As I write this on June 29, 2021, Blueboy Brown Comics #3 has been successfully funded for five days. I have to admit I like the idea of selling the comic before you print it. It makes perfect sense to refrain from speculating on the desire of readers to read your work. Have them finance it beforehand, and give out goodies to incite them to do so. Mine are mostly custom prints of things not in the books, or handmade stuff, like watercolors and drawings. I don’t like the idea of straying too far from the handmade. I am committed to this series of comics for at least the next seven years. Therefore, I won’t be making etchings again for a very long time, if ever. I’ve been the custodian of a marvelous etching press since renovations at my old school began, and this fall I’m returning it to its new home, where it can be used without bumping elbows with fire extinguishers and will have a proper table upon which to rest. If I finish the series in 2028 and have the energy to do engravings (no chemicals anymore, even the nontoxic ones I concoct), I’ll visit my old school and use this press.
But back to the comics. I’ll send the files to the printer in a few weeks, and then it’ll take about ten days to get the comics back to me. Then I ship. Rinse and repeat for Blueboy Brown Comics #4, whose Kickstarter campaign is planned to begin the first half of August. This issue is the Bender Gang Issue, in which I explore at more depth the backstory of the Benders, and how they morph from a family of serial killers into an organized crime family. I have acquire the help of a lawman to consult on the particulars of organized crime. From what I have gleaned so far, my depiction of the Benders, while fictional (gee I hope it is!), is not far off the mark in the manner in which criminal organizations have wreaked havoc on unsuspecting communities worldwide. Anyway, let’s not give out too much knowledge beforehand. Let the story speak for itself.
Blueboy Brown Comics #5 rounds out the first book of the nine I have planned. It’ll be out before the end of the year. #4 comes out in October. That keeps me to a bimonthly schedule, and then the second book of the trilogy of trilogies begins in January. I’m producing at a pretty good clip. I now plan each book as a 40 page plus covers perfect bound comic. I’m reducing the size of the comic, beginning with #3, to 6.69×9.61in. Slightly smaller than the 7x10in. of #1 and #2, but this makes them fit into regular comic book bags, in response to feedback from a reader. People like to be able to store comics in the same bags and comic book bins as they always do. Makes sense.
Off to the races!