KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 7 — Last December 23, just a couple of days before Christmas, local comic publisher Maple Comics launched its first crowdfunding campaign for the first volume in their Nafiri series — a planned eight issues of light fantasy novels set in ancient South-east Asia.
Five days later, Maple Comics reached their crowdfunding target, instead of the scheduled 30 days!
Amir Hafizi, Maple Comics co-founder and writer of Nafiri, says, “We set a goal of RM10,000 to just cover printing and merchandise costs. We were on track at 20 per cent or RM2,000 after five days, when a generous donor deposited the full amount to our account.”
It’s a fortuitous beginning for the project, illustrated by artist Zamzami M Zain, which was conceived about two decades ago, when Amir was 19.
He was influenced by the Dragonlance novels, the games Heroes of Might and Magic III, and the reality show Survivor.
“It’s in an alternate universe where an island in the middle of the Straits of Melaka usurps all the trade and wealth of ancient Melaka, Pasai, Aceh, Temasek, and other places – making it the focal point of conflict,” says Amir.
According to Amir, the name “Nafiri” refers to the woodwind instrument that is part of the nobat that must be played to crown a Malay king.
In this story, Nafiri is the name of the island kingdom that becomes the target of all the forces in the region.
Amir says crowdfunding has been a viable means to raise capital needed to make creative projects a reality. So why not one that is based on the rich lore and culture of this region?
Crowdfunding has been embraced internationally; recent examples include the Critical Role animation project and former DC Comics artist Ethan Van Sciver who raised over US$800,000 (RM3.2 million) for his self-published title Cyberfrog. Locally, the board game Drama Pukul 7 was another success story.
“We considered crowdfunding to concentrate our marketing efforts,” explains Amir. “Even if we failed, I thought we would have pushed enough to get the message out that the product exists.
"The marketing package that comes with a crowdfunding campaign includes videos, graphics, social media posts, etc. We hope to use this package for pre-order campaigns as well.”
Even if one were to discount the generous contribution on the fifth day, Nafiri appeared to be on track to achieve its target after reaching 20 per cent of the stated goal after five days.
Amir notes that this was even before Maple Comics launched the Nafiri campaign in full force. He says, “This is because Nafiri itself is a desirable product. It is something I believe Malaysian creators have always thought of doing, at the back of their heads, but never did.”
There is something magical about tapping into the cultural heritage of this region and playing with it.
For many creators, artists and writers alike, it’s like sharing a playground, a communal space of myths and ideas.
Amir adds, “For readers, it’s something old but new – many other countries and scenes have done it, but Malaysians are a bit behind. We have the talent for it, so now it’s just a matter of finding a market for it.”
Now that they have achieved their crowdfunding goals, Maple Comics is switching the campaign to a pre-order initiative as Nafiri is confirmed to be released in April 2020 at the latest.
Amir says, “This will allow people to purchase the book and/or T-shirt, and possibly get their names printed in the book before we end it on January 23.
"There has been some soft initial interest from animation companies but I’d prefer to finish the series first before planning for other platforms.”
Maple Comics is also publishing another light novels series, Fantasi Kuasa, around the same time.
Also, there is the latest edition of Jejon Di Jepun — the fourth volume in the series thus far — which is being edited. There is no rest, no stopping the momentum now that it is building.
Indeed, the best time to strike is when the iron is hot. Amir says, “Moving forward, we will come up with pre-order campaigns for selected titles to bundle the books and their merchandise for fans and readers.”
Clearly there is much support out there for Malaysian niche publications like Maple Comics and their titles.
With a savvy use of social media and understanding of technology to expand their reach, local creators have greater ability and opportunity than ever before to connect with their audience, old and new.
To learn more about Nafiri and Maple Comics, visit http://blog.maplecomics.com.my/novel-nafiri/ and www.facebook.com/nafirimaple/
