The Strange Case Of 'Tales From The Quarantine'
On the darker side of crowdfunders though, some will know that some projects will fall through. For example, I am a ‘Superbacker’ on Kickstarter and have backed over 500 projects. Now, some I backed were either cancelled or didn’t reach the funding amount, while the majority were successful.
A very small percentage of these can be scams. They make a lot of noise, and once your money has gone, the updates…dry up.
This leads me to a strange case - Tales From The Quarantine. This had about 400 named creators in an amazing-looking anthology and a slick campaign. I know people whose work is in this mythical book - and it looked incredible!
I say mythical because there is an increasing feeling that this book doesn’t exist.
This book was due to be fulfilled in March 2021; now, even having a small buffer in place, we are well over that. And nobody has seen any evidence that the book exists in digital or physical form.
The creator, Frazer Brown, seems to have been involved in many things, and people are now commenting1 on this and some of his previous endeavours.
Searches on social media for Frazer Brown, Red Cabin Comics, and Tales From The Quarantine bring up several comments.
One of the most recent comments is:
Hello, We understand there are frustrations regarding the delays in @tftqcomic production. Let us assure you: - The book is very much in production. - We are currently in the process of product fulfilment - Backers have been kept updated With Thanks F and @RedCabinComics
To this, I have asked:
Is it in production or being fulfilled? These are two different things.
Backers have been promised updates within updates or told why there are delays.
Can we see a picture of the completed book?
Can we have our digital copies?
If the book is 'in production, does that mean printing?
Is there any reason not to send backers their digital copies if it is being printed?
These are all questions that need answering - ones that I have asked online, on social media and on the Kickstarter comments page.
Have you backed the book? Are you a creator that was involved in it?
Creator Dan Whitehead, who has had some excellent books Kickstarted and was a contributor, has a suggestion for creators:
This book made just over £37,000, with the net profits going to The Hero Initiative and UK Arts Support, LAST YEARS RENT & the NHS, but there doesn’t seem to be evidence of that either.
I would be extremely happy to be proven wrong on this book. I’d like to, at the very least, have a digital version to read. A picture of the books (ready to post) would go a long way to proving its existence. And, of course, evidence that the money has gone to these worthy causes in such a trying time.
Let me know.
Comments from: Liam Regan, Dan Whitehead, ComicPrintingUK, Chris Mole, Tom Ward & Rebecca, to name a few.