Aw Yeah Comics co-owners Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani have raised more than $34,000 in nine days for their family-friendly comic series. The duo met their initial goal of $15,000 in less than eight hours.

The two own downtown Skokie's Aw Yeah Comics at 4933 Oakton St. with third co-owner Marc Hammond.

Both Baltazar and Aureliani drew iconic characters like Superman and Batman for DC Comics' Superman Family Adventures and Tiny Titans since 2007. The series won the duo an Eisner Award for "Best Publication for Kids" in 2011. Despite this, DC recently decided to cancel the series.

Now, with the help of online crowd-funding source Kickstarter, the two are launching their own comic series appropriately titled, Aw Yeah Comics.

What is Kickstarter?

Kickstarter allows people to raise money for their projects - which range from new video games to independent movies - by offering anyone interested an incentive to "back them."

For example, Aw Yeah Comics is offering a 26-page exclusive digital comic to anyone that pledges $5. Pledge $60, and you get the first 12 issues of Aw Yeah Comics. At the $100 level, comic book writer Mark Waid would personally call you and explain why "Superman is better than Batman," but that pledge has since been taken down, according to ComicsAlliance.com.

Both Baltazar and Aureliani are now hoping to raise $50,000 within the next 20 days. 

"I drove delivery vans, worked at office max, cleaned toilets, worked at pizza places - I did everything to just pay my bills," Baltazar told Patch. "I never accepted a promotion or raise because I never wanted to get too comfortable. I always wanted to create comic books."

To check out Aw Yeah Comics Kickstarter page, click here.

To read our profile of Aw Yeah Comics, here.

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