We're not clowning around here! 🤡
GREETINGS & SALUTATIONS / We're hoping everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day yesterday, and be sure you jump on that discounted chocolate today! 🍫 😋
We've got a lot to sift through - as today's newsletter is filled to the brim with goodness! For those of you in a rush to snag that discounted chocolate - here's a quick glance at our most important FYI's:
RAID: Creator Visions ends TOMORROW - this campaign is the best way (and deal) to support a bunch of indie properties, and the cards look SO SICK!
Forest Folk Vol. 3 is coming to Kickstarter on March 13, and you're going to want to be on the pre-launch page.
Fan Expo Vancouver is happening THIS WEEKEND, and a bunch of RAID members will be there! So if you're free and in the area, we definitely want to see you.
We're saying goodbye to Mailchimp, so our future newsletters may look different - but it's still us! We're shifting to Substack, and explain why below.
NOW, if you have the time, won't you join us for a leisurely scroll? ☺️👇
RAID SUBSTACK / After 5 years of utilizing the Mailchimp platform to help build our extended community and connect with you, our fans and our readers - you might be asking yourself why are we abandoning it?
Mailchimp announced on February 7, 2023, that they are lowering the amount of allowable subscribers on their free platform — which we use — to 500 followers. This forces anyone who has already accumulated more than 500 subscribers into a paid plan - which can add up to hundreds of dollars per month.
And that's not cool...
So we're jumping ship and swimming over to SUBSTACK — a platform we've seen many of our peers switch to, and one we've been very curious to try. We'll be switching our entire mailing list over - so you won't miss a heartbeat.
Our newsletter will, of course, remain free - but Substack is a robust platform that allows for monetization, something we've considered as we think about developing exclusive content. We've considered behind-the-scene videos, interviews, exclusive comic content, and more.
If there is something you'd like to see - please let us know - we're all ears! 🌽
KICKSTARTER / We're in the final 24hrs of our RAID: CREATOR VISIONS | SERIES 1 trading card set! We want to thank the generosity of our amazing backers, who have helped us reach our funding goal and beyond! While our trading cards are meant to help people discover our works and that of our collaborators in a fun way - the other positive effect is that all profits from the card set go to help fund these creators in their creative endeavours - whether it's helping them financially pay the bills while they draw their magnum opus, or print the book itself!
If you haven't jumped on yet - IT'S NOT TOO LATE!
The campaign closing ends Thursday night at 9 pm EST - tune in to our TWITTER to follow the closing ceremonies!
Keep it simple with a 3-pack of 30 cards or dive into our grander tiers if you'd prefer! We have something for everyone. But whichever tier you choose - every time you open a pack you get a chance to pull a GOLDEN TICKET! And should you pull one you'll be the lucky winner of an original piece of comic art - this could be a cover, a sequential page, or a pinup valued at anywhere between $500-$2500 USD!
So far we have some great originals donated by Ramón Pérez, Karl Kerschl, and Marcus To, with more to come!
But now onto tiers...
The most bombastic of them all is our SUPERFAN TIER which gives collectors EVERYTHING available in the campaign, plus a fabulous OVERSIZED SKETCH CARD with original art created by a backer's chosen artist! (This, of course, has to be someone involved with the card series - we can't call up Bill Sienkiewicz for you 😭 though we wish we could!)
A little cozier is our DISCOVER set of tiers. This set of 5 limited tiers focuses on each of the publishers involved in RAID: CREATOR VISIONS. Each tier gives backers a chance to pick the books they would like to "DISCOVER" from the publishers available and includes a regular-sized Sketch Card, featuring work by the creator involved from said publishers!
For example, if you pick the Abominable Books Discover Tier - you not only get a copy of Abominable Charles Christopher Vol. 1, signed by Karl Kerschl, PLUS a sketch card with ART BY KARL alongside ALL the other cards and stretch goals within the campaign!
DISCOVER MORE --- NOW!
FAN EXPO VANCOUVER / We're heading west to look out over the pacific ocean 🌊 and stand in the shadows of the mountains 🏔 as we kick off our 2023 convention season!
This upcoming long weekend of February 18 - 20th sees us at Fan Expo Vancouver! So if you're in the area, please swing by and say hello. We'll have a slew of RAID books along with a bunch of our talented creators. Located in Artist Alley at table P15-20, we have Eric Vedder, Dax Gordine, Marcus To, Ramón K Pérez, S.M. Carter, and Sam Noir!
We'll also be involved in a couple of panels and events over the weekend:
SKETCH DUEL: Ramón K Pérez vs Dax Gordine
Theatre Two / Saturday FEB 18, 2-2:45pm
RAID Press: Building Comics through Community
Theatre Three / Sunday FEB 19 1-1:45pm
ABOVE / Click the above image to be taken to a full map of the expo.
While we're on the subject of conventions, let's share a few others we have lined up...
Emerald City Comic Con / March 2-5 • Seattle, WA.
Featuring Ramón K Pérez as a guest.
Located at G-1 in Artist Alley.
Toronto Comicon / March 17-19 • Toronto, ON.
This is our first home show of the year - and most of RAID will be on hand with fresh swag, and sharpies at the ready! Once we have more information, we'll share away.
C2E2 / Mar 31 - Apr 2 • Chicago, IL.
We don't have our table locations confirmed as of yet, but we can let you know that our very own Ramón K Pérez and Anthony Falcone will be guests!
TCAF / Apr 29-30 • Toronto, ON.
We're still planning this one away - but you'll be able to find us on the main floor with new books ready for 2023!
Stay tuned to our socials for further details closer to the event.
Do you keep your old passes from conventions long past? (We do! 😅)
BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT / We're going back to the forest 🌲
Today we're officially announcing FOREST FOLK volume 3 by Dax Gordine as the first book on our 2023 publishing roster!
Get ready for a slew of quirky new adventures from our favourite duo of Thomas and Filburt and all their forest friends! Officially launching Monday, March 13, on Kickstarter. Sign up to the BackerKit pre-launch page and receive a bonus gift (😉) should you become a physical backer!
ART HIGHLIGHT / We wanted to share some of the hand-cramping PRECISION DETAIL that is going on behind-the-scenes as Katie Sawatsky builds the fantastical city of BLACKMOUTH in her collaboration with Kyle J. Smith on the book of the same name. Follow the progress via their socials and the Blackmouth page.
Enjoy some behind-the-scenes construction details of the cathedral featured in this forthcoming tormented tale... 🏗️
Click the above image to watch the 3D Model spin to show ALL angles
COMMUNITY / While we love to let you know what's going on at RAID HQ we also believe in sharing the love - and letting you know about our extended family of awesome people...
First up, let's chat LETHAL COMICS - our sister studio in Montréal headed by Andy Belanger. The crew has a wonderful year planned, and they're starting things off with two awesome projects...
ORC GYM / Lethal Comics co-opted Valentine's Day for their Kickstarter launch of ORC GYM by Al Gofa! Think Pumping Iron, but instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno, you've got Orcs upon Orcs sweating it out as they train and deal with gambling, drug addictions, crimes, and being stupid giant steroid monsters!
DEATH TRANSIT TANAGER / Next up on the Lethal roster is our good friend Karl Kerschl's DEATH TRANSIT TANAGER, which is launching very soon! The PRE-LAUNCH page is LIVE for this new sci-fi comic series that follows the story of a young woman with a strange gift who travels the galaxy to help lost souls find their way home.
Three DEATH TRANSIT TANAGER cards are featured in RAID: CREATOR VISIONS giving fans a sneak peek at some of the characters from this very story!
Last up, we have news from the good people at SEQUENTIAL MAGAZINE...
THE 2022 SEQUENTIAL MAGAZINE AWARDS / If you're searching for your next comic read, there are so many awesome anthologies, graphic novels, and webcomics nominated for the annual Sequential Magazine Awards!
We recommend going through the nominees and voting for who you think "takes the cake." We have too many friends nominated to share where our vote falls, but this is a great way to invest in our comics community, which we know means A LOT to the creators.
VOTING CLOSES midnight Feb 28th, 2023. VOTE NOW.
Thanks for reading,
The RAID Team.
RAID TABLE TALK is brought to you by an amazing team effort from the RAID crew. We do our best to keep you informed on what all the amazing individuals at RAID are doing, but also what we're doing as a whole.