Marc Maron Is Turning His Podcast ‘WTF’ Into Graphic Novel: Read the Early Pages

Just five days after the Kickstarter campaign opened for Marc Maron’s graphic novel collaboration with longtime producer Brendan McDonald, Eisner Award-winning cartoonist Brian “Box” Brown and publisher Z2, WTF Is a Podcast has raised close to $139,000 from close to 900 backers so far, with 25 days to go.

And Billboard has an exclusive look at early pages from the ambitious project.

The graphic novel will chronicle the history and behind-the-scenes drama of Maron’s groundbreaking WTF podcast, a seminal entry in the format. Maron, who began WTF in 2004, says he’s calling it quits this fall  after almost 16 years and 1,600 episodes, and the graphic novel will cover the show’s lifespan.

WTF became a must-stop for celebrities and public figures on and off the publicity circuit thanks to Maron’s thoughtful and confessional interview style, which elicited compelling discussions with President Barack Obama and such music stars as Ariana Grande, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Keith Richards and Carrie Brownstein.

While the project was fully funded before it launched on Kickstarter, Maron and Z2 are using the platform for fans to obtain special one-of-a-kind items from the comedy superstar as he disassembles his garage studio.

Among the items available in the various backer tiers: rare Maron gig posters from his personal collection, a windscreen from the podcast — signed by the comedian — that was used by more than 200 guests, the signed on-camera Murray Franklin Show prop hat from The Joker (in which Maron played Gene Ufland, the publicist for Robert De Niro‘s late-night talk-show host character, Franklin),  opportunities to be drawn into the graphic novel as a character or thanked in the acknowledgements, “blind boxes” with items from Maron’s personal collection, and other goodies. More information can be found here found here.

Some of the exclusives are limited and a few are one of a kind. of the items are one of a kind: One fan has already forked out $10,000 to star in their own episode of WTF;  the Ted Munz-created illuminated mosaic WTF sign from the studio fetched $7,500; all 20 of the podcast’s signature cat mugs, which are given to guests, were snapped up at $500 apiece. Maron’s three cats are not among the upper-tier offerings, but you can hear the saga of him fleeing the Los Angeles fires with them and a single cat carrier on his current HBO Max special, Panicked.