Webcomics using Kickstarter to make the jump to animation

Chris Onstad is currently in the middle of shopping an animated Achewood show around to the networks. Only time will tell if he will be successful, or if he will encounter the same road blocks many other webcomics have slammed into. Cyanide & Happiness, for example, had several offers from the networks to create a C&H show. In the end, the C&H team turned them all down due to creative differences, issues over creative control, and problems with the licensing agreement.

Instead, C&H fired up a Kickstarter to create 10-15 minute shows, completely uncensored, which would be available only online. And to no one's surprise, their Kickstarter is crushing it, surpassing projects by notable traditional animators (like Ralph Bakshi) which are currently in progress.

Dresden Codak, Penny Arcade, Dinosaur Comics, and MS Paint Adventures have all leveraged Kickstarter to create popular side projects. It should come as no surprise, really - these are works whose creators have found ways to build and maintain an online audience. People love to support their favorite properties, and there are only so many T-shirts a fan can buy.

Many traditional print comics have made forays into animation in the past. Although, for various reasons, they all went the traditional network route. And the typical story is that "things don't go well." For example the Dilbert television show only made it through two seasons on UPN before being canceled. And while I have fond childhood memories of the Garfield animated series, it must be noted that I was eight.

Frankly, there are few down sides to using Kickstarter to fund an indie animated series. The studio system only seems to add more bureaucratic overhead, push out the original creators, schedule it for weird time slots, refuse to offer the show online, and bleep the **** out of everything. Why not DIY?