I’ve been a huge fan of Short Fuse Media and their take on superhero genre. I’ve always loved indie comics but one thing always loomed in the background. Will they deliver. I feel that Short Fuse had that same fear every time they backed a Kickstarter because they have been adamant about delivery in a timely manner, so adamant in fact they decided to make it part of their brand with #WeAlwaysDeliver Short Fuse has reached across the isle of indie comics with a helping hand more than once and their back with three different projects, helping three different creative teams get their product out. Here is little conversation we had about their efforts and Short Fuse’s desire to help people succeed.
Ian: This campaign is unique in a few ways, but I think it would be helpful for the audience if we started with the most glaring difference, these have already been Kickstarted. Can you explain how this all ties into Short Fuse and what the goal of this Kickstarter is?
Sean Mack: The titles featured in our “Bringing ALIGNMENT to the Indieverse” campaign (American Dreams, The Globalists and C.H.E.S.S.) were previously “Kickstarted” across multiple crowdfunding campaigns by a publisher named Vince White under the banner known as The Powerverse. There was a promise to the backers and the creators of these books that rewards would be fulfilled by The Powerverse, however after the money was collected from backers, The Powerverse never fulfilled the rewards on any of these campaigns as promised. Each of the creators, along with other creators from The Powerverse roster, reached out to Short Fuse Media Group for assistance in resolving the matter. That assistance came in the form of transitioning the titles away from The Powerverse. With these titles now officially on the roster at Short Fuse Media Group, we have returned to Kickstarter with these books to connect with backers from those previous campaigns to at least deliver the books while also bringing awareness to the transgressions of The Powerverse to right the wrongs done to the fans and these creators, effectively bringing this entire ordeal into alignment.
Ian: This commitment by everyone involved is very encouraging from the perspective of a person like myself that spends a lot of money on Kickstarter.
Ian: How will these titles fit into the Short Fuse Media Universes?
Sean Mack: At Short Fuse Media Group, we don’t mandate that all of our titles exist in one single universe. Instead, we bring on titles that we feel could potentially warrant the right story being written that will allow for characters to cross over between titles. This way, the creators remain free to tell their story as they see fit.
Ian: So how did you guys come about finding Sean and Short Fuse Media Group and how did you end up coming to them for help?
Nigel Flood: I had spoken to Sean a few years ago about doing a crossover with The Globalists one of his titles he help produce “The Voluntaryist” and we got chatting from there every now again. Roll forward a few years and I was part of the Powerverse and had launched a Kickstarter campaign with them to help fund my book and expanse my market. But things did turn out the way I hoped , my Kickstarter was successful but the funds were not being released to me in a timely fashions . I could see a backlog of previous Powerevese titles and rewards not being fulfilled and titles not being released on time or at all. I didn’t want the same thing to happen to my Kickstarter so I reached out to Sean and Short Fuse Media to help me in my situation. I knew that Sean had helped out people in the past to help them fulfill there Kickstarter rewards. Thankful Sean took me and my whole Punt Press label on board and rest you say is history.
Alfred Paige: One of the ideas in doing comic books is to be in a home that you can expand with other titles expand with other creators and have respect as you build your story lines together. Short Fuse Media provides that type of environment. As well as being very professional and respected in the products that they give out. Before the move to Short Fuse Media I was at a home that could not follow up with the same promise. After speaking with Sean Mack I felt confident I made a move in the right direction. I can’t imagine being at a better home and looking forward to a long-lasting relationship.
Daniel Kalban: I was pitching another book to Sean, and at the time I felt Powerverse was starting to go a bit south. Just in the back of my mind…but it was gnawing at me. So I asked Sean if it was possible to have Short Fuse publish American Dreams should Powerverse go pear shaped. When Nigel jumped ship from Powerverse to Short Fuse, he and Sean discussed my reaching out and that opened the door. At that time, I was just getting frustrated with Powerverse, so when the final straw was broken, I jumped on over to Short Fuse.
Ian: Can we have a description of each of the books, starting with C.H.E.S.S.?
Alfred Paige: C.H.E.S.S. stands for Command Headquarters of Espionage Strategic Strikes. The story follows a Black Ops team that works for Avery Davis who decides to take a more personal and direct position on situations happening around the world. This comic book will not only bring you incredible action, but also characters that you can relate to and enjoy watching as they grow into their roles on the team.
Ian: How about Globalists?
Nigel Flood: The Globalists are inter-dimensional conquerors. They rule their own earth with an iron fist! They’ve outlawed religion, ended world hunger and war, and enforced one world language, One Nation Earth. The people of their Earth love them and worship them like celebrities. Now, they plan to bring this vision of peace to the whole multiverse.
Ian: And finally American Dreams?
Daniel Kalban: American Dreams is superheroes meets Ragtime. It’s New York City, 1900. Many of the issues we’re talking about today were happening then as well. We follow a young immigrant, Jake Gold, as his life is changed when an experiment of Thomas Edison’s goes horribly wrong. He has to become America’s first superhero at one of the most turbulent times in American history. And while he is doing this, he runs across famous figures from that time period. Some, like Harry Houdini, are on his side. Others, like Edison and JP Morgan, are against him. And others, like Emma Goldman, have their own agendas. And he’s not the only one finding himself with abilities. It’s heroism, it’s adventure, and it’s looking at our time through another era.
Ian: Can you explain the reward tiers and why it’s a shorter run?
Sean Mack: The most important reward tiers for this campaign would definitely be the two “Previous Backer” Rewards as we have one for digital reward supporters and another for printed reward supporters that are both set at $1.00. The only difference is that for the printed rewards, there is a small (discounted) shipping charge attached. We wanted to provide the most economical way possible for backers from the campaigns organized by the previous publisher to be able to get the books that should have been fulfilled by that publisher. For new backers that just wanted to support the campaign, we kept it pretty simple and stuck to the standardized reward levels that are typical of our campaigns where printed books are available starting at $5.00 (plus shipping) coupled with various bundle rewards, t-shirts,variant covers, customized action figures and official cameo variant covers.
Ian: What are future plans for Short Fuse Media and these new titles?
Sean Mack: Two of these titles, American Dreams and C.H.E.S.S. are now a part of the official “Phase 1” roll out for our ALIGNMENT roster alongside Marvin Wynn’s The Edge and the upcoming series ALIGNMENT that will feature characters from all over the Indieverse participating in team-up styled adventures. The third title, The Globalists will be our first release under our international partnership with Nigel Flood’s Punt Press. As with all of our titles, the overall plan is to consistently release new issues and to continue to grow our audience with followers of indie comics that know that #WeAlwaysDeliver!
Ian: Let us know where we can find the Kickstarter and Short Fuse Media?
Sean Mack: Short Fuse Media can be found at our own website or on Facebook and Twitter simply @ShortFuseMedia. The Kickstarter campaign can be found here on Kickstarter.
