BOOM is using Kickstarter to essentially allow pre-orders for a complete set of Power Rangers oversized hardcovers, including reprints and a pair of new books.

BOOM is an established business and Power Rangers are a half-a-billion dollar brand, so some folks find this annoying.

Yes, BOOM is abusing the spirit of KS here, but only because the DM is so broken as a gauge of reader interest and a way to advertise in advance.

Especially for a niche book with a huge potential audience, pretending that audience will see the the solicit and preorder is a joke.

I know MANY people who read comics (but not Power Ranges) who would have never pre-ordered these in the DM… and then complained when they missed out on them when people started showing off their shelves.

They pledged.

(People were SO SALTY over missing the Shattered Grid OHC).

I've also had non-comics friends message me saying, "Whoa, do you know about this Power Rangers book? Is it legit?"

Y'all, I have never watched PR *in my life*. I'm not their PR buddy. I'm their *comics* buddy.

No "regular" sale or ad-campaign from BOOM would've achieved that.

Is BOOM hijacking KS for a project they could bankroll on their own?

Yes.

Is it an incredibly smart way to create Word of Mouth about a global property while subsidizing their collections and printing the right amount?

Also yes.

You can argue BOOM should forge ahead with a normal DM solicit and overprint for book market, but that has FAILED in the past.

Look at their final Buffy Library Editions. They likely had DH's sales data to inform them, but it was still a severe underprint / instant-sellout.

TBH, even Marvel and DC should take this KS route for niche omnibuses.

Marvel would omni SO MUCH MORE obscure stuff

We'd never see DC cancel niche books like Starman Omni or Fables Absolute, because the audience who will NEVER EVER pre-order in the DM would show up and pledge.

Toy companies like HASBRO already have their own fanclub versions of this sort of pre-pledge system, but KS is widely known as the #1 platform for this kind of campaign.

At this point, KS should make a product specifically geared to comic publishers using it this way.

There's a concept in User Experience/Design that you can build *a* path, but users will define *the* path that makes sense to them.

That's what this campaign others like it are. They aren't what KS is designed for. They're bypassing the DM. And they're successful for a reason.

There is NO GOOD MECHANISM in the Direct Market to promote a niche high-end project with a huge potential audience like a set of Power Ranger HCs.

KickStarter is not a zero sum game that BOOM is cheating to win.

The DM is broken. Let's cheer people on when they find new paths.