In a remarkable turn of events, a passionate Mega Man fan project transformed from a halted Kickstarter into an officially licensed Capcom publication, proving that dedication and creativity can break through legal barriers in the gaming world. Philip Summers, the creator behind the hand-illustrated “Hand-Drawn Game Guides,” initially faced copyright challenges that stopped his campaign, but through perseverance and collaboration with Capcom, he secured the rights to produce an authorized Mega Man guidebook, now set to delight fans with its unique artistry and insider secrets.
Back in 2021, Philip Summers launched a Kickstarter campaign for Hand-Drawn Game Guides, a series of books that resembled traditional strategy guides, apart from the fact that they were all illustrated by Summers. The campaign was a hit, generating over $300,000 in pledges, but like a number of fan projects utilizing game company IPs, it was pulled before the countdown ended.
He ended up changing plans due to legal concerns, going on to work on other projects and releasing the planned guides from the campaign as free downloads. From the outside, that seemed like the new path for Hand-Drawn Game Guides.
But then, in January 2025, Summers returned to Kickstarter with a surprise announcement – he’d struck a deal with Capcom to make an officially licensed entry in the series: Hand-Drawn Game Guides: Mega Man. That campaign was also a success, and Summers is now working on the book and intending to release it later this year.
In an effort to spotlight game-related books and documentaries, AELGAMES is running an email interview series with the people behind them. We previously connected with Julian Rignall about his not-quite-an-autobiography The Games of a Lifetime, Paul Vogel about his Housemarque documentary The Name of the Game, Lewis Packwood about his obscure game hardware book Curious Video Game Machines, and Oliver Harper about his Street Fighter 2 documentary Here Comes a New Challenger. Below, Summers discusses how the Mega Man project came about and where he wants to take Hand-Drawn Game Guides in the future.
AELGAMES: When you launched the Kickstarter campaign, a lot of people were surprised that the book was licensed by Capcom. How did that come about behind the scenes?
Philip Summers: Lucas Thomas from Nintendo Force Magazine/NF Publishing was a fan of the original Hand-Drawn Game Guides campaign and basically remembered me all these years later! He has been expanding into book publishing and wanted to work on a property officially. With some work he was able to get the license from Capcom to create Mega Man books and asked if I would be willing to resurrect the Hand-Drawn Game Guides concept and do it legit this time. We still needed to pitch the book to them for approval, so we created a sequence of pages to present. They liked what they saw and we were able to move ahead from there.
There’s a long history of game books running into legal issues with copyright holders. Do you have any advice for others looking to do similar projects?
Unfortunately I don’t have any real advice on how to go about jumping through some of these loopholes. In the years since my original campaign shut down, I’ve come to find that different companies respond to different types of projects and they all have their own reasons. What I can tell you is that if you plan on launching something like a Kickstarter where your funding totals are public and the project heavily features IP that you don’t have the rights to, it’s highly likely it will get shut down.
In the Mega Man Kickstarter campaign, you mentioned the possibility of doing more Mega Man books after this one. What’s the status of that?
At this point it’s too early to tell. I think we’ll have a much better understanding of where we stand once the book is completed and shipped. Assuming people are happy with it, and Capcom is happy with it, I think it’s fair to say we’ll be able to move onto the next one, which the obvious choice is Mega Man 2. Though I really love Mega Man X too!
Long-term, what are your plans for Hand-Drawn Game Guides? Is the idea to get official licenses for other games and make this a regular thing?
How did a fan project turn into an official Capcom license for Mega Man
Philip Summers’ fan project to create hand-drawn Mega Man game guides initially faced a major setback when his 2021 Kickstarter was halted due to copyright concerns from Capcom. Undeterred, Summers pivoted to other projects and offered his guides as free downloads while seeking a legitimate path forward. In early 2025, through a collaboration with Thomas from Force Magazine Publishing-who had secured a licensing deal with Capcom-Summers was invited to revive the Hand-Drawn Game Guides series with official endorsement. They prepared a detailed pitch showcasing their vision, which Capcom approved, granting them an official license to produce an authorized Mega Man guidebook. This partnership allowed Summers to relaunch the project successfully on Kickstarter, now as a fully licensed Capcom product, blending fan passion with corporate approval to bring the project to life.
What steps did Summers take to convince Capcom to license his project
Philip Summers took several key steps to convince Capcom to license his Mega Man fan project officially:
-
He partnered with Thomas from Force Magazine Publishing, who had already secured a license from Capcom to produce Mega Man books. This collaboration brought legitimacy and a direct connection to Capcom’s licensing framework.
-
Together, Summers and Thomas crafted a detailed pitch for Capcom, including a series of sample pages showcasing the quality and vision of the Hand-Drawn Game Guides concept.
-
They presented this polished proposal to Capcom for endorsement, demonstrating professionalism and respect for the intellectual property.
-
Capcom appreciated the proposal and granted approval to proceed, enabling Summers to relaunch the project as an officially licensed product.
This process highlights the importance of working with a licensed publisher, preparing a strong, professional pitch, and aligning with the IP holder’s expectations to secure official licensing.
