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How do you turn an overnight success into a long-running success story? The people behind the hit comic series Barbaric are looking to do just that this season with the next arc of the series, and a new way of engaging the fanbase using the same kind of grassroots efforts that made crowdfunding a thing.

In advance of the March 27 release of Barbaric: Born In Blood #1, Vault Comics has partnered with the upstart crowdfunding platform Zoop - not for crowdfunding, but for crowdbuilding. The publisher is calling it the first ever 'Crowdbuilding Campaign,' where they invite fans to join a dedicated fanbase for the comic - dubbed the Barbaric Horde - where they can get early access to read the entire first issue, as well as other details.

To incentivize fans and to do the 'building' of crowdbuilding, Vault is offering the crowdfunding equivalent of 'stretch goals' where the more fans who sign up, the more the Barbaric Horde will get to see of Barbaric - including behind-the-scenes art, selections from the Vault library and "goodies" direct from Barbaric's creators Michael Moreci and Nathan Gooden. Vault is even giving members of this Barbaric Horde first dibs on buying some things from the franchise, including variant covers and exclusive merchandise such as pins, shorts, and hoodies.

"We want to give every reader a chance to read our books, no matter where they live, how they prefer to read comics, or what their budget is," says Vault CEO Damian Wassel in a statement. "We also want to give our superfans the opportunity to enjoy the rewards and extras they deserve for putting so much support behind us. So, we sat down with our friends at Zoop and hatched a plan to address both opportunities, by bringing the comics world its first ever Crowdbuilding Campaign."

How serious is Vault about Crowdbuilding? Well, they've trademarked the term 'Crowdbuilding Campaign' already.

Zoop Co-Founder & CEO, Jordan Plosky said, "We are always excited to work with trailblazers who are thinking outside the box, and trying something new," says Zoop co-founder/CEO Jordan Plosky. "Vault's Crowdbuilding Campaign for Barbaric is new, visionary and exciting. It's something that hasn't been seen before in comics and Zoop is uniquely positioned as a partner for this type of initiative."

Vault's Crowdbuilding Campaign is the second stage in the publisher's increased efforts to think outside the box in terms of comics publishing, following the 'Free-to-Retailers' program is started in 2023 through which Vault gives the first issue of major series free to comic stores - and something Barbaric: Born of Blood #1 will also be included in.

Barbaric: Born In Blood #1 goes on sale March 27, 2024. Vault & Zoop's Barbaric: Born in Blood Crowdbuilding Campaign is accepting sign-ups now through March 12. A collected edition of Barbaric: Born In Blood is already scheduled for a September 24, 2024 release.

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