💥 Welcome to Comictopia — a celebration of creativity and collaboration from a diverse group of writers and artists collectively running comic book crowdfunding projects from July 18th -August 8th.
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⚔️ 2 FREE Cross Collaborative Freebies for every cross collab project pair you support
📚 1 FREE Limited Comictopia 2024 comic if you back FIVE [5] or more projects
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Alright folks, gather 'round! Your friendly neighborhood artist, Steve Rude (the one with the crippling art supply habit!), is back with a brand new sketchbook project: The Art of Steve Rude 2025 Sketchbook!
This bad boy's hitting crowdfunding in January, and lemme tell ya, art supplies ain't cheap. That's why your support is golden!
Speaking of gold, be sure to check out our Patreon page – those dedicated dudes and dudettes get some special deals during the launch.
And hey, while you're at it, head over to our launch page (www.steverude.com/2025skb) and sign up for the Backerkit livestream! We'll be dishing all the juicy details about the sketchbook and maybe even throw in a few laughs.
Now, to keep this humble dude motivated, let's hear it! What kind of goodies would make YOU excited for the next crowdfunder? Hit that poll and let your freak flag fly! (Select all that apply)
We just wanted to let everyone know that work on the comic is currently underway, and to say thank you to everyone for their patience. We joined onto the comictopia project on rather short notice, but during the campaign it became clear that while we love Backerkit for our fulfillment solution, we've just built up too much of a an audience on Kickstarter to try and move everyone over here. So we will be launching issue 1, the full issue, over on Kickstarter next month, and we will have enough art to finalize assembly of the ashcan very soon.
Artist Antonio Baldari also had to take on another gig unexpectedly but is back working on CSR, and also contributed this awesome cover for the upcoming full length issue.
So hopefully if everything lines up right, you will have the ashcans in hand just as everyone is starting to talk about the first issue, before it goes to press. This will also get a wide circulation through comic book stores nation/world-wide, making this limited ashcan release something special. As soon as the new kickstarter pre-launch page is live we will share that too. More to come soon!
We just spoke to the printer and they have completed printing the Karma Volume 2 graphic novels at this time. They are working on preparing the books to be packed onto a container ship and to make the journey to port in the USA. The current estimate has them arriving in LA by the end of February. At which time they would be shipped to our warehouse and we will begin shipping out to all the backers. We will keep in touch with the freight company to get updates on the progress of the shipment over the next 6-8 weeks.
Over the next month we will be getting all of the other items ready to ship as well so that we can fill orders immediately upon receipt of the books.
We are working with Backerkit to have the pledge manager approved and start sending out surveys to collect shipping information from everyone. This should be complete this month and we will notify everyone when the surveys start going out.
We come to you with a more extensive update on the book’s current status and logistical challenges to better illustrate our timeline going forward.
At this juncture, ABLAZE’s publication of Kinky Karrot Presents: Off the Beaten Path faces two main milestones for completion: editorial approval of the book and printing.
The former has been held up by various rounds of corrections and approvals, particularly concerning the fact that ABLAZE chose to re-letter the book to standardize to a more “comics-typical” font, clean and all-caps and easy-to-read. This process in itself is not difficult, but can be time-consuming, and there are always rounds of tweaks needed to ensure everything looks as polished as possible. We are very nearly there, so far as this matter is concerned! We had some trouble with our chosen font outputting correctly, but we found the root of the issue (wider than necessary default Leading), and the latest draft of the book looks great apart from some minor fixes, which may be handled even while you read this.
Regarding printing: While ABLAZE has handled titles with sexual themes and nudity, Off the Beaten Path is our first foray into explicitly sexual material. As a result, we didn’t expect that our usual printing partner would decline to print the book due to its content. We are currently in contact with other partners to get quotes for the printing and shipping of the title, this time leading with discussions of the book’s content. While this surprised us and presented a bit of a hiccup, we don’t expect it to cause further significant delay at this time.
Lastly, we want to clarify that Marie Sann, creator of Kinky Karrot, is in no way involved in logistical and operational handling of this campaign. While she is our appreciated partner, ABLAZE is the publisher and therefore solely responsible for any delays and challenges experienced. Marie’s not only been a gem in turnarounds for approvals at various stages, but she’s consistently pushed for transparency and timely fulfillment, and she remains committed to ensuring the best possible outcome for this project.
We encourage all Backers with remaining questions to email ABLAZE at [email protected], as this is the best way to reach our team regarding the status of the project or your order.
Lastly, thank you for your patience throughout the duration of this campaign and genuine apologies for the length of the wait.
Hello, Ascendants! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We've now kicked into 2025 and it's time for some major updates on the Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II.
Expanding Book Length The first and most important news is that I have decided to unilaterally increase the book length to 64 pages. As you know, we only funded enough to pay for 48 pages. Unfortunately I simply cannot tell the story I want to tell - the story that needs to be told - in 48 pages. No matter how I cut, edited, tweaked, and polished the script, it simply couldn't be done.
This left me with a difficult choice: tell a different story from what I promised you; deliver something below the standards of quality I set for myself; or go in the red to increase the length of the book. I decided that the latter was the only choice consistent with Autarch's business and creative standards.
From the perspective of you, my backers, this is purely good news. You pledged for a 48-page book and you will be getting a 64-page book.
New Colorist The original plan for Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II was for Mel Joy San Juan to do both the inks and colors. However, we've changed course. Many of the pages are extremely intricate and detailed; instead of being able to do 5 pages per week, we have struggled to maintain a pace of 3 pages per week. Mel Joy's schedule didn't permit her to simply add another 16 pages of inks and colors.
Fortunately, in our hour of need, Pradeep Sherawat became available. Pradeep is one of my favorite colorists; he delivered absolutely amazing work for me in ACKS II and he's delivering amazing work on Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II.
Obviously we want the book to have a single coherent style, so Pradeep is going to re-color the current pages. The final result will be a beautiful, aesthetically-coherent work with inks by Mel Joy and colors by Pradeep (and of course amazing lettering by Kathryn Renta).
Timeline The above changes probably have you wondering when to expect your books! We originally expected to deliver the books in June 2025. We aren't losing any time by adding a new colorist, because even though Pradeep has to re-color some pages, after that he'll work simultaneously with Mel Joy. However, with the increased length, we are being delayed a little bit, to around August 2025. I hope that the two-month delay is tolerable given the book is being increased by 25% in length.
Sneak Previews And now, on to some art! This page shows off Mel Joy's absolute mastery of the female form. We get to see the Squadron on a "day off", with Stiletto and Dr Quantum in their civilian clothes.
"Love the new costume, Stiletto!"
This next page occurs after Squadron HR discovers Aurora is vulnerable to losing her powers under stress. This obviously poses a problem for a combat operative. Make a post in the comments if you can identify the movie that inspired this scene!
"How would you RATE your effectiveness in your last two COMBAT ASSIGNMENTS, Aurora?"
This image shows off Pradeep Sherawat's coloring style. Pradeep is a master of dynamic lighting and reflective textures and he makes everything from Dr Quantum's amber glasses to Stiletto's vinyl costume really pop,
"EDWINA SCISSORHANDS over there is still lacing up her BOOTS."
That's all for now! All the best to everyone for a super-powered 2025.
An update for physical and digital tier supporters.
The Kinky Karrot Present Off the Beaten Path HC is still in production but will be off to the printer this month. It is printing overseas and will take 4 weeks to print and 8 weeks to ship to the fulfillment center.
Backers with a digital tier will be receiving their digital edition next week.
If you have questions specific to your order email:
Hey there, Backers, and Happy New Year! We wanted to give you a quick update about where we are regarding Dusk County Chronicles is Canceled's fulfillment:
Credit Cards Charged: All credit cards have been charged. Thank you for your support and for making this project a reality!
Address Changes: You have 2 days to update your shipping address before they lock in. Please double-check your information to ensure your rewards are sent to the correct location.
Digital Downloads: Digital rewards have been sent out! Check your inbox for your copy and enjoy diving into the dangerous world of Dusk County. Please check your spam folder or contact us for assistance if you don't see it.
Physical Books at the Printer: The physical books are currently at the printer and are expected to be ready for pickup in the next couple of weeks.
Fulfillment Timeline: Once the books arrive, we'll bag 'em, board 'em, and get them sent out!
Thanks again for supporting the comic, and remember to check your inboxes for the digital copy! We'd love to know what you think, so hit us on the socials once you dive in! Don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.
