It is the start of a new year and with that new Kickstarter campaigns to sort through, appreciate, and successfully back. The atmosphere and anticipation for new and veteran Kickstarter creators always gives me a rush of adrenaline when it comes to seeing if the goal has been reached and if we can hit any of the additional goals to make the end product that much better. I do feel this year will be another great success for many entrepreneurs in the Kickstarter scene. To catch up please check out past articles and interviews in my series.

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Recently a Kickstarter has popped up featuring a wonderful new project that combines hand-drawn art, a book, and one of Capcoms beloved iconic characters. Meshing Mega Man with a full-on art book is as amazing as it sounds. But what really is great is the journey it took to get to this time place and the people that are making it possible. Check out the campaign (Hand-Drawn Game Guides: Mega Man).

Back in the summer of 2021, I had come across a campaign entitled Hand-Drawn Game Guides where a man named Philip Summers was going to be drawing and publishing 3 different game guides. Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, and Contra x Nina Gaiden. Each one featured looked beautifully crafted and showcased the amazing detail that Phil placed into it. Unfortunately, Phil had to cancel the Kickstarter campaign due to licensing issues that could have arisen if he continued to proceed with the project. By making this decision he ultimately avoided potential legal issues and headaches. Fortunately, Philip has come back and is campaigning his new project, with the help of Lucas Thomas the president of NF Publishing, featuring Mega-Man.

By backing the campaign back in 2021 and not seeing it become a reality, it is truly an honor and a treat to everyone that we are having another chance to back a Philip Summers campaign. The journey for myself is also special because in this moment I got the opportunity to have Philip answer my interview questions. Let’s talk about the current campaign, share it with others, and make this it a success for those involved. 

Hand-Drawn Game Guides: Mega Man

The project launched on January 14th, 2025, and will end in mid-February. Its launching goal was less than 20,000 USD and it surpassed that in 12 minutes. It has already passed its first stretch goal that adds spot gloss to the cover and as of this writing it’s nearing the 100,000 USD goal upgrades the end sheets. With the strong turnout and steady growth, it will be great to see what stretch goals will be reached.

Using real art supplies to draw characters, levels, enemies and weapons we see Mega Man in the original 1987 game take on a new look into a world that Capcom created. Looking through some of the art that Philip has done, it’s very skillfully and whimsically drawn, no wonder the campaign is doing so well. With that in mind let’s see what Philip has to say about himself and his Kickstarter.

Who are you and what role do you play in your company?

My name is Phil and I’m the creator of Hand-Drawn Game Guides. I make fully illustrated strategy guides for (mostly) classic games.

Tell us about the story and foundation of NF Publishing LLC?

NF Publishing has been creating Nintendo Force magazine for over 12 years. They began the publication the moment Nintendo Power ended and have been producing new issues every two months ever since. Recently they started getting into publishing books, first with their own The Impact of Iwata and more recently with NES Endings Compendium: Volume 2. Their third book is the one we’re collaborating on, Hand-Drawn Game Guides: Mega Man.

Have you utilized Kickstarter before?

Yes, I ran a famously cancelled Kickstarter for my original set of unofficial Hand-Drawn Game Guides books. For NF Publishing, they’ve been using Kickstarter for ages now starting with using it to help get NF magazine off the ground.

What do you like about Kickstarter?

It’s incredible for testing the waters to see if the public is interested in your idea. It changed the way that individuals can create products and get their unique vision out into the world. Second, you can build a great community around your project. It’s fun being able to speak with people right there on your page and get feedback basically in real time.

How was this campaign conceptualized?

Lucas at NF Publishing was a Backer for my original cancelled Kickstarter project. He remembered me all these years later and is basically the only reason this book is happening. We had a chat one day and he asked if I wanted to do an official Mega Man book, to which I enthusiastically said “YES!” From there we did a short pitch for Capcom, got approval and we were off and running. Well, that’s how it felt for me, Lucas did all the legwork to make everything go through.

Who or what drives the motivation behind your project?

Loads of nostalgia for the first few years of Nintendo Power, classic game box art and manuals. Nintendo Power in particular you would open and it would be full of incredible maps surrounded by great illustrations and your mind would just go to that place. With the old manuals it was great to flip through them and see all of the cute little illustrations of items, bad guys and character actions. This is the sort of feeling I hope to invoke with Hand-Drawn Game Guides, and I love seeing when the idea resonates with others.

What inspires your artistic work?

Probably a cliched answer but almost everything! When it comes to actual artists there are too many to name but people like Katsuya Terada, Tom DuBois, Jun Suemi, Susumu Matsushita, Yoshitaka Amano, and Akira Yasuda are some of people whose work I grew up admiring. I’m always looking at their work and thinking “How did they do it like this?” I like using the Game Guides projects as a way to try and bring out some of the spirit of these artists in an attempt to learn and grow myself.

Any advice for people thinking about starting a Kickstarter campaign?

Do it! Make sure you have a solid foundation and can fulfill the promises you’re about to make. Be ready to support your campaign the entire way through with regular updates and social media posts. The campaign is going to eat up a lot of your time, so be sure you’re able to focus on it while it’s running. At the usual month-long campaign length, it’s a marathon not a sprint!

Where can people reach out to you?

They can find me as @heyphilsummers on X/Twitter, BlueSky and Instagram. They can find NF Publishing as @NintendoForce on X/Twitter and @nfpublishing on BlueSky.

Bonus question: So, I was backer #3,489 in your Hand-Drawn Game Guides Campaign and I always wondered what game or games would be your dream game guide to create? Have you done so already?

First, thanks for being a Backer back then and continuing to believe in this project all these years later. I’m currently working on one of my dream projects! Mega Man is one of my favorite game franchises so to be able to work on an official guide book is really special to me. I even mentioned it in the original campaign video! I also mentioned Castlevania as well, so that would be a runner up. We’ll see what the future holds!

Thank You!

I wanted to thank a few people in this section. Firstly, Philip Summers for taking the time to allow me to interview him and for taking us on a retro inspired journey among classic games. We truly appreciate your talent. Next, I wanted to thank Lucas Thomas for reaching out to Philip and helping him make another attempt into a project through Kickstarter. Also, I want to thank Krysta Yang for getting me in touch with Philip and making a great impact on gamers and developers in the field. Lastly as always, my Editor in Chief David Lasby as well as the entire Boss Rush Network for supporting me and allowing me to fulfill my passions.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13

As usual I want to one day be part of a Kickstarter campaign to see for myself the challenging work that goes into the process.  For now, I will continue my Kickstarter journey, so please check out my past series and if you have a campaign that you would like me to interview you or check out, please let me know. Contact and reach out @Stillsaneshane on X/Twitter or Bluesky I would love to hear from you. Cheers friends! 

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Shane Kelley is a Senior writer for Boss Rush Network, as well as a writer for Another Zelda Podcast. His favorite game is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. You can find him on X or Bluesky to talk video games, Marvel, cribbage, and axe throwing.

Featured Image: Kickstarter.com

Images: Provided by Hand-Drawn Game Guides: Mega Man