In past blog entries, I've written of my now distaste for crowdfunded comics and how I simply won't back most of them anymore. One of the creators I'm still happy to back is Ayse Fennelly, and her series of books on the life of Charlie Chaplin, Charlie's London. The first book, From East Lane to the Limelight, dealt with Chaplin's homecoming while a dark cloud hung over him. From Walworth to Wartime covers the mixed fortunes of Chaplin's movie career, his love life, and the outbreak of the Second World War.
The story jumps back and forth in time, from an aged Charlie reminiscing with his wife, to the younger man toiling on movies while his marriages crumbled. It is equal parts poignant, tragic, and even celebratory when setting the sun on his most famous character. The art from the artist known only as Mickey is nothing short of beautiful, and Peter Gilmore's colours are the icing and cherry on top of an already nice cake. The book is of great quality and bigger than the original, offering an additional thirty pages. When this was announced in a campaign update, myself and many other backers were more than pleased.
I've been critical of previous crowdfunded projects and Charlie's London is no different, but the reasons for such criticisms are. Yes, the book was late, but there were issues with the printing company, and Fennelly herself suffered from a minor illness. But, a glance at the campaign's comments section shows that while all this was going on, Fennelly showed remarkable customer service by answering the concerns of her backers.
It must also be noted that book two took much less than book one, a difference of £19,065 between them. This was because, in my mind, Fennelly wasn't on Twitter or YouTube engaging in the rage-baiting that other creators have done (you know who you are,) she has simply been doing the work. It's daft that's where we are with crowdfunding, but sadly, many have muddied the waters and made it harder for others to sell their product, and I think Charlie's London has been a victim of that.
I will happily look forward to the next book, as I know that not only will the quality certainly be there, but I also know that Fennelly's mind will be focused on the work, not the online drama.
