Tag: crowdfunding

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It’s a Ko-fi Membership Drive!

It’s time for a Ko-fi Membership Drive!

WHAT?

This is a drive to get more memberships on my Ko-fi page, whether you give just once, or you join with a monthly membership. (Though there are definitely more perks if you join the monthly membership, more info below).

As of right now, we have 8 active Ko-fi members. If we can make these following benchmarks, we can unlock the following goals:

  • At 10 active members, all members (one-off and monthly) will get a 4×6-inch Little Caticorn mini-print!
  • At 15 members, all members (one-off and monthly) will get that PLUS a 4×6-inch Forest Spirit mini-print!
  • At 20 members, all members (one-off and monthly) will get these PLUS a 4×6-inch Prince Odinon mini-print!
  • At 25 members, all members (one-off and monthly) will get these PLUS a 4×6-inch mini-print of The Two Sisters – a watercolor painting from the 2022 Columbus, OH show, Comics vs Art!

More rewards will be announced as more goals are unlocked!

WHY

2025 is going to be an uncertain year for a lot of folks for many different reasons. For me, 2025 will be risky because of book bans and their challenges (I’m a genderqueer comic artist who makes comics about LGBTQ+ characters). Plus, for 2025 I’m *only* going to zine fests and shows in the Toledo, OH area. For one, those shows are friendlier to comics like The Legend of Jamie Roberts. Also, the proposed tariffs are affecting many artists’ ability to afford merchandise stock like keychains and books. This isn’t even mentioning that comicons and pop culture cons are too expensive to go to as a vendor, even with splitting tables with friends.

Because of these impacts, that leaves us with a question: how can comics like The Legend of Jamie Roberts, Vanita and the Demon King, and so many zines and minicomics happen with these challenges ahead? How can we solve at least one part of this puzzle?

That’s where Ko-fi Memberships come in.

Ko-fi Memberships are an easy way to get cool and custom rewards *and* support to keep making comics like The Legend of Jamie Roberts. The more supporters there are, the more comics and art that can be made and shared with more and more readers!

I want comics like The Legend of Jamie Roberts to keep going. More importantly, *the readers* want comics like The Legend to keep going. This comic especially is written with teens and young adults in mind, who, like me, struggle with gender identity and their place in the world. Stories like this cannot exist in a vacuum, and need support from readers like you to continue.

HOW

Ko-fi Memberships come in two flavors – one-time donations and monthly memberships.

If you give just a one-time donation during this Membership Drive, you get…

  • Ko-fi shop discount codes,
  • First dibs when I’m available for commissions,

If you join any of my monthly memberships – the Digital Club, the Zine + Sticker Club, the Art Club, you get all of that PLUS…

  • Webcomic updates two days earlier than the rest of the internet,
  • Sneak peeks at how comic pages are made,
  • Access to comic scripts,
  • Shout-outs on YouTube,
  • Member-exclusive zines and stickers (for Zine + Sticker Club and Art Club members),
  • Exclusive 4 x 6 inch mini-prints (Art Club members),
  • AND members-only rewards if you back a KickStarter or Crowdfundr campaign.

To get these rewards, head to my Ko-fi page and click “Memberships” to join monthly, or “Shop” to get some goodies. Spending $3 or more in the shop gets you the one-time rewards. You can also get one-time rewards by leaving a tip of $3 or more on the main Ko-fi page.

Keep in mind, too, that you can cancel monthly memberships anytime, no questions asked.

These are options IF you have the budget for it. If you are broke or struggling, absolutely *do not* feel pressured to join. Like I mentioned up top, I understand that 2025 will be a tough year for all of us. So if you are broke, share this campaign with other folks who love genderqueer pirates, trans girls, demon kings, dragons, fantasy malarkey, and supporting queer creators. Sharing is caring and helps spread the word that this campaign and these comics are even happening.

WHEN

This Ko-fi Membership Drive will run UNTIL JAN 31, 2025. I will be updating you once a week on Tuesdays to let you know how the campaign is going. Rewards will ship out after Feb 1.

That’s all for now. If you have any questions or anything, please let me know!

Thank you so much for your support.

You. Are. Awesome.

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It’s the Final Day for The Legend of Jamie Roberts on KickStarter

Today is the FINAL DAY for Reprinting The Legend of Jamie Roberts on KickStarter. So let’s talk about the campaign – what worked, what can be improved, and what’s next one way or the other.

You have UNTIL 11:59 PM EDT to back the campaign.

LIVE STREAM BINGO CARDS free download is on Ko-fi.

⭐ Join my email newsletter.

🖌️ For commissions, check this Trello board. 

🎨 Tools Used:

  • Music: Kevin MacLeod, Streamyard, Louie Zong
  • Streaming: Streamyard
  • Drawing Program: Clip Studio Paint
  • Microphone: Blue Snowball

👏 THANK YOU TO MY CLUB SUBSCRIBERS! 👏

To get your name added to this list, join one of my clubs on Ko-fi.

  • magicalgirlkyra
  • All Unka
  • Raiden
  • Ella Q
  • Andrew Balch
  • Adam Vazquez
  • Maya Smith
  • Pat Jade
  • JessicaMcIntosh
  • RPZ
  • Bryce Bargar
  • Heidi Allison
  • Saphronia Maple
  • Cakes

And thank YOU for watching!

You. Are. Awesome.

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NOW ON KICKSTARTER – Reprinting The Legend of Jamie Roberts

Jamie Roberts is not a boy or a girl – they are a PIRATE! Jamie and their two best friends, Thomas and Daniel, find an unfinished map during a pirate raid and decide to leave the seas to hunt for treasure!

But the land they have arrived in has many secrets, including the secrets kept by their new employer, Ragun Basho. Who was chasing after him? Why is he talking about dragons? And who are these people Jamie is seeing in their dreams?!

The answers are revealed in the first two volumes of The Legend of Jamie Roberts, capturing the lush, vibrant, Indigenous-inspired world of this swashbuckling adventure.

Fans of my work may be like, “Hold up. You did campaigns for volume 1 and volume 2. What’s going on?”

So here’s the short version: when I made volume 1, I worked with a comics printer that ruined the first run of books. I did manage to get reprints, but let’s just say it was the latest in a long list of issues I’ve had with them in the past. After what happened, I switched to a new printer for volume 2.

However, the second printer raised their prices without warning over the last few months. They also have a minimum order that makes things prohibitive for me, a person doing all of it solo. That left me searching for a new printer, which leads us to this campaign.

This campaign is to help fund a new print run with a NEW printer for The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volumes 1 and 2. 

It means new and improved quality paper! Vibrant colors! Better pricing! All to share the magical genderqueer adventure that is The Legend of Jamie Roberts with as many readers, new and old, as possible.

“But isn’t this a webcomic? That I can read online for free?” Yes!

“So why should I get these books?”

BECAUSE…

  1. Both books have specific pages redrawn and remade from the original web versions.
  2. These books have extra content the webcomic site does not have, like  bonus comics, sneak peeks at the comics-making process, and more!
  3. By purchasing these books, you’re helping to continue The Legend of Jamie Roberts as an ongoing comic project. Seriously, we’re very close to releasing volume 3 next year! I plan on making 5 volumes of The Legend and need support from readers like you to make it happen.

This campaign starts October 1 and ends October 21 at 11:59 pm EDT. There will be a 24-hour “Late Pledge” grace period, but Late Pledges have a late fee. Keep that in mind!

We also have new add-ons and new stretch goals – so even if you backed the previous campaigns, there’s something new for you to check out, including…

minicomics are available as add-ons! Minicomics include The Legend of Azu-mi, The Legend of Norsa, Legendary & Casual, and Ranki in Cosplay
stickers are also available as add-ons for this KickStarter! Stickers include Thomas, Jamie, and Daniel dressed as punks, Basho's twin in a crop top, and Jamie posing with their sword

So if you’re able to support The Legend, go to the campaign and pick the rewards that work best for you!

Broke? Share this campaign far and wide! Be sure to use the link tinyurl.com/tlojr-reprint. Shares help more than you know. 

That’s all for now. Thank you for your time and support!

You. Are. Awesome.

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New Punk Signal AND Fwishi’shi Are NOW LIVE on KickStarter

the kickstarter header image for new punk signal and fwishi'shi. This is split down the middle: on one side are two white boys smiling at the camera in relaxed streetwear. On the right is an anthropomorphic bird man with his back to the viewer, gazing out to the sea

NOW LIVE!

New Punk Signal – two college boys, Mike and Steve, have big dreams to support their friends and their indie music…until the pandemic hits and shuts everything down. Now they have to figure out how to support the people they love when the world is changing its frequency.

Fwishi’shi – Fuloos is a bird-man who lives alone in a home by the sea. By day, he runs a radio show in the small town of Seabank. One day, he meets a fan of his work and her boyfriend – and everything changes.

These two stories are about community, assistance, and platonic love that saves the day. And with your help, I’d love to get these stories into the hands of more readers with the power of KickStarter!

So New Punk Signal is a comic spin-off-slash-sequel to Validation and ROXIE, following resident himbos Mike and Steve. And Fwishi’shi is – for the first time in my book catalog – a written novella. It’s not a comic (gasp)! It’s also set in the same universe as two comic projects I’ve done called Johnson & Sir and Thoughtful Dinosaur.

I like to think that you don’t need to read the other books to understand what’s going on in New Punk Signal and Fwishi’shi. But if you would like to delve more into those worlds, these extra stories are available as add-ons in the campaign! If you’re inclined, there’s also The Radio Tower Tier, where you can get all of these stories in one bundle.

new punk signal page #6

THE HOW

The good news is – a lot of expenses for Fwishi’shi are covered by a grant from the Toledo Arts Commission! Thank you to the commission for covering the cost of the ISBNs, printing 20(ish) copies of the book, and printing bookmarks.

However, New Punk Signal needs a little support to get to print. Also, if Fwishi’shi gets a lot more than 20 orders, I need a little help to cover printing. There’s also the added wrinkle of distributing these books once they’re printed.

For these reasons, I’ve opted to run a KickStarter – not only to help New Punk Signal get printed, but to get BOTH books in the hands of readers with KickStarter’s reach.

So in short – the asking goal is low because some expenses are already covered thanks to the Toledo Arts Commission (yay)! But KickStarter will help get these books out to the masses.

THE WHEN

Because of grant deadlines and printer timelines, this campaign will run UNTIL Aug 31. Once the funding period ends, I can place orders to the printers right away. The goal is to get everything printed and in the hands of backers by September 30.

ally from the webcomic Validation checks her phone to see a text from Steve. This comic is in the upcoming New Punk Signal

THE WHY

New Punk Signal and Frishi’shi are both projects I made during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Both were created to process my feelings and what I had seen work – and not work – during this time. I’ve also come to realize that as time goes on, the more my stories focused on the importance of community and helping friends along the way. And, as a result, both of these stories are my love letter to the importance of platonic love.

We live in a culture that romanticizes individualism, and only allows exception for romantic love. I wanted to challenge both by creating New Punk Signal and Fwishi’shi, stories that focus on the importance of interpersonal connections outside of romance.

So if you can, check out the campaign and choose the reward tier that works best for you! We also have add-ons such as spin-off comics, prints, and even art books!

Broke? Share this campaign far and wide! Shares help more than you know.

That’s all for now. Thank you for your support!

You. Are. Awesome.

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Robots, C’s, and Radio – A Series of Crowdfunding Campaign Updates

I have a series of crowdfunding campaign updates involving robots, C’s, and radio shows.

Let’s break it down one campaign at a time…

banner for the Universal flaws of robotics, a robot comics anthology on kickstarter

Universal Flaws of Robotics

We reached out to KickStarter and got a deadline extension! We’re now running until August 20.

This is a new feature – I didn’t know KickStarter would let you do this. This is apparently an option you can only ask for if you haven’t hit your goal yet.

Which, yep – we’re still shy of hitting our goal on this one.

So if you haven’t checked out this comics anthology about robots, please do over on KickStarter! Back it if you can, share the link if you’re broke.

This campaign now ends on August 20!

C Stands For…

This anthology from the Columbus Cartoon Coalition is still running to its goal! If met, contributors to the anthology will get a pay bump of $10 per page. If $1500+ is raised, the pay rate goes up to $15/page!

You can help support central Ohio comic artists by checking out the campaign on Crowdfundr, backing it if you can, and sharing the link if you’re broke.

This campaign is running until August 26.

New Punk Signal and Fwishi’shi

These two stories focus on podcasts/radio shows, community, and the power of platonic love. And they’re coming to KickStarter in a 2-books-in-1 campaign!

Now, thanks to a grant from the Toledo Arts Commission, many expenses for these books are covered. But both books will need a little extra to make it to print – plus KickStarter can help distribute these books to more readers.

The page will be live by this Friday, August 16. If you want first dibs on these books and their rewards, sign up for my email newsletter. It’s free and private.

As For Everything Else…

I will be updating my Ko-fi shop to de-list certain items, as those items will be available in the New Punk Signal and Fwishi’shi Kickstarter campaign coming up this weekend.

Speaking of Ko-fi updates, I have changed my commissions offerings! I simplified what I offer by narrowing it down to two main options.

Now, prices for commissions did go up. And that’s because I realized that the prices in my head did not match modern-day, post-inflation pricing. I still have rent to pay and groceries to get, so I upped my rates to cover those as much as possible.

(Now, if you saw the new prices and thought, “What? That’s too high!” First, I get it. Second, email newsletter subscribers and Ko-fi Club members get discount codes on commissions. Pick the outlet that works best for your budget.)

I will also be updating my “Hire Me” page to simplify my offerings and match my pricing to something that will actually help me live and cover bills.

Stay tuned for more updates!

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.