The following is an interview with Andrew Clemson on launching a Kickstarter campaign for the collected edition of the comic book series, Bete Noir. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Clemson about his shared creative process in working with artist Kris Wantowhy to bring the stories and characters to life on the page, the incredible backer rewards available through the campaign, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the recent launch of your Kickstarter campaign for the collected edition of Bete Noir! What are you most excited for readers to experience as the series comes to its stunning conclusion?
Andrew Clemson: I’m just excited people will get to finally read the conclusion to a story we’ve been crowdfunding since 2019. The series is built on a mystery as its central premise, and we’ve only just answered the “Who” in issue 4 and 5. Now in issue 6, we get to really explain the “Why” of our protagonists mission and see who is left standing at the end.
BD: How would you describe your shared creative process in working with artist Kris Wantowhy to bring this incredible world and characters to life on the the page?
AC: Kris has an uncanny ability to interpret every character description in a unique way that makes the end result a million times better than what I had in my head at the time of writing. Like a lot of my projects, we live on opposite sides of the planet and despite that Kris has gone above and beyond to make sure the story you see on the page is one that makes you want to spend time absorbing the action as well as the dialogue!
BD: You are no stranger to crowdfunding, having successfully run several campaigns for various projects. Why do you feel that crowdfunding has been such a valuable resource to ensuring the success of today’s comic book creators?
AC: Simply put, without crowdfunding I don’t think the bulk of the comics we all love would exist today, purely because a lot of the creators might not have been able to gain traction behind their early work. The advice always given to creators is that to break into comics you have to make comics. Unless you’re a wunderkind artist/writer combo (and I know there are many out there), the financial cost of producing your first comics without knowing they have a readership is absolutely crippling.
By crowdfunding your work, the cost is minimised tenfold or more, all you need to launch a Kickstarter is a cover and a handful of pages. That’s enough to give potential backers an idea of the look and feel of your comic and decide if they want to put their money behind it. It also helps people in countries outside the states where conventions are limited gain access to potential readers, which is something I wouldn’t be able to make comics without.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that The Djinn’s story may connect with and impact readers?
AC: On the face of it, the story in Bete Noir is one of good, old-fashioned revenge in spandex. But once you read further, you discover it’s about being so blinded by loss and grief that you lose track of who you were. It’s more a story about redemption, about the long path walked by people who have made mistakes in life, and the lengths they will go to in order to right those wrongs (in spandex).
BD: In light of the crowdfunding campaign, are there any particular backer rewards that you would like to highlight for our readers?
AC: We’ve kept things simple with this campaign, partly because it keeps things easier on the backend, but also because it pre-empts any international postage issues that might arise from certain vague and ever changing tariff systems.
The most popular reward (which is handy because its the whole point of the campaign) has been the oversized deluxe hardcover edition, which includes all six issues plus cover galleries, pinups, and other fun stuff. It features an absolutely gorgeous Kickstarter exclusive cover from Kris, and we are on the way to stretch goals that will upgrade it further will foil stamping an other features.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell readers who want to learn more about the Bete Noir campaign and your other work?
AC: Bete Noir is live until September 13th. I’m active on Bluesky and occasionally Instagram. My website is clemsoncomics.com and I 100% promise I’ll start updating it regularly this year!
