INTERVIEW: Omnibus edition of ‘Atomika: God Is Red’ now on Kickstarter
Image courtesy of artist / Provided by Superfan Promotions with permission.
Sal Abbinanti and Andrew Dabb’s Atomika: God Is Red is an indie comic book that gathered a dedicated fan base with its 12 individual issues, and now the creative team has taken the story to Kickstarter in order to fund an omnibus edition. As of Monday, Nov. 22, the project was fully funded and has already exceeded its $25,000 goal by more than $10,000.
In the series, Abbinanti (illustrator) and Dabb (writer) have crafted a story about Atomika, the first human-made deity, according to press notes. He is known as the “God of Technology and the 21st Century.” World domination is in sights, but first he must destroy the gods of his Russian homeland. As he takes down his enemies and wins more devotees, Atomika’s family and friends begin to wonder whether he’s a god or a monster.
“When I originally put it out, I put it out as 12 individual issues because I was old school,” Abbinanti said in a recent phone interview. “At the time, everybody was doing trades, but I like the individual issues. So I did 12 of them individually, and then unfortunately a lot of comic stores aren’t big about picking up indie titles. So I never had the chance to do a big omnibus or ‘absolute edition,’ as they were called at the time. I kind of circled back around. They had published it in eastern Europe as a huge omnibus, and then they approached me and said, ‘Hey, do you want to do it in English?’ I said, ‘Sure.’ And then they gave me the files, and I thought, why not. I had so much extra material that never made the cut, of these great covers and great things that I was getting from some artists at the time. … I thought this is a perfect opportunity to put them all together and show them off. Otherwise they would wither away, and nobody would ever see them.”
Abbinanti, a Chicago native, is also known for The Hostage indie comic. Dabb is known for his comic book writing, but also his work on TV shows like Supernatural and the upcoming Netflix series Resident Evil. The two found that Kickstarter was the way to go for bringing this omnibus edition to life.
“With COVID, everybody was forced to pivot,” Abbinanti said about the comic industry. “Every industry was forced to kind of find a new way to market things or keep things lively. You started to see a lot of companies using Kickstarter that didn’t really need funding, but they all did discover it’s a great way to effectively market … to reach the fanbase directly, get the word out and package it much better. You can have a video. You can show samples. You could let the fanbase [and] the comic buyer explore your project a little more thoroughly.”
He added: “As an indie creator, you have to find new ways to get the word out, to get people to give you a shot. It’s a lot of work, and order fulfillment is a huge part of it, which I think a lot of creators unfortunately forget [about]. Funding and promoting is important, but if you don’t deliver the product, people are not going to give you a second shot. I found that’s the first question people start asking you when you start doing Kickstarters. ‘Hey, what are you doing for order fulfillment?’ It’s a lot of work.”
Because the Kickstarter has been so successful, several awards have been unlocked, including a deluxe hardcover edition, Alex Ross trading card, Bill Sienkiewicz trading card, David Mack trading card, Michael Turner trading card and sticker set. A Mercury Comics enamel keychain is up next.
Fans can pledge without an award, but the actual awards start with a $15 contribution (digital edition of the omnibus). One can also jump in at the $475 level and receive every perk available, from original art by Abbinanti to a personalized thank-you note.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Atomika: God Is Red is currently being funded via Kickstarter. Click here for more information.
