Since about 1991, I have known that the greatest, most rewarding thing I could possibly do in life is write an ongoing comic book series. Over the decades I made a few stabs at doing that, but never quite made it. Then, in recent times, I finally committed–if no one was going to pay me to write a comic book series, I’d self-publish my own. My daughter Abi had made up the characters and concept of The Electric Team, and I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. Abi and I brainstormed, I wrote a script, and we recruited Sam Albert to do the artwork.
Before we actually started the series, I had spent a few years saving up money. You have to have money; not just for printing the comics, and hosting the website, but to pay the artist. Artists don’t work for free. Sam works hard, putting so much thought and effort into the comic, spending hours on each page, that she deserves to be well-compensated. And I’d like to compensate her more but, the sad truth of the matter is, there’s only so much money in the Let’s Make Our Own Comic fund. We’ve had to cut back on our release schedule, both because of limited funds, and because Sam has to balance this, her part-time art job, with her regular, full-time job.
So I am living my greatest dream, writing an ongoing comic book series, and I’m co-writing it with my daughter, and working with Sam Albert, and it’s a joy, and I’m proud of the work we’ve done. It’s all going wonderfully, except for the money thing.
Fortunately, here on 21st century Earth, there are ways for artists to raise money, and one of those ways is Patreon. Patreon is a way for people to support ongoing creative projects, like web comics and podcasts, by signing up to make a monthly donation to that project. We have launched a Patreon page, which means that our fans, friends, and supporters can sign up to contribute a little bit of money each month to keep the comic running, and in return we will provide perks, prizes, bonuses, gifts, and treats. It’s a win/win situation!
We really tried to make the rewards appealing, so hopefully there’s something that sounds good to you. Visit the Patreon page and look it over, won’t you?
