Tag: zines

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NOW LIVE On KickStarter – Zine Club Pledge Drive!

Now live on KickStarter, it’s the Zine Club Pledge Drive!

I love making zines! 

For the first half of my webcomics-making career, I offered zines as rewards for patrons on Patreon…back when I was on the platform. After I left Patreon, I moved to Ko-Fi and offered the Zine Club as a membership tier. 

And for this latest KickStarter campaign, I’m opening up for new pledges to my Zine Club!

Right now, our membership is small – less than 13 people. We are a pretty cozy community of creative folks. I love them! AND I would love to grow the club to more members. To get more zines out into the world AND to make more webcomics happen!

Growing the Zine Club would also mean less of a need to hustle so much for income. Less hustling means more time for making rewards, too.

With your help, I would LOVE to grow the Zine club to make these goals happen. KEEP IN MIND, These are set intentionally low so we can hit goals and spread the word faster:

(This is already unlocked!) If we raise our Base Goal of $72, all backers and Zine Club members will get the Deluxe version of my tabletop roleplaying game, Toe Beans & Broomsticks! This game was originally designed for Free RPG Day last year. In it, you play as magic-casting cats, crows, dogs, and owls on a Saturday Morning adventure. The Deluxe edition of the game will have updated character tokens, NPCs, and a homebrewed game setting, The Lost Scroll of Madam Jellybean!

(ALSO UNLOCKED!) If we raise $143, all backers and Zine Club members will get the remastered PDF of Thoughtful Dinosaur!

If we raise $220, all backers and Zine Club members will get the PDF of New Punk Signal (The Signal So Far), the spin-off/sequel to Validation featuring everyone’s favorite himbos, Mike & Steve.

At $385, all backers and Zine Club members will get The Lore of Jamie Roberts, the zine containing SO MUCH RESEARCH that went into The Legend of Jamie Roberts. The zine will also contain concept art and a recipe for the pepper soup that appears in Chapter 3 of The Legend.

We also have stretch goals if we go BEYOND $385! But we’ll unlock those when we get there.

Can you pledge and become a member – even for just a month?

Then back this campaign! There are base rewards on the main page, and whichever one you click, you have your choice of add-ons to pick with your bundle!

Broke? Share this campaign far and wide! Sharing is caring and it helps more than you know. The link is tinyurl.com/kzineclub

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

You. Are. Awesome.

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Introducing – Zine Club 2.0

characters from the Charlie & Clow adventures are celebrating the holidays - from the Fantasyville Holiday special zine

If you don’t know, I created an alternative to Patreon for my fans and myself – my Subscribe page. On this page are 3 different clubs, each with rewards that stack the more that you pledge.

Previously, one of these clubs was only for folks who lived in the United States: the Zine Club. As part of the rewards, I mailed physical zines to members each month. For the sake of how much postage costs, I kept the reward to only folks who were based in the US. International shipping just cost too much.

But now, things are DIFFERENT…

It started with the zine I made for February. I made THAT zine digital, because of how I formatted the pages. It just couldn’t work to make it a print book, so I made it a PDF download instead.

Then I thought, “What if I did that…EVERY month?”

Because here’s the thing – I’ve made a few comics exclusively for digital release, not print. Comics like PuzzleSpell, for instance.

So I did some poking around on the backend, updating the Stripe system, making a special segment of my newsletter, and now, we have…

ZINE CLUB 2.0!

By joining for a subscription of $5 a month, you get a new zine downloadable sent to your inbox before the end of the month. No shipping is necessary! Plus you get early webcomic updates and behind-the-scenes news in your inbox each week.

Here’s What’s Next

If you are currently a Zine Club member, you don’t have to do anything. Everything will continue as normal.

If you aren’t subscribed, use this link to sign up.

Are you a Pin Club member but wish to downsize? Here’s where you do that. (It’s also the place to go if you’re a Zine Club member and want to upgrade to the Pin Club.)

If you’re a Digital Club member and want to upgrade to the Zine Club 2.0, reach out to me directly. I have to make certain adjustments because of backend stuff.

Bottom Line…

I’m VERY excited about Zine Club 2.0. Now anybody worldwide can join – and I have SO MANY fun comics and zine Ideas!

That’s all for now. I appreciate your support!

You. Are. Awesome.

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New Ideas All At Once – The Genghis Con Mini Pop-Up Event

pictured is an artist alley table set up at a mini pop up event hosted by Genghis Con. This event happened at Superscript Comics and Games in Lakewood, OH.

This past Saturday, I showcased my work at the Genghis Con Mini Pop Up Event. Being surrounded by comics readers and fans…talking to other creators…it gave me so many ideas, all at once.

It just felt GOOD to be back in the comics scene at a live event.

But How Was the Show?

We got a bigger turnout than expected! I sold out of a handful of small things, like stickers. And The Case of the Wendigo was the most popular book on my table!

I want to give a quick shout-out to my friend Deci Belfry. They designed, printed, AND cut my new business cards. Plus they printed and cut new Mr. Dino postcards for the table! (This reminds me: I’ll be sending a portion of proceeds to Margie’s Hope. They’re a local nonprofit serving the trans and nonbinary community).

New Mr. Dino Postcards! A portion of sales of these will go towards Margie's Hope in Lakewood, OH. On the postcard is a dinosaur holding a transgender pride flag.
New Mr. Dino Postcards! A portion of sales of these will go towards Margie’s Hope in Lakewood, OH
Here's one of the business cards that Deci Belfry designed for me! Pictured is a stylized velociraptor jumping on a business card, with the text "You. Are. Awesome." Below that text is IG: @mrdinoandfriends as well as kelcidcrawford.com
Here’s one of the business cards that Deci Belfry designed for me!

What Kind of Ideas Did I Get?

SO MANY.

I’ve mentioned on Instagram that I have a personal project, called the Character Compendium. I’ve decided that the first batch of compendiums will be zines. They’ll be easier to assemble, print, and share that way (instead of making one large book. The book was the original idea, but zines are faster).

Speaking of zines, I need to give a shout-out to Matt, aka haberfish on Instagram. His perzine inspired me with the idea of a Mr. Dino “anthology” zine. He also makes delightful cartoons, and you should follow his work.

Not only am I thinking of a Mr. Dino perzine…but Matt and Deci gave me another idea…

My personal project, Kitties By Kelci? What if there’s a comic strip with those witch kitties? I will say: if I move forward on a Kitties By Kelci comic strip, they’ll post once a week on my email newsletter. That’s how I first published Thoughtful Dinosaur and Charlie & Clow: The Bonus Arc. I think it’s high-time that another email comic strip happens. Don’t you?

Cool! But Don’t I Have a Lot Going On?

Honestly? Yeah. That’s why I’m going to make some of these new ideas small projects, like zines. (Actually, this ties in nicely to one of my 2021 goals: make more minicomics). Small projects are easier and faster to finish.

When it comes to making and finishing things, I just need to remember: One Thing At A Time. It’s been my mantra for a while now, and I find it helpful in times like this.

That’s all I have for now. Be sure to stay up-to-date by hopping on my email newsletter, where I talk about current and upcoming projects. Like new books.

And be sure to check out Deci and Matt online! I also want to give a shout-out to a few other artists from the pop-up event: Caleb from Village Comics (he has a KickStarter next month!). Lindsey J Bryan. And Quill. (I know I’m forgetting other cool peeps, so tag yourself in the comments).

Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

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My “Plump the Post” Zine Submission

an illustration of a plump transgender/nonbinary person holding a flower. Below them is a banner saying "liberation" and above them flies the genderqueer flag.

I can’t remember the exact year that Plump the Post happened. But I think it was no later than 2018.

Plump the Post was a zine collecting art made by and for fat representation. For my entry, I wanted to highlight chubby genderqueer people because they’re valid, too.

(Also Hollywood has a tendency that even IF they highlight trans characters, they’re, 99.9% of the time, skinny.)

The model who served as inspiration for this piece was a friend of a friend, a chubby trans dude whom I am not naming to protect his privacy.

Is the zine available for sale? Well, it’s here.

Will there be another issue? Hard to say.

But I’m glad I participated in it.

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Coming Up Next: Marietta Comic and Creator Convention

marietta comic and creator con announcement graphic

The Marietta Comic and Creator Convention sprang up (at least partially) as a result of River City Comic Con getting canceled this year – the organizer of River City fell ill. This is, in fact, the first year that the Marietta Comic and Creator Convention even exists!

The show will be at the Lafayette Hotel on August 12. The show will run from 10 am to 5 pm. And I’ll be there showcasing my work! (Here’s the link to the Facebook event page for more info.)

There’s some new things to keep an eye out for:

  • There’s a new Mr. Dino & Friends print! (It’s also available on Storenvy)
  • Sketch cards are marked down to $1 – I’m trying to clear these babies out!
  • The Box of Clearance Original Art debuted at the Pop Culture Buy Sell Trade Show in Vienna, WV, and will make another appearance at this Marietta Show. Everything in the box is marked to $5.
  • There will be crafts on the table – wrist cuffs, a tablet case, and paper bead bracelets are included. The tablet case is $10, the other crafts are $7.
  • I will draw caricatures (if you ask) – they’re $5 for each person and take less than 5 minutes to do. (Due to space, I cannot offer group caricatures.)

Usually this is where I offer free sketch cards to those who attend the show, but I’m not going to this time. The reason I have sketch cards marked down to $1 is because there were folks who didn’t show up to claim their card at previous shows. These cards need new homes.

Oh! The Case of the Wendigo is back in stock. Huzzah!

However, for the next few days, Charlie & Clow is out of stock.

Why? Well, I made a consignment deal with New Dimension Comics and they cleared out my current stock of Charlie & Clow. I placed the rush-order in to get more copies, so hopefully they’ll arrive before Marietta Comic and Creator Con happens.

And before I forget, I updated the Shop list – there’s new stores carrying my comics and zines!

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

You. Are. Awesome.