So, Drawing Blood #5 is out. To say it’s on my [crap]list is probably an understatement.
I meant to post back when #1 came out, but just didn’t have the heart to get into things on it.
But now?
End of August, 2024?
Yeahhhh…Drawing Blood and its creators (and by extension, basically anything/everything "Last Ronin" that I see) have a REALLY BAD taste to me, so to speak.
I backed the first Drawing Blood Kickstarter in 2017.
When the thing was later re-issued as single issues, I snagged those to ‘support’ the thing, even already having received the Kickstarter book.
August 2019 (FIVE. YEARS. AGO!) I backed the "Drawing Blood vol. 2" Kickstarter.
To this day, I have NOTHING PHYSICAL from said Kickstarter, despite promises and brush-offs and so on from the team behind it.
Drawing Blood vol. 2 was supposed to be fulfilled one year later: August 2020. Of course, pretty much anyone knows what "2020" held for the world, and obviously the project was "delayed."
But the 2020 stuff didn’t really hit until MARCH 2020, over 6 months AFTER the Kickstarter WRAPPED, over HALFWAY to the point the project was supposed to fulfill.
But the creators virtually ABANDONED the Kickstarter.
Oh, there were maybe an update or two in a YEAR.
But nothing remotely RESEMBLING the monthly updates that Kickstarter itself requires as part of its terms for creators of a Kickstarter project. As of this writing, August 29, 2024, there have been a grand total of 30 "Updates" posted to the Kickstarter…the first 15 of which were during the actual run of the campaign.
Meaning 15 "Updates" in FIVE YEARS. An "average" of 3 per year…with zero engagement from the creators to their backers, aside from some snotty attitude-laced comments over people basically BEGGING–for *multiple* MONTHS AT A TIME–for SOME SORT OF COMMUNICATION regarding the project.
Not ONE of the people involved in the Kickstarter–from Kevin Eastman, to David Avallone, to Ben Bishop, to whoever else–for MULTIPLE YEARS now–have even bothered to post a "comment" to the Kickstarter page.
While they’re off at conventions, signing appearances, hosting Whatnot events, posting to various social media, NONE would even take a few MINUTES within any given MONTH to so much as post a comment to touch base with and engage with their Kickstarter backers–who they collected $121,732 from HALF A DECADE AGO.
While there were occasional posts other backers noted being on Facebook or Instagram occasionally–the creators apparently REFUSED to engage with Kickstarter itself once they had the money and ran.
For the past nearly-14 months, even, there’ve been platitudes and half-assed supposed "apologies" with immediately-broken promises attached, yet STILL…
STILL, not one of the creators acknowledges the NEAR-ZERO COMMUNICATION.
Making matters worse–in my eyes–are "promises" and definitive statements made over the past ~14 months that have NOT materialized.
Just 3 “recent” examples:
Avallone Update #26, July 20 2023 (over 13 months ago)
"rest assured: Kickstarter supporters of Volume Two will get their copy of the Volume Two trade a very long time before those issues hit stores for public consumption."
Eastman Update #28, May 18 2024 (over 3 months ago)
"We will be sending out a backer survey shortly, we are nearing completion of all the final elements of the funded Kickstarter campaign – and you will be hearing and getting updates from me directly, here, through the completion of fulfillment."
Eastman Update #29, July 9 2024 (7 weeks ago)
"By the end of next week, we’ll have the final digital PDF of issue #5 to send to you all"
Yet even with that last promise…it wasn’t until AFTER #5 was already out, available in stores, that a link to a PDF was even posted to the Kickstarter page—4pm, nearly end of the standard workday—on the 28th, .
Of just that one issue.
So FIVE YEARS of near-zero communication, passive aggressive hostility, and so on…and people that never had anything to do with crowdfunding had their issues in-hand before general backers even had a chance to read a digital PDF.
I can’t even begin to describe my disappointment–to put it most mildly–in a creator whose creations I’ve otherwise primarily enjoyed for most of my life. To say nothing of being so incredibly put-off by the other creators involved, and by their being able to put out umpteen issues of Last Ronin and Elvira and general work and appearances and events for themselves, other publishers…
But there’s been NO ACCOUNTABILITY to their Kickstarter backers.
Just idle "promises" of extras to be provided at fulfillment…but not even a PEEP in YEARS as to when anyone can EXPECT that fulfillment.
I’m amazed that IDW hasn’t stepped in–because surely this reflects poorly on creators involved with their biggest TMNT stuff in The Last Ronin, let alone TMNT itself!
Image sure doesn’t seem to have cared about the creators’ disrespect to their Kickstarter obligations, backers, and fans.
I am absolutely disgusted, and may post more on this at some later point but for now, putting this out there.
Feel free to visit the Kickstarter page itself to see whatever you can see for yourself–including my many requests for Updates, and comments asking what’s going on, etc.
Filed under: 2024 Non-Review Posts, 2024 Posts | Tagged: Ben Bishop, David Avallone, Drawing Blood, IDW, Image, Kevin Eastman, Last Ronin, Ninja Turtles, TMNT | Leave a comment »
Comic Reviews by Walt 