It's not always good news

but first a parable

A friend on Facebook just shared this parable with me. You’ll probably see why it feels right to start this email with it in a few…

Once upon a time, there was a farmer in the central region of China. He didn't have a lot of money and, instead of a tractor, he used an old horse to plow his field.

One afternoon, while working in the field, the horse dropped dead. Everyone in the village said, "Oh, what a horrible thing to happen." The farmer said simply, "We'll see." He was so at peace and so calm, that everyone in the village got together and, admiring his attitude, gave him a new horse as a gift.

Everyone's reaction now was, "What a lucky man." And the farmer said, "We'll see."

A couple days later, the new horse jumped a fence and ran away. Everyone in the village shook their heads and said, "What a poor fellow!"

The farmer smiled and said, "We'll see."

Eventually, the horse found his way home, and everyone again said, "What a fortunate man."

The farmer said, "We'll see."

Later in the year, the farmer's young boy went out riding on the horse and fell and broke his leg. Everyone in the village said, "What a shame for the poor boy."

The farmer said, "We'll see."

Two days later, the army came into the village to draft new recruits. When they saw that the farmer's son had a broken leg, they decided not to recruit him.

Everyone said, "What a fortunate young man."

The farmer smiled again - and said "We'll see."

____________________________________________________________

So, yeah. That’s a story to let sit with you in trying (and in wonderful) times. We can always think some instance in our life is going to be really good, or really bad, and only time can tell us if we are right.

A few years back Ludo and I were offered a spot under Scout Comics publishing umbrella. I was very excited about it, and thought it would help us really find a lot of new readers.

Yesterday, with Ludo’s blessing, I signed a piece of paper that removed us from that umbrella.

Is this good? Is this bad?

We’ll see.

I can say that Ludo and I tried very hard to be a success for Scout Comics. I can say we did some good things. I can say we made some mistakes. I can say it was a fun adventure.

I can also say that Scout Comics tried very hard to be a success for Tart. They did some good things. They made some mistakes. I can’t speak for them, but I hope they had fun sharing the adventure with us.

I don’t begrudge Scout Comics at all. They are staffed by people working second and third jobs like me trying their best. And they’re willing to continue selling the stock they already have, so if you want some soon to be vintage comics, why not hop on over:

https://www.scoutcomics.com/collections/tart

They still have the Perfect 10 Tart Webstore exclusive. As far as I know the only perfect 10 Scout has ever had. It’s $900, but how many CGC’s 10s have you seen in the last two decades? By the way, Ludo and I will receive royalties on any of these sales, but if you do buy the one that’s almost a thousand dollars, please let me know so I push them a little harder for that payment : )

The real reason I reached out to Ludo and asked if we could pull out is because I can not devote the time necessary to sell comics to comic shops. I can find readers online. And I KNOW that if I get a reader to check out the first three issues of Tart there is an EXCELLENT chance they’ll be with us going forward.

But I have learned that I simply juggle Kickstarter launches, and the direct market preorder process. And if I have to lose one, it is not going to be Kickstarter.

So that journey is over for the time being. I am not saying I’ll never go to the direct market again. And I’m not saying I’ll never work with Scout Comics again. But I am saying that until Tart’s story is completely finished, I’m not going to be dividing my time any longer.

Will it be a good choice?

We’ll see.

TALES OF THE LOST TOXICS

Before I share the next chapter in the anthology, I want to welcome the new people who joined the newsletter from the Tart 16 Kickstarter survey.

To catch you up, I had long envisioned asking a group of fellow writers and artists to take concepts I had and create an anthology of stories that follow Toxic Fruit on their last mission. As we got to this spot, however, I knew I didn’t have the finances to do it fairly to those creators. So instead I decided to try my hand at writing these prose.

These stories are ABSOLUTELY canon. Many will be call back to, or foreshadow (if I’m lucky, both) events in the comic. While I tease each chapter for the subscribers to the free version of this substack, the full chapter is for those who bump up to paid.

If you want to catch up, you can use your free week and read all the previous chapters. Or you can wait until I’m done and I’m sure there will be at least a digital version released.

Anyway, we continue Tart Acid’s part of this anthology.

TART ACID Part 3

TART PART 3

“I’m not ready to quit.” 

Tart Acid didn’t give Cherry Macabre or Phyllion a moment to ask her intent. Stating her decision before the door closed behind Kyu, who had followed her in.

While they had been anxious about her decision, neither of them were surprised. As Cherry had stated, Tart was not a quitter. And while some Toxic Fruit had eventually decided to hang up their spurs as it were, so far not a single agent had ever left the moment their debt was paid.

Still, it was an option they knew could be exercised.

Cherry smiled and walked to her with her most cherished tea kettle. “I am happy to have you remain with us. Phyllion has mashed your fruit into a concoction we were taught by The Messenger himself. Let it cool a moment, and drink deep.”

Cherry poured the contents of the kettle into a teacup so delicate Tart wondered if it would hold the weight of the liquid long enough for her to drink. 

Tart blew on the liquid and walked back toward the wall of plants. She looked at hers first. With her fruit plucked, her lily no longer stood out against the rest of the potted plants. She was reminded of the other “outlier” she’d noticed before and turned her attention to it.

“I count more plants than Toxics I’ve met. What’s wrong with this one?”

Phyllion did not attempt to hide the sadness in her voice, “I tend the plants to all Toxic Fruit who are still alive. But this one is linked to a lost friend. She has not returned to us for many years, and though Kyu will receive blips of her existence every once in a while, they are never consistent enough for us to send a rescue team to try to help her.’