A Geek’s Dream: Discussing ‘Kaijus And Cowboys’ With Matthew Blair And Frankie B. Washington

Kaijus and Cowboys is back with a new crowdfunding campaign that launched this week on Kickstarter. The sci-fi/Western/monster series is set on an alien world that is being terraformed by a group of robots. A giant kaiju hampers those efforts. In a Comicon.com exclusive, writer Matthew Blair and artist Frankie B. Washington discuss their long-term plan for the series and what they have learned from past crowdfunding campaigns.

Tom Smithyman: So Kaijus and Cowboys. I mean, it’s like a geek’s dream, right? Are you surprised that no one else came up with the idea first?

Matthew Blair: Yes, it’s definitely a geek’s dream and yes, I am a bit surprised that nobody I know of has come up with it first. Granted, there’s probably some cowboy/kaiju fanfiction somewhere on the internet, but if there is, I wouldn’t know of it.

With that said, I don’t want our book to stop anyone from trying to make their kaiju/cowboy dream project a reality. Just because two different people have the same idea, doesn’t mean they’ll create the same story.

Frankie B. Washington: I don’t think that what Matthew and I created is a new concept. It’s clearly been used before – a good example is 1993’s Cadillacs and Dinosaurs and 2006’s Cowboys & Aliens. The difference between our story and art is that we’re using robots. The kaiju/daikaiju are their own unique characters and the overall trope of a “cowboy” is something we play around with, even when some characters don’t actually look like a Western-type cowboy.

Smithyman: You’ve said you have more issues planned for later this year. How many chapters will the final story end up being – or does that depend on funding?

Blair: At the moment Kaijus and Cowboys is going to be a 12-issue mini-series with each issue getting its own Kickstarter over the next couple of years. With that said, depending on how well the book is received and how much funding we get, there is definitely the potential for a whole bunch of one-shots, spinoffs and other projects set in the world we’ve created.

Washington: We’ve both spoken extensively on what we wanted to do with this project. The key component was to pay homage to the Bronze Age of comic book storytelling/art. We want to reignite the addiction of collecting comics based on the long storytelling format. It was what we grew up with and inspired so many of us now who have picked up the creator torch.

Smithyman: You have already successfully completed a few Kickstarter campaigns for this series. What have you learned about crowdfunding since your first campaign a few years ago?

Washington: Three things come to mind. The first is communication – making sure we as a team are on the same page with our production and marketing schedule.

Next is engagement. Let’s talk to our backers aka Riders and ensure that they are kept up on our journey. We need them, or this whole experience falls apart. We need to keep up their enthusiasm for our product through their online posts of pictures and videos, which inspire us onward.

Finally, there’s fulfillment. This is the biggest component of our machine. The successful distribution to our Riders indicates to them that we’re serious with our business aspirations and that their support is validated, not wasted.

Blair: Probably the most important lesson that I’ve learned is just how much work goes on behind the scenes in promoting and marketing your campaign before it even launches, and how constant and effective marketing can make or break your project.

Smithyman: You’ve created a digital issue #0 that you are offering for free. Has that helped to gin up interest in the book?

Blair: While I don’t have a whole lot of data to back my opinion up, I like to think so. At the very least, having a free book online is a great thing to show people who might be interested in buying the book, but might want to check it out before spending their money on an infant IP like ours.

Washington: We believe that any marketing avenue opens more eyes to our product. One of the things that we’re adamant about is “organic growth” is the best kind of way to establish a solid connection with our backers/Riders.

Smithyman: Have you shopped the idea around to any publishers or do you prefer to be completely independent and rely on crowdfunding?

Washington: We actually were signed very briefly with Second Sight Publishing but learned very quickly that technically the power of publishing lies in the hands of the creators today. We were with them for roughly a year and decided to exit that relationship. The tools of crowdfunding have really enabled creators like us to reach and connect with our readers on a much more stronger level.

Blair: We are big believers in telling our story in our way and building an audience through grassroots marketing and creating the best comics we can make, so we’re probably going to stick with crowdfunding for a while.

Smithyman: Frankie – This has got to be the most fun anyone could possibly have while working. Are there any downsides to drawing these characters and monstrosities?

Washington: The bane of any artist – especially someone like me who’s worked 30+ years in the art industry as commercial illustrator – is doing the work of a passion project next to doing work to help keep the lights on alongside my wife, Jessica.

If I weren’t doing this comic book series, I most likely would be knee deep in corporate illustration gigs which pay very, very well. The downside is that at the end of my life, it would nag at me that I didn’t try to fulfill a dream that I had to do an ongoing comic book series.

I had the pleasure of meeting and talking on multiple occasions with one of my comic book heroes Herb Trimpe. I told him how much Marvel’s Shogun Warriors and Godzilla series impacted me as a kid. It’s the reason why I went the path of the freelancer – aka ronin artist – and never looked back on my old 9-5 job life. When the feelings of the “downside” creep in on me, the memories of me and Herb talking brush them aside.

Smithyman: OK so you can only pick one to be for the rest of your life. Which is it – kaiju or cowboy? And why?

Blair: Hmm…that’s a tough one. I’d probably have to go with a kaiju, if only for the fact that I love the idea of rising up from the depths and sowing terror and destruction wherever I go. Flattening buildings has to be a great workout, and I would probably have way too much fun turning tanks into molten piles of slag with my fire breath.

With that being said, if you’re talking about a science fiction/Western then I’d want to be a cowboy. Give me an open space lane, a ship to call my own and saloon fights on alien planets any day of the week!

Washington: If we’re talking HunterBot B.W.N.N (Bot With No Name), then sign me up to be a robot cowboy with moving dreadlock cabled hair and weaponry that comes out of my body. This would be the ultimate representation of the cowboy to me.

Smithyman: OK, that one for kaijus and one for cowboys. Seems appropriate! Best of luck with the latest crowdfunding campaign!