Hi all! Just making a quick update on Memberships on this website.
The Stripe integration has been fixed. If you were trying to subscribe using Stripe, and you were getting an error message previously, it should be fixed now. BUT – if you’re still getting errors, please email me at contact@kelcidcrawford.com so I can troubleshoot it.
By request, I have now included the Holy Banana Pants Club tier. This is only for high rollers. If you cannot afford it, do not worry about it.
With member feedback, The Art Club Tier has updated – instead of a new mini-print each month, Art Club members will now get a new art zine emailed (or mailed) to them each month. The pricing ($10 per month) has stayed the same.
More updates to come, including some visual assets.
That’s all for now. Thank you for your support! (And thank you for the feedback to help make this offering better).
So my Ko-fi page has been marked as NSFW, with no notice or warning. When I appealed the decision, Ko-fi rejected it – also with no reason given.
I feel that I should not be marked as NSFW, but the powers that be have different ideas.
Why would they mark me as NSFW, when my most recent posts have no sexual content or nudity (sexual or otherwise) on it? There isn’t even any profanity. Violence can’t be the issue, because our culture rarely, if ever, marks swashbuckling violence as NSFW.
My best guesses are:
I have a presence on itch.io, including two comics that are clearly marked as for adult readers only. These comics are NOT on Ko-fi because of their content. But apparently having that content on any site – even if it’s not Ko-fi – is enough for the platform to mark me as NSFW. Possibly. Again, Ko-fi gave no clear reasoning, so this is a guess.
(In that vein, I feel like censoring me on one platform because of something on another is an unnecessary punishment, censorship overreach, and a pretty clear conflict of interest. Also, bad business practice. If Ko-fi is trying to deter me from posting on itch.io by censoring me on Ko-fi, the only thing it’s making me do is consider migrating to itch.io more fully. More on that in a minute.)
I’m out in online spaces as genderqueer/nonbinary, and they’re starting to crack down on people with those identities. Given how much anti-trans backlash there is online and off, I’m not ruling out this possibility. (Even if that backlash is funded by right-wing billionaires with nothing better to do than sow division among us working people. Also, who funds Ko-fi?)
Again, these above points are just speculation. But the silence that Ko-fi has greeted me with, does them no favors.
So, I’m looking to move away from Ko-fi. Here’s how I’m doing it:
I’m setting up my memberships on this website. Shout-out to Cartoonists United, because there are members who suggested I do this and have pointed me to resources that are helpful in this regard.
I’m no longer selling physical merch online. This phase-out started early because of the current political administration making shipping a MASSIVE PAIN IN THE ASS, domestic or not. Since my shop is now digital-only, I’m migrating my full library to itch.io. My work has been received way better on itch, anyway. So my ko-fi shop will be closing soon as a result.
Commissions and how I administrate them are still a work in progress. More updates to come on that front.
Will my Ko-fi page close soon? No.
The migration progress is going to take the time it takes.
Until then, my Ko-fi page is still up, just marked as NSFW (even if I disagree with it).
Once my alternatives are set up, my Ko-fi page will still run as a mirror version as folks transition off the platform. Once my current members are fully off the site, I’m turning memberships and other features off.
Ko-fi is more than welcome to email me at any point to clarify their stance and why they rejected my appeal. They have my contact information. I would love to hear ANYTHING from them besides “no” and no explanation.
I usually sign off my blog posts with “Thanks for reading. You. Are. Awesome.”
But in this situation, nothing is awesome about it. I’m just angry, disappointed, left in the dark, and left to my own devices. Ko-fi has branded me as NSFW in their walled-off internet garden.
So fuck that. I’m building my own damn internet garden.
It’s the Ko-fi Membership Campaign’s FINAL COUNTDOWN (queue “The Final Countdown” by Europe).
To celebrate, I’m running a YouTube livestream on the final day, Jan 31 at 6 pm ET. Feel free to tune in, watch me draw, and let me answer any questions you may have about Ko-fi.
As a reminder, we are at 10 members currently – we’re trying to get to 12 members by the end of Jan 31! By doing that, all members (new and current) will get a Little Caticorn mini-print, a Prince Odinon mini-print, and a Caticorns zine.
If you’re interested in becoming a member, head to my Ko-fi Memberships page and check the options that work best for you.
Broke? There are two free things you can do: Subscribe to my YouTube channel and spread the word about the Membership Drive! Sharing is caring and helps a lot.
Thank you for your support!
You. Are. Awesome.
P.S. I’m also available for Valentine’s Day commissions. More info is on my Commissions page.
We are one week into the Ko-fi Membership Drive and we have already unlocked a goal!
Now that we have 10 members on Ko-fi, everyone of these members are receiving a Little Caticorn 4×6-inch mini-print!
The next goal is 15 members – when we hit that, everyone will receive the Little Caticorn mini-print AND the Forest Spirit 4×6-inch mini-print!
For the folks who have joined recently, thank you for your patronage. Your rewards will mail out on/after February 1st, 2025. Also you can start receiving early access to The Legend of Jamie Roberts already!
There are more benefits to membership – like shop discounts, exclusive zines and mini-comics, exclusive art, first dibs on commissions, and more. To get these perks, head to my Ko-fi page and join!
Alternatively, you can give just once, and get access to shop discounts and first dibs when I’m available for commissions.
If you want to get your hands on some goodies, I now have some bundles for you to check out:
Keep in mind, you can ONLY get these bundles during this membership drive. So you have UNTIL JAN 31 to claim these. Once the drive closes, the 2024 bundles are gone forever.
So can we make it to 15 members? Who will claim the 2024 rewards? Stay tuned for more updates next week!
This is a drive to get more memberships on my Ko-fi page, whether you give just once, or you join with a monthly membership. (Though there are definitely more perks if you join the monthly membership, more info below).
As of right now, we have 8 active Ko-fi members. If we can make these following benchmarks, we can unlock the following goals:
At 10 active members, all members (one-off and monthly) will get a 4×6-inch Little Caticorn mini-print!
At 15 members, all members (one-off and monthly) will get that PLUS a 4×6-inch Forest Spirit mini-print!
At 20 members, all members (one-off and monthly) will get these PLUS a 4×6-inch Prince Odinon mini-print!
At 25 members, all members (one-off and monthly) will get these PLUS a 4×6-inch mini-print of The Two Sisters – a watercolor painting from the 2022 Columbus, OH show, Comics vs Art!
More rewards will be announced as more goals are unlocked!
WHY
2025 is going to be an uncertain year for a lot of folks for many different reasons. For me, 2025 will be risky because of book bans and their challenges (I’m a genderqueer comic artist who makes comics about LGBTQ+ characters). Plus, for 2025 I’m *only* going to zine fests and shows in the Toledo, OH area. For one, those shows are friendlier to comics like The Legend of Jamie Roberts. Also, the proposed tariffs are affecting many artists’ ability to afford merchandise stock like keychains and books. This isn’t even mentioning that comicons and pop culture cons are too expensive to go to as a vendor, even with splitting tables with friends.
Because of these impacts, that leaves us with a question: how can comics like The Legend of Jamie Roberts, Vanita and the Demon King, and so many zines and minicomics happen with these challenges ahead? How can we solve at least one part of this puzzle?
That’s where Ko-fi Memberships come in.
Ko-fi Memberships are an easy way to get cool and custom rewards *and* support to keep making comics like The Legend of Jamie Roberts. The more supporters there are, the more comics and art that can be made and shared with more and more readers!
I want comics like The Legend of Jamie Roberts to keep going. More importantly, *the readers* want comics like The Legend to keep going. This comic especially is written with teens and young adults in mind, who, like me, struggle with gender identity and their place in the world. Stories like this cannot exist in a vacuum, and need support from readers like you to continue.
HOW
Ko-fi Memberships come in two flavors – one-time donations and monthly memberships.
If you give just a one-time donation during this Membership Drive, you get…
Ko-fi shop discount codes,
First dibs when I’m available for commissions,
If you join any of my monthly memberships – the Digital Club, the Zine + Sticker Club, the Art Club, you get all of that PLUS…
Webcomic updates two days earlier than the rest of the internet,
Sneak peeks at how comic pages are made,
Access to comic scripts,
Shout-outs on YouTube,
Member-exclusive zines and stickers (for Zine + Sticker Club and Art Club members),
Exclusive 4 x 6 inch mini-prints (Art Club members),
AND members-only rewards if you back a KickStarter or Crowdfundr campaign.
To get these rewards, head to my Ko-fi page and click “Memberships” to join monthly, or “Shop” to get some goodies. Spending $3 or more in the shop gets you the one-time rewards. You can also get one-time rewards by leaving a tip of $3 or more on the main Ko-fi page.
Keep in mind, too, that you can cancel monthly memberships anytime, no questions asked.
These are options IF you have the budget for it. If you are broke or struggling, absolutely *do not* feel pressured to join. Like I mentioned up top, I understand that 2025 will be a tough year for all of us. So if you are broke, share this campaign with other folks who love genderqueer pirates, trans girls, demon kings, dragons, fantasy malarkey, and supporting queer creators. Sharing is caring and helps spread the word that this campaign and these comics are even happening.
WHEN
This Ko-fi Membership Drive will run UNTIL JAN 31, 2025. I will be updating you once a week on Tuesdays to let you know how the campaign is going. Rewards will ship out after Feb 1.
That’s all for now. If you have any questions or anything, please let me know!
