Welcome to Aaron’s Indie View, my new monthly newsletter, which you can read right here on my brand new Patreon. This whole thing has been a long time coming, but I can be slow to action when it comes to things like this. I work on a lot of different comic projects and it can be difficult to keep track of what I am working on, when it is releasing, and where you can buy it. So, first and foremost, this newsletter will be the best place to stay up to date on all the different comics, crowdfunding campaigns, and any other creative venture I set out to do.
In addition to Patreon, you can find my work at secondthoughtcomics.com, which contains several free digital comics, and a store where you can purchase all the books I currently have available, You can also read this newsletter there! In the future, parts of the newsletter will be exclusive to Patreon supporters, but for now I’m letting it all hang out!
But fear not, this newsletter will not just be all promotion and commercials for my own comics. I also intend to use this space to share personal anecdotes, pretentious musings, and most importantly, foster discussion about OTHER comic books! I work at a comic and game store in my day job, so I read a LOT of comics, and the only thing I like more than reading comics is talking about comics. I do a weekly live stream for Fantasy Books, Inc. on Twitch. You can join us every Tuesday night at 7:30 pm CTS to see me flip through and discuss new comics that are releasing the next day! I intend to use this newsletter to share expanded thoughts on new comics that I am reading, as well as retrospectives on classic comic series (that I am also collecting and reading).
Let’s break down the Patreon rewards! First and foremost, you get this monthly newsletter. You will also get to read my autobio comic, Autographical, as it is completed. I am currently working on issue 3, and have just completed a six page story about an experience I had with a group of Deadpool cosplayers (pictured below)!
I am also going to start re-releasing my very first webcomic, Zero’s Heroes, with added commentary. I started Zero’s Heroes sometime back in 2009, and it ran for over 400 pages before it was put on hiatus so I could focus on printed comic projects. As of this year, Zero’s Heroes has gone out of print (I sold out of my books), so I am going to make it easily available on this Patreon!
Supporters at higher levels will also receive physical mini comics and zines. Last year, I wrote and drew a five page fan comic about Bizarro Superman meeting the Incredible Hulk. Jessica helped with some of the inks and it was colored by Paul Little. I had a lot of fun with it and would like to do more comics like that. For this first month, I will be mailing out the Bizarro Zine to all supporters at the $5 level.
If all that stuff isn’t enough and you are just overwhelmed with the desire to support my comics, you can support me at an even higher tier and receive access to a large selection of my library of work. Don’t want to wait for me to upload pages of Zero’s Heroes every week? Well, here you can get access to the entire series as digital pdfs! Also included are other past comics like, Science Hero, Autographical, and The Amoral Stingray!
That is pretty much everything you need to know about this new Patreon. Thanks for checking it out, and I hope you’ll stick around and help facilitate in the creation of new comics!
Before I sign off, I’ll leave you with a quick comic book recommendation. Has anybody been reading The Forged, by Greg Rucka, Eric Trautmann, and Mike Henderson? Issue 01 came out last year in March, 2023. The latest issue, #9, is due out at the end of July, 2024. I am enjoying this series and make sure to talk about it on my stream with every new issue. The Forged is a sci-fi comic about a squad of female mech soldiers that find themselves embroiled in a political conspiracy involving the military, their magical Eternal Empress, and mysterious aliens that live inside of T-Space, which is the means by which humans have spread across the galaxy.
There are shades of a variety of classic science fiction present in The Forged. Everything from Star Trek to Dune to Warhammer 40k appears to be an influence. This is definitely an adult comic. It is both violent and erotic, though never gratuitously so. I’m not familiar with Trautmann’s writing, but I am a fan of Rucka. If you like his work on books like Whiteout, Queen & Country, and Batman, I imagine you will enjoy The Forged.
Henderson’s art also looks really great on the page. The book is printed at an oversized magazine format, so there’s lots of space (pun intended) for vast, expansive depictions of alien worlds and big action. I really like his character designs, as well. He does a great job of playing with body shapes and sizes. All of the characters feel real to their world. There is a digital sheen across the art, which is not something that I always like, but it works really well for super sci-fi world of The Forged.
I believe the are two volumes available that collect the first six issues. Volume Three should release soon as well, shortly after issue #9 this July. Check it out!
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time!
-Aaron