Billy Tucci is the creator of Shi: The Way of the Warrior, the writer-artist of the acclaimed Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion, a filmmaker and all around creative force. Last year he released Billy Tucci’s A Child Is Born, a one-shot specialty comic book version of the Christmas story. It received a solid response from the comic book market, including very strong January re-orders, which is definitely not the norm for what might have otherwise been dismissed as a seasonal success. Now he and his partners have launched a Kickstarter project to fund printing a new hardcover edition of the book.

Scoop: We know you got a big, positive reaction to the original edition of A Child Is Born. Why go back and do this hardcover?
Billy Tucci (BT): We were so fortunate that the first printing of the comic instantly sold out through Diamond. The other side of the coin is that since we have such a short window — about four weeks or so for the holiday shopping season that lots of fans, even though they’ve heard such great things about the book, couldn’t get it.  Our biggest selling tool seemed to be when the retailers who actually ordered the books placed them by the cash register. Being, Christmas, it became a terrific “impulse buy”  — when customers were ready to pay for their Superman and Batman comics, A Child Is Born was right there. People immediately scarfed them up the very first day as presents for family and friends.

The same happened with the first printing of our hardcover gift edition.  Being that the comics industry is primarily a secular one, many shops under-ordered the new book as well, and like the comic, they too are blowing out. Comics have changed my life and I wanted our books in comic shops first, that’s why the first printing was exclusive to them. But we also feel that A Child Is Born could play the role of “comic book ambassador”, an all-ages book for those who most likely never picked up a comic in their lives.

Now we’ve gotten great interest from the large bookstore chains, who want to carry it. Sam’s Club, Walmart, Family Christian, Lifeway, Barnes and Noble – they all want the book. But these chains also place their Christmas orders in the Spring, so we’ve got to have a product ready for them by February.  We’re also rebranding the book from Billy Tucci’s A Child Is Born, to Apostle Arts Presents A Child Is Born, which is more mainstream and commercial.

Scoop: What was the initial feedback you received like?
BT: It’s been incredible.  As you might recall, when we first announced A Child Is Born, there was some pushback. It seemed some people really, really hated the idea of a comic book based on the “reason for the season”.  But obviously, they were the minority as ACIB became Diamond’s number one retailer ranked reordered book for the month of January 2012!  Again, many people realized this book is perfect for traditional “non-comic” readers and it was comic book fans who first suggested we do a hardcover.  We’ve spared no expense with the first printing of our hardcover and you can see it’s a quality product, an exclusive and limited edition gift that can sit on the coffee table and be enjoyed by families on Christmas Eve for years to come.

Scoop: What was the experience of working on the project like for you personally?
BT: I can’t begin to tell you how blessed we are that so many friends have supported our journey.  It really has been an enlightening experience for me.  People I’ve never met before have approached me at store signings and thanked me for producing it.  I still can’t believe it, here I am, so blessed to do what I love most in the world to support my family and people are thanking me for it!  They’ve got it all wrong, I’m the one who should be saying “thank you” to them.

Scoop: When did you decide to do a Kickstarter effort for the project?
BT: Again, in comic shops, A Child Is Born can be considered out of the “mainstream,” but I believe this is a book that consumers are looking for.  And now with Kickstarter, we can go directly to the people for support.  For our all new Deluxe Edition we’re adding more story pages and changing up the format a bit to appeal to mass market. This past year we’ve learned so much and now we can apply that to the new book, to reach a broader audience.  Remember, we’re just three dads who want to produce the best graphic novel we can, one that will stand up to any book in any store.  But let’s face it, publishing is an incredibly expensive process, and you’d better have your product ready for delivery when the time comes for orders. With the support of the people and Kickstarter, we can do that.

Kickstarter is such an amazing entity, allowing creators to truly follow their dreams of publishing what’s most dear to them.  Seriously, why would someone want to spend a lifetime working on someone else’s creation?  Why pour out all your blood, sweat, tears and best ideas on something owned by a corporation when you can be dismissed at the drop of a hat?  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan myself and I love working for the majors, but with Kickstarter, you’re given the chance to create and publish the personal creations that lie within your heart and soul and I can’t think of anything more satisfying than that!

Scoop: How did you decide on what your goal for it would be?
BT: Our goal is generally based on our printing costs. Again, publishing a comic book is so expensive, and those costs skyrocket tenfold once you decide to go hardcover and utilize a premier format.  We’ve spared no expense in paper or production quality.  We want a book to be proud of and one that can be passed down and enjoyed by generations.

Scoop: Ideally, who do you think your supports might be?
BT: We obviously want to reach our base, the comic book fan, but also families, and friends who’ve taken this journey with us.  People who know just how close this book is to my heart, but also know it’s a product that’s great for the masses.   At the same time, we’re also having fun with our fundraising drive. Many people know that I personally voted for Mitt Romney in the Presidential election.  I had made a bet with some industry friends that if Barack Obama won, I’d do a presidential portrait celebrating his re-election.  He is our commander-in-chief and deserves respect, and I’m supporting that.  I did an illustration of the president deep in thought and with eyes on the future, “The Man of our Times.” Well, one of my Facebook friends suggested that we do a print of it.  I thought it was a great idea and the result was the “Billy Tucci Eats Crow” pledge where you get the limited edition lithograph honoring our president.  It’s only available through our Kickstarter campaign, and is a nice “olive branch” to gain some support from those who wouldn’t generally pledge.   

Scoop: Have you had any supporter feedback yet or is it too soon for that?
BT: We just launched and our backers have started to come on.  I see them more as partners, and I am grateful to each and every one of them.  We’re offering some great product in return, from a small cashe’ of first printings, to limited edition lithographs, commissions and even original artwork. But we’ve got a long way to go to reach our $25,000 goal and I’m appealing to all my friends out there to please support us anyway they can.  I love this industry and I love this book, and truly feel in my heart that with A Child Is Born we have a book the world is waiting for.  I never took the book lightly and it’s incredibly personal to me and hope people pledge and join us on this new adventure… after all, this is the Christmas season.