Kid Crowdfunding Comics: Pillowman and Blanketboy

When I was in first grade, I wrote my first play. At a school assembly, I saw that play come to life, thanks to the support of my teacher.

In eighth grade, we had to turn in a paper every week on any topic. I turned in episodic chapters of a monster adventure, and my teacher set aside time for it to be read, by the author, to other classes.

Mrs. Joanne Paul and Mr. Stanley White cultivated those early efforts, allowing me to realize the dream of becoming a professionally published artist.

Parker Davis is an eleven-year-old boy with a dream. Since the age of three, he has been expanding the universe of his own superhero creations: Pillowman and Blanketboy. And thanks to the advent of crowdfunding, he's close to seeing those heroes star in a published comic book.

He's supported in this effort by his father, Shaun Davis, who provides the art for their project, PILLOWMAN AND BLANKETBOY: MAXIMUM VELOCITY.

But the project is in its last few days on Indiegogo, and is still short of its goal. That's because crowdfunding is very similar to every other distribution channel: there's a ton of competition out there for the funding, particularly in crowdfunded comics.

Where PILLOWMAN AND BLANKETBOY stands out, however, is that it's one of the few that is suitable for all ages. Perhaps because it's written by a kid, with a "why can't it happen" attitude and an unfettered imagination.

To find out more about this endeavor, we sat down with the elder Davis to talk about what kind of universe these bedtime bravehearts inhabit, and what readers could get, if this project gets successfully funded.