By Zack Quaintance — Today it is my absolute honor to be spotlighting another great project on Kickstarter — Project: Starless Daydream, which is as its tagline tells us, a book in which “over 30 comic creators come together to create the finale to a mech anime that never existed!” There’s a host of (amazing) artists working on this comic, but the whole thing is being written by our pal, Frankee White.

And you can find a recent conversation about Project: Starless Daydream between myself and Frankee below, and when you’re done you can go back this work via the Project: Starless Daydream campaign page…enjoy!

Frankee White Interview - Project: Starless Daydream

ZACK QUAINTANCE: So, the first thing I noticed about your new book, PROJECT: STARLESS DAYDREAM, was the excellent name. How did you come up with it?

FRANKEE WHITE: Thank you! I wanted to evoke the feeling I got from anime titles like Neon Genesis Evangelion or 0083 Stardust Memory that are almost nonsensical but have immediate impact when reading it. So like most of the zine it’s an homage to what came before me, but still me trying to put my own spin on it. I had originally come up with just Starless Daydream, but during production I kept referring to it “Project: Starless Daydream” since this book is more of a collaborative project than just a comic and it just stuck.

ZACK: The next thing that jumps out is the incredible team of artist. How did you compile this list of collaborators?

FRANKEE: It really is an incredible team. I’ve been hesitant to share much art in advance because I really want people to have that “wow factor” as they flip through the book. It’s full of spectacular work. As for how the team was assembled, it was a combination of people I really wanted to work with, along with artist’s suggestions, and I also put out requests for work as well to hopefully find people I wasn’t aware of. While being extra careful to place artists with pages I thought would suit them best or allow their work to shine. 

ZACK: I think it’s fair to say you’re a veteran of Kickstarter at this point, having previously created a pair of campaigns for your excellent fight comic, 20 Fists. Over the course of your three campaigns, what are some tips you’ve picked up for how best to use the platform?

FRANKEE: I’m going to be honest, I’m not sure I’ve figured it out the actual science behind it yet besides create something people want, but here’s some basic things I’ve learned:  You are your biggest cheerleader: ultimately you are going to be doing all (or most) of the the legwork so you need to be 100% pushing your project. Be excited about it because if you’re not then why would anyone else be?  Take the time to plan your project: Make sure you are giving yourself enough time to adequately map out the duration of your project timeline and getting your page filled with captivating info. You’ll want it to look as professional as possible to help sell your book. A cover and interior pages are essential along with a firm understanding of what your book is about and who it is for. Support other Kickstarters: the comics community isn’t very large so it’s easy to get to know one another. If you see a creator you like doing a cool project, support them! Back it or at least share a link or two. This “pay it forward” mentality will circle back to you when it’s your time to launch.

ZACK: A lot of the proceeds from the book are going to charity what cause are they going to and what motivated you to pursue philanthropy with this project?

WHITE: All net proceeds (after we cover the cost of printing and lettering/design) are going to The Trevor Project. This project is pretty close to my heart and from the beginning has been something a bit different and, if I can be so bold to say, radical. So from the beginning I've been wanting to donate the proceeds to a good cause that does good and necessary work. Besides featuring a non-binary lead character, one of the core ideas of PROJECT: STARLESS DAYDREAM is believing in your own worth and the possibilities of your future even if the current world can be callous and cruel. The Trevor Project does work that fits that idea providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ+ youth.

ZACK: Finally, what are your favorite mech-related stories, in anime or otherwise?

FRANKEE: My favorite all time is definitely Mobile Suit Gundam, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, & Char's Counterattack as a "trilogy." Those two series and film encompass two great character arcs and one of the best rivalries in anime: Amuro Ray vs Char Aznable. It's grand, operatic storytelling while still staying focused on the humanity involved. Alternatively, stepping away from space opera while still staying in the Gundam universe, it's The 08th MS Team. A self-contained mini-series that focuses on a ragtag group of mech pilots on Earth in a guerilla warfare situation meets a star crossed lovers romance. It's a great series for anyone even those who don't like the mech genre.

Back Project: Starless Daydream!

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.