NOW FUNDING: ‘Cütie Catcherz: One Shot’
A health education comic book series gets an AR upgrade
Something we love here at NoPro is seeing creators from different disciplines and backgrounds open up the immersive toolbox and start exploring the possibilities.
Another thing we love is comic books. So when a creator we know tipped us off to this project, we had to take a gander, and indeed, we were intrigued.
Cütie Catcherz: One Shot isn’t what you’ll normally find on NoPro, as it’s a comic book story about the bacteria that causes acne enhanced with an augmented reality twist. But any time there’s a chance to talk about the possibilities inherent in messing with the conventions of the comic book medium with AR/mixed reality tech, we’re going to show up to the chat.
Which is why we reached out to Cütie Catcherz creator Steven Christian about the project, whose fully funded Kickstarter campaign is entering its last days, which takes health education into new dimensions.
This is No Proscenium’s NOW FUNDING, a look at immersive experiences & events currently crowdfunding. To learn more about how your event could be considered for the feature check out How To Get Covered By NoPro.
No Proscenium: Tell us a little bit about this project. What’s it about? What makes it immersive?
Steven Christian: Cütie Catcherz: One Shot is a 60-page augmented reality comic about Nimbus, a stuffed animal brought to life, who bands together with Spicee Pickles and Ram-Bo to save his best friend Roscoe after a mysterious cootie outbreak sweeps Iltopia.
What makes it immersive is that the book doesn’t just stop at ink on the page. With a phone or tablet, panels spring into animation, sound, and music — sometimes subtle, sometimes explosive. Readers can also use a custom AR headset I designed, so you don’t have to juggle a book in one hand and a phone in the other. It’s like a roller coaster in your hands: quirky characters, explosions, dancing, and health education all wrapped into one experience.
NP: What is the inspiration for ‘Cütie Catcherz?’
SC: The story is built on a simple but overlooked truth: acne is caused by Cutibacterium acnes — literally, cooties. I discovered that preparing for my board exams as an MD/PhD student, and it clicked that I could turn something hidden in medical textbooks into an accessible, playful adventure.
Get NoPro Newswire’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
SubscribeSubscribe
I also wanted to push back against the flood of sham solutions and misinformation around skin health, especially for people with darker skin tones who are often underrepresented in medical literature. As a neuroscientist and storyteller, I see science as narrative: mechanisms have beginnings, middles, and ends. By adding images, animation, and interactivity, I’m transforming those “blocks of text” into something people actually want to explore.
NP: What do you think fans of immersive will find most interesting about this?
SC:Fans of immersive will recognize that this isn’t AR as a gimmick. The science and the spectacle are inseparable. One page might quietly shift from black-and-white to color; another might explode with music and voice acting. The fun is that you can’t escape the story or the science — it sneaks in through joy.
I like to compare it to Star Wars. Millions live their lives by the Jedi Code, not because of a textbook but because the story resonated so deeply. Cütie Catcherz pulls from that ethos: if you can care about Nimbus and his friends catching glowing pink cooties, you’re already learning about the biology of skin health — without it ever feeling like a lecture.
NP: Have you crowdfunded before? If so, is there anything different about your experience (or expectations) this time?
SC: Yes — this is my fourth Kickstarter. My first (2013) failed, which was a blessing since success then might have cost me my NCAA eligibility as a college football player. My second, a graphic novel, became my master’s thesis about the mental toll of college sports. My third, an ambitious 100-page AR comic, didn’t fund but launched the workflow I use today.
This time feels different. It’s not just experimental — it’s production-ready and tied directly to my mission as a medical researcher and future physician. Crowdfunding is always a grind, but like medicine, it’s about resilience, consistency, and not taking setbacks personally.
NP: What are some of the perks on offer for backers?
Backers can dive in at many levels. Beyond the book itself, there are stickers, T-shirts, plushies that talk, AR-enabled coasters with mini-games, and even USB keychains that double as talking characters. Most items are handmade or hand-printed in my studio — art therapy turned into rewards.
Bundles for classrooms and families make it easy to share, while higher tiers unlock behind-the-scenes access to the creative and scientific process. The idea is to extend immersion beyond the page: wear the story on a shirt, hold it in a plush, or open a backpack that becomes a literal portal into the world of Cütie Catcherz.
Discover the latest immersive events, festivals, workshops, and more at our new site EVERYTHING IMMERSIVE, home of NoPro’s show listings.
NoPro is a labor of love made possible by our generous Patreon backers. Join them today and get access to our Newsletter and Discord! You can also GIFT memberships.
In addition to the No Proscenium website and our podcast, and you can find NoPro on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and in the Facebook community also named Everything Immersive.