Passion.

Long post ahead. This is what I recently wrote for bleedingcool.com

Passion. It makes the world go round. Without it, explorers would have never set boots onto boats and astronauts would not have ventured towards the stars. Literature would be nonexistent and adolescence would be ten times harder than it already is. Artists of all stripes have it in spades, or else we would all be accountants, and trust me, being an accountant looks pretty good when you're staring down bills and waiting for invoices to be paid. What many of us lack in a 401k, a nice car, or financial stability, we make up for in enthusiasm. Unfortunately my landlord doesn't let me pay rent in enthusiasm and my family can't buy groceries with passion. Luckily, we live in the future and in this future we can find others to share our passions, and that in turn, can pay bills and create something new and exciting.

Crowd funding, no matter your views on it, can be a very successful tool. Seasoned pros have turned to Kickstarter over traditional publishers. The financial reward is often better and it allows 100% creative control. I have run one failed campaign of my own, but I have also been a part of 3 successful ones as the main artist, and numerous others as a contributing artist. Kickstarter campaigns have paid my bills. Doc Unknown is an indie book I draw (written, created by and spearheaded by the dreamy Fabian Rangel Jr.), and has been very successful in fan reaction, critical reception and in providing me with work. In the past you had to have a few thousand or more copies of your book ordered to be able to make a profit. Today, a creator can make a profit with 10% of those orders. Passion drives crowd funding. Passion for the creators and passion for the project.

Reward passion. My passion is telling stories. I've always loved music, movies, comics and books for the same reason, for the stories they tell. I don't draw comics because I love art, I draw comics because I love telling stories and entertaining people. I'm currently running a kickstarter, my second (and hopefully first to be funded) with that idea in mind. Telling stories, hearing people's stories, and what they love, what their passion is. Long Road Home is a documentary following four friends on a return trip home after being away for 20 years. Okinawa, Japan is a place I grew up, a place that has affected me more that any other place, person, book, comic or movie ever has. I have a passion for that island, those people, and the family I found there, and I want to explore that. That's why I need to make Long Road Home and I need help. From other story tellers, and people who love to hear stories.

I understand that not everyone can or wants to support every project, it's impossible. Backers work hard for their money, and how they choose to spend it is no ones business. So if they do use it to support your passion, respect that. Supporting someone's endeavors can be as big as a financial investment or as small and amazing as sharing their passion, promoting their campaign, sharing their posts. Promote what you love, support what you love. It's important that stories are told. I draw comics, I tell stories visually and Long Road Home is just the next step in that. So I ask, whether it's supporting my campaign or not, show your support for what you do love. Share, re-tweet, promote and invest. Reward passion.

www.kickstarter.com/projects/1…