it includes correct postage costs to your countries :)
Many thanks!
