Podcast: From Kickstarter to School Libraries – Producing Graphic Novels for Kids

Podcast: From Kickstarter to School Libraries – Producing Graphic Novels for Kids

May 28, 2026

My writer brain, creative spirit and authorpreneurial energy loves the input received from the guests on the Self Publishing with ALLi podcast.  The latest episode ready for your enjoyment is a conversation with Mike Barry, the writer and artist behind Action Tank, a graphic novel trilogy for kids.

 

Even if you’re not a writer or illustrator of kids’ books, a graphic novelist, or into ‘intergalactic adventure and spaghetti carbonara’, there’s plenty in this conversation for authors to learn from.

 

Mike conceived the Action Tank series, illustrated it, funded it through Kickstarter, sold it into schools (and started doing workshops) and libraries across Australia, and got the first in the series onto the American Library Association’s Best Graphic Novels for Children list in 2022. He did all of this as an indie, in a format Australian publishers weren’t particularly interested in when he started.

 

They’re interested now! I mean, if you haven’t seen the stacks of graphic novels being consumed by young readers, you haven’t been in a school library or bookshop recently!

 

In this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast, Mike shares what it takes to produce and distribute a kids’ graphic novel independently.

 

We talk about how he reverse-engineered Marvel’s print specs to make sure Action Tank felt like the real thing in a kid’s hands…not approximately professional, but actually professional. We talk about Kickstarter, and what he learned between his first campaign and his third about who really shows up to back your work. We talk about building direct relationships with schools, what international distribution really costs, and why he’s recently made the call to focus locally rather than chase the world.

 

There are also some great learnings about how doors opened for him as a result of simply finishing what he started, even when the path wasn’t always clear.

 

Mike is honest about the financial realities of publishing too, and generous about the creative ones. It was also just so cool to speak with someone who saw a gap, developed a concept, did it really well, and realised it could be enjoyed by more (many more!) than just an audience of his own children.

 

Thanks for sharing Mike!