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A message from Peter Simeti on Alterna's facebook page....
July 24, 2012... 11:50am
"in case people think that Alterna is some massive company trying to beg for money here... it's not. it's one person. this guy right here - Peter Simeti - me. putting everything on the line all the time for everyone's books. i search through submissions and evaluate them, by myself. i set up the website and facebook pages and maintain them, by myself. anything that's done with Alterna, is done by me. I'm not trying to cast a pity party here, but i think there might be some confusion with our fundraiser.
i'm personally in about $30K in debt from Alterna's early start-up years (mostly years one and two) because honestly, we had a few books and creators that completely flaked out on us, leaving me with thousands of books and thousands of debt. the past few years have been much better than those early ones, but not good enough to erase the years past.
sites like kickstarter and indiegogo didn't really exist back then (and if they did, i didn't know anyone that was using them and i wasn't aware of them) so all my financing involved my own savings, credit cards, and the like. we couldn't get a bank loan because the company wasn't making enough money - apparently you have to be rich to get a loan and paying your bills on time just isn't enough.
so now here we are years later. i know we had a fundraiser last year to save Alterna from bankruptcy and while we managed to raise around $1,500 - it only helped us to kick around for another year. We needed at least $5,000 last year to really do some big time permanent damage. It's such a small amount in terms of it (if all our friends donated $1 we'd have hit the goal already) but it's tremendous on its impact to Alterna, the creators of books that are published here, and honestly - to myself.
I know this is long-winded and might come across as desperate - but that's what i am right now ... desperate. i haven't even taken a check or payment from Alterna in 3 years because the money just isn't there. And that includes surrendering the royalties to my own books too.
so if you have a few dollars to spare and you care about the books we have here - or even if you just want to support a completely creator-owned company and get something awesome in return - please donate. thanks."
-Peter
Some background on Alterna Comics...
Peter Simeti created Alterna Comics in 2006 to provide an alternative for comic creators that had been rejected by other companies. In a way, it was a last resort kind of publishing company. Today, their mindset is still the same but they've managed to become a first choice for many creators, instead of the "only" choice.As the sole operator and financer of Alterna, Peter's put everything he has into the company. When the credit card bubble burst a few years back, Alterna's growth and means of funding completely stopped. They weren't able to acquire new capital or get a loan from the bank and essentially should be dead in the water right now.
What's a "Reverse Fundraiser" you ask?
Since they are not looking to raise funds to print these books, this fundraiser kind of acts like a time machine. The money raised will go towards paying down the debt that was originally built when paying for the creation of these books. So it's still a funding campaign of sorts, they're just a few years late.When these books originally went to print, fundraising sites like kickstarter and indie gogo weren't super popular so Peter ended up putting print runs on credit cards. He's still in a bit of debt because of this, but it's getting better every year. Interest fees though, are what's really killing the growth of Alterna, as they lose about $6,000 a year towards paying interest associated with that initial debt.
But because of the terrific community aspect of Alterna - their creators banded together and have managed to soldier on. They're not doing fantastic - but they're also not out of business.
They're calling upon the generosity of this community once again by holding a "reverse fundraiser" to try and bite down on the credit card debt that those past print runs accumulated.
Hopefully with your help, they will still be around for years to come.
The REWARDS!
There's a plethora of rewards available here, afterall we aren't asking for donations - we want you to know that you'll be rewarded for your contribution!
GRAPHIC NOVELS
AMERICAN TERROR VOL.1
November 11th, 2041. Nobody celebrates Veteran's Day anymore. Victor Sheppard is an old man in a new world of peace and equality. Millions of people died and the world is a better place, but nobody remembers why. Haunted by his dead comrades, Victor decides to do the one thing he thought he'd never do: Spill his guts.
AMERICAN TERROR VOL.2
Powerful corporations are enslaving the third world; slaughtering millions of people in the process. In this volume, Victor recalls his first journey with Homer Hegal (the original smart bomb) as they traveled across the United States recruiting mercenaries to help level the playing field.
THE CHAIR
Richard Sullivan has spent the past 10 years on death row, witnessing the torture and murder of each of his fellow inmates. As the sole remaining inmate in the prison, Sullivan must find a way to escape his fate or let the insane events of the prison finally consume him.
THE DEADBEAT
A humorous and poignant 'slice of super life' graphic novel, THE DEADBEAT revolves around a down-on-his-luck former superhero and his long-lost daughter. As tempers flare and they come to terms with one another, they realize that the events that drove a wedge between them years ago were just the tip of the iceberg.
FORMERA VOL.1
A young boy named Darian discovers he's ended up on the planet Formera and his only companion is a girl named Keisha that speaks an unknown language. Meanwhile, a mysterious and powerful stranger seeks to put an end to Darian's search for home.
FORMERA VOL.2
After healing from an explosive battle, Darian begins a search for a mystical object. But with Keisha being held hostage, Darian must find his way around Formera with the help of a masked girl named Dee Dee. Can this unlikely duo survive traveling deep into the heart of Formera, where no one has ever come out alive?
HELLO DO YOU WORK HERE?
Featuring 100% true stories submitted from people across the country, "Hello, do YOU work here?" celebrates the insane, mundane, and everything
in-between. With accompanying illustrations from
over 20 different artists, this book is the ultimate
pick-me-up when you’ve got a case of the Mondays!
JESUS HATES ZOMBIES VOL.4
Las Vegas. Sin City. It's a place where millions of dreams have been born - and even more have died. So it's as fitting a place as any for the ultimate gamble - a showdown between Jesus and his crew and the evil forces that have been gathering against them. But with the combined forces of the mysterious Hooded Man, Zombie Angel Gabriel, a zombified werewolf, and a virtual army of the walking dead, are the odds insurmountably stacked against them? Or will a new alliance and the revelation of a secret none of them saw coming be enough to even the score?
MORBID MYTHS
Following in the horror anthology tradition of
"Tales from the Crypt", MORBID MYTHS is a collection
of stories brought to you by Hard Way Studios. The mysterious narrator of the macabre, Job, will be your guide to 100 pages of bone-chilling and side-tickling horror.
MR. SCOOTLES
When two college students watch a cursed film reel starring the forgotten 1930's cartoon character Mr. Scootles, they unknowingly set off a chain of events that could lead to Hell on Earth. Featuring a cast that includes a beautiful skirt-wearing demon, a bloodthirsty professor, a warrior angel, Judas, and the Devil herself. Mr. Scootles is a mystery-filled tale that is a tribute to the art of animation and its creators.
NOVO VOL.1.
The Aquans and Terans spent their existences blaming each other for their own faults, warring until there was only one Aquan, a male, and one Teran, a female. Together in love and desperation, they created Novo - a savior born to a world that no longer had use for one. Now trying to discover a history he will never be a part of, can the mystery of his past give him the clues to his future?
NOVO VOL.2
Novo, the wasted messiah of the Aquans and the Terans, finds himself stranded on a new and foreign world, populated by a powerful feline tribe known as the Xennons. Finding an immediate connection with a species whose women and children are threatened by horrid beasts known only as The Enemy, Novo realizes that he may be able to help this world in a way he could never help his own.
NOVO VOL.3
Novo arrives on a desolate planet where the atmosphere has been devastated by war. Now living in a dome sealed off from the outside world, Novo works among the remaining inhabitants trying to reignite life under the watchful eye and iron fist of the corpulent Prettar. But behind the scenes a sinister conspiracy is brewing, one that threatens to shatter the lives of everyone - including Novo.
NOVO VOL.4
The hunt is on as Novo knows the secret that will change everything. He struggles to enlighten the dulled masses of downtrodden and drunken workers, while Prettar tries to protect himself from the people he has used for so long. How long will Prettar's house of lies stand tall?
NOVO VOL.5
THE FINAL CHAPTER! After finally learning the sinister motives of the Mama deity, Novo has been transported against his will to a civilization at the peak of its technological evolution. Instead of searching again for a mission, Novo decides to just quietly exist, hiding among the crowd that resides in the decaying megalopolis. But just as soon as Novo finds peace for himself, he is confronted by this world’s inescapable flaws and must fight pride, greed and corruption one final time in the hopes that he can prevent a disaster of apocalyptic proportions.
RISERS
Annette Thomas is one of the living dead - literally. She is intelligent, has memories and emotions, and like other Risers - she's come back to fulfill a purpose. What that purpose is remains to be unclear and her journey towards self-discovery has brought her back from the grave. With the help of Ned, an instructor at a Riser facility, Annette must confront her past if she ever hopes to finally rest in peace.
SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE PAINFUL PREDICAMENT OF ALICE FAULKNER
Alice Faulkner is in possession of documents that could cause a devastating royal scandal. Unfortunately, she has fallen into the hands of a pair of unscrupulous people who wish to use her possessions for their own ill benefit. So it is up to England's most famous consulting detective along with the help of his trusted friend, Doctor Watson, to rescue this unfortunate young woman and avert the impending scandal.
THE UNLIKELY TRIO
A story of three unlikely friends, Lil'Bit the mouse, Mrs. Butters the cat, and Abby the Collie dog that join together to brave the last barn on the left in their small town. The only problem is that a scary monster is said to lurk in the shadows of the barn!
ALTERNA ORIGINALS TRADING CARDS
DIGITAL COMICS
PDF versions of our printed comics! Get our entire digital collection (28 books) for the low price of only $10!
ORIGINAL ART & SKETCHES
Sketched & Signed copies of our books, original commissioned art pieces, and original art from several different Alterna books! This reward provides you with a great chance to own a piece of original art from an Alterna artist!
ADVERTISING ON OUR WEBSITE
Our website gets roughly 50,000 hits a month and now there's a great opportunity to take advantage of that traffic with banner ads on the bottom of 5 pages on our site!
Money's tight and you can't donate? Please spread the word instead!
If you can't contribute because money's tight for you as well, then that's fine and perfectly understandable. If you could spread the word though and just share our link on your facebook, twitter, or website - that would be wonderful.
The more awareness we can drum up, the more likely we are to hit our goal!
Created By:
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Peter SimetiPublisher/Founder/Writer/Artist