Short but sweet.
Good afternoon to all you lovely people! I hope this December is going well for you all as we march on to close out the year. I’ve been busy — which isn’t any new information for you all — and I’ve been very observant throughout my busy life. I’ll talk about a few things I’ve been pondering on, as well as what is next for me and this newsletter.
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Observation 1: Creators vs Kickstarter.
This year has been a very interesting one for creators on Kickstarter. Lots of folks new and old are either facing big issues funding or killing the scene by crushing their funding goals way over initial expectations. This stuff is very much hit or miss depending on who you are, but what truly determines if you’ll succeed is simple: your fanbase.
Seems like an easy thing to figure out, right? Nope! There are a lot of people chattering about why they aren’t getting the support they need to hit their goals and what it comes down to. Our fans, NOT other creators, should be the ones to get us where we are. The more people who are willing to support you in this endeavor, then the better of a chance you’ll get through your goal. Obviously other factors like rewards and the planning of a Kickstarter campaign are essential, but if you cannot cultivate and grow your fanbase, then it’s curtains for your success. And a lot of creators blame other sources for their misfortunes instead of learning how to build up their fanbase and market to them properly to ensure a victory to keep making comics. It sure isn’t getting any cheaper to do so.
So for all you creators who follow this, friend or not, be sure to learn all that you can towards healthy fan growth to upscale your comic career in a way that works for you. No one way to do it other than to be proactive.
Observation 2: Are Editors Essential?
I’ve been seeing a lot of debate in one small section of the comic community regarding to a need for an editor on projects. As an editor of both prose and comic books myself, it hurts to see us all thrown by the wayside when it comes to our function in the comic creating process. Some people value us, others say that we add no value, but to me it is a vital role that is often downplayed as a glorified grammar and structure checker as opposed to being someone who makes sure things like plot, pacing, and overall project being sound before release.
I won’t lie. I don’t hire editors only for the sole fact I’m not as well off as I could be making money in comics, so I do a hefty amount of the work myself. And that’s fine to if you cannot afford one, but to try and objectively look at your work as if you didn’t create it is hard to do especially if you’re a narcissist (I’m not, but many others can be). My advice is to at least try an editor out on one series to see how they could unleash the potential of your work rather than shooting the idea down like a fighter jet at wartime. And who knows, maybe your work would be all the better for that decision.
2026 Plans.
All right, now that my short set of observations are over, let’s talk about what I’ve got planned for 2026.
•Summit: Pinnacle #1 - This will be the first ever full project we release as a comic publisher and I’m so very excited to share this book with you. It’ll kick off the Summit Universe in a big way, and I’d love nothing more than all of you being there with us when we launch next month. I know it’s right after the holidays, but I think it will be well worth the support.
• I plan to release 4 new books in the new year! As of now, it’s looking like this:
Quarter 1 2026 - Magni the Mighty #0-2
Quarter 2 - [Secret Project]
Quarter 3 & 4 - Noir #1 (so far)
So this is it for now. Super excited to bring Magni the Mighty back first thing in the new year with the entire story from the one-shot to the issue 2 in order to continue the story. Obviously I can’t exactly talk about my secret project, but it won’t be long before I can officially add it to the release slate for 2026. Noir being back and now in a joint venture with Summit Comics is very exciting, and I’ll be working hard to get the book up and functioning for a Q3 release. If I’m being honest, Magni technically is 3 books on a single release and nearly fills my requirements since they’re released in single issue formats now with new covers and whatnot. But I am committed to making one more book whether it’s The Lion of Olympus #2 or one of my other ideas. Guess we shall see.
•Substack exclusive comic series. I’ve been playing around with a sci-fi concept for a few weeks, but I’m having a dilemma on an artist to work with. Have a few ideas, but it’s really eating away at me in a way that upsets me. I’ll put that off while I script the story and go from there. The goal is to release this when there’s at least a chapter or two ready, but again, we shall see what’s decided. Will report back on that in the new year at some point. Just know it’s coming!
•Website is coming, but I’ve hit a few small issues setting up, but once it’s live you’ll be the first to know!
And that’s it for now! Talk to you all in the new year!