If you read the comics page of the Mercury, you're familiar with the trenchant work of Portland political cartoonist Matt Bors. Bors just launched a Kickstarter to raise raise $20,000 to fund a collection of his comics and essays, titled Life Begins at Incorporation, and he's offering a smartly tiered set of rewards that include copies of the book itself, signed prints, Avenging Uterus T-shirts, and original art.

Bors is a Pulitzer finalist who's struggled to navigate a professional landscape in which print revenues are down and the internet hates paying for things. He's by no means the first local cartoonist to turn to Kickstarter to fund his work—Lucy Bellwood and Mercury freelancer/hero Dylan Meconis recently completed successful projects. By offering finished copies of the book as a reward, Kickstarter essentially functions as a pre-order system; artists are able to further sweeten the pot by offering art as an incentive.

We interviewed Bors earlier this year as part of a piece about the state of political cartooning; I'd recommend reading it before you grouse about how $20,000 seems like an awful lot of money.

Here's Bors' Kickstarter. When he actually DOES win a Pulitzer one of these days, you'll be able to say you supported him when.