The 12th Hour: A Report on My New Kickstarter Launch Halfway Through Day One

A couple of years ago, I decided to rebuild my line of self-published comics from the ground up. I spent more than a decade working across the same handful of titles —projects I began with friends and local collaborators, some of which took far longer to complete than any independent comic should. By the time several of those books finally reached print, they reflected an earlier stage of my writing life rather than the stories I want to tell now.

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So I stepped back, brainstormed carefully, and began developing new concepts that could carry the next phase of my work. One of the ideas that emerged was Deep Space Lovecraft: a series of faithful comic-book adaptations of H. P. Lovecraft’s first-person cosmic horror stories, reimagined through a science-fiction, retro-futuristic lens while preserving Lovecraft’s own words from beginning to end.

That idea has now grown into seven completed adaptations, five of which were funded through three increasingly successful Kickstarter campaigns earlier this year. Thanks to the strong response from readers and backers, I collected those five stories—along with two bonus adaptations, “The Outsider” and “Dagon”, into a 184-page volume: Deep Space Lovecraft: The Collected Edition.

I launched that new Kickstarter this morning at 8:00 a.m. Central, and I’m thrilled to report that it is already the most ambitious and successful campaign I’ve run in years. In less than 12 hours, the project tripled its initial funding goal, and it is currently the No. 1 graphic novel project on Kickstarter, according to Kicktraq. I’m grateful, humbled, and excited to see what the rest of this one-week campaign will bring.

If you’ve supported my work before, this launch is especially meaningful. Over the past several months, I’ve had great success using Kickstarter’s secret reward feature to thank repeat backers and welcome returning supporters. For this campaign, previous Deep Space Lovecraft backers can claim an exclusive Secret Reward: a 5" x 4" classic-style bookplate customized with the backer’s name incorporated directly into the artwork, then signed and numbered by me in the order pledges are received.

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To help get the word out, I’ve seen a renewed response to BackerKit Launch emails compared with 2025. I’m not sure whether that reflects changes BackerKit has made, changes in how I’m using the service, or both, but it has been a welcome return to form. Over the past six or seven months, I’ve also learned that Kickstarter’s secret reward option is an effective way to encourage repeat backers and re-engage lapsed supporters who skipped recent campaigns. Just as important, careful research into price points, production costs, and perceived value has paid off—especially for this campaign, where higher reward prices are necessary to produce deluxe collected editions that feel as impressive as I expect and supporters deserve.

Nearly 70% of backers so far have chosen the deluxe hardcover edition in one form or another. That hardcover is A4-sized—nearly 8.5" x 12"—with a case-laminate cover, a green bookmark ribbon, and the potential for even more upgrades through stretch goals. Tomorrow, I plan to announce an ambitious stretch goal to add a dust jacket to the hardcover edition, raising the prestige level of the book even further.

I’m truly proud of this work, and it means a lot to present it in a format worthy of the stories, the art, and the people who have supported this project from the beginning. This campaign is also running for just one week, so if you’re interested in the collected edition, the exclusive bookplate, or the deluxe hardcover, now is the moment to take a look and consider backing.

Thank you for reading, thank you for supporting independent comics, and thank you for making comics with me. I’ll update you again soon with more campaign progress, stretch-goal news, and any developments as the project moves forward.

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Thanks for making comics with me!

• Kevin LaPorte