(permalink to this week’s page)
Just a little transition page! Good timing for me to have a simpler page this week, since I am pretty dang tired out from all the last-minute excitement of the Kickstarter project. It was a huge success – 808 backers for a total of $36444 (over 240% of the original $15000 I asked for).
I’m loopy with gratitude. It will take a good long while for those funds to translate from operating funds into any serious income, but being able to publish three books without major financial risk is quite a gift for a small businessperson like yours truly. And I’m excited for what it means for volume two of Family Man.
I’m grateful to Kickstarter for providing a clever, fun and intuitive platform. While I don’t think it’s the perfect system for every project, this has been a great experience for me and a wonderful way to play with longtime readers and attract some new ones, as well. And now I’m very much enjoying the newfound peace and quiet of my post-project inbox, and taking great pleasure in all the fiddly art and pre-press work that I have left before it turns into a whole bunch of books.
All the progress I make on that front will be restricted to backers of the project from here until I start getting physical proofs, but before the project finished I did post a single rough version of the first page from the new Bite Me! short story that will be appearing in the anniversary-edition (PDF and print). Posted below for your perusal and enjoyment!
It’s been desperately fun to revisit these characters, and the process of putting the grey washes down digitally – while figuring out how to retain the very hand-done character of the original – delights me.
A number of people have written to me expressing dismay that they didn’t come across the project until after it had closed. Don’t worry! I’ll be selling copies of the books produced for quite some time, and they’ll go on sale to the general public towards the end of October; the extras (prints, patches, bookplates etc) are the only things exclusive to project backers. I’ll let you all know when the new books are available for purchase!
I’ll see you all next week – when we find out what Ariana is waking up to…
Fewer than 24 hours into the campaign and we’ve already raised nearly $7,000. That is pretty amazing; a huge thank you to everyone who helped promote the launch and especially all the people who dove right in and pledged! What a great day.
As part of my thank you for such a blazing beginning, here’s the image for the first of the three 4×6 art prints. This one commemorates the Danse Macabre 2.0 book.
Translated, the Latin reads “I was what you are, you will be what I am.” The original author is the Roman poet Horace, and variations of the motto have been inscribed on gravestones (and other instances of memento mori art) for centuries.
Next up will be the card that commemorates the anniversary edition of Bite Me! If you haven’t read the comic before, be sure to check it out at www.bitemecomic.com.
I’m in the process of making a thing, and that thing involves drawing the characters from Bite Me! I don’t think I’ve drawn them in at least a couple of years. It’s like riding a bicycle. A very goofy bicycle.
The most fun part is transposingthem to another period. Ah, the 1940s; the last time everybody had good hair. I grew up watching Humphrey Bogart movies, so it all feels very cozy and familiar.
There once was, and there will be again, a time where I post something other than just updates to the comic. Now is not that time, however. I’m working on getting myself feeling a little more grounded over all, which means I’m going to be scarcer than usual online for the next little bit, here. (Dear everybody I’m currently working on stuff for: it is, in fact, happening!)
Meanwhile, please enjoy another page in which wildlife gets the better of our young protagonists. Next: notes!
And now, to bed.
Hey all! I’m experiencing one of those Freelance Moments(tm) where I’m short on cash despite being heartily employed. Solution: art sale!
I traditionally hate parting with original art, particularly from comics projects and especially when it’s not an in-person sale; it’s a little easier when I design something to be given away or when I get to meet the person taking it home!
So this is your excellent chance to snag some art from me if you don’t typically make it to conventions.
Up for sale on Etsy, everything from convention doodles to original art from Click.
The scans are on the murky side so that you can see the pencil lines underneath the inking! These are slightly visible in real life so you and your friends can TELL it’s original art.