Roxie, the Comics, Now Available for Pre-Order on Ko-Fi

She’s bold. She’s brassy. She’s one-of-a-kind. She’s ROXIE!

The roller derby girl from Validation has starred in her own adventures before. Now, this new book collects all of them in one place!

In this book, all 30 original-run comic strips will be reprinted in full color (with retouched artwork as needed). Plus bonus content like character art and original scripts… and a preface by CB, the creator of Validation who has a WHOLE bunch of credits to her name!

Here are some specs about the book:

  • This book measures 5.5 inches tall and 8.5 inches wide.
  • Printed in full color.
  • Saddle-stapled.
  • Roughly 25 pages.

You might have some questions for me. Let’s address them here.

“Why aren’t you running this on Kickstarter?”

I actually wrote a lengthy blog post about my disagreement with one of Kickstarter’s most recent decisions. On the one hand, I COULD run a campaign on the platform while still posting that their decision is a bad one. (After all, other creators have posted similar sentiments right on their campaign’s front pages. Pressure like this HAS gotten KickStarter to change their minds on other issues in the past.)

Or, I can use ko-fi as a platform and run a book pre-order. I LOVE ko-fi, ever since I switched to the platform a couple of years ago. Ko-fi has only gotten better and more robust since I joined. I believe in it and I want it to succeed! To that end, I want to run this pre-order on ko-fi to test out some features that Kickstarter may not have. (Also, keeping track of add-ons is WAY easier to do on Ko-Fi!)

“Do I need to read Validation before reading this comic?”

I like to think it’s a perk, not a requirement. You can totes read this as a standalone story.

“Who wrote and drew this book?”

I did! I get the confusion, though – Validation was written by CB and drawn by me. Roxie is set in the same universe. But CB let me have free reign to write and draw this story.

“Your book is $10?”

Because it’s free shipping for US backers! Shipping costs are already factored into the price. (Sorry, UK and Canada, but shipping is a little extra for you to cover the difference.)

“I FOR SURE want the book! What else can I get?”

You have options!

  • You can get just the book for $10.
  • OR, you can get the book and a Roxie sticker for $15 (free shipping again for US backers).
  • OR, you can get the book, the Roxie sticker, AND a Macho Mujeres keychain for $20 (once again, free shipping for US backers).

You can also browse the rest of my ko-fi shop for any cool add-ons you would like to add! I’ll ship them all together for you. I also have a commission section, though I think that needs to be rung up as a separate transaction.

“What if I want a PDF?”

That will have to be a separate store listing. Sorry, but ko-fi is specific about individual item listings in their shop feature. Also, the PDF is, like, 80% done for printer purposes. Formatting it for digital sales is a different process.

“Oh, this is a pre-order! When will my order arrive?”

After May 1, but before June 15. I’m leaving a few weeks’ buffers just in case something happens at my comic book printers’ HQ.

“Why should I support you?”

Do you mean, OTHER than the fact that I have 10 other successful crowdfunding campaigns under my belt? Because I’m a genderqueer comic artist who REALLY loves making comics and sharing them with the world! I’ve been at it non-stop since 2013.

Also, I’ll just throw this out there: by purchasing this pre-order, you become a sidekick on my ko-fi! That means that, no matter what you pledge, you get access to ko-fi supporter-only content. Things like exclusive webcomics, podcasts, and other goodies.

“Great! How long are you accepting pre-orders?”

UNTIL APRIL 30 at 11:59 pm EST. After that, the listing will switch to “Draft.” That way, I can fulfill orders without fear of last-minute purchases that would throw off my numbers.

Can you support this book? Marvelous! Are you broke? Share this! Use tinyurl.com/roxie-book to share with your peeps.

Thank you so much for your support.

You. Are. Awesome.

Why (I Think) KickStarter Adopting Blockchain Tech is a BAD Idea

This is a repost of a KickStarter update. I’m sharing this here just in case.

Anybody who’s been following my work for a while knows that KickStarter is how I fund most of my work. I’ve run over 10 campaigns on the platform, nearly all of them successful. It’s because of KickStarter support that I can have any kind of living making comics – what I LOVE to do.

But this does not mean that KickStarter is perfect. Or immune to criticism. It’s because I’m grateful to KickStarter that I feel this post needs to be shared.

First, however, I gotta go into blockchain.

For folks who are unaware, blockchain technology is what cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are made by. Blockchain is a kind of programming, usually open-source, that houses information and makes it visible to everyone. This quality is handy for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Because then, programmers can look at the code to see if anyone has tried to artificially inflate or deflate the crypto’s worth. The intent of blockchain technology is to make it so cryptocurrencies’ worth is visible to anyone who has access to the code.

Did you notice how I said the technology is supposed to be visible? Put a pin in that – we’ll circle back to it.

Now, evangelists will try to tell you that blockchain tech is “immune,” or at least resistant, to man-in-the-middle attack attempts. Man-in-the-middle is when someone or something gets between point A and point B and muddles up communication. Gaston Means did this to con the English and Germans during World War 1 and make millions of dollars off of both sides while doing it. (Put a pin in that, too).

Believe it or not, Bitcoin has already been hit by a man-in-the-middle attack. The only way to resolve it in blockchain tech is to make a fork in the code. This way, one prong goes off the directive that the attack caused. Meanwhile, the other fork is supposed to fix the damage. There’s a bit of a war going on with Bitcoin because of this.

Did you notice how Bitcoin can’t just go back into the code and rewrite it so the man-in-the-middle attack never happened? That’s on purpose. Blockchain tech is not built to FIX hacks. Blockchain tech is not built to rewrite itself. That’s by design. It is purposefully built this way. The intent is so people are not “supposed to” rewrite codes in the middle to change Bitcoin’s quality.

This doesn’t stop con artists from trying this with other cryptocurrencies, though.

In fact, right now, there’s a glut of fraud happening. Scammers are going into codes and inputting commands so that customers’ crypto wallets either fork for the scammers’ benefit. Or the scammer will input a command saying, “By the way, funnel your NFTs and wallet into this other account.” This issue is RAMPANT in blockchain tech. I’m convinced that half of all tweets on Twitter in the crypto-sphere are people bitching about how their wallets got hacked into and “won’t somebody please do something?!”

By the way, none of this is FDIC-insured. So people are funneling real-world money – often by the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars – into digital currencies. Which are, btw, massive bulls-eyes for scammers to go into and rewrite code for their own benefit. There’s already one high-profile case of a YouTuber who laundered Bitcoin. In fact, it’s really easy to use Bitcoin for money-laundering schemes.

If you need more rage-inducing facts about crypto, blockchain, and NFTs (or non-fungible tokens, the digital version of COVID-19), then grab a sandwich and check out Dan Olson’s video on the topic. It’s a feature-length film on YouTube, but he explains everything better than me.

And here’s the kick in the teeth – KickStarter wants to adopt blockchain technology into their platform.

I think this is a PHENOMENALLY bad idea for security reasons.

Blockchain tech, despite what the evangelists say, is not safe to use. It’s actually very easy to go into the chain, find information on the account holders, and scam them out of their money.

There are evangelists who want to put credit card info, bank account info, and even MEDICAL RECORDS on the blockchain. All of this is terrible and a massive security risk.

Look – the readership I have is very important to me. A solid one-third of them are transgender or nonbinary. Some are out of the closet, some are not. But maintaining the privacy of my readership is hugely important to me. I don’t want anybody who supports my work to be subjected to harassment.

If KickStarter is serious about adopting blockchain technology, that means all of that information is visible to ANYBODY… whether they are working for KickStarter or not. Blockchain is not immune to man-in-the-middle attacks or any other form of scam. Blockchain tech, as it exists currently, is ready to bring harassment campaigns to a brand new level.

“But wait!” I can hear the evangelists say. “We wanted KickStarter to adopt the technology so we can use cryptocurrencies to support projects we love!”

Remember how I mentioned that Bitcoin has a fork in it now? Because someone got into the code to alter its value? That’s a serious problem that blockchain technology is not built to fix. It’s not even built to address this issue. And this doesn’t even go into how the value of a cryptocurrency fluctuates from hour to hour, much less week to week.

Why does anyone want to accept a currency that’s worth $10,000 today, but could be worth $0.01 tomorrow? Nothing is stopping crypto from fluctuating like this. And fluctuations like this happen so frequently that some folks don’t even bother tracking them.

Nobody accepts crypto as payment for food or rent – and I argue that’s a good thing.

KickStarter, I love you. And it’s because I love you that I urge you to leave blockchain technology off your table. It is not safe on any level. And no amount of patching will fix it.

I hope there’s enough public pressure about this issue that it will change the minds of folks at KickStarter HQ. After all, it was public pressure that made them accept that their workforce wanted to unionize.

But here’s the thing – crypto bros want you to be confused about the tech. They want to make sure you don’t know how it works or what exactly it does. They want this so they can get your information and make themselves richer. “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain,” as it were.

Do I know everything about blockchain and crypto? No. But I know enough to know that it’s a bad idea. KickStarter needs to abandon it for the safety of backers and creators alike.

Will I run another campaign on KickStarter? I don’t know yet. I’m looking into alternatives if KickStarter refuses to budge about this. I’d rather not change platforms – but if I must, I will. Iron Circus has already moved off the platform because of this issue… and Iron Circus is one of the biggest comics publishers who’s used KickStarter the longest.

Whatever decision I make, it’s with my readership in mind. I’m not risking their personal information for anyone else’s financial gain.

That’s all I have for now. Thank you for sticking with me in this overly long post.

You. Are. Awesome.

52 HOURS Left (and Counting) for Kay the Valkyrie…

Kay the Valkyrie hit its funding goal in the first hour that it launched! Now, there are only 52 hours left to get your print.

If we get to 10 backers, everyone who backs the campaign will get a FREE bundle of quarter-sized pins included in their rewards.

Should we get to 15 backers, then everyone will get free pins AND a free bookmark.

Book Bundles and Sticker Bundles are STILL available as add-ons! Plus, there’s the option to include commissions in your rewards. So if you would like me to draw something custom (especially as a gift), then get that add-on.

Want to see what other add-ons are available? I talk about them in this archived live stream. Go check that out, yo.

Got the means? Back the campaign!

Broke? Share the link! It’s tinyurl.com/ks-valkyrie. Every share helps.

Live Stream TODAY at 2 pm EDT

Today at 2 pm EDT, I’m live streaming on YouTube! We’re gonna’ chat about Kay the Valkyrie and their new wall print on KickStarter right now.

Who is Kay? Why a wall print? How do you even run a 7-day KickStarter campaign? What are the add-ons? That’s what we’re talking about today in the stream.

I’ll also be joined by my comics buddy Ben Wright-Heuman! He’ll help field questions you have in the live chat.

Can’t make it? The stream will be archived on YouTube shortly after it goes live.

This live stream is to promote Kay the Valkyrie on KickStarter…which has ONLY 4 DAYS LEFT on KickStarter! If you have the means, go pledge to get your print and extra rewards.

That’s all for now. Thank you for tuning in!

You. Are. Awesome.

Launching in 24 Hours…

Kay the Valkyrie wall print will be launching on KickStarter in the next 24 hours!

Once it launches, the campaign will ONLY LAST 7 DAYS.

To be the first to get the launch notice, you can go to the campaign page or get on my email newsletter.

If you’re broke, share the link far and wide! Every share helps.

That’s all for now! Thank you for checking in.

You. Are. Awesome.