We are one week into the Ko-fi Membership Drive and we have already unlocked a goal!
Now that we have 10 members on Ko-fi, everyone of these members are receiving a Little Caticorn 4×6-inch mini-print!
The next goal is 15 members – when we hit that, everyone will receive the Little Caticorn mini-print AND the Forest Spirit 4×6-inch mini-print!
For the folks who have joined recently, thank you for your patronage. Your rewards will mail out on/after February 1st, 2025. Also you can start receiving early access to The Legend of Jamie Roberts already!
There are more benefits to membership – like shop discounts, exclusive zines and mini-comics, exclusive art, first dibs on commissions, and more. To get these perks, head to my Ko-fi page and join!
Alternatively, you can give just once, and get access to shop discounts and first dibs when I’m available for commissions.
If you want to get your hands on some goodies, I now have some bundles for you to check out:
Keep in mind, you can ONLY get these bundles during this membership drive. So you have UNTIL JAN 31 to claim these. Once the drive closes, the 2024 bundles are gone forever.
So can we make it to 15 members? Who will claim the 2024 rewards? Stay tuned for more updates next week!
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.
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.
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.
Fun fact: the first 69 pages of The Legend of Jamie Roberts…were drawn traditionally, then colored and lettered digitally. After page 69, the comics-making process became completely digital.
Why? Well, I moved to a smaller apartment at the time. So I had to switch to a digital process to save on physical space. There was also the problem of my old scanner being in rough shape. I had to leave it behind in the move, and replacement scanners could not scan 11×17-inch pages.
Also…I wanted to achieve certain special effects in the pages of this comic. And those special effects are easier to do digitally.
I do like the work that went into these originals. I’m still very pleased with how they turned out. Yet I don’t have the space to hang them up or show them off.
So I’ve been sitting with these 69 pages in studio storage. I think it’s time they find homes where they can be shown off and appreciated more.
That’s why I’ve included these 69 pages in the Spring Cleaning Sale on Crowdfundr. There are also tons of other original art available, from sketchbook pages to pins and keychains. Plus, pages from my other webcomic projects are also available.
Shipping is free on these original pages, as well as the other big-ticket work that’s available. You have until May 6 to get these.
Lurk while Ben Wright-Heuman and I work and prepare for Awesome Con! We’re sharing a table at this event (happening March 8-10 in Washington, DC). Be sure to check out Ben’s website and YouTube channel, as well!
