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Crowdfunding Spotlight: Lloyd and the Bear by Gibson Grey

By John Freeman on November 3, 2015

It’s already hit its target, but there’s still time to back Gibson Grey‘s planned trade paperback of his terrific Lloyd and the the Bear strip, collecting the first four issues of Lloyd comic adventures with updated artwork and a whole ton of extras. If you do, you might well enable him to raise enough cash to not only unlock further rewards – but also do a small print run of the second book.

Lloyd and the Bear is the story of Lloyd and his teddy bear who is not only his best friend but also an alien from the planet Bur! Their stories have them fighting against the evil and mysterious Shoal and other bad ‘uns and they’ve clearly found an audience, because Gibson’s Kickstarter to raise £1450 for his collection, Lloyd and the Bear: Travels and Tribulations, was raised in just six days.

“I started working on Lloyd and the Bear nine years ago when I was struggling to find a suitable comic for my five year old nephew and what started off as a black and white comic has gone through a number of changes and is now currently available on Comixology,” he says. (You can also read the first issue for free here on the project’s official web site).

The comic has had some great reviews; in August, Pipedream praised its quirky sense of humour and stunning visuals,” arguing it reads like “like Calvin and Hobbes reimagined via the Powerpuff Girls and has more hyperactive energy than a toddler after a multi-pack of Fruit Shoots”.

Gibson Gret has already published 14 issues of Lloyd and the Bear and seems to have a good handle on the perils and pitfalls of self publishing. Here he is at Nottingham Comic Con earlier this year. Photo via Gibson Grey.

“I’ve now decided to collect the first four issues along with old artwork, designs and other pieces of work and really need help in funding this project so I can have the books printed,” says Gibson. He’s now gained the funds to publish an A5, 126 page (possibly larger, depending on the interest of one of the reward tiers) trade paperback which he’ll be selling for £12 at conventions.

The book is great fun and some of the rewards for backers are terrific, including Christmas cards and parody prints – for example, Dean Beattie, Claire Pottle and Grant Perkins have kindly donated Kickstarter exclusive A4 prints.

But, for my money (and yes, I’ve given him some), the best reward for a measly £17 has to be the opportunity to have your “inner bear” revealed on the Kickstarter dedication page, with Gibson drawing you as a bear. I am in!

Do go and take a look. Let’s see if we can help push up Gibson’s funds to £1800, which will give him enough funds to print the second volume – Lloyd and the Bear: Aliens and Bears and Omni Spacial Travellers, Oh My!

• Check out Gibson’s Kickstarter for Lloyd and the Bear here

• Find out more about Lloyd and the Bear here: http://lloydandthebear.com

• Buy issues of Lloyd the the Bear digitally on Comixology here

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.