January-April 2025: Rock Out with Mutant Kangaroos, Piggy Protagonists, Vampires, and more!
Plus--Breaking "New" Ground (Storygrounds, that is!)
As usual, I’m looking forward to sharing my geeky projects from the last four months with you. Well, the ones that I can talk about, because I have some news!
Breaking "New" Ground (Storygrounds, that is!)
Before getting to anything else, I have some exciting news to share. While all the projects I’m working on are still hush-hush, I can officially announce that I’m working as a Webcomic Editor for Storygrounds! This new webcomic platform has not launched yet, and I’m excited to be a part of some pretty amazing things in the works. I hope to be able to give you more details in my next update, but I wanted to share it here first before announcing it on socials!
What I’m Writing
Rock Out with the Roos
The Salty Roos series that I’ve been writing and editing standalone stories for has gotten its very own theme song! Hop along to it on Instagram:
Also, in a bit of a role reversal, I was interviewed on “Kickstart the Week” by the creator of Salty Roos, Erick Anderson, about my work on the series. I paid special attention to the two stories that I recently wrote, which were successfully funded on Kickstarter: Salty Roos #9: Moonbat from Hell! and Salty Roos #10: The Twelve Nights of Krampus! I was happy to bring plenty of fourth-wall-breaking snark and rhyme schemes to the series.
If you enjoy the series, then please consider nominating us for the prestigious Ringo Awards in the following categories:
Best Series: Salty Roos
Best Single Issue: Salty Roos #9: Moonbat from Hell!
Best Writer: Nicole D’Andria
Best Artist: Diego Toro
Best Colorist: Kote Carvajal
Best Letterer: Cristian Docolomansky
Leave your vote at https://ringoawards.com/
What I’m Editing
Band of Bards
Reluctant Hero Chapter 3 (Creator Alexandra McCarthy): The psychological slice-of-life manga continues, with its third chapter now live on GlobalComix. Asta’s friendship with Mallory only grows stronger as they work together on her college film project. However, tensions are brewing between the two and Asta’s childhood friend, Lola. (Reads right to left!)
The creator also made an official Reluctant Hero Instagram account, which shares everything from character sketches to chapter announcements. You can even find out which Reluctant Hero character you are. (I’m Asta!)
J-Novel
Butareba: The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig Manga Volume 5 (Writer Takuma Sakai, Translator Zihan Gao, & Artist Minami): Everyone’s favorite perverted pig is back! The fifth volume of the Butareba manga marks the beginning of the adaptation of the light novel’s second volume. Spoilers ahead for the first volume! Mister Pig returns to the world of Mesteria, this time with his fellow Otaku-turned-pig companion, Sanon. Together, they must help Ceres rescue the handsome huntsman Naut. But most importantly: Will Mister Pig reunite with Jess?
Tapas
Thirst (Creator Asami): It truly feels like the end of an era because the first series that I started editing for Tapas just reached its finale! While filming a movie together, sparks fly between Ethan and Tristan, both on and off camera. What complicates matters is that one of them is a half-vampire… and the other is a vampire hunter! The series was 92 episodes long, not even counting bonus episodes, which is quite a feat for a webcomic if I do say so myself! It is also Tapas’s first exclusive mature dual release. You can also check out Asami’s sweet “Thanks for reading” message.
Independent Projects
Glarien and Thane Vol 1 (Creator/Publisher/Story Charlie Stickeny, Creator Conor Hughes, Story/Writer Layne Morgan, Artist Giulia Lalli, & Colorist Vittorio Astone): Stickney’s adult fantasy graphic novella tells the story of how White Ash’s first (and most complicated) couple got together. The Kickstarter describes it best as “Mr. and Mrs. Smith... if it took place in the world of Vox Machina.” The project successfully raised $38,555 thanks to 1,188 backers. Despite the Kickstarter being over, you can still preorder the book, along with other White Ash Comics titles, on Backerkit, including the next title on this list!
The Game #1-4 (Creator/Publisher/Writer Charlie Stickeny, Creator Conor Hughes, & Artist Mauricio Mora): I’ve been the editor of this sci-fi thriller since the second issue. Another Stickney series, this one is about Eli, who on his 30th birthday becomes “Player Number 3” in a 1,000+ year old game that he needs to figure out fast before he ends up dead. It’s a triple threat, according to their Kickstarter: “Think Quantum Leap (the original series, not the remake), if Sam happened to jump into the body of The Highlander, and then got dragged into a sexy noir thriller.” The campaign has already surpassed its goal (by over double the amount), and there’s less than a week to go before it ends! If you’re still unconvinced and want a quick rundown of everything you need to know about The Game, check out this video.
Villains Seeking Heroes #1-8 (Writer Louis Southard & Various Artists): As mentioned on my 2024 yearly recap, Louis Southard started his own Substack, Loutopia, and recently put all of his projects on there for free. This includes all 17 issues of Villains Seeking Hero, of which I proofread the first eight. Follow the adventures of a veteran super-villain as he trains a group of reckless misfits.
Upcoming Appearances
I have a couple of events coming up! I’ll be selling some of my comics (both the ones I’ve worked on as well as some from my personal collection) during Comic Fusion’s Free Comic Book Day event on May 3, 2025. (Yes, tomorrow as of the time of this update!)
I will also be tabling at Diop Productions’ First Annual Artist Showcase (only on June 21, 2025), showcasing and selling my work.
More Announcements to Come—Stay Tuned!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this slew of announcements and that some of you might even stop by and say “Hi” to me at some of these upcoming events! It’s always appreciated.