Author: Kelci

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“An Ignorance of Romance” Is Funded on Crowdfundr!

Holy banana pants! An Ignorance of Romance has reached its base goal on Crowdfundr!

This means we have raised enough funding to cover webhosting, domain registration, and the first 3 to 4 pages of the webcomic.

Any and all funding raised from today until April 27 will fund more pages of the webcomic before we launch for the public in June.

Also, the more backers who support the Crowdfundr, the more rewards you can claim – including sneak peeks at behind-the-scenes work.

Finally, here’s a peek at the cover art:

Be sure to check out the Crowdfundr before it closes on April 27!

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

You. Are. Awesome.

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New Zine – How To Promote Your Work Without Social Media

I have a new zine in my Ko-fi shop! It’s called “How to Promote Your Work Without Social Media: A Guide for the New Luddite.”

It’s actually been out for over a week. And it’s now my best-selling thing in my Ko-fi shop!

I shouldn’t be surprised. When I took the print-version of this to Detroit Zine Fest, I sold out of copies halfway through the show.

It’s available on a sliding scale of price. That means you can leave a tip of your choice, or just get it for free.

Want to know what’s in it? Well, I cover tips that have worked for me for the last decade. This includes newsletters, a blog, and more.

So be sure to check it out now!

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

You. Are. Awesome.

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I Made A Comic About Lake Erie and the Toxic Algae Blooms

I made a comic about Lake Erie and the toxic algae blooms! You can read it now, freely, on Crucial Comix and The Revelator.

This is my first nonfiction comic publication, aside from a 3-page explainer for a Columbus, OH zine about the 3 Sisters crop arrangement (that’s coming later). I had not made a science comic like this before, and I’m glad I accepted the challenge!

On Crucial Comix, it’s, “Lake Erie Was Declared Dead. Now We’re Fighting For Its Life.” On The Revelator (a publication of The Center for Biological Diversity), it’s, “In Ohio, Facing A Future Without Clean Water.”

Here’s a sneak peek of it:

part 1 of my lake erie comic.
part 2 of my comic about Lake Erie

To read the rest of the comic, head to Crucial Comix or The Revelator. Links are above the art.

I want to make more comics like this. The scientists who got me in touch with the biologists for this are expressing interest in working with me again on a separate project. We’ll see who likes the pitch and where we can go with it!

During the making of this comic, I learned *way too much* about Lake Erie. So if you have questions, leave them in the comments and let me know.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

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We’ve Started Making Pages!

Kai and I are now making pages for An Ignorance of Romance!

Here’s a peek at the thumbnails for the first 4 pages…

thumbnails for comic pages

This is the stage where I read the script, then I lay out what I think the pages will *roughly* look like. Once sketched, I send them to Kai for approval. If approved, I can start actually drawing the pages.

Good news – Kai approved of these thumbnails! So now I can start drawing pages.

Thanks to the funding raised so far, we can cover webhosting and domain registration, and covering costs for the first page or two.

As an FYI – there will be extras in these opening scenes, like castle staff, stable hands, and market folks. So if you (or a friend!) want to be drawn in this comic, there are spot available for you to claim that reward!

You might be asking, “Will this comic be drawn in color?”

Surprise: this comic will be drawn in black and white with tones. This is so we can post two (or more) pages in a week, because black and white pages are faster to produce. There’s a LOT of story here, so we want to post more often!

Got more questions? Ask them in the comments and we’ll get back to you!

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

You. Are. Awesome.

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An Ignorance of Romance on Crowdfundr – Off to a Good Start!

We’re off to a strong start with An Ignorance of Romance on Crowdfundr! Shout-out to our backers so far – you are *mighty*.

Also, I (Kelci) just came back from Pittsburgh Indie Expo, where I had some promotional zines for An Ignorance of Romance for free for attendees to nab. I hope to see some folks from PIE in the comments (maybe even signal boosting this campaign and backing us)!

My next show is Detroit Zine Fest, were I will have more promo zines for An Ignorance of Romance. I hope attendees are ready for me to gush about this webcomic project!

You may be thinking, “I see this is a Keep-It -All campaign. Does that mean you get my order right away?”

Yes, and your payment is processed the same day.

“So what are you doing with the money before the month ends?”

Right now, our next step is booking the domain name. Possibly two, so one could be a back-up. We have enough raised to cover that, plus the cost of hosting this webcomic ourselves.

“Why aren’t you posting this on Webtoons or Tapas?”

I’m opposed to Webtoons’ treatment of their artists, especially the ones they have under contract. They also started using and embracing AI art, which is antithetical to our ethics and what we’re doing. So on those alone, we’re not posting to Webtoon.

We *might* mirror the webcomic on Tapas, but Tapas has formatting standards that would mean changing the comic art. So let’s put a pin in that for now.

Kai and I want to host this comic ourselves so we have more control over how the webcomic looks, and so we can cultivate a community outside of the Webtoons or Tapas culture. The fans who have been with us since 2013 know that we respect the folks who engage in our comments section, and that any bad actors are removed ASAP. We don’t have time for trolls, and neither do you. And we want to respect our readers and their time.

If you have any other questions about the webcomic, please leave us a comment! We read them all.

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

You. Are. Awesome.