2021 Publications from Birdcage Bottom Books

Contributor added + status + surveys + Eisner
about 5 years ago – Mon, Jun 14, 2021 at 05:37:26 AM

John Porcellino was one of the first artists we invited to contribute to TOO TOUGH TO DIE. After all, he embodies everything we wanted represented in TTTD. He was greatly influenced by punk culture, has been self-publishing his zine, King-Cat Comics, consistently since 1989, and is extremely old (jk jk). He politely and regrettably dropped out of the project a while back because he wasn't able to think of a suitable comic and admitted that if he didn't have a clear idea in the past it would result in sub-par work. 

Last week John awoke from a nap with inspiration and asked if there was still time to draw something, so we quickly shuffled some pages around to clear space for his contribution. We're ecstatic to have him back as a contributor!

In other news, we'll be sending out surveys shortly. We wanted to give everyone time to settle back in from the upheaval of this last year. We know many of you may not have had a permanent address throughout the pandemic, but hopefully things are a tad bit more stable now? In any case, after the surveys go out, we won't "lock them in" until August to allow for you to change your address if need be. We're using BackerKit to allow for add-ons should you wish to add on extra items from our catalog. 

Speaking of, one of our publications from last year, Thomas Lampion's graphic memoir "The Burning Hotels" was nominated for an Eisner award in the "Best Single Issue" category! We're beyond thrilled at this recognition of Lampion's excellent work and implore you to vote if you're eligible (comics creators, historians, shop owners, etc.). You can see a list of nominees here and/or apply to vote here. 

We'll leave you with a page from Gregory Benton & Mike Hunchback's comic for TOO TOUGH TO DIE:

Status of your Kickstarter rewards & unfortunate news
over 5 years ago – Fri, May 14, 2021 at 01:14:24 PM

Hello BBB backers,

I'm heartbroken to share the news that one of our artists, Patrick Dean, has passed away. It was not unexpected, as he'd been fighting ALS for over two years, but is a devastating loss nonetheless. Patrick was diagnosed with ALS while working on the graphic novel that became Eddie's Week. He continued to aggressively create artwork as his body failed him. Even after losing all muscle control, he drew using clunky eye gaze technology. Patrick was truly inspirational in his dedication to his comics community, his artwork and his family. 

Due to our despicable healthcare system, Patrick's family has drained their savings to cover medical care, so if you're able to contribute to the GoFundMe campaign set up by his friends, please do. If you want to check out his book, know that $2 from each book will be donated to ALS Associations in Georgia and New York and half of each sale will go to Patrick's family. 

In happier news, Haleigh and I are almost finished putting together the TOO TOUGH TO DIE anthology, I'm proofreading Everything Is Super, Lance Ward's FLOP SWEAT issues 2-4 are just about ready for print, and Robert H. Stevenson's Comfort Creatures is back from the printer and looks fantastic. All of these will ship out in mid-September (or, if SPX happens, you're welcome to pick up your rewards there). 

I haven't yet sent out the Kickstarter surveys since the pandemic has caused a lot of housing turmoil and instability. I figured I'd wait until closer to the ship date so that you don't have to change your address if you're moving around. That said, I will send out surveys for those who chose rewards containing custom artwork so that the artists can get working on those!

Thanks again, everyone. Here's a few sneak peeks at pages from TOO TOUGH TO DIE along with a video about Patrick Dean's use of eye gaze technology to make art.

Be well, friends!

J.T.

THANK YOU!
over 5 years ago – Mon, Mar 29, 2021 at 09:30:27 PM

Thanks to all of you who helped us reach (and blow past) the funding goal! Please know that that extra money will go to all of our TOO TOUGH TO DIE contributors, which is fantastic. It's been a tough year not seeing our comics community at shows, both our customers and other artists & publishers, so it warms our hearts to know you're all still out there doing your thing. 

The next step is editing, proofreading, designing and, in some cases, coloring all these comics! 

Everything else is gravy.
over 5 years ago – Fri, Mar 19, 2021 at 12:57:06 PM

We did it! Thank you for your help in reaching the funding goal. I'm so grateful to everyone who has backed the Kickstarter and/or helped spread the word. Everything pledged beyond the goal will go to contributing artists for the TOO TOUGH TO DIE anthology, so I'm hoping the momentum remains. 

Here's a new reward tier just added. Rottsteak, the artist behind the "Everything Is Super" graphic novel, will draw your superhero portrait in the style he uses in the comic. 

New rewards added!
over 5 years ago – Thu, Mar 11, 2021 at 10:11:37 PM

Hello! First off, thanks to all of you for your support and help in getting the word out. We're over 60% funded with nearly three weeks to go. I'm hoping to exceed the funding goal since everything past that will go to our artists, so please keep letting people know about this campaign. 

We've added two new great reward tiers: A custom superhero portrait by "Everything Is Super" artist Rottsteak, and a drawing of Screeching Weasel guitarist Mike Hunchback (as a stupid asshole teen, from their TOO TOUGH TO DIE collaboration) drawn by Gregory Benton! These are limited, so act quickly if you want 'em. Backers can always switch their reward tier at any time up until the campaign ends.