Tag: small press comics

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The Pin Club is Changing (for the Better)

The Pin Club I run is changing. Here’s why, what that means, and what comes next.

WHAT’S CHANGING

Two big things are different now: the supplier I use, and the time you can sign up. They both tie into each other.

So I found out the hard way that my usual go-to printer for acrylic pins – StickerMule – actually sucks. They have contributed to anti-LGBTQ causes, including the Dingus Gump himself, and haven’t paid fair overtime wages to their employees.

I won’t give my money to them anymore because of those factors. So I found a new product team – Vograce. They specialize in stuff for convention vendors like me, so they do MORE than just acrylic pins. But for the purposes of the Pin Club, I’m going to try their pins out.

WHAT THIS MEANS

Because of changing to a new printer, how folks join the Pin Club will be different.

Moving forward, new members can join the Pin Club ONLY on the first weekend of the month.

Why?

  • Having a limited window for folks to join will make it easier to know how much I need to print. I’m a one-person operation, after all! I do all the logistics and packaging. On top of that, there is a minimum order requirement, and the more pins ordered, the less it costs to print per pin.
  • Plus: I want to make sure everyone who joins the club gets the pins they sign up for. And if I did a Patreon model where people joined whenever they wanted, it would make keeping and ordering stock harder.
  • Also, working with a new printer, I want to make sure that pins for each month come in and get shipped at a reasonable pace. This is especially true because Vograce ships from overseas.

What’s Next?

The window for joining the December Pin Club opens this Friday, Dec 2nd! The last day to join will be Monday, Dec 5th. The Pin Club won’t open for new memberships after that until January.

I’m also going to tweak the wording on my Subscribe Page to reflect this change. Maybe I’ll even make a pop-up listing in my Ko-Fi shop…

So yes. Moving forward, Pin Club memberships will open on the first weekend of each month, First Friday to the following Monday. The schedule will help everybody involved.

Digital Club and Zine Club memberships can happen at any time. Those rewards are ones I can provide from my current studio setup. Just the Pin Club is changed.

If you still have questions, post them in the comments and I’ll answer as best as I can.

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

You. Are. Awesome.

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It’s Genghis Con Time Again, Kids!

It’s time for Genghis Con once again, kids!

This will be my return to the show proper since 2019. They did not run in 2020 for obvious reasons, and in 2021 they did small pop-up events to keep crowds more manageable.

genghis con pop up event 2021

Now, Genghis Con is back for 2022, at the Pivot Center for Arts, Dance, and Expression in Cleveland, OH! The show runs on November 27 from 12 pm to 5 pm EST.

Yes, that IS the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It’s been their date to organize since I first started attending the show years ago. Masks WILL be required at the venue.

What I’m Bringing

I’m bringing some sales items from Aistear Con 3 that did NOT sell out yet. And yes, I’m keeping the sales prices active on these things.

Here are the things I’m selling on CLEARANCE:

  • My remaining stickers are $1 each, or $5 for a sticker sheet
  • Greeting Cards are $1 each, with a free envelope. A bundle of 10 cards is $5 while supplies last.
  • Mr. Dino’s postcards are $1 each. Proceeds will benefit the Zebra Coalition in Florida to help LGBTQ youth in a hostile state.
  • Prints smaller than 11 x 17 inches are now $1 each
  • Misprints of The Forest Spirit, an 11 x 17-inch print, are $5 each.
  • Grab bags are 2 for $5. Each grab bag has at least 1 sticker, 1 mini-print, and an extra couple of goodies.
  • My LAST Mermaid art piece is priced on a sliding scale. A $10 minimum is needed to cover art supplies.
  • If you buy The Legend of Jamie Roberts, Volume 1 (or its misprinted version), you get the Artifacts sticker sheet FREE.

I’m also bringing with me bagged and boarded original sketches at $10 each. This INCLUDES sketches made during the production of Witches, Gods & Spirits, and Dragons: The Sketchbooks.

For folks interested, I’m also running pre-orders for my new book, The Stars of Fantasyville: A Sketchbook, for folks who missed the KickStarter campaign. This will be kept simple – just $11 for the pre-order (that covers the book plus shipping). No extra PDFs or miscellaneous things, because those things are already on the table.

Plus! I’m bringing the remaining pins and zines left over from fulfilling Zine Club and Pin Club orders. My hope is by selling the remaining stock, folks get interested in signing up for the clubs. That way they get more delivered to their mailbox each month.

Before I Forget…

Since I’m at a convention, there will be no stream on Sunday (at least from me. What the Gnomes Know will be running streams). There won’t be a stream the following weekend, either, because I’ll be at GalaxyCon with the Columbus Cartoon Coalition.

That said, keep an eye on Instagram. I’ve been doing live streams there Fridays around 12 noon.

That’s all for now. Hope to see you at Genghis Con on the 27th!

You. Are. Awesome.

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Garden Variety Adventure: A Live Stream Chat with CM and Kelly

Today at 2 pm EST, I’m chatting in today’s live stream with CM Clemence and Kelly Swann. We’re discussing their new short story, Just Your Garden Variety Adventure, made for What the Gnomes Know: A Comics Anthology.

What the Gnomes Know is currently on KickStarter! Be sure to back the campaign if you want to get a copy of the first printing of this book.

This anthology collects a variety of gnome-themed short comics, all drawn by up-and-coming indie cartoonists, comic artists, and writers.

Plus, not only am I interviewing creators – I edited the anthology! So it was my job to look at submissions and give feedback to make each story shine. (If you’re looking for a comics editor, here are more details on what I do).

So be sure to tune in today on my YouTube, Twitch, or Twitter channels. 2 pm EST. We’ll also have a Q&A section at the end if you want to ask CM and Kelly questions live.

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

You. Are. Awesome.

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FINAL HOURS for The Stars of Fantasyville on KickStarter

This is it. We’re in the final hours for The Stars of Fantasyville on KickStarter.

the stars of fantasyville: a sketchbook!

The Stars of Fantasyville: A Sketchbook collects all of my Inktober sketches from last month, and puts them in one book. The theme? The stars of comics, roleplaying games, and other stories from Fantasyville Productions. Or at least…a sampling of characters.

I want to inspire folks with these character designs. As an artist and storyteller, I know how influential art books can be to the creative process. Heck, these characters came to be because I flipped through other art books and went, “AHA! I like this and that,” and “What if…” My hope is that this book can do the same thing for anyone who needs that creative light bulb to ping on.

At the very least, my hope is that these characters get you excited for the stories they feature in. Because some of these stories are out, and more are coming out very soon!

In fact, if we reach $900 in funding before midnight tomorrow, every backer will get The Uthers Detective Notebook PDF. It collects concept art, sketches, AND scripts for an upcoming graphic novel, The Uthers (the story of a half human, half-Uther detective tasked with finding a teenage wunderkind and the cyborg she built).

We’re already on our way to $800 in funding! If we reach that before midnight tomorrow, then backers with physical rewards will get a SLAY pin, and all backers get The Legend of Jamie Roberts Captain’s Log PDF, full of concept art, outline notes, and other behind-the-scenes goods!

Again – less than 36 hours, yo. The campaign ends AT 11:59 PM EST TOMORROW (Nov 19).

back this campaign

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

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Gnome Man’s Land: A Live Stream Chat with Ben and Ian

Today at 2 pm EST, I’m chatting in today’s live stream with Ben Wright-Heuman and Ian Klesch. We’re discussing their new short story, Gnome Man’s Land, made for What the Gnomes Know: A Comics Anthology.

What the Gnomes Know is currently on KickStarter! Be sure to back the campaign if you want to get a copy of this book’s first printing.

This anthology collects a variety of gnome-themed short comics, all drawn by up-and-coming indie cartoonists, comic artists, and writers.

Plus, not only am I interviewing creators – I edited the anthology! So it was my job to look at submissions and give feedback to make each story shine. (If you’re looking for a comics editor, here are more details on what I do).

So be sure to tune in today on my YouTube or Twitch channels. 2 pm EST. We’ll also have a Q&A section at the end if you want to ask Ben and Ian questions live.

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

You. Are. Awesome.