Posts in the News Category at [messenger], Page 23

CCA Drive Starts Today!

January 11, 2011 Bugbyte No Comments

Hey readers, sorry for the unexpected late page this week. I simultaneously ran out of buffer pages and got the worst cold I’ve had in a long while, and today is my birthday! So in between missing comics and being sick for my birthday, I’m just not up for putting together a page, but I will make up the missing page in addition to regular updates, so stay tuned.

What I’m really here to post about today is the Comic Creators Alliance! To better explain what it’s all about, here are some words from the project’s founder, Lora Innes:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” -Margaret Mead

Tuesday, January 11th is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. In honor of the event, I teamed up with the Comic Creator’s Alliance–a group of over 100 comic book creators (both web and print!) who volunteered our artistic talents to raise money and awareness for this cause. You may not know it, but there are currently 27 million enslaved people worldwide- more than double the number of enslaved Africans during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. UNICEF estimates that 1.2 million children every year are sold into slavery, most of it sexual. The US Department of Justice estimates 16,000 victims of human trafficking are brought into the United States every year. Unlike slavery in the 19th century, what is happening today is happening in secret. It won’t end until awareness is raised, and people like you and me take a stand.

So here’s what we did: each creator contributed an original drawing of one of our own female characters, and combined them into a single image! This year’s theme was “The Brady Bunch.” There is so much going on in this image–you can look at the wallpaper for a long time and still find something new! All of the artists included in the drive are amazing and some of the fan favorites are: Scott Sava (The Dreamland Chronicles), Adam Hughes (Star Wars, Wonder Woman), Sarah Ellerton (Inverloch), Bryan Glass & Victor Santos (Mice Templar), Beau Smith (Wynonna Earp: The Yeti Wars), Billy Tucci (Shi), Mookie (Dominic Deegan), Crystal Yates (Earthsong), Lora Innes (The Dreamer), Thom Zahler (Love and Capes), and Alison Action (Bear Nuts). View the full listing of contributors here: http://comicalliance.weebly.com/the-people.html.

Donate today to download this unique, once-in-a-lifetime wallpaper. Or, this year you can buy a print! The Donations Drive will last for two weeks, from January 11th – 24th. All proceeds will be split evenly between Love 146 and Gracehaven House- two organizations working on rehabilitation of victims and prevention of this crime.

To learn more about the CCA and to donate visit www.comicalliance.weebly.com. To learn more about the problem, visit http://love146.org/slavery. (Note: contains adult themes and actual accounts of sex slavery.)

Lora Innes
The Dreamer
Nominated for two Harvey Awards: Best New Series and Best New Talent
Adventure. Romance. War. 1776 is back.
www.thedreamercomic.com

Please consider donating to this awesome cause! All donations should go through Comic Creators Alliance, not me. If you donate to the CCA, forward a copy of your Paypal confirmation to bug@messenger-comic.com (you can blank out your last name and personal information if you want) and I’ll email you a copy of the Messenger winter wallpaper as an extra thanks for participating in the CCA drive this year! ♥

Book 2: Now with more Pikachu

January 6, 2011 Bugbyte No Comments

It’s been a while since I’ve done a proper update post, so here are the most recent comic-related news bits I’ve got!

I’ve slowly been working through the articles on Chiopedia to include stuff from the most recent chapters. If there’s anything in particular you’d like to see added, let me know!

A few characters from Messenger are also making some special appearances to try and do some good in the world! As mentioned previously, Eldora and Finnegan are making an appearance in a charity cookbook (due for release in February 2011), and Aki is also making an appearance in a special downloadable wallpaper produced by the Comic Creators’ Alliance to help stop human trafficking! This wallpaper will be available by donating the amount of your choice through the CCA website starting on January 11 (coincidentally, my birthday!) through the 24th. Find out more by visiting the Comic Creators’ Alliance!

What has Pikachu found? Looks like the print edition of book 2 has arrived! Click on through to see some pictures of the gorgeous full-color print and find out more.
Continue reading Book 2: Now with more Pikachu

2010 Wrap-Up

December 31, 2010 Bugbyte No Comments

2010 has been an amazing year for Messenger. In total, 80 new pages were added to the online archive, which doesn’t include the 30 or so revision pages I did for Chapter Two and the minicomic extras for the second book. Regardless, it’s substantially more than an ordinary year’s worth of pages due to the fact that I started doing twice weekly updates in the fall. Messenger also hit the printer twice, with a re-issue of book 1 and the entirely new release of book 2. Webcomics are usually a one-man show, and Messenger is no exception, so I’m pretty pleased to have successfully kept up with regular updates as well as produce two whole books of approximately 100 pages each.

This year felt like a huge advancement in the things I’ve learned about making comics; from writing and art, all the way down to promotion and running advertising on the site. 2010 has been the first time I’ve truly had a chance to sit down and work through an entire chapter of the comic at once instead of working on it when I can, and I feel that the quality of it has improved overall as a result. This is kind of a bittersweet thing, since I’ve spent most of the year aggressively job-hunting – but I’ve also learned a lot about advertising, and have managed to make enough of a profit via advertising to pay (at least) for groceries in addition to the upkeep of comic-making supplies. I may be a broke artist, but at least I’m not starving! While I know that I’ll never be able to turn this comic into a full-time job, it’s an exciting and satisfying feeling to know that I’ve been able to do as much as I have just in the span of this past year and it feels worthwhile to have spent all this (unfortunate) free time I’ve had working on it.

Statistics-wise, 2010 has brought a huge jump in readership – up 66% on average, with about 200-300 more views daily over the same time last year. I’ve put a little bit of effort into finding new readers and getting the comic out there this year, so it’s really cool to see this pay off. That said, if you’re reading this out there (and I know you are) don’t be afraid to chime in on the comments or on the forum! I don’t bite, and your feedback is a huge motivating factor for me. My fanart section has almost tripled in size from what it used to be, and it’s still super humbling every time I get a piece of art from a reader. Knowing that I’ve produced something that people enjoy enough to say so or even to draw or write something based on it is such a cool feeling, and I don’t think it will ever get old. 🙂

All things considered, 2010 was fantastic. For once I really feel like I’ve made massive steps from where I started when I first put the comic online in 2004. If all goes according to plan, 2011 will be even better. My next steps include starting work on book 3 as soon as possible, getting through the rest of Part 1 of the main comic, and possibly doing some side stories from the Messenger universe.

But most of all, none of this would be possible without you – the readers. So, a huge thanks to you for all your support! I hope you’ll stick with me for whatever is to come. Happy 2011! ♥

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