This is the best and silliest video I have ever made so far.
Be sure to check out the Godzilla and King Kong Booty Shorts Crowdfundr, too!
This is the best and silliest video I have ever made so far.
Be sure to check out the Godzilla and King Kong Booty Shorts Crowdfundr, too!
First, the cost of printing has gone up. Since 2021, the cost of printing books has increased across all the printers I work with. This is especially true for the printer who runs Witches, Gods & Spirits, and Dragons. (Stars of Fantasyville and CATS got printed with a different company.)
Second, when I looked at my sales stats across the decade, the numbers shocked me. I ran my numbers to account for which books earned the most from crowdfunding AND convention sales. Dragons and Gods & Spirits barely made it in the top 10 overall earners list and the top 10 earned per year list. Neither title made it to the top 5 in either. Witches only made one list (top earners overall).
Third, and this is the big one for me – I’m feeling called not to make any more art books. My energy wants to make more comics, and any art that’s not comics wants to be stickers and prints. Not art books.
I also want to work on and grow The Legend of Jamie Roberts. It’s hard to do that when time and energy are being put into art books that cost more and more to print but sell less and less. So I’m taking art books out of the equation, so more time and sweat can go where it wants to go – making comics.
Well, there are some shops I sell on consignment with who are carrying the last of my art books. Last week I dropped off the final copies of Witches and Gods & Spirits at Handmade Toledo. Quimby’s in Chicago and Indie Northern KY are also options if those are closer to you.
This also means no Junicorn or Inktober art books for the foreseeable future. My energy is not called to participate in those challenges anymore. So I’m going to honor that. I would rather pursue things out of joy and curiosity, not obligation. And Inktober doesn’t inspire me the way it used to.
The good news is – if you want art, prints and stickers are still happening! In fact, I’m hoping to do a flash sale soon to get two new sticker designs in print. If you saw this livestream replay, you may know which designs I’m talking about. Hint: Godzilla be thicc.
Here’s the difference – prints and stickers are happening when I want to make them. Not out of a viral art challenge or out of a sense of obligation. I’m making the art I want to make, that I feel called to make, that I think would bring joy to others. I want that to be my driving force moving forward.
Having said that, there are two exceptions (ish) to the final-run art books: Stars of Fantasyville, and CATS. Stars have a ton of extra copies left – like, over 60. I’m not doing another print run because the first print run is still in stock. But I won’t do a second print run of it either.
CATS, on the other hand, will get reprinted as soon as possible. It was only released less than a year ago! It hasn’t had the chance to expand its reach yet. Also, it brings joy to me and many others.
Don’t get me wrong – the art books did bring me joy at the time. But for reasons including the cost of printing, slumped sales, and discontinued interest, I’m letting the concept go.
Thank you, art books! You brought joy to me and a lot of others. I think it’s time to let you rest so new stuff can be made.
Stay tuned for more of that new stuff – including that flash sale I mentioned.
Thank you for your understanding and your support.
You. Are. Awesome.
So I went to Toledo Game Room for Free Comic Book Day (or FCBD for short). While chatting with new fans, I brought up free comics, free games, and other free stuff folks could check out.
In the spirit of sharing free things, here is a list of what I have that’s free for folks to do:
Read The Legend of Jamie Roberts! It’s the story of a genderqueer pirate and their two best friends treasure-hunting in a land full of dragons (and why that’s a bad idea). The comic posts a new page every Wednesday, with two-week breaks between chapters. Yes, early updates are available for subscribers, as well as book versions with bonus content and remastered pages. But if you’re tight on funds, the webcomic is free to read.
Read my other free webcomics! I have a whole bunch of webcomics free to read online, such as The Case of the Wendigo on Tapas, Validation on Instagram, and the many other comics listed on the My Comics page.
Play Dragon’s Roost! It’s a free RPG where you play as dragons running a coffee shop. There is a first and second edition available (both are free). Whichever one you pick, it’s only two pages long and easy to pick up. Also, version 2 only requires six-sided dice.
Play Toe Beans & Broomsticks! In this tabletop RPG, you play as cats, crows, dogs, and owls who cast magic and go on adventures with Saturday morning cartoon vibes. The Free version of this game has all your basics covered. Also, like Dragon’s Roost 2.0, this game only requires six-sided dice.
Color Adult Coloring Book Pages! I have a whole bunch of coloring book pages for adults, from The Mystery in the Forest to The Sun Deity, as well as The Princess in the Garden. There are more if you go to my Ko-fi shop and check out the Free category.
Watch my YouTube channel! Over on YouTube, I share the comics-drawing process, chat with indie creators about their work, and sometimes host discussions on hot topics, like alternatives to Patreon. More behind-the-scenes videos will be dropping soon, so be sure to subscribe!
Subscribe to my email newsletter! It’s the best way to keep up with webcomic and YouTube updates. Plus I have comics exclusive to email newsletter subscribers, like Vanita and the Demon King and New Punk Signal. I also have a segment called Featured Artist Friday, sharing cool artists that folks can check out.
And that’s just the free stuff! Folks who subscribe to Ko-fi get phone wallpapers, early access to webcomic updates, free zines, and other rewards. It’s totally optional, so if you’re broke, the free stuff is there for you.
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!
You. Are. Awesome.
Fun fact: the first 69 pages of The Legend of Jamie Roberts…were drawn traditionally, then colored and lettered digitally. After page 69, the comics-making process became completely digital.
Why? Well, I moved to a smaller apartment at the time. So I had to switch to a digital process to save on physical space. There was also the problem of my old scanner being in rough shape. I had to leave it behind in the move, and replacement scanners could not scan 11×17-inch pages.
Also…I wanted to achieve certain special effects in the pages of this comic. And those special effects are easier to do digitally.
I do like the work that went into these originals. I’m still very pleased with how they turned out. Yet I don’t have the space to hang them up or show them off.
So I’ve been sitting with these 69 pages in studio storage. I think it’s time they find homes where they can be shown off and appreciated more.
That’s why I’ve included these 69 pages in the Spring Cleaning Sale on Crowdfundr. There are also tons of other original art available, from sketchbook pages to pins and keychains. Plus, pages from my other webcomic projects are also available.
Shipping is free on these original pages, as well as the other big-ticket work that’s available. You have until May 6 to get these.
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!
You. Are. Awesome.
I just came back from RathaCon 2024 down in Athens, OH. How did it go?
It went well! So well, in fact, that I had to update the Spring Cleaning Sale on Crowdfundr because I sold out of a few things.
Also, it was good to see some familiar faces again! Shout-out to my table neighbors, by the way! One at a time, here are…
Lucky Gauntlet Art Club!
Electromagnetic Press!
Shawn Langley!
Ben Wright-Heuman and Canonwrite Productions!
Chloe Rose!
Gary, aka Black Swamp Artistries!
Junior Vigorito!
And Joseph Wiehe!
Also, shout out to the fans who stopped by my table, including Jossie, the best Coraline cosplayer ever.
Keep an eye on this blog – I’m adding a widget on the sidebar soon to list my upcoming convention appearances.
I also took the time on Sunday night to update the Spring Cleaning Sale. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out! There’s original art and a ton of stuff that didn’t fit on the table at RathaCon. The sale is running until May 6.
By the way, I had a few people ask about this at RathaCon – I’m available for commissions! Just click the “Commissions” tab up top for more info.
Broke? Then you can do two things. Thing 1: share the Spring Cleaning Sale link with your friends who love fantasy comics and art! (It’s crowdfundr.com/springcleaning ) Thing 2: tune in to my free live streams this week!
On Tuesday at 6 pm EST, I’m streaming and drawing comics. On Thursday at 6 pm EST, I’m drawing Dragonball characters in Drag for an upcoming zine! Be sure to keep an eye on YouTube for other updates, including Shorts.
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!
You. Are. Awesome.