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.

Book Prices Have Gone Up – Here’s Why

I tried to delay it, but I have to do this. I gotta raise the prices on my books. Not by much – only an extra $1 for most books.

But here’s why – the cost of printing has gone up. Part of it is the paper shortage. The other part is that ink prices have gone up, too.

In my original pricing, I ate up the difference. Even though books are my biggest selling item, they did not make a profit. But with printing costs going up, something had to give.

So…yeah. My books are going to cost a little extra per copy.

The prices are already adjusted on my Ko-Fi shop. Not all of my books are listed, though. I’ll add more books as soon as I can.

PDFs will stay free (though tips are optional if you have the means).

Thank you for your understanding and support.

You. Are. Awesome.

What’s New for 2022?

This is Part 2 of a blog series about New Year’s Goals. Be sure to check out part 1 and its hot mess. Because that will influence this post.

So, 2021 was a crap year. Yes, stuff got done. Mostly. Sort of. But a lot of Murphy’s Law came into effect.

Looking back on that made me ponder how I would approach 2022. Would I, in fact, not have goals set at the start of the year? Would I have more structure instead of less? How would structuring the year even work?

After a lot of meditation and brainstorming, here’s what I came to…

CREATE.

It’s a simple, 6-letter word. Because 2022. 2 + 0 + 2 + 2 = 6. I’m willing to give numerology another chance because 5s in numerology (and especially Tarot) are kind of cursed. (Side note: maybe that’s why my Mocktaw in The Legend of Jamie Roberts often have 5 eyes.) 6 in numerology is better.

Also – Create. It encapsulates the feeling I want to embrace for 2022. I want to create a LOT of things.

This year, I won’t hold myself to the sorts of lists I concocted for last year. I have a rough list of what I would LOVE to get done for 2022. But I won’t say anything more. Part of me wants to see just what happens as the year goes on.

In addition, I spent the last two weeks of 2021 planning for 2022’s projects. And 3 projects already got done! So that’s nice. And unexpected. And part of the reason why I don’t want to say too much about what’s in store for 2022.

With that said, I’m going to do one new thing this year.

I’M ACTUALLY WORKING WITH A PRODUCTION CALENDAR IN MIND

This may sound weird, but in years past, I never actually made a calendar to determine when (exactly) projects would start, get done, go on KickStarter, etc. At least, not a calendar that encompassed ALL of my projects. Each project would have its own rough list. But this year I’m doing it differently.

I’d share my rough production calendar with you. But…

a) it’s kind of long. I included convention dates, commemorative months like National Novel Writing Month and MerMay, book projects, prints, secret projects, Sticker of the Month club, ongoing projects like webcomics… I threw a LOT into one place and gave it some semblance of order. But that order only makes sense to me.

b) it’s not set in stone. And I did that on purpose. If I have to move a project up or down the production calendar, I am willing to do that. (And that’s how 3 projects got done before 2022 even started.)

What else can I say? Well, be sure to stay tuned on this blog, and follow me in these ways:

Plus I have projects such as The Legend of Jamie Roberts and The Fourth Leg podcast. All of these will update more often and in different ways.

That’s all I’ve got for now. But I’m actually excited for this year.

Thank you for reading.

You. Are. Awesome.

See You in 2022

illustration rendered in markers of an aquaduct circling a massive tree.

I’m taking a social media hiatus, starting today and going until January 1, 2022.

That means…

That said, my webcomics The Legend of Azu-Mi (on The Legend of Jamie Roberts website) and Puzzlespell will still update. Email newsletters will still go out every Friday. And Ko-Fi and Patreon will get regular posts.

But no social media. I’m taking a hiatus from them to reassess, recharge, and plan new projects for next year.

See you in 2022!

Thank you for your support and understanding.

You. Are. Awesome.

I’m Taking a Social Media Hiatus in December

I got inspired by this decision after seeing Faith Schaffer on Instagram. This badass artist takes time off at the end of the year to plan projects for the next year. That, in turn, is inspiring me to do the same.

So, for December, I’m taking a break from Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Tumblr, and Twitter. I won’t be posting anything new on those platforms during the last month of the year. (Yes, that means no live streams, too). I’m also taking a break from posting new blog posts here on this site. Then, I’ll be back in January 2022.

I have SO many ideas for next year! And I want to plan out how to make them happen.

Webcomics like The Legend of Azu-Mi and Puzzlespell will still update. And I will still be posting comics-in-progress on Ko-Fi. Also, the December Sticker of the Month will still happen. Plus, the email newsletter will only send out once a week on Fridays.

All that’s changing is that I’m pausing social media updates and blog posts. That way, I can make new work and plan for 2022.

I’ll post a reminder on November 30.

That’s all for now. Thank you for your understanding and support!

You. Are. Awesome.