The Spring Update (Big News!)

OLM fans,

The weather is starting to get warm again, and as the season changes, so too does the state of the Our Lady Maven project.

Where We Are Today

We’re finally fulfilling orders to our backers through Zoop, and we’re starting to hear positive feedback from those of you who helped make issue 1 a success. From both myself and Sarah, we’re sending out love and thanks to our backers. We truly wouldn’t be here today without you all!

We’re now at a critical point in this project. Even professionally backed comics with publisher contracts don’t always succeed during production. When we first started down this path, Sarah warned me that comics is a difficult business. She’s right. It’s not a business to make money in. It’s a business to lose money in. But Our Lady Maven has never been about money, it’s been about doing something creative for ourselves and for our friends (of which we are privileged to count you among, dear reader!)

Having said that, Sarah and I are coming off the launch of issue 1 and we are feeling optimistic about the future of the project. We will be returning for issue #2, which we intend to bring to print later this year.

Issue #2 Details

You heard it here first! Issue #2 is indeed coming. The script for issue 2 has already been written and is in final revisions. Behind the scenes, Sarah and I are hammering out a more clear contract that will square away outstanding agreements to make way for the next edition. It has always been important for us (and for me in particular) to produce this project fairly. That’s why it’s important to do issue 2 right and in the most equitable way for both of us.

We are continuing discussions with Zoop.gg to crowdfund issue 2 in the same way we did before. We felt that Zoop dealt with us fairly last time, and it makes sense for us to keep working with them for the next round. We will update you in future blog posts on details about how to support us once we get those details figured out with them.

Shop

We also added some new value to the Our Lady Maven shop! If you missed getting yourself a post of Rene saying “death to fascists” or if you wanted to get yourself some postcards from the issue 1 bundle, you can now find those in our store.

So where are the trading cards? You won’t see them for sale. The trading cards will always be special edition items that we will only include with bundles for each issue. If you’re lucky and you catch us at a show at some point in the future (and you’re cool) you might end up with leaving with a card. However, the trading cards are meant to be a special thanks for our earliest backers. Complete sets may one day be difficult to hold, but that’s what makes them special. On future issues, be sure to back us up early to get in on the trading card goodness, because once they’re gone, they’re never going to be available widely again!

Some Parting Thoughts

As I look around and see Hollywood writers going on strike because of unfair treatment, I’ve been reflecting on the value of art. When Sarah and I started this project, we hoped to get a contract with a publisher eventually. In my mind, this made the project “legit”. Having seen issue 1, I don’t see why a self-published, underground comic is any less ‘legit’ than having a publishing contract. These contracts are often unfair, and treat artists as if they’re a commodity. My opinion now is, why should we take a contract to produce a comic so that we can mass-produce content for a publisher who will take a percentage and pump the project for value with little return?

At least for now, Our Lady Maven will not be going down that path. OLM will be independently produced. We will pay our artists what they’re worth both in direct monetary value and in future value if and when the project ever scales up. If it doesn’t, we’ll still split the income fairly. This has always been about making art for ourselves and for our friends, and it will stay this way for as far ahead as I can see from here.

Thanks again for all your support, and we’ll see you in Paris.

-E

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