The Good Omens graphic novel already broke records for a comic book on Kickstarter, and a recent update reveals an even more shocking fact. According to Dunmanifestin (the Terry Pratchett Estate) which ran the campaign, a third of the 36,867 backers joined Kickstarter for the first time, just to back this specific project. That’s an impressive number that shows just how passionate the fanbase is about Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s story.
Good Omens: the Official (and Ineffable) Graphic Novel was already famous for its record-breaking Kickstarter campaign, being fully funded within 10 minutes. While it asked for only £25,000, the funding ended at £2,419,973 (over $3 million). This made it the most successful 24 hours of any comic campaign and the most-backed comic in Kickstarter history. Additionally, in a thank you to backers on Kickstarter, the Terry Pratchett Estate shared behind-the-scenes numbers, stating that one third of backers were totally new to Kickstarter, suggesting over 10,000 registered with the site just to back the graphic novel, which will be adapted by Colleen Doran.
Once again, we want to thank all of you for your support, Good Omens fans continue to be a wonderful community, and have been kind and helpful to other backers – a staggering third of you are brand-new to Kickstarter.
Good Omens Is an Ineffable Success Story
While there are many reasons that Good Omens shattered Kickstarter records, the update sums it up by thanking the fans. The number of backers and amount of money raised means that many upgrades and rewards were unlocked, including foiled page edges, marker ribbons, and extra pages from the Amazon series adaptation stars, Michael Sheen, David Tennant, and Jon Hamm. The team was also able to expand plans for Good Omens merchandise; the post currently mentions pins, socks, mugs, and a tote bag, all available as add-ons for those 36,000 backers. Fans are definitely hungry for more merch; one Kickstarter backer bought into the impressive Apocalypse Tier of rewards, for £8,000 ($9,714).
Good News for Good Omens Fans
The Good Omens novel has been gaining popularity for 30 years, added to by the successful Amazon adaptation. This vast range of existing fans of all ages meant the campaign had a large swathe of people to draw into Kickstarter, building up that new user number. That the campaign was so obviously loving and respectful towards the source material also helped. Run by the official Terry Pratchett Estate, and with involvement from Neil Gaiman, fans know this will be a faithful adaptation of a universally loved novel. Eisner Award-winning artist Colleen Doran, herself a longtime fan of the book and frequent Gaiman collaborator, has already been working on the graphic novel for months.
The Kickstarter plans to deliver the graphic novel in the summer of 2024 and assures backers that everything is currently on track while promising monthly updates. While the Good Omens fandom is used to having to wait – there were 29 years from the novel being published to the TV series, and then 4 years between the two seasons – a next-summer graphic novel adaptation will help fill the time. Doran points out that this is an adaptation of the original book, not the Amazon series, so it will give fans another independent perspective on the world that Pratchett and Gaiman built with Good Omens.
