Faction Comics - Damon Keen

Recently formed New Zealand comics publisher Faction Comics released their first anthology this week with a 72 page volume in print via a successful crowd-funding campaign earlier this year. A mixture of veteran and younger cartoonists fill the pages with a free digital version of the comic available from Faction. Faction anthology editor Damon Keen answered a few questions via email on Nov 28 about Faction's first comic.

Was using crowdfunding always a part of faction's publishing strategy?

Only in a distant way - it was always in the mix, but I didn't really consider it seriously at first. For one thing, Kickstarter was off limits, and I wasn't sure how effective PledgeMe was, so I had to do a bit of investigation.

Originally we went for funding from Creative NZ, but after our application was declined we had to look at other options - and economically it's not a great time to be looking for any kind of corporate sponsorship, so crowd funding started to look more and more attractive. 

In the end it worked out beautifully for us, because with PledgeMe funding we're not constrained in any way by the commitments or compromises that can come with external funding. 

What format will the physical copies of Faction be?

Perfect bound, 72 page graphic novel style book - offset printed.

It was important to Amie and I that the first issue looked great! Future issues will be saddle stitched and shorter. 

How will the Faction anthology be distributed?

First and foremost the main reason for Faction's existence is building up a readership base - so we will be giving the digital version away free if you subscribe on our website. We'll make it available as a pdf and cbr - for reading on tablets - and I'm also investigating other ways of making it available online. There's quite a few options these days, which is awesome.

We always saw the hard copy as a kind of marketing tool first and foremost - as a way to get people to subscribe online (and hence build up our database of readers!), so we haven't thought as hard about how we'll distribute the physical version. We'll be sending out review copies and getting it into the comic shops around NZ (and libraries), and also making it available to buy via our website. But this is a big experiment on our part, so we're still open to suggestions to be honest.

Is their a pre-existing anthology that you would compare Faction to in terms of tone?

That's a tricky one! My inspiration comes from Strips originally, which I loved back when I was 10 or 11 - and also Heavy Metal back in the 70s and 80s. Those were both in mind when we started thinking about creating Faction, but in terms of tone - and something more 21st century! - Best American Comics comes to mind - except shorter and in full colour!

Was there much editorial work undertaken with receiving open submissions?

From the beginning I wanted this to be an edited anthology. Some of my own money going into it, so I don't see any reason why I should print anything I don't feel comfortable with!

Having said that I'm not aware of any NZ anthologies that have been as editorially focused (if that's the right way of putting it!) as we have been on Faction. Most of the NZ anthologies I've seen seem to have a pretty open door policy on submissions - which is great by the way! But as a creative myself I knew I only wanted to include work by people who had significant experience with the craft of comic writing, who were proven, I guess - and were operating at a pretty high level. 

So, yes, we have had to turn away some artists - including some really promising ones - especially towards the end, after the competition became a bit more intense. I hope they keep at it though, there's a lot of talent out there.

Did you encounter any particular difficulties in launching Faction Comics?

Financing is the biggest issue - and nothing else that major; just niggling stuff, like worrying about hurting people's feelings and booking gallery spaces and so on! I was really concerned about standing on people's toes and blundering into the NZ comic scene and being a dick about it, but everyone has been really welcoming and friendly, so overall it's been a terrific experience.

Do you have another project lined up after this anthology is released?

I've got another comic I want to start drawing - it's longer and more complex than the one I included in Faction - which was actually a kind of practice run for it. But other than that, I just need to start thinking about the next issue of Faction, as well as planning the now belated launch exhibition, and other marketing strategies for promoting the anthology. 

It's really annoying to have to do my (paying) day job on top of this fun stuff actually!

More info at the Faction website here. 

 Faction People Amie Maxwell and Damon Keen