Crocker Con is back and it’s even back to its original time frame! After taking place in the spring for the last few years, it just feels right for Crocker Con to be happening in September and I’m more excited than ever to get back to the show (no matter when it takes place).
This year, it’s happening on Thursday, September 14at 6pm.
Details are still forthcoming but we’ve go the new poster and you can go ahead and purchase your tickets right now! I’ll chime back in with more information as it comes to light, but at the very least I hope to see you there!
The DriveThru family of websites has been a staple of independent (and mainstream) tabletop gaming for years now with their flagship site, DriveThru RPG. In short, it’s a place where designers can post their games, expansions, and other assorted materials to the DriveThru marketplace for people to buy. What’s also cool about them is that they are also a print-on-demand service, so you aren’t only limited to pdfs.
They’ve expanded their offerings over the last few years, branching beyond tabletop RPGs into collectible card games, fiction, and, of course, comics.
The DriveThru community and their reach is huge, and I’ve been asked about hosting the books on DriveThru Comics for awhile, but have been wary for no good reason.
For now, I’m using DriveThru Comics only as a place to host the ebook versions of the comics––especially if you want an alternative to Gumroad. It’s also cool because built into the website are places where readers can discuss the book and leave reviews (which I highly encourage you to do)!
I’m excited to see what the response is and am happy to say that Long John is even more accessible online than before thanks to DriveThru Comics!
The premise is as follows: Xob (pronounced SAW) is an ancient lightning entity, that has been passed from person to person throughout the centuries. The power originally was used to protect the Hmong people of Southeast Asia. Tracy Lor, the current emissary of the Xob power, has decided to buck tradition and use these abilities to protect the world.
Think “if Buffy were in the Marvel Cinematic Universe” and you’ll have a good place to step into this original and fun story. The first three issues made up the first arc, showcasing Kyrun’s incredible imagination and love of the medium; coupled with incredible artists, these opening issues got enough attention that they were republished by the storied Antarctic Press in their anthology series, Exciting Comics from issues 25 through 30. Antarctic Press has been an indie publisher since the ’80s and are partially (nay, very) responsible for the introduction of manga and Japanese-styled comics into the western market. Exciting Comics is a their anthology series aimed at a more youth-focused market, a place where Kyrun’s Xob fits right in (he even got to draw the cover for issue 29!).
But that first arc is done and Xob has more to do, so with the fantastic new artist on the series, Dino Agor, Kyrun is launching Xob and her crew into a new adventure in a series has already become quite well-known and adored in the indie comics community.
What’s better is that there is a tier on this campaign where you can also pick up the first three issues as well (digital or physical), so you can catch up with the story as well. Xob is an incredible book that has taken off in ways that are surprising for Kyrun and very well-deserved! It’s a celebration of superhero comics as well as the underrepresented Hmong culture, blended in a truly entertaining way that sits with or rivals any superhero comics being published by Marvel or DC. I encourage everyone to check it out for all the purchasing options and the goodies you can get, too! The campaign runs through the end of the August, so be sure to get in while you can.
A drawing I did of Xob a few years ago when the series launched. It’s such a great design.
