The Order of the Stick Reprint Drive Breaking Kickstarter Records
The Order of the Stick Kickstarter comic by Rich Burlew
People into D&D, pen-and-paper RPGs, and webcomics have most likely heard of The Order of the Stick, a websomic series by Rich Burlew. To those that haven’t, the webcomic has been having fun with AND poking fun at pen-and-paper RPGs (like D&D) since 2003. Several print compilations have already been released, but funding for re-prints ain’t cheap, particularly if you self-publish.
And so Rich setup a Kickstarter project last January 22 called The Order of the Stick Reprint Drive aiming to get enough for at least a minimum run of his 3rd compilation back into print, which is US$57,750. In just around 24 hours, the project managed to hit its minimum funding requirement, ensuring that the project will be fully funded by Feb 21. Rich makes a nice little comic to visualize this achievement:
OOTS Reprint Drive Update#2 comic by Rich Burlew
Since the minimum funding has already been hit, the project is now aiming for the bonus targets (illustrated above) to fund additional perks. With the project having less than a month remaining, how’s the funding going for those extras… ?
OOTS Reprint Drive Update#13 comic by Rich Burlew
As can be seen by the comic above, it’s doing pretty damn well! From its humble beginnings of merely attempting to fund a minimum print run, the project is now aiming to be the #6 highest funded Kickstarter project OF ALL TIME (implying that it’s already at #7)! If they hit that, they could even go higher! Can you imagine those numbers? More than US$460,000 raised (as of writing) to pay for print versions of a webcomic about PEN-AND-PAPER RPGs that can be read online for FREE!
We can debate if these numbers imply that customers are willing to pay for physical copies of electronic items they really like even if they can essentially get those same items for free ([cough] Take a hint movie, music, anime industries! [cough]). We could even debate on how these numbers are indicative of the current fanbase/market of pen-and-paper RPGs, as well as the related mediums they consume. But right now, I’m just happy to live in a world that lets the everyday person give a guy the cash he needs to make print copies of a webcomic about a topic that is dear to his heart.
just some of the rewards available for backers
Be a part of Kickstarter history and back The Order of the Stick Reprint Drive! Peeps who have rolled d20′s, or those who lucked-out on the initial print runs, are undoubtedly backing this already. If you’re unfamilar with the material, why don’t you go read the webcomics and see if it’s to your liking?
[Via BoingBoing. Images via The Order of the Stick Reprint Drive Kickstarter pages.]
