Iron Circus Comics is an American

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

publisher founded in 2007 by C. Spike Trotman. Based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, it is known for publishing the ''Smut Peddler'' line of "lady-centric porn" anthologies and graphic novels, and for its pioneering use of crowd-funding sites such as

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

to finance graphic novel publishing, raising over $1 million in revenue through the platform in its first decade.

History

Trotman founded the company in 2007 to publish print editions of her webcomic ''

Templar, Arizona ''Templar Arizona'' is a webcomic written and drawn by Spike Trotman, Charlie Spike Trotman. It was hosted on Webcomics Nation. Trotman describes ''Templar, Arizona'' as "a story about a town, and the people who live there", specifically referring ...

''. In 2009, the company began using the then-new service KickStarter as a tool to finance publication of graphic novels. In 2012, Iron Circus published ''Smut Peddler'', a 340-page anthology of

erotic comics Erotic comics are adult comics which focus substantially on nudity and sexual activity, either for their own sake or as a major story element. As such they are usually not permitted to be sold to legal minors. Like other genres of comics, they c ...

created by women (or creative teams that included women). Iron Circus financed the book's publication with $80,000 in donations and pre-orders through KickStarter. Another ''Smut Peddler'' volume followed in 2014. Since then, Iron Circus has published both graphic novels and themed anthologies under the "Smut Peddler Presents" banner, including ''Yes, Roya'' by Emilee Denich; ''My Monster Boyfriend''; and ''Sex Machine''. Other books Iron Circus has published include anthologies ''Sleep of Reason'', ''New World'', ''Tim'rous Beastie'', and ''FTL, Y'All!: Tales from the Age of the $200 Warp Drive'', and graphic novels ''The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal'' by E.K. Weaver, ''Letters for Lucardo'' by Otava Heikkilä, ''As the Crow Files'' by

Melanie Gillman Melanie Gillman is an American queer Genderqueer, non-binary cartoonist, illustrator, and lecturer, specializing in LGBT comics, LGBTQ comics for Young Adult fiction, Young Adult readers, including the webcomic ''As the Crow Flies.'' Their comics ...

, ''Emperor of the Food Chain'' by

David Malki ''Wondermark'' is a webcomic created by David Malki which was syndicated to ''Flak Magazine'' and appeared in ''The Onion'' print edition from 2006 to 2008. It features 19th-century illustrations that have been recontextualized to create humorous ...

, ''Crossplay'' by Niki Smith, and ''Rice Boy'' by Evan Dahm. In 2016, Iron Circus and

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

began co-sponsoring the "Creators for Creators" publishing grant, an award given annually to an independent cartoonist, consisting of funds to produce an original graphic novel. The program was on hiatus as of 2021. In March 2020, it was announced that Iron Circus was producing an animated short film based on Tracy J. Butler's ''

Lackadaisy ''Lackadaisy'' (also known as ''Lackadaisy Cats'') is a webcomic created by American artist Tracy J. Butler. Set in a Prohibition-era 1927 St. Louis with a population of anthropomorphic cats, the plot chronicles the fortunes of the Lackadaisy s ...

'' with the original creator involved. On March 29, 2023, the 27-minute short film released on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

References

External links

* * {{Comic book publishers in North America navbox Comic book publishing companies of the United States Iron Circus Comics