MINDSPLATTER 06/2026
Subtitles are for dummies.
It’s June, Splatterlings! Summertime’s here and it’s time to get cookin’. As always, before we dig into this month’s update, be sure to check out…
…and don’t forget to click the image below to browse the splatter archives:
WHAT HAPPENED TO STOMPING GROUNDS?
As some of you may have noticed, despite getting fully funded with 9 days left to go, Humanoids have canceled the STOMPING GROUNDS x KAIJU HEART Kickstarter campaign way before its closure. To cut through the fluff (because I honestly don’t care much for their need to save face) - their company’s financial struggles led them to cancel multiple (or maybe all) none “Humanoids core” projects from their slate regardless of their current production status. This not only includes STOMPING GROUNDS and Touffe’s KAIJU HEART, but also POST MORTAL, etc.
Fun facts:
Stomping Grounds OGN is complete: Lettering. Interiors. Everything. The book is ready to be published, but Humanoids simply can’t afford to do it in their current state.
Post Mortal is more than 80% complete: All inks done. Half of colors done. This book just needs the remaining colored pages completed, in addition to interiors and lettering to get to the finish line.
And yet…the Humanoids team basically told us they’ve practically given up on the direct and book markets and are shifting their entire strategy to Kickstarter, with extreme levels of oversubscription being the only acceptable outcome. No new audience discovery, no experimentation of any kind, only a slowly depreciating attempt at re-activating their existing, aging fanbase into oblivion. Is that sound like business seppuku, well…to quote the legendary “Mr. Jay”:
WHAT HAPPENES NEXT?
Despite the publisher’s embarrassing situation, our combined teams have a mutual goal: find a different publisher to pick up the books. Given the current state of the market, that could take time. How much time? Who knows. We already started the search while our manager is negotiating the effects this whole thing will have on our contractual rights. Amazingly enough, these two books are still in active production because they wanna make the final package easier to sell, but their release is dependent on a selloff. Regardless of what happens, I’ll keep you folks posted!
NOT ALL DOOM & GLOOM
It’s a huge bummer…yes. But there are few unrelated things brewing that definitely softened the blow. Hopefully I’ll be able to talk about them soon, but for now, let’s get back to it with today’s…
ICV2: The Last Wardens TTRPG Heads to Retail
It’s 2026 - and The Last Wardens franchise expanding its multimedia reach! Click the picture below to read the story!
Quote: “The Last Wardens Tabletop TTRPG is a retro, cosmic horror RPG based on the 2024 comic series by Elliot Sperl and Amit Tishler. The new game runs on an RPG system based on Free League’s Year Zero Engine (see “Two OGLs”), and was developed by Studio Far Horizons in partnership with comic series creator Amit Tishler, with Tishler and Sperl as creative consultants.”
ALA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2026
Third year in a row, baby! ALA is by far my favorite publishing-related conference.
ON THE AGENDA
(Signing times may change. Check back in 2 weeks to validate)
Amit Tishler - Author Signing
Sunday, 06/28, 10:00-10:50AM, Mad Cave Studios Booth #1437Papercutz - Group Signing
(Amit Tishler, Sue Ruffle, A.C. Medina, Jason Douglas, Sean Ryan)
Sunday, 06/29, 10:30AM-11:15PM, Mad Cave Studios Booth #1437Papercutz Middle Grade Graphic Novels Book Buzz Panel
Monday, 06/29, 11:30AM-12:15PM, Booth #5228 (Book Buzz Stage)
And…
SOLAR SISTERS: STARDUST
Here’s a little scoop for those who made it this far (lazy Splatterites that skim don’t see the good stuff…the heathens!). The SOLAR SISTERS brand has 3 major projects in production, SOLAR SISTERS: the Papercutz graphic novel, 2027’s STARDOM: The Solar Sisters Game from Lichenwood Games and the SOLAR SISTERS: NOVA STARR KPOP EP, which you’ll hear more about later this year. BUT…there is another SOLAR SISTERS project brewing:
Unlike the rest, it’s still in development, and ALA will be the first time we officially start showing it around to potential partner. SOLAR SISTERS: STARDUST is an original 3-5 storytime book set in the SOLAR SISTERS universe. Instead of an adaptation, it’s a spinoff that acts as an independent brand for younger demographics. Think “FROZEN: A SISTER MORE LIKE ME”. A gentler, simpler, picture-book story that happens before the mainline story, and focuses on Phoebe’s life as a child star, who’s struggles to juggle between her mother’s wants and her new baby sister’s needs.
This project is already shaping up beautifully, and I’ll spend some time in ALA doing research about the market, the major players, potential publishing partners and more. Oh, and that reminds me…don’t forget to:
PRE-ORDER SOLAR SISTERS NOW!
FOLLOW STARDOM: THE SOLAR SISTERS GAME
IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF MINDSPLATTER, I’ll focus on…who the hell knows?
There are a few Mindsplatter-specials I’ve been wanting to publish for a while, but high priority promo items keeps getting in the way. I know it’s a good thing, but I am dying to show you some of the things I’ve been working on, and I wanna write more media recommendation segments and other “personal stuff”.
Until next time, Splatter-tots!
~ Amit
I’m baffled by their cancellation. Surely, if they want to focus only on Kickstarter then they need to establish themselves as reliable publishers on the platform? Cancelling a funded book because it didn’t massively over-fund is… the antithesis of that.
Preach to the choir, brotha!
I get the model but it's a bad one to build your entire strategy around if you're an IP driven business. It will likely keep showing diminishing returns and weaken their presence in the book markets even further.
At scale, Kickstarter is generally bad for discovery. It's more effective at activating an existing audience than finding a new one. So, instead of looking for creative ways to solve their problems in the direct and book market, they're just trying to double down on the exact same group of existing customers...
...and those customers are aging, and their campaigns novelty will see more misses the longer they do this (which is already happening).
Lower discovery and brand dilution is a brilliant business move. 10/10. No notes.