Was NSFW the Biggest Genre on Kickstarter in December?
The short answer to my titular question is a resounding, “YES.” I reviewed every single project launched in the Kickstarter Comics category for December, 2024, and 32 of the 109 campaigns (29.4% of them) launched within those 31 days met my definition for a NSFW comic:
Features nudity and/or explicit sexual content on covers and/or explicit sexual content on the interior pages of the comic.
Take a look for yourself via a full graphical breakdown by genre:
Nearly 30% of Kickstarter Comics Launches in December meet the criteria to be classified as NSFW.
The top 5 genres on the platform, purely in terms of the volume of launches, for December were:
NSFW - 32 campaigns (29.4%)
Fantasy - 13 campaigns (11.9%)
Action-Adventure/Superhero - Tied at 11 campaigns (10.1% each)
Horror/Sci-Fi - Tied at 9 campaigns (8.3% each)
Comedy - 7 campaigns (6.4%)
Nearly three times as many NSFW comics projects were launched in December as the next most frequent genres. That’s a massive difference, particularly when you realize that the total difference in proportion of total projects launched between all of the trailing five genres is just a tiny 3.6%. That’s definitely statistically insignificant at these small sample sizes, so I expect these common genres (i.e., Fantasy, Action-Adventure, Superhero, Horror and Sci-Fi) will easily trade places on the frequency list from month to month, but, by the same logic, I expect we’ll see the NSFW project load maintain a large monthly lead in project volume over each of them.
Re: My November Analysis of NSFW Campaign Frequency
On November 20, I published a post considering the much-ballyhooed takeover of the Kickstarter Comics category by NSFW projects.
Read My November Post on NSFW Comics
At that time, I simply counted the number of live Comics projects that met the above definition (17) and compared that number to the total number of Comics projects live in the category at that time (268), yielding a determination that 6.34% of live Comics projects on that date were of the NSFW variety. That analysis was of a thin slice of time - one day - as opposed to this method covering an entire month. I feel that the monthly figures are more representative of the actual state of the Comics category on Kickstarter and offer better, more accurate opportunities for further analysis.
The Advantages of Monthly Launch Data by Genre
Once all December launches end, by mid-February, I can examine total funding, total backers, and total successful campaigns, all per genre for an entire month of launches. The resulting monthly data set can then be compared with succeeding months to identify trends, steady states, and anomalies. So, in 6-7 weeks, look for a full financial breakdown of December Kickstarters by genre.
The Power of NSFW Prevalence on Backer Perception
What can be deduced from the simple cumulative launch data available right now for December is that nearly 1 of every 3 Comics projects launched is NSFW, which, by my definition, means that nudity and explicit sexual content are featured aspects on the Kickstarter page. So, because NSFW projects are mixed into the search results (or lack thereof) just as are any other genres, unsuspecting backers intending to browse for new and interesting self-published/indie comics are instead bombarded with barely black-barred genitalia and (often) poorly drawn sex acts, whether they are shopping for that brand of entertainment or not.
For many comics fans, that’s off-putting and drives them from actively perusing the overall campaign population, because they are likely to assume that the Kickstarter Comics category is just a smut gallery, instead of a smut gallery that also hides some really great comics that aren’t smut (and, in fairness, a few great ones that are). The domination of NSFW comics isn’t just pulling disposable income from the rest of the creators crowdfunding on Kickstarter, it’s also driving away a ton of would-be backers who’ll never find us now, because they don’t want to dig through the never-ending scroll of splayed legs and hiked asses. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. There’s just a LOT of it, and that’s the problem.
Create a NSFW Sub-Category Beneath the Kickstarter Comics Masthead
Allow me to once again advocate for a mandatory Comics sub-category for NSFW projects, where they can easily be found but also easily remain out of the view of casual indie comics shoppers who don’t want to see all that.
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See You in February
NSFW projects aside, I anticipate there also being value in analyzing the prevalence and performance of the other primary identified genres as we move through 2025. What genres are comics readers supporting the most that aren’t NSFW? Which non-NSFW genre is generating the most funding? This type of information is helpful to self-publishers who make decisions about what kinds of stories to focus on in order to best attract an audience, which explains why NSFW is booming as a genre. We’ll have specific interpretation in several weeks.
Happy New Year!