New Year. New Look. No. More. Waiting.
No time for me today? Here are the highlights:
Ronin Digital Express episode 0 preview
Event Fatigue Podcast has formally launched on Instagram
Cool promo art
Konichiwa to my favorite mofos, the early adopters, the people with the really good taste in aspiring indie comic artistes.
Do I have a reward for you today!
It's now 2020, which means we're in launch year for Ronin Digital Express, the webcomic I've been promoting since I started rent*space last summer.
I've been treating the newsletter as a bit of personal discipline, a bit of accountability, a bit of looking over my shoulder, etc. Basically, a reason to work on stuff because I know I have to show some progress here every month.
It's actually been very helpful. It's 2020, the year I said I would launch this thing, and I'm happy to report that I'm pretty much on track.
The open rate on these emails is over 90%, so I'm guessing you guys are interested in what's happening here and waiting patiently for a major progress report.
Well, here it is: The rough for the prologue chapter (with snippets from the script standing in for lettering).
I hope you enjoy.
Here's the plan.
Next week, I'm going to publish the finished version to Webtoon Canvas. Along with it, an announcement:
The first full episode is coming in JULY.
"F***! You assclown! Why so far away?"
Promotional runway, mostly. But I will still be posting progress, snippets, and sneak peeks here, so there will be plenty to look at until then.
Speaking of, here are some promo materials I'll be circulating in the coming months on social:
HEY that reminds me. I need to ask a favor.
Can you guys keep an eye on my socials (@rentonhawkey on Twitter, @rentonhawkey on Instagram) and signal boost RDE stuff when you see it pop up?
Organic reach via search and hashtags has absolutely taken a nosedive in recent months (I'm sure you've also noticed) so my plan is to get by with a little help from my friends.
I'm also experimenting with not posting for great lengths of time to see if that puts a notification that I posted for the first time in a long time in my followers' notifications.
ONE MORE ASK, and that is, if you're aware of my secret identity, please be sure to refer to me only as "Renton Hawkey" if you post. I don't mind if you use details like "my friend," "my buddy from school," etc. And if people we both know mutually ask, I don't care if you tell them who I really am.
I'm not trying SUPER hard to conceal my identity, I just want to keep my day job SEO separate from my comic creator SEO as much as possible so that both benefit in their own right.
LASTLY, Event Fatigue Podcast, another webcomic I'm on authored by comic writer Milton Lawson also officially launched this month.
Please check us out here, and signal boost wherever.
This is mostly just a fun side project for Milton and I, so we haven't really committed to a set publishing schedule, but I think we will try and ramp up in the next month or two.
Here's what I've been reading lately.
The Infinite Horizon: The Odyssey is one of the greatest stories ever told. Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto's modern-day take on it was pleasantly surprising in parts. The writing is a bit stronger than the art for me. I love Noto's style generally, but I don't think he's at his best here. Still, if you're familiar with the source material, I'm sure you'll dig it.
That's it for this week's adventure.
As always, thank you for your support.
I don't have a Patreon, nor do I ask for donations. If you want to help me, the best thing you can do is share this content with your followers if you enjoyed it.
Thanks for being here all the same.
Back to work.
*rent