Hey Chio Crew! Happy summer! (Unless you’re on the other side of the world, then I’m sorry, and I hope the weather is treating you well.) It’s been a minute since I’ve sent a newsletter, so it seems like as good a time as any to do that now. So here we are!
What’s Up?
Things have been quiet around here, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy. I’ve been working my way through getting Follower updates caught up, which has been a lot easier because I’ve been having more success with pain control. Finally! I’m feeling optimistic about it for once, and hope I can keep it up. There may be some hiccups, but as usual, I’ll post about ’em on social media or the Follower site itself.
What’s New?
Follower is now available on NamiComi! NamiComi is a new comics platform that’s heavily focused on creators and is in an open beta. So far it’s been a nice experience posting there, though I haven’t found many readers yet! A new complete Follower chapter is going up every Friday until we’ve caught up with the main site, so give it a look!
I’ve added a new design to the Teepublic shop which is extra great on mugs: Caffeinated Dia! Probably the last creature on earth who should have coffee, but with a Dia mug, you, too, can be unstoppable.
Additionally, I’ve been uploading art to my Inprnt shop, which I regularly forget I have. If there’s a piece of art I’ve made that you’d like to see available as a print or sticker, let me know and I can add it! The options are a bit sparse at the moment, but I’ve been sorting through my files for anything that seems print-worthy. Best of all, Inprnt is currently running a summer sale, so everything is cheaper than usual.
Next up? More Follower updates! I’m also trying to plan something for Messenger this August since the comic is turning 20 years old and has been in hiatus forever. My bones just crumbled to dust. I can’t believe it. I started the comic when I was a teenager and I thought I’d be done by now. How life throws us curves, eh?
When I can’t draw, I’m trying to get the new Follower website I’ve been working on for ages…worked on. Sometimes it’s easier to type than draw depending on my pain level that day, and that’s at least something I can do.
Discord members currently have access to the new site-in-development, so come join in if you’d like to take a peek at it and see if you spot any bugs. Everyone is welcome!
Community News
As mentioned above, Discord members currently have access to check out the new Follower website. I’m also hoping to recruit some volunteers to help me add transcripts for each page if there’s interest. I’m thinking of some kind of system where a certain number of transcriptions equals a free sketch from me or some such thing. In any case, you can come and express your interest in the chat!
Thanks For Reading!
Thanks so much for taking time out of your day to see what we’ve been up to!
So, it would appear I haven’t been able to get a newsletter together since….December 2023. Yikes. Well, let’s rectify that, shall we?
What’s New?
As usual, the delay on everything I’ve been working on is related to health issues. If you’re into the gritty details I’ve been blogging about it from time to time on my Tumblr. I had a flare up in my hands and wrists that was intensely painful for a while and has mostly subsided but it’s still easy to set off, so I’m still working more slowly than normal despite having about a thousand things I want to work on. It’s frustrating, emotionally and physically.
Thanks to folks contributing to my Ko-Fi, I was able to get my hands on a pair of compression gloves which should help me be better able to work through some of the painful days.
So, I’m still working on getting Follower going on a regular schedule again. It’s been really hard. To fill in some of the gap, Delade put together some new fiction for the website which I gave a little artistic rendering to.
In other news, I’ve been using some of my drawing-is-hard time to get Follower going on some additional mirror sites, including more updates on GlobalComix and (coming soon) NamiComi! GlobalComix has a really nice app, and I took the time to add interactive panel by panel clickthroughs, so I highly recommend it as a reading experience!
I’ve also been trying to work on other methods to help Follower and my comic projects become more self-supporting even when I have trouble drawing consistently due to health problems. There are several things you can do (for free!) that will help me be able to keep Follower going:
Subscribe to Follower on Tapas and Webtoon Canvas. If I can reach 100 subs on Tapas, I’ll be eligible for ad revenue sharing, which probably isn’t a lot, but every little bit helps out.
I’ve also been making more video content on both TikTok and Youtube. Following me in both of those places helps me become eligible for monetizing those platforms, too.
What’s Next?
The top of my agenda is getting Follower back to a reasonable amount of updates. It’s hard to get there struggling with my bad hands, but I’m making progress. We’ll get there, one bite at a time.
Community News
One of the new parts of the new Follower website I’m working on and considering opening to readers is the option to help transcribe pages for vision-impaired readers. For now, I’ve been doing the transcriptions myself, but there are hundreds of pages to go. I might open this up to the community as a volunteer project. If you’re at all interested in this sort of thing, please drop in on the Discord chat and let me know!
If there is community interest, I will open up a private channel just for transcribers, and probably create a special role for it.
Thanks for Reading!
Thanks for reading this incredibly late newsletter. Here’s hoping things can get a little easier from here on.
We’ve done it, everyone! After what’s been a real rollercoaster of a year, we made it to the end of 2023! This edition of the Chio Chronicles is going to be a big wrap up of everything we’ve done this year, so if you’re just joining us, or if you’ve been here all along, we can all look back on 2023 together!
The Big 2023 Roundup
In the beginning of this year, I started working on some video projects as a way to keep making stuff and being active as a creator online (so people wouldn’t forget I existed, I hoped…) and one of my early experiments was a video essay on joint hypermobility, one of the major health issues I’ve been dealing with over this year. I made it both as an explainer and a kind of journal piece about what I’ve gone through.
Throughout the year, I’ve worked on a few simple animations, in hopes of one day maybe being able to do some for Follower. The one pictured above is called Snack the Mouse, although I’ve done a couple of others based on Follower, as well as some kind of autobio animatic-style pieces. TikTok has been a real help in getting some of my art out there, especially in this way! But most of these are on my Youtube channel, too!
My ability to draw has been hit or miss this year thanks to untreated chronic pain, but I’ve found that I can (usually) at least write when I can’t physically draw, so one of the ways I’ve been trying to do that is create some useful resources for other artists and comic-makers. The first big one of these posts I did was a run down of some of my favorite books for comic artists!
Sort of spontaneously, I decided to attempt Nanowrimo this year, and actually managed to complete the requisite 50,000 words! I posted early drafts week by week in November for Chio Club members. Although I made the minimum amount of words to “win,” I still haven’t finished the story itself, so I’ll be working on this on and off into 2024.
My novel is tentatively called “Cat Person,” and it’s a take on zombie horror. Right now I’m working on finding the holes in the first 50k words, and then once I’m sure that’s all in order, the ending should click together nicely. If you’re interested in seeing what I put together in November, join the Chio Club at $5+!
One of the ways I’ve been coping with the frustration of my health and dealing with the health care system as a whole this year is making some simple sketchy comics about how I feel about things. Some are more positive than others, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
I’ve also been doing a series of off-the-cuff blog entries about my experiences on Tumblr, also under the healthposting tag (so it’s easy for people to either view or block them, because I know this stuff is not everyone’s cup of tea) and it’s been nice to kind of have a small group of folks with similar conditions where we can all nod at each other like, “yep, that’s how it goes.” You can check out my blog posts there under the healthposting tag!
One of the most life-changing things that happened this year (and there were a lot of those, it’s been a year) was losing our cat Milo in October. He was more a part of our creative process and daily life than we ever realized. In all the writing I’ve done this year, one of the things I’m proudest of is the little eulogy I wrote for him. He was my best little buddy and work supervisor and I’ll miss him forever. It meant a lot to be able to write about him and share my strange, wonderful little cat with the world.
Overall, 2023 was a difficult year, and in some ways we barely made it through. But your support as readers has meant the world to me and made some of the really rough stuff feel worth it, so thank you for being here and continuing to be interested in the stuff Delade and I make!
Bug Bits is (was?) a small series of autobiographical strips I made over the years. They were originally posted on Tapas and Webtoon before I took them down with the intention of doing…something…with them, which I clearly never did. Anyway, now seems as good a time as any to revive Bug Bits. Here is a… Read more: COMIC: a shell of a human being (bug bits)
Hi friends, long time no post? Sort of? I’m here to resolve this posting drought by….posting about not posting. Hmm. As you might have already read if you’re up to date with the goings-on on Follower, or via the Chio Club, I’m going through some kind of burnout and need to take a bit of… Read more: In the Wilderness
It’s a Turkey-Type Sale! If you’re in America, it’s that one week of the year again. *eyeroll* So I suppose I gotta do one of these. Anyway, all my comics, wallpapers, sketchbooks, and brushes are 50% off on itch.io. Everything in my Teepublic shop is on sale, too! That includes shirts, stickers, mugs, hoodies, and… Read more: Turkey-Type Sale
This is just a tiny update to say that I’m leaving Twitter for good. There are a lot of reasons why, but I think it’s finally time. I’ve long since arrived at the point where it’s more effort for me to make a post than what I get in return, where on sites like Bluesky… Read more: Abandoning the bird
Hey folks! There’s a Chio Club update with a preview of the next page and some information about the upcoming schedule for the comic. $1+ members can take a peek right now!
What’s New?
2023 has been a real rollercoaster of a year for us, between my personal health diagnoses, losing our cat, and struggling in general to stay afloat in a never-ending tide of…life… But somehow we did it, and still managed to make some stuff despite it all.
Shop Sales!
A lot of our merch is on sale through December 9! If you’ve wanted to grab something like a t-shirt or mug, this is the ideal time to do it! Digital products are on sale, too!
Coming up in 2024: hopefully some forward progress on Follower. I’ve been having to actively fight with my providers to get any kind of pain relief, but I may be able to take some measures into my own hands by pursuing a medical marijuana diagnosis. Unfortunately, due to the unusual state of legality with this, my health insurance does not cover it in any way, so I’m on my own. I’m working on getting together the money to get through a certification appointment and actually be able to acquire some medical-grade product, but it’s a process. Still: this is some of the most hope I’ve felt in months, because there’s an actual chance for pain relief here. Chronic pain is like being in an unbearably loud room that you can’t leave, every moment of your life, and this is the opportunity to turn the volume down just a little bit, so I’m going to fight to make it happen.
If you are interested in contributing to help me pay for healthcare that my insurance won’t (but please take care of yourself first, of course), I am not currently doing a gofundme because I don’t have solid numbers for a lot of things, but I am running sales on digital comics through Ko-Fi (with the code BLACKFRIDAY) and Itchio, so you’ll at least get something cool for helping me out.
Pursuing this treatment has very good odds of putting me back in a position to draw on a regular basis, so, fingers crossed, everybody.
Community News
One of the new parts of the new Follower website I’m working on and considering opening to readers is the option to help transcribe pages for vision-impaired readers. For now, I’ve been doing the transcriptions myself, but there are hundreds of pages to go. I might open this up to the community as a volunteer project. If you’re at all interested in this sort of thing, please drop in on the Discord chat and let me know!
If there is community interest, I will open up a private channel just for transcribers, and probably create a special role for it.
Thanks For Reading!
Thank you for reading this month’s news, and thanks for sticking with us through this wild year. I have hope that next year will be better, because you’ve got to hope for something. Here’s to more new stuff from us in 2024! May your new year be filled with good luck, delight, and excellent snacks. I hope ours is, too. ❤️
October was a month of ups and downs for us; I’ve been working my hardest to make progress on both Follower edits and website updates along with new pages. I’ve also been fighting the healthcare system to make any forward progress on dealing with my chronic pain situation. We also unexpectedly lost our cat, which made the latter half of the month more challenging than usual. Still, we press on.
What’s New?
This has been a difficult month. I’ve made a few animated videos for my TikTok page about some of the difficulties of dealing with chronic pain (and health insurance) as a way to try and stay sane through what feels like an absurd process. Still, things are moving forward for me, however slowly.
I’ve made a little progress on some new Follower updates, which are available to Chio Club members. I’m still working on learning how to deal with dysfunctional hands and joints, but I refuse to give up on comics or Follower, even though it’s been hard, pain-wise.
In the past two weeks, we found ourselves having to say goodbye to our beloved cat Milo, who, like it or not, was very much a part of our lives as creative people. He was the boss around here, really, and it’s been difficult to find the new normal without him. If you’d like to read more about him, I wrote a bit of a eulogy for him to try and work through some of my own thoughts. (Though I will warn you in advance if you are sensitive to the topic of pet loss; it’s a little emotional.)
Bug Bits is (was?) a small series of autobiographical strips I made over the years. They were originally posted on Tapas and Webtoon before I took them down with the intention of doing…something…with them, which I clearly never did. Anyway, now seems as good a time as any to revive Bug Bits. Here is a… Read more: COMIC: a shell of a human being (bug bits)
Hi friends, long time no post? Sort of? I’m here to resolve this posting drought by….posting about not posting. Hmm. As you might have already read if you’re up to date with the goings-on on Follower, or via the Chio Club, I’m going through some kind of burnout and need to take a bit of… Read more: In the Wilderness
It’s a Turkey-Type Sale! If you’re in America, it’s that one week of the year again. *eyeroll* So I suppose I gotta do one of these. Anyway, all my comics, wallpapers, sketchbooks, and brushes are 50% off on itch.io. Everything in my Teepublic shop is on sale, too! That includes shirts, stickers, mugs, hoodies, and… Read more: Turkey-Type Sale
This is just a tiny update to say that I’m leaving Twitter for good. There are a lot of reasons why, but I think it’s finally time. I’ve long since arrived at the point where it’s more effort for me to make a post than what I get in return, where on sites like Bluesky… Read more: Abandoning the bird
Hey folks! There’s a Chio Club update with a preview of the next page and some information about the upcoming schedule for the comic. $1+ members can take a peek right now!
What’s Next?
Despite the challenges of October, I’m still working my hardest to make progress on comics. I’ve been trialling some different pain management options, most of which have been ineffective, but I’m trying to push through it and work on new pages anyway. These updates have been made available to Chio Club members so far, so be sure to join if you’re interested in an early peek at what’s to come.
I’m continuing to work on the new website for Follower, which is coming along very well. The site itself is mostly functioning and complete, I just have to prepare edited and resized pages to upload to it. These pages are also what I’m planning to use for Volume One, so again, if you’re interested in an early peek at all of these things, definitely check out the Chio Club.
Community News
One of the new parts of the new Follower website I’m considering opening to readers is the option to help transcribe pages for vision-impaired readers. For now, I’ve been doing the transcriptions myself, but there are hundreds of pages to go. I might open this up to the community as a volunteer project. If you’re at all interested in this sort of thing, please drop in on the Discord chat and let me know!
If there is community interest, I will open up a private channel just for transcribers, and probably create a special role for it.
Thanks For Reading!
Thank you for reading this month’s news. It’s been a difficult month around here, so it means a lot that you’re around and checking in on what we’re up to. We’re doing our best to get new stuff made, and crossing our fingers that my situation gets better soon. Draw through the pain! (No, don’t!!)
Welcome back to Spooky Month, the month where everything is a trick or a treat and we live in candy chaos. It finally feels like fall is upon us here at Chio HQ. Let’s get on with the latest and greatest!
What’s New?
Follower Update Status
Follower remains on hiatus for the time being. I am getting better at working around some of the joint pain issues I have, and have done more comic work this past month than I have in quite some time. Still, it’s not enough for proper updates yet. A lot of the medical help I was counting on in September fell apart or was pushed out for various reasons, which has been frustrating since some of it would have definitely helped me in the drawing department. Regardless, I’m continuing to do my best, albeit at a slower pace. Chio Club folks have gotten the first look at what I’ve been working on, and I’ll have more to share soon.
Like I mentioned last month, I’ve been working on something more in the autobio comics realm, but it’s required a bit of supporting research. I don’t have a title yet, and I haven’t completely figured out the structure, but I do have a general idea of what I want to say so I guess that’s something. Unfortunately it’s all still in the notes phase so it’s not terribly exciting to look at, yet.
Teepublic Sale Dates!
In smaller news, I’ve been spending some of my “practice” time re-acclimating my drawing hand to…drawing… by working on some simple shirt designs for my shop. If you like anything you see, my whole shop will be on sale from October 12-15 and October 26-29.
While there isn’t much new going on with the community lately, you should come join us on Discord for casual chat and hanging out. It’s open to everyone and we strive to keep it a friendly place! Join us today!
Thanks For Reading!
As usual, thanks again for keeping up with the latest from us! I’m doing my best to get better and stronger so I can get back to making comics and art. Thanks for your patience with my slow pace!
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It’s September yet again and fall is in the air! Well, sort of. We just had another weekend of 90° F days here, so I’m not sure what season it is at the moment, really. Regardless: here’s what’s new this month from us!
What’s New?
Follower Update Status
As I’ve written about now on both Radio Chio and on the Follower site, I’ve been dealing with a number of complicated health issues over the past few months. Although I never declared a proper hiatus for Follower, it’s essentially been in that state all this time. At the moment, I do not have an exact date for its return to updates because my condition is really a day-to-day issue that I’m learning to deal with as I go. I have some upcoming appointments which should help provide more help and direction, and hopefully I can get back to drawing. The best place to watch for updates is, of course, here on the newsletter or on Radiochio.com. I’ll post an update when I know more! In the meantime, thanks for your patience and support!
Although I’m not able to work on comics at my regular pace, I am still working on what I can. I’m planning to do some more things like more Tiny Art Vlogs as I’m doing what I’m able to, just to keep everyone aware that I’m still alive, ha.
I’m also planning on doing more posts like my Books for Comic Artists blog post. Are there any art topics you’d like to see me write about? Or even any topics in general? Drop a comment on one of my posts and let me know!
I’ve been doing research for a more long-term project that kind of straddles the line between writing and comics. I’m not totally sure what the end product is going to look like yet. But it is a sort of graphic memoir/autobio thing based on a lot of what I’ve been through during the pandemic. My life has basically been flipped upside down during the past few years, and there’s a lot of story to tell. Once I have a little more of this put together I’ll probably put it up for Chio Club members first.
Community News
The Discord rambles on! Come join us for friendly conversation about comics, art, and whatever you want. I may have even successfully fixed the Question of the Day bot, which seems to spark the most conversation around these quiet parts.
Thanks for Reading!
That’s all I’ve got for this month! Thanks as usual for reading about what we’ve been up to and sticking with us despite the fact that I’ve been the world’s slowest artist lately. Hopefully this will change soon!
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Hey folks! It’s definitely been a minute since I’ve made a proper newsletter, let alone a news post. It’s been a rough summer so far for me — I thought I was dealing pretty well with the health issues I’ve been having, but a series of coincidental problems coupled with the summer heat have really knocked me flat. I summoned the energy to make a goofy little doodle comic about it, which you can check out here if you like. It might turn into an ongoing series, because sometimes all I can do is laugh at the situation.
I am (as usual) doing my best to get back on track with things like Follower updates, but it’s been difficult. A major part of my problem is joint issues, which can vary wildly from day to day, so sometimes drawing is rough. I’ve been trying to at least put my creative energy into other projects when I can’t draw, like some Tiny Art Vlogs from time to time. You can view those on my Youtube channel here!
Mostly, I am trying to figure out how to work with a body that’s kind of unreliable, when I’m trying to do something that requires a certain amount of regularity, like posting a comic update every week. I haven’t figured it out just yet, but I’m doing my best. I may need to eventually move to a monthly update of a few pages at a time rather than work under the pressure of weekly updates, but I haven’t decided that for sure just yet.
Here’s what I’ve got on the table for upcoming projects, roughly in order of priority:
Follower updates! I can’t believe it’s been as long as it has since my last update. I’ve been slowly working at the next pages while doing my best not to overdo it with my hands. It’s a difficult balance.
Follower Volume 1: I’ve made it into edits for chapter 2, and I’m finishing off the last few drawn revisions for chapter one. Those’ll get posted for Chio Club folks first. Once I get through chapter 2, things will move a lot faster on this project.
Community News
There hasn’t been much new lately in the community, but the Discord is always open and new folks are always welcome! It’s a slow-paced, quiet chat, but we keep it friendly. Click here to join!
Thanks For Reading!
Thanks so much for checking out the latest news from us this month! Here’s hoping the next one will be more comic-heavy. 🤞
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Hey Chio Crew! We’re nearly halfway through 2023 already! How?! I guess it goes faster when you’re struggling to be able to update your own webcomic, but that’s changing soon!
What’s New?
Follower starts again this week! It’s been a long hiatus with my ongoing health issues, but I’m going to do my best to keep on schedule! I can’t promise that I won’t occasionally have to take breaks now and again, but I’m at least hopeful I’ll be able to maintain a small buffer.
If you’ve ever wanted to be part of Follower, like, so much that you’re in the comic – now’s your chance! Our Create a Chio project is open once again for takers on both Patreon and via Ko-Fi commissions. For $50, I’ll work with you to design your very own Chio character. You’ll get a custom character sheet with color references and information. This character will appear on at least one page of the comic as a side character. I’ve also added an extra upgrade option that will put your custom character on 3 pages of the comic, with the potential for a line of dialogue, too. Since I’m working on pages right now that feature a bunch of background Chios, the sooner you commission me, the sooner your character will appear in the comic!
What’s Next?
April had no takers for the Chio Club Sticker Tier, so I’ll be leaving it up with the same design for May. If it stays this way, I will probably end it and move on to other ideas. That said, if you’re interested, please check out our Patreon and Ko-Fi pages to join!
I’m still dealing with health issues and my schedule is pretty much a wreck week to week, so I haven’t been able to make a solid streaming schedule yet. I’d like to get back to streaming work on book pages, since I was making some decent progress there. As usual, follow me on Twitch to get updates on that.
Community News
Join us on Discord to get the latest comic updates and engage with other readers! The Discord is open to everyone, with special areas for Chio Club supporters.
Thanks For Reading
Thank you (yet again) for sticking with us despite this long comic hiatus! Here’s to more new pages!
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