August 2021: Prepping a Road Trip to Hell!
Ready for some Divine Intervention with my creator-owned comic?
Thank you for reading my first-ever newsletter! After repeatedly hearing the advice that newsletters are a great way to build an audience (as well as a great excuse to talk more about comics and the work I’m doing), I’m releasing my first one out into the wild.
My hope is to make this not just a monthly recap session highlighting work related to myself but to also provide helpful advice to content creators and introduce people to new projects! I am also planning on doing posts in-between some monthly recaps that feature interviews with people in the creative industry talking about their work and sharing their advice for other people aspiring to be in the same industry.
I also want to give a huge thank you to Brittany Matter. She’s an amazing creator/editor, and her Substack, which I highly recommend checking out, is a big inspiration for me finally getting this newsletter out there. Plus she gave me a ton of helpful tips that made this newsletter 100 times better.
Announcements
In the works for what feels like forever, I can officially announce my plans to move forward with a Kickstarter for the next issue of Road Trip to Hell. While the rewards will include everything from the previous campaigns, this will be the first time I’m offering the third issue digitally and in print! There will also be more adorable variant covers from the wonderfully talented Zoe Stanley.
Road Trip to Hell #1-3 will wrap up the first story arc/volume for the series. At this point, I’m just struggling with the nightmare that is creating a Kickstarter video. But everything else is prepped and ready to go. Get a notification for when the project goes live by using the pre-launch page below!
Interviews
Kickstart the Week with Urban Fantasy and a Jazz Age Alien Invasion
"Kickstart the Week" is a series of interviews I conduct on the Comic Frontline website that showcases a crowdfunding project and features an interview with member(s) of the creative team. For the month of August, I featured two Kickstarter campaigns:
I interviewed writer Nick Bryan and artist Rosie Alexander about their urban fantasy comic book FairyFare #1, which features a delightful color palette. The comic is about fairyfolk creating an app that lets them grant wishes. What wish would you want granted?
I also interviewed writer and artist Russell Mark Olson about Gateway City, Volume #2, a Jazz Age alien invasion comic. And yes, he does explain how those concepts all wound up in one comic book!
What I’m Editing
Projects on Kickstarter
There are plenty of projects that I’ve been editing behind-the-scenes that I can happily start gushing about now that they’re on Kickstarter!
This campaign just came to a close. Hopping on as the editor starting with issue two of Stake Presents: Jessamy, if you’re looking for a vampire story, definitely check out David Byrne’s Kickstarter for follow-ups! This unique vampire tale takes place on a plantation in 18th century America. Plus the cover variety is glorious.
If you’re looking for even more bloodshed, the Kickstarter for the first chapter of Retribution is going until September 14th. It kicks off a six-issue miniseries about the “intoxicating power of love and the depravity of mankind.” In addition to the funds raised, the creator will be donating out of pocket to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. I worked as a developmental editor on the comic.
For more supernatural hijinks that are on the lighter side, Salty Roos #3, The Canal Creepers is on Kickstarter until September 15th. I’ve been working as an editor on the series since the beginning of the comic, which features three anthropomorphic kangaroos enjoying extreme sports and solving mysteries that often lead them to tackling the supernatural!
Tapas Media and J-Novel
For fans of webcomics, I’m editing for Tapas Media. Two series are currently releasing episodes every Friday, so be sure to check out:
Comedown Machine: The first original mature dual release in Tapas history! Meaning you can access some steamy episodes of this story about a woman who begins a whirlwind romance with a celebrity. Is she in for heartbreak or sexy times? Maybe a bit of both! The series currently has a teaser and 26+ episodes to enjoy with select episodes having mature versions.
Necrobride: After dying on her wedding day, a conflicted bride-to-be finds herself still alive somehow. What will she do with her second chance at life? Follow Hazel’s journey, which currently has 23+ episodes published.
For fans of light novels, I’m editing the Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower series for J-Novel, which is currently publishing books 3 and 4! This is a China-inspired fantasy about Rimi, a princess who loves to cook and serves as one of the emperor’s concubines. New parts go up every Wednesday.
What I’m Covering
Screen Rant
For the month of August, nine of my comic book news articles were published.
DC Comics
Supergirl Reveals The Deadly Price of Being Superman's Cousin: The hassle of being related to the Man of Steel is explored in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
Batman's Villains Are Loose in Arkham City: The Order of the World: A six-issue miniseries featuring the hunt for several Arkham Asylum escapees.
Marvel Comics
Death of Doctor Strange Introduces Magical Version of the Black Order: Three new villains, three wonderfully creepy designs from Lee Garbett.
New Venom Will Face King in Black's Forgotten Villain: Marvel's Free Comic Book Day offering teased the future Venom series and a villain that never showed up during the King in Black event. Slight spoilers if you haven’t read the preview!
Avengers Villain Red Widow is Heading for a SPOILER Upgrade: Be warned, this is a bit spoilery, unless you want to know what’s been happening to Red Widow in the Avengers book!
Indie Comics
Five Breathtaking Covers Unveiled For Mirka Andolfo’s Sweet Paprika #2: These gorgeous covers feature the talents of some of my favorite artists, including Stjepan Šejić and Guillem March. Despite that, my favorite cover has to be the one by Andrew Hickinbottom!
Exclusive: Image's Primordial Reveals New Variant Cover Art: I got to cover the exclusive cover art for the premiere issue of Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino’s part sci-fi, part Cold War thriller miniseries Primordial.
Gunslinger Spawn's Ongoing Series Begins 200 Years of Stories: A fan-favorite character from the Spawn Universe, I feel like we can always use more westerns, an underappreciated genre.
Werewolves and Gangsters Combine in Vault's Lunar Room: Vault’s Lunar Room series combines werewolves, gangsters, and a variety of other supernatural beings.
More posts to come, so be sure to subscribe!
And if you want to give suggestions for how to make this newsletter better or if you are interested in being interviewed for it, make sure to leave a comment below or contact me on my website.
August 2021: Prepping a Road Trip to Hell!
Great stuff, Nicole!
Great stuff, Nicole!