Kickstarter: Bones and Brom

Damn you, kickstarter, why must you give me so many things I want to throw my money at?

Today I’m going to be talking about two kickstarters: Bones, which at 1.8 MILLION has totally exploded through all my expectations (for a miniatures sort of kickstarter), and Brom, which is a lot closer to my heart.

Let’s start with Brom.

When I was playing magic, I had three artists that I loved. These three would very heavily affect the aesthetic and visuals that I would be interested in. First was Matt Wilson. There was something about his art style that really worked for me. I’m not sure what, but I remember falling in love with his art. Especially Selenia, which was (I think) the cover of a Magazine that I kept long after I stopped playing Magic.

Imagine my ecstatic surprise when I found out he was one of the people who did Warmachine.

I daresay that’s one of the big reasons that I fell for Warmachine as quickly and as crazily as I did. One of my favourite artists… and STEAMPUNK? SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY.

The second artist that I loved was Tony Di’Terlizzi. I think I first saw his art in a Planescape D&D book, and while I didn’t know his name at that time, that sort of ethereal, fae look had took hold of a piece of my heart; I was smitten.

And so well, when I found out his name when I was playing magic, I guess it was love at second sight. He’s since moved on to other art (Spiderwick Chronicles anyone?) but his work is just as mindblowing to me as it was back when I was a teenager. His work is currently the only one that I don’t have a copy of (I haven’t found any of his artbooks yet), but when I get kids I will remedy that straight away. Di’Terlizzi has just the kind of dreamlike quality that I want to give to my kids.

Lastly, but certainly not least, is Brom. Brom is almost the opposite of Di’Terlizzi. When Tony is light and fantasmagorical, Brom is Dark. Oh, so Dark. Zombies, monsters and childrens’ nightmares. But amazingly rich and… intense. Emotional. Also dreamlike, but a very different dream from Di’Terlizzi.

Plus, he did the cover of DEADLANDS! I think deadlands is the reason for my interest in the Weird West. Malifaux has Brom (and deadlands) to thank for the minis that I buy.

I already have some of this books (at least 2, maybe 3), but the thought of kickstarting and expanding my Brom collection is very tempting, and well… the real draw of Kickstarter is to be able to directly affect the life of an artist that I have long been in love with, someone whose talents I venerate. His books are pricey, but well worth the price. The only thing that’s stopping me from instant-pledging is the fact that I have most of his art already, and that I don’t exactly have a lot of cash right now. But he still has 43 days to go, and I think my cash situation will be a lot more fluid in a month. I whole heartedly recommend this kickstarter to anyone who has a thing for dark fantasy and art.

Also, if Di’Terlizzi ever had an artbook kickstarter I think I would pledge in a heartbeat.

The OTHER kickstarter is the almost spiritual opposite to Brom’s. While I want to pledge to Brom because I believe in his artwork and want to support, Bones (by Reaper Miniatures) just scratches the positively SINGAPOREAN aspect of me. $100 USD, 208 miniatures (AND STILL CLIMBING). That’s 50 US CENTS PER MINI. AND STILL FALLING. It’s insane the amount of free miniatures they’re tacking on in each stretch goal, and at about 40 hours more to pledge (as of the publishing of this post), there’s juuust enough time for you crazy people to get an INSANE deal. Again, I don’t think I can pledge, but this is a WINDFALL to DMs out there. Good, high detailed minis (albeit unpainted) of just about any monster, PC and NPC you’d ever need (and some more besides). If I had the cash I’d jump at this kickstarter. If you do (and you like minis and crazy deals) you should too.

As it is, I might still get me a dragon or two. $15USD for a dragon?? Insane!