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.
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.
That’s all for now. Thank you for your support!
You. Are. Awesome.
Luke (left) and Mel (right) are both members of the local (to me) LGBTQ community, and both LOVE Johnson & Sir. Luke commissioned me to make a portrait of the both of them to look like characters that would pop out of the comic, and I said yes.
