Why We Hate "Projects We Love" on Kickstarter

Kickstarter's non-merit-based project spotlight is no help at all to backers

Sifting through Kickstarter comics projects on a daily basis, I find myself paying some level of attention to those projects the hidden council at platform HQ deem worthy of the “Project We Love” designation. I always envision a torch-lit chamber, hooded figures in shadow, and a rune-engraved gavel pounding a millennia-old slab of petrified oak, followed by a booming voice from on high: “We love this project.” Or something like that. Honestly, the lack of transparency about the coveted spotlight tag is befuddling, and the criteria for its application are truly as arcane as the absurd ritual I conjured above. These two facts combine to render “Project We Love” utterly useless to comics readers and collectors just looking for quality comics to choose from on Kickstarter. Allow me to elaborate.

I’ve benefited from the “Project We Love” designation many times over the course of the 80+ campaigns I launched over the past 13 years, but I couldn’t tell you why one of my comics received it and another didn’t. It’s a mystery, and the notification email from Kickstarter reads just as ambiguously as you might expect, based on that fact:

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Congratulations!

We’re huge fans of your project and it’s now being featured as a Project We Love on Kickstarter. Don’t worry about creating any badges or banners (seriously), we’ve added a neat little one right on your project image and project page.

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The official gif Kickstarter sends for sharing on social media.

I’m grateful for those occasions when Kickstarter “loved” my project and mystified about those when they didn’t. In 2020, I was fortunate enough to have access to a webinar (via Tyler James’ ComixLaunch Mastermind course assets) in which a former Kickstarter comics lead discussed the “Project We Love” tag in moderate detail. She recommended not putting forth much effort to try and attain the designation, as she downplayed its benefits and suggested that it simply offers a modest elevation in the search algorithm, in addition to featuring the chosen campaign in the exclusive “Project We Love” search. My impression from her description of Kickstarter’s stance on the tag is that it’s basically a participation trophy gifted to only some participants. Then, what’s the point, right?

In this same webinar, the former comics lead indicated that the “Project We Love” tag was applied by Kickstarter staff based on some amorphous combination of the following factors:

• Quality of presentation on the Kickstarter page, including:

  • No words/logos on cover image of the Kickstarter page

  • No nudity or overtly sexual imagery

  • No blood/violent imagery

  • Clear, prominent images of covers and interior art samples

  • Generally efficient/well-communicated organization of the product information and rewards options

• Positive social impacts of the story and/or creative team

• Groundbreaking art/storytelling methods

• Creation by people from underrepresented groups

• Subjective determination of excellence by Kickstarter staff

Featuring nude cover options and overt sexual content, this one is a true departure from Kickstarter’s past stance to not apply “Project We Love” to such NSFW/porn comics projects.

That was a few years ago. Let’s take a look at live comics projects that have the “Project We Love” designation today. Here’s a breakdown:

• 41 out of 280 (14.6%) live comics projects are currently tagged with “Project We Love”

• The designation favors high-profile, high-earning comics Kickstarter campaigns, as evidenced by:

  • 13 of the 41 live “Project We Love” comics are funding at $10,000 or higher

  • The designation is currently applied to corporate comics from Neurobellum (Magnetic Press), Antarctic Press, American Mythology, COWCAT (a French game company), Coffin Comics and Wise Guyz Comics

• The designation also favors rough-hewn, amateur-level and underground-style comics from first-time or raw creators that don’t traditionally perform well in terms of crowdfunding. 15 of the 41 live “Project We Love” comics fall into this category, and those are funding below the $3000 level.

• Only 13 comics projects performing in that heavily populated middle funding ground between $3000 and $10,000 are designated with “Project We Love”

• Some creators curry favor with Kickstarter staff in order to launch with the “Project We Love” tag already in place.

The currently most funded “Project We Love” from Parabellum/Magnetic Press

So, if you, as a potential backer who loves to just read and/or collect comics, are looking for indie comics crafted by experienced, truly self-publishing creators with pro-level skills and who legitimately need your support, “Project We Love” offers you no guidance and less significance when it appears on a comics project’s cover image or Kickstarter page. The designation has no defined, consistent criteria for use and is unevenly applied based on factors irrelevant to the quality of the comic’s story, art or crowdfunding campaign. It’s an empty blue ribbon that might boost the ego of new creators, but it is useless to backers.

The least funded (on a goal of $40,000!) “Project We Love” from a first-time creator and featuring almost no information on the physical specs of the comic backers are being asked to support.

I’m not griping, just painting a picture of the thing as it exists. I have a solution to offer. Every day, as part of my The Comic$ Crowd project, I look over every single project launched in the Kickstarter Comics category and summarize each with essential data and a brief review of genre and campaign assets/deficiencies to watch out for.

Only one more step allows me to simply apply a merit-based designation on comics Kickstarters that truly deserve it, regardless of funding level, corporate status, creator attributes and experience, etc. Just a recognition of those campaigns most likely to fund and yield quality comics. I think I’ll call this tag…

And here are the criteria I propose:

• A compelling story concept based on information provided on the Kickstarter page

• Appealing art on the cover and interior pages based on clearly visible images provided on the Kickstarter page.

• Skilled execution of basic comic crafting techniques (lettering, coloring, cover dress)

• Basic end product specs for the comic (e.g., page count, proportions, binding)

• Fair pricing of the basic comic rewards (e.g., digital and/or print copies of the comic being funded)

• A reasonable fulfillment window (less than 6 months)

Sure, there is some subjectivity there in terms of deciding if the story idea is compelling or if the art is appealing, but I feel some level of curation is necessary. I run across a lot of campaigns that include information on the proposed story on the Kickstarter page, but for which the story proposed is devoid of any real aspects of a story (character progress, central conflicts, etc.). You’re just gonna have to trust me. The more objective criteria will be observed as hard and fast. If a Kickstarter page is missing even one of those listed components, it will not be designated a “Project I Like”.

Clovis meets all my listed criteria, and I’m a backer. Coincidentally, it’s also a “Project We Love”.

I’ll begin using it today. I’m a couple of days behind on new comics, but I intend to catch up this weekend. Be sure and join me in The Comic$ Crowd to see which Kickstarter comics make the cut each day, so you can cut through the nearly 300-deep mound of projects in the Comics category to receive a list of real crowdfunded projects every day and to now find that list curated by the best-presented, most well-prepared comics among all the offerings, as they launch.

And let me know what you think of “Project We Love” and my own endeavor to deliver daily lists of each “Comic I Like”.

Have a great weekend,

• Kevin