It’s the Incredible RathaCon!

This Saturday, April 1 (not a joke), it’s RathaCon!

I’ve been going to this show in Athens, OH dang near every year, and 2023 is no different.

The show runs Saturday only at the Athens Community Center from 10 am to 7 pm.

If you can make it, you should also check out my cool neighbors, like Shawn Langley, Canonwrite Productions, the Columbus Cartoon Coalition, A “Junior” Vigorito, and Chloe L Rose!

WHAT WILL I HAVE?

I’m bringing my usual setup of comics. I’m also bringing…

  • A new (and framed) piece of original art, priced on a sliding scale,
  • Extra copies of The Stars of Fantasyville, my latest sketchbook,
  • misprints of The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 1,
  • The last of my pins from my (now closed) Pin Club,
  • 2 for $1 stickers,
  • Lots of grab bags,
  • Materials to draw caricatures,
  • And a LOT more!

Any and all profits will help towards my move to a new apartment in May.

After this show, I have no other events lined up until maybe Free Comic Book Day (still figuring out plans for that weekend, to be honest).

HEADS UP: My online shop will be closed during RathaCon weekend. It should reopen sometime on Sunday, April 2. That said, commissions are still open. Any and all commission sales will help towards moving to a new home.

I’m VERY excited about RathaCon! Hope to see you there!

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

HerdCon, Here I Come!

This Friday AND Saturday, March 24 and 25th, it’s HerdCon Weekend in Huntington, WV!

I’m only going to be there for Saturday – but be sure to go for the Friday events, including a 1 pm live show of Sawbones, the podcast from Justin and Sydney McElroy, yo.

But yeah, I won’t be down in time for the Friday events, since I’m coming in from Toledo – which is a hike, to say the least. I WILL, however, be there all day on Saturday. Find me in the Artist and Vendor hall.

WHAT WILL I HAVE?

I’m bringing my usual setup of comics. I’m also bringing…

  • Extra copies of The Stars of Fantasyville, my latest sketchbook,
  • misprints of The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 1,
  • The last of my pins from my (now closed) Pin Club,
  • Free stickers,
  • Clearance prints,
  • Lots of grab bags,
  • And a LOT more!

Any and all profits will help towards my move to a new apartment in May.

Heads Up – if it sells out at HerdCon, I WILL NOT restock it for RathaCon the following weekend.

Another Heads Up – My Ko-fi shop will be temporarily closed during HerdCon weekend. To be specific, the Ko-fi Shop will be closed all day Friday, March 24, until Sunday morning, March 26. Thank you for your understanding.

That’s all for now. I’m so excited to be going back to HerdCon in person this year!

Thank you for your support. Hope to see you there!

You. Are. Awesome.

Alternatives to Patreon

In case you didn’t see it, I had a chat with comics buddy Jade, creator of Ask the Werewolves and Fox Me Gently. In the video (now on YouTube), we discussed why we left Patreon and alternatives to the platform we found.

I highly recommend giving it a watch! It’s less than an hour and a half long. But if you need cliff notes, here are some highlights.

Jade and I Both Left for Security Reasons

I left Patreon in 2018-ish, returned in 2021, and then left again last year. And I did that because Patreon had laid off their security team.

Jade left on March 1 (just over a week ago!) for the same reasons. On top of that, she found out that Patreon is outsourcing its security to an outside company. One that may sell the data of any NSFW creators at any time.

Not only that – Patreon requires creators who make NSFW content to post their IDs for face recognition software (already a YIKES). But patrons are not scrutinized to the same level. Any patron can check off a box saying, “Yes, I’m over 18,” even if they aren’t. If Patreon’s goal was to stop underage consumption of NSFW content, this policy is a failure.

What a Platform Deems as NSFW is Often Never Defined Until You’re Punished

Ko-Fi is a Patreon alternative, but it has its faults. The first of which is that yes, you can mark your page as NSFW. But you’re not allowed to post NSFW content on Ko-Fi.

This is already a “…What?” But don’t worry, it gets worse.

I’ve shared this story in multiple places, but I’ll repeat it here – back in August 2022, my Ko-Fi page got taken down by the platform. They did not email me about it. They did not tell me why they did it. I had to reach out to them and ask why. They only responded, “You’re posting content we disapprove of. Please remove it.”

No specifics. No details. Just that.

By process of elimination, I figured it had to be one of two posts I did shortly before the take-down. It was either this page of The Legend of Jamie Roberts that dared to show off male nipples. Or it was a product listing with the words “Fuck off” in the title.”

To be safe, I removed both. And my page was immediately up.

That scared the hell out of me. So I researched alternative platforms in earnest.

Alternatives DO Exist.

Thankfully, there are sites like Buy Me A Coffee, Stripe, and Big Cartel. Jade and I discuss other options in the video (which you really ought to watch). But we do hope that these are just the start. We both hope that there are innovators out there who want to build alternatives to Patreon and Ko-Fi.

(And now for the shameless plug.)

I chose to build my own alternative from scratch, using Stripe to process payments. I’m calling this Subscribe.

By going to Subscribe, you can choose a Club that works best for you and your budget! To check out the options, head over to Subscribe. Members get early webcomic updates, exclusive crowdfunding rewards, and discounts on commissions. The more you pledge, the more rewards you get.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

I’m Off To Detroit Zine Fest!

I’m off to Detroit Zine Fest this weekend!

March 4, from 11 am to 7 pm EST, at The Jam Handy in Detroit, MI.

This time I’m sharing the table with other members of the Columbus Cartoon Coalition!

Be sure to check out Samir and Nick. They have cool stuff and they’re coming with me to the show! Find Samir on Instagram and their website, and find Nick on his website, Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter.

Now, I’ve never been to Detroit Zine Fest before. I think this is their first year as a zine fest in existence.

But hey, this could be another Feminist Zine Fest Pittsburgh – a cool show with cool people.

Hope to see you there!

Thanks for reading.

You. Are. Awesome.