#5 - 2024 so far, Patreon and what's to come

1. Ehrmm hi again + some 2024 achievements

2. Patreon and future newsletters

3. The Thought Bubble 2024

4. Recommendations

5. Byee

Ehrmm hi again + some 2024 achievements

Hiya. A lot happened since the last one of these:
-I left Substack and moved to Beehiv, which feels good so far and probably it’s where I’ll keep my newsletter for the near future. If you’re a paid subscriber, let me know in case you want a refund from there - your renewal’s been canceled already;
-I’m working on a new comic! I’m doing a miniseries with writer extraordinaire Chris Condon (of That Texas Blood fame) which will be announced quite soon and I’m extremely excited to share more about;
-I started writing two comics! I’ll make a post about my writing process soon;
-I had some new published short comics, like Sabir Pirzada’s Dandelion and Godzilla 70, in which I had the pleasure of working with Michael Conrad, aka sweetest most chill man on earth;
-I started a Patreon! (more on that below)
-I moved houses: still in Barcelona but I live in a much more comfortable apartment now. I have my own little studio room, which allows me to do stuff like:
-Built my own screen printing studio! I’m still learning the ropes with this, but so far I was able to print stuff like this;

-That also allowed me to design and print tables for my roommate’s new queer wine bar and newest best spot in town! Look at these:

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Patreon, and future newsletters

I’d been studying Patreon from afar for a while with a child’s curiosity but not exactly knowing how to approach it. It wasn’t until I saw a talk by CEO Jack Conte that I realized how Patreon could be very much the online house for my work that I was searching for: the major finality of the platform is to create a direct channel between creators and audiences that is free of algorithms and publicity. Ever since I joined, I’ve been more active as a user as well, and honestly it reminds me a lot of when I used to just use RSS readers. With that, and starting to use BlueSky more actively (now that it’s finally reaching its potential), it makes me a little sad to think how much time we’ve been spending feeding algorithm machines in the last 10 years. I hope it marks the beginning of a more inteligent era in social media. Let’s see. But back to the Patreon.

Patreon.com/gegeschall

It’ll probably be the place where all things me will converge. It’s free to follow and see most of the stuff there, I’ve been filling it up with material since a few months back - so it already has some life to give, and I’ll continue to update it frequently. Updates, blog posts, analysis, new art, videos, some comics, some podcasts in the future, everything’ll be there.

It’d really mean a lot to me if you’d take a second to visit and consider following it. It’s the first time I feel genuinely excited about having an online space for my work to sit at, and I hope people take advantage of what I offer there.

Totally ok if you decide to stay here, I’ll continue to do these newsletters probably every couple of months, and it’ll probably look more like a collection of updates and links, plus the usual blog babbling. I have a lot of things planned and already scheduled, so you’ll know of everything as it drops. In any case, know that I’m extremely appreciative of your support <3

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Thought Bubble 2024

So I attended TTB again this year. The event was bigger than ever, my booth being located in a new space, close to the entrance (that felt more like an exit but more on that later). The festival itself was incredibly cute, TTB is becoming my favorite event to attend and is not even close. Maybe TCAF gets a chance at competition, but that’s it.

TTB reminds me a lot of FIQ in Brazil - one which I attended from 2009 through 2013 and still holds some of my dearest memories from early days of making comics. The big similarity between the two is the lack of the so called brand “activations”. No huge spaces from movie/games production companies or toys retailers with loud music banging your ears the entire day and making it impossible for you to talk to people without absolutely shouting your lungs out. With a showfloor composed mainly of four halls (last year there were 3) filled with tables - plus one stage, two small food courts and a kids area - the comics and the creators are the main atraction. We are VERY available - to the public or even to ourselves - for chatting, autographs, sketches, buying books, etc - it’s an event where we get to do the thing that I at least take as the main reason to go to events: socialize about comics with everyone that is involved in making, printing, selling and reading them.

And in that sense, I had a blast again. My partner came with me this time, which meant I had some help at the table, and I also got to leave and go talk to people a little bit more than last time (also special thanks to table neighboor and sweetheart Rufus Dayglo, who’s got the best energy, really). It was great meeting some names that I only had the chance to interact online, and some that I had met last year and solidified a sort of “see you next year” kind of professional friendship. Since I haven’t published any new book in a minute - a few short stories in anthologies but no new entire books, it was important to feel a certain validation that yes I’m still here, I’m a part of this industry and everyone’s excited to see what I have next in store - as well as excited to work with me on whatever’s next. Making comics can be lonely, and I mainly go to events to remind myself - and others - that I do have a place alongside everyone else making this quirky medium of ours shine. I’m happy to say that TTB has very successfuly provided me with that.

My table was located close to the 2nd entrance/exit gates and maybe that didn’t make for the best sales. It wasn’t bad in any sense, I just didn’t sell out like last year - when I was located very much in the middle of it. I got the sense that the few people that reached my table were either a bit tired - fair enough, there were a LOT of tables to see - or had spent all their money already - which: also fair. I can probably make a few sugestions but I’m not gonna pretend I’m an event organizer and know how to solve that issue. I’m sure the organizers are doing everything they can to accomodate everyone, and I’m very happy with the event overall. Plus, they do ask for feedback every year and they do listen! I’m really not focused on sales personally and I perceive TTB to be more of a cultural event - much to its praise - than a comercial one, so I’m more than happy with my journey there.

I took a few shots in terms of what I brought this time with me: mine and Claudia Senlle’s 2013’s saturday-morning-mobster-tragedy Moschitto and 2022’s Wizard Beach (Shaun Simon, Conor Nolan, BOOM! Studios - for which I did covers and interstitials) are a little more wacky books than what I’m known for, but I wanted to give them a chance anyways and see how they’d fair with my other stuff. Turns out they didn’t sell that well unfortunately, so maybe that’s for me to learn: I have a storytelling style now, I should probably stick to books that are in the same veign in events. One thing I’m very proud of and that sold out: I made a box/sleeve to collect the single issues of Made In Korea. It’s screen printed in silver and blue on red carton paper and it looks super sick. I’ll put up orders on my shop as soon as I finish making the shop very soon, because I want people to have that.

The party this year wasn’t much of a success this year: on a new venue that was too loud and not very comfortable, most people left early after a few DJ sets and met at the lobby of the Majestic Hotel, where most nights at Thought Bubble end anyways since it’s where the guests are staying. There yes, we could have our drinks and lick each other’s boots - in a good way - in peace. Me and the girlfriend hung out for a few drinks with sweeties Henry Barajas and Tyler Button until the night felt over, and went back to rest. This was overal a tough trip on my body: cold and food allergies hit me all over during my stay in England and Scotland. That said, I’d do it all over again.

TL:DR 
I’m ready for a whole other round of comics making <3

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Recommendations

Not a lot this time, I’ve been focusing a lot on making stuff and less on consuming. A few important ones though:

• The Cartoonist Coop drive for donating eSims to folks in Gaza continues. If you can, please donate, it literally saves lives.

• Anzuelo, by Emma Ríos. Emma’s brilliant, and she just spent 4 years making a book that feels incredibly necessary and it just came out and you have to read it. Like, seriously stop anything you’re doing and just go read it. This book is what comics are made for. It’s beautiful, it’s brutal, it’s delicate, it’s poetic...It’s, like, one of those books.

• A demo for Citizen Sleeper 2 launched this year during Steam Next Fest. I haven’t played because I’ll be playing the full game anyways, this is just an excuse to tell you to go play Citizen Sleeper if you’ve never played. And wishlist the second game after you do. It’s a personal fave, and a huge one in the storytelling games department.

That's it for this one! Next ones will be a little different. Or not. I’m not sure yet, but I’d love it if you’d take a second to visit the Patreon, or even share it with a friend you think might like it. It means a lot to me. Until next time!

Byee :3