The Cartoonist Cooperative Newsletter March 2024
Here’s a roundup of what we’ve been working on at the Cartoonist Co-op–a collection of comics, zines, webcomics, and crowdfunding, plus all new articles, news and features.
Want to join the Cartoonist Co-op? Send us your info here or email us at cartoonistcooperative@gmail.com , and become part of our community of indie comics creators! The Cartoonist’s Co-op is committed to helping build the community of comics artists and to improve and protect the labor rights of comic industry workers worldwide.
As a member, we’ll help you find collaborators, share resources, get the inside scoop on the industry, and have your stuff promoted in this very newsletter! Members of our cooperative gain access to career development resources, creative feedback and assistance, promotional campaigns for members’ comics, exclusive discounted benefits, and more.
Let’s dive into it!
Cartoonist Cooperative “Buy an E-Sim for Gaza” Donation Drive
As you may know, Palestinians in Gaza are being subjected to internet and communications blackouts as part of the ongoing siege by Israel. Members of the Cartoonist Co-op are getting involved in a new way to combat this violence by offering art in exchange for those who donate e-SIMs to Palestinians through the Connecting Gaza Campaign.
This campaign has been running since early November, but we want to make sure that everyone who’s interested in our activities is kept up to date. Click here to see how you can contribute to these efforts!
This Month’s Featured Comic Campaign: MURKY WATER by Kel McDonald
By Kel McDonald
Murky Water is the fourth book in The City Between series, an urban fantasy series set in a futuristic world.
In the futuristic city of New Mahtlaw, technology has made the supernatural hard to hide. The world knows werewolves are real but their rarity makes them an oddity not a threat. But more lies out there trying to stay in the shadows.
Detective Maria Pimienta has been assigned to work the city’s only open werewolf officer, Detective Connor Burke.
After a rough start, the two have come to an understanding that some supernatural cases can’t go on the record. Now the two of them have a case to put that understanding to the test. A man has drowned in his living room. Maria is more prepared to solve a S.N.O.W.I case this time but when the murder weapon is magic building a case turns out to be harder than finding the culprit.
Previous stories in the series have been Fame and Misfortune, The Better to Find You With, and The Dead Deception.
Kel is currently running a Kickstarter to fund the print edition of Murky Water. The book is roughly 120 pages and black and white. The story and the rest of the series The City Between ran online last year.
A lonely gorgon who turned her lover to stone…a mad scientist determined to create his ideal woman, no matter how many tries it takes…a man who uses time travel to fix his relationship problems…a contest winner who develops a bizarre fixation…and much more!
Strange Romance is an anthology comic featuring stories of love, romance, and heartbreak, all set in the worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. This first volume highlights 14 established up-and-coming writers and artists and is now available for purchase on itch.io!
By Grace Allison Perkins
Andrew and Mason were previously broken up before meeting each other again as both re-open their emotional and very physical attachments. The intensity of their desires only increases throughout this 69 page showcase of romantic yet slightly sloppy love making.
By Meggie Ramm
Batcat loves being all alone in their home on Spooky Island. Up in their tree house, they pass the time playing video games and watching TV. But when Batcat suddenly finds themself haunted by an annoying, ice cream–stealing ghost, they visit the local Island Witch for a spell to remove their ghastly guest permanently!
With their Ghost-B-Gone spell in hand, Batcat travels across Spooky Island to gather ingredients—to the Cavernous Caves where the bats tell them they’re too round to be a bat and to the Whispering Cemetery where the cats will help only if they commit to being a true cat. But Batcat is neither and that’s what makes them special, right?
A sweet and fun story about accepting yourself when you’re perfectly in between here and there, Batcat is sure to charm graphic novel readers of all ages with its pure and undeniable Batcattitude!
| DAYBREAKER: WHEN NIGHT MEETS DAY By Alan J (@CaptDedEyes), Edited by Robin A. (@Inkywaywishes) When a mermaid wants to meet a human that lives in a coastal kingdom, despite how dangerous the task may be, what should they expect? One such mermaid, who is as mysterious as the moon, may have met their match: a human girl that is as bright and cheerful as the sun. Daybreaker: When Night Meets Day is a short romance comic initially made for a WebToon contest in 2020, but is now available as a downloadable digital zine! |
| MINI-DOM By DCS. The print edition is now available for pre-order! The Digital PDF version is already available here. Despite their size difference, Duri the fairy and Jabin the orc have an ongoing BDSM relationship. Things have been steady for years until suddenly, Duri kisses Jabin on the lips for the first time! This simple act sets the two down a path to try and figure out if they’re just dom and sub, or if they have feelings for each other too… A 6.625x 10.25 inches, 76 page, perfect bound, FULL COLOR collection of sexy comics! The contents of this book are for adults only; and by purchasing this book you are agreeing to being 18 years of age or older. Book includes all the previous covers, back covers, and comics from chapters prior, plus new mini-comics and short original fiction! |
The sinister sixth issue of CLUSTERFUX COMIX! And they said it couldn’t be done! Featuring comics and illustrations by Nate Garcia, Tony DiPasquale, Chad Cook, Brother Malcolm, Hank Simmons, Anthony Aiuppy, Miguel Elias Aguilar, Alex Daikaiju, Dee “Papa Rotty” Palmer, Nicholas Slover, Erwin Papa, Ashton Trujilo, Nathaniel Breen, Stew Nod, Dave Neeson, Isaac Roller, A.L. Peterson, Charlie Sisemore, and Cameron Hatheway.
156-pages of superb black & white comix, 8.5″x11″.
Webcomics By Our Members
By Tripp Gustin
The first day of college is a big step… just don’t let the past trip you up. At least there’s free pizza!
True Colors is a slice of life comedy, drama and coming-of-age webcomic about new beginnings and self-actualization. A room assignment mixup on the first day of Trueman University’s freshman orientation thrusts four incoming college students together, catalyzing new friendships and new conflicts. Iro, Kit, Ben, and Sonia are all looking forward to fresh starts, but first they must face their pasts, futures, personal demons, and family legacies as they figure out who they want to be for the next stage of their lives. The weirdly enthusiastic R.A. doesn’t really help.
True Colors is also running a Kickstarter for a Print edition!!!
By Nero Villagallos O’Reilly
Sergio Black has a lot to be proud of- he’s intelligent, skilled with machinery, and he’s huge. He’s also been fighting violent intrusive for decades. Arnaldo de Reyes has a solution- a radical exposure therapy regimen that requires Sergio enter an underground fighting ring against people who’ve enhanced their bodies to get an edge up on their opponents.
But is he actually interested in helping Sergio, or is he just using Sergio for his own desires?
Written by Barbara Perez Marquez, art by Tuisku H.
Epistle is a short comic about longing, writing letters, and fighting for what you believe.
Written by Atla Hrafney, art by Atla
Deep underground, in a place far away from our world, exists the Railway System. A complex, mysterious network of trains, towns and mechanical monsters, these communities are open and known only to a few on Earth.
Central to these communities are Guardians, people chosen at random and adorned with power. Leo is one such Guardian, and even though their burn-out and depression has taken hold of them, they have one last job to finish.
Gzhel Guardian is a Russian fantasy LGBT+ webcomic inspired by folklore and illustrated in gorgeous watercolor pages by Anya.
| FLAP By Emiliano Washington State, 1991. At the shores of the Salish Sea, boundaries are dissolving. An outbreak of strange phenomena is overtaking local population centers…hauntings, UFOs, and things that defy categorization all begin bleeding together. And it’s “changing” people. Different forces scramble to control the narrative, but the ground itself is shifting beneath people’s feet, as the walls between “mind” and “place” begin to thin. Something new is emerging, that refuses definition and control. And once it arrives, people better be ready for it. Set during the Gulf War, FLAP is a fiery blend of Pacific Northwest folklore and Mexican surrealism…wrapped in 90s neon ooze kitsch, and laced with the fury of the Dead. |
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Featured Article: Where We Stand On A.I.
WE, THE ARTISTS OF THE CARTOONIST COOPERATIVE, DEMAND PUBLISHERS, EMPLOYERS, AND ANYONE COMMISSIONING ARTISTS TO PRIORITIZE THE LABOR OF HUMAN WORKERS. AS UNITED ARTISTS, WE CALL UPON ANY MAKER OF GENERATIVE ALGORITHMS OR AI TECH TO DEMOCRATIZE THE USE OF AND ACCESS TO GENERATIVE AI TOOLS.
Click to read more on the Cartoonist Co-Op’s stance on generative AI.
Of Interest:
Last month digital comics platform GlobalComix featured its first Workshop Community Event, on creating black characters, and Co-op member Mickiee was one of the featured speakers! There’s some great insight into drawing and writing comics generally and especially, as the title says, on how to bring black characters to life. The whole talk and slideshow is now available on Youtube, so check it out!
