Crowdfunding meets the underdog

I will freely confess that I am a big fan of both crowdfunding, in general, and of Kickstarter, specifically. They both allow for creative sparks to take actual life. They make things that might otherwise be left relegated to the obscurity of the idea realm, alone, into reality. In other words, they make dreams come true.

Maybe not for everyone, but certainly, for some.

This blog of mine that I seem to spend far more time forgetting about than I do posting on is focused primarily upon comic books or things of a comic nature. So, it should come as a surprise to no one that happens upon this out of the way blog upon the Internet of Many that my gaze for this particular blog posting lands squarely - and heavily - upon (what else?) a comic book.

Sidekicks: Dedicated - Dependable - Disrespected is a crowdfunding project launched by creator and writer Russell Brettholtz.

Writer Russell Brettholtz

Now, it's not important that you know who Russell BrettHoltz is. It's not even important whether you have ever heard of his whole Sidekicks comics concept before or not. No, what's important, for the purpose of this blog posting, is that I tell you why I am backing this project - and for that matter, why the Sidekicks concept for a series of comic books attracted my attention in the first place.

I'll take the last one first.

I've long been a fan of comic books, and of the superhero genre of comic books, specifically. Thus, the concept of what a sidekick is has long since become ingrained into my entertainment-loving psyche.

Yet, despite their close association with superheroes (or even super villains, for that matter), nonetheless, to be a sidekick is, by and large, to suffer the fate of being second fiddle. It's Batman and Robin, not Robin and Batman, after all.

People can relate to what it's like to play second fiddle, in life. Hell, it's part and parcel of the legacy of being an underdog. Who amongst us can't relate to being an underdog at some point in our respective lives?

To crowdfund a project for the very first time can no doubt come across as an intimidating prospect, for many. Thus, to launch a Kickstarter, at all, has a thick air of underdog quality about it. Doubt has a way of seeping in. Underdog status attaches, whether one likes it or not, whether one wants it to or not.

You're under the gun. You've got a project to fund. It's work. It's time consuming. Every crowdfunding project needs a superhero to accompany it, as standard equipment. But, life just plain doesn't work that way.

Now, Russell Brettholtz has crowdfunded, before. This ain't his first attempt at utilizing crowdfunding to turn dream into reality. He's attended this dance, before.

But, were you to ask him about his current project, Sidekicks: Dedicated - Dependable - Disrespected, I suspect that he would tell you that he's feeling a little bit under the gun, right now.

Time is running out, and he still has a considerable distance to close, on the funding end of things, before this latest venture into the realm of crowdfunding becomes successfully funded.

I'm backing this project, because first and foremost, it reeks of quality to me. Brettholtz's Sidekicks concept has always caught my eye, from the first moment that I laid eyes on it before his first Kickstarter that embodied it, to this latest incarnation of the same.

Sidekicks is blessed with characters that have been imbued with a heavy dose of humanity. Russell has a way of making them come alive, to me. They feel more real. I can relate to them - not just as characters, but as personalities.

The Flying Fox

With barely five days left in his project's crowdfunding campaign, his project is a little more than half way to its funding goal. It may succeed. It may fail. And it is the prospect of failure that moves something inside of me. Something within tells me that both Russell Brettholtz and this Sidekicks: Dedicated - Dependable - Disrespected project of his could use a few sidekicks of their own.

Now, the world won't end, certainly, if this project fails to meet its funding goal. But, I can't help but to think that the world won't be the better for it, if it does.

While I do love both Kickstarter and crowdfunding, I tend to back projects with small pledge amounts. I'm not one of the big guys, when it comes to the wallet wars. Nope, I'm just a little guy. Meet the proverbial nobody.

That's Mr. Nobody, to you!

I believe in becoming part of the crowd, not in becoming the crowd. I have no desire to become a crowd of one, and effectively try to fund a crowdfunding project to success, all on my own.

But, some crowdfunding projects just seem to have a way of mattering to you more than others. Granted, it doesn't automatically translate into more money magically appearing in your wallet, to make upping the ante on your pledge of support substantially bigger. Yet, projects like this one seem to press upon me a renewed sense of importance in them becoming a reality.

So, while I don't even have the benefit of a decent costume to wear, I choose to enter the fray, just the same.

Won't you join me?

The clock is ticking, and right now, Time, itself, seems to be the biggest enemy of all. Time is running out. Who will ride to the rescue? Who will save the day?

Click HERE to visit the Kickstarter project page for Sidekicks: Dedicated - Dependable - Disrespected

Never been a sidekick for a crowdfunding project, before? Not a problem. Just climb aboard. Just join in.

Still undecided? Just take your time.

You've got five days.

Me??

I'm already in the fight!