The comics sector of Kickstarter finished the first half of 2023 on the upswing, with the total number of launches up14% from the first half of 2022. The success rate of comics campaigns remains stable at 78%, and pledges from backers totaled $17.6 million, up 22% from $14.4 million in the same time period last year. (Not all pledges are collected, as backers only have to pay if the campaign is successful.) A total of 1,171 comics projects made their funding goals, up 13.5% from last year.

In terms of geographical distribution, 72% of comics projects originated in the U.S., alongside 11% from Great Britain, 5% from Canada, 1.8% from Italy, and 1.6% from Australia.

The top comics projects for the first half of 2023 were

• The Expanse: Dragon Tooth: $1,405,859,
• How to Think When You Draw Vol. 6: $864,358
• Power Rangers: A 30th Anniversary Comic Book Celebration: $676,733
• Lady Death Cybernetic Desecration: $511,170
• Megalith: $393,850

Three of these projectswere from traditional publishers:The Expanse: Dragon Tooth(see “BOOM! Bets Big on ‘The Expanse’”) and Power Rangers: A 30th Anniversary Comic Book Celebrationfrom BOOM! Studiosand Megalith from Bad Idea. How to Think When You Draw, Vol. 6,is the latest in a series of campaigns for the how-to franchise; the most recent one was the top Kickstarter comics campaign of 2022 (see “Kickstarter Reveals Top 15 Comics Projects of 2022”).Brian Pulido’s Lady Deathwas also one of the top 15 earners in 2022, as was his Hellwitch.