To all of you: Hello! My name is Sylphy and I am a new face here at Iron Circus Comics, taking over handling of posts here and on social media accounts. We apologize for the lack of communication from the latter half of the year 2023, this due to a couple unforeseen situations with a few from our team outside of their control, but we are all recovering and this was part of the reason I was added. It's great to be here to help you all! However, I do not control the [email protected] email - so if you have an issue that needs assistance or are looking for an update to a reply from this email address, you'll likely get the clarification I can provide but then a request to reach out to this email with a ticket number if applicable. Please allow 3-5 business days for review and a response if you send us an email.

On to updates!:

As for the surveys: we have 85%! That's a great turnout for the first wave, thank you all for a prompt response to the request! Currently we're looking for that last 15% to be turned in, and everyone should have received their surveys at this point. This form also requests for an address verification as well as applies a charge to your card for the backing. 

If you have not, the link to request one to be issued out to your email again is here - and you should do that right now before you get too busy: 

https://indiginerds.backerkit.com/ 

(check your spam and promotional folders!)

Once we have ~90% of the surveys filled, quotes for pins and patches will begin to be estimated, which will help us get everything together a little faster. Ideally we would love to see it hit 95% by the end of the month (thank youuuu).

Currently, our printer is issuing page proofs for us to doublecheck and make sure that this print is not too dark before we start running the entire production.  After a different title run had an issue with being too dark to read clearly and resulted in some pages being reprinted, we wanted to make sure that this one was just right. If there are images available to show you, we'll be posting them up here and other accounts as a treat!

The book itself will be hitting shelves on Aug 27th as of now, so mark it in your calendars if you have someone you want to suggest it to! Backers, your goodies and copies of Indiginerds should be within your hands before this date!

Heya, folks! We're working on getting the pledge manager for the Indiginerds all ready to go, and we hope to be done with that process this week. That means we'll soon be sending out the backer survey emails to get everybody's shipping addresses and final purchase decisions. Keep an eye on your inboxes, friends!

Hey, everybody! Spike here, with a big THANK YOU to everyone who's just made sure Indiginerds gets to happen!

Not only did you secure FIVE pay raises for our contributors, but 75 COPIES of Indiginerds will be donated to Indigenous libraries across the US and Canada! We're so thrilled and proud to be able to have hit that stretch goal, and spread the love a little. And we could have never done it without you.

Your credit/debit cards should have already been charged for your pledge amounts. Please, make sure those charges went through! If they did not, you should have received an email from Backerkit about it saying so; you will have two weeks to attempt to recharge your card, or use a different one. If your pledge still has not come through in the following two weeks, your pledge will be forfeited! The window to resubmit a card number and update a rejected payment method closes November 30th. Please make sure your payment resolves, we want to make sure you get your rewards.

After all the pledges go through, we should have the money drop into the Iron Circus account in another one to two weeks. Then, the REAL work begins! Backerkit updates will go out every one to two months, informing you on the state of Indiginerds. 

As for Backerkit surveys, we will delay sending those out for at least a month. The earliest you can expect them is the end of December, but they will more likely arrive in early January. This is to cut down on customer service tickets, which tend to accrue if we send the surveys out too early. As stated on the crowdfund page, we plan on fulfilling the project (AKA, putting stuff in the mail) sometime next year; specifically, spring of 2024.

For folks who have been asking, you WILL have an opportunity to add extra items to your final pledge during the survey portion of the fulfillment. This includes both Indiginerds backer levels, AND other Iron Circus titles! 

Thank you again, everybody! Y'all are the best. Let's make comics together forever, eh?

We're down to the last 24 hours of Indiginerds, and what an amazing time it has been! We just crossed the 200% funded threshold to unlock both the cover enhancements AND another pay raise for our contributors, bringing us up to a grand total of FOUR! And though there's now less than a day left, we know that there's still time to finish strong and see if we can't get our contributors yet another bonus for all of the amazing work they did.

Keep on sharing the project around, and let folks know that if they don't back it now, they may miss out on helping some amazing Indigenous creators during Native American Heritage Month. And if you haven't backed our project yet, now's the time!

Library Donations

You may have already seen the new add on - the Library Donation level. This allows you to purchase a book to be donated towards our Library Donation program, where we send free copies of Indiginerds to Indigenous schools, community centers and more across the US and Canada.

Thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart! A central teaching of all Indigenous cultures is the idea that you give back to your community however you can, and Indiginerds gives us two ways to do that. First, by giving a platform for people to discover new Indigenous talent, like all of the amazing artists and writers who contributed to this project.

And the second way of giving back is far more direct - donating copies of the book to Indigenous youth through our Library Donations level.

Since we unlocked the Library Donations level, we've already had 30+ books donated to the cause, so we should be able to reach all of the places we had in mind and THEN some! 

We also had some folks ask if they could suggest places for the donated copies to be sent, and while we can't guarantee anything (many libraries have a process for receiving books), we are certainly open to suggestions. If you know of a Indigenous library, community center, school or similar that could use a copy of this book, please send an email with their contact info to Indiginerds.anthology (at) gmail.com. Thanks!

Tansi everyone!!

WE DID IT! Indigenous kids across Turtle Island are now going to see themselves represented in comics thanks to you! Here's a huge kinanâskomitin from myself and all the other contributors in this anthology - we couldn't have done it without you!

After the anthology wraps, we'll let you know how many copies were donated overall and give you some highlights about the places they'll be going, so watch for that in the coming months!

What's next?

We're now down to the final 48 hours of the campaign, but we're not slowing down! Remember that every 5k milestone we hit means that we'll be able to give our contributors a pay raise, so there's still plenty of time to directly support Indigenous creators. We've already unlocked THREE pay raises for our contributors, and there's still time for a few more!

And unlocking the COVER ENHANCEMENTS is getting closer all the time. This amazing cover by Britt "holoske" Newton definitely deserves some fancy accents! This stretch goal will unlock at 40k, so please continue to share this project on your socials and help us make this goal a reality!

Tansi everyone, 

This is it - it's the FINAL THREE DAYS! That's just 72 hours left to see if we can reach our remaining stretch goals.

The most important one is, of course, unlocking our CHARITABLE LIBRARY DONATIONS. Once we hit the 35k mark (which is getting SO close!), we'll be sending book to Indigenous libraries, community centers and other groups across the US and Canada, ensuring that Indigenous youth will be able to read all of the amazing stories we've packed into the anthology, and hopefully inspire them to explore these hobbies themselves.

We'll also be making it possible to add a donated book to your pledge - one that will be sent to these organizations instead of to you. This will help us reach even MORE people with these books, and means we can get this anthology to even more communities who wouldn't normally have access.

The next stretch goal after that is COVER ENHANCEMENTS! We will unlock this one at 40k. I don't know about you, but I think that this amazing cover by Britt "holoske" Newton (https://holoske.carrd.co/) could use some spot gloss or even holo foil on the phone and skyline, don't you?

There's a long way to go with only three days left, but I know that we can do it if we all work together! As I've mentioned before, the best things you can do to help us reach our goals are: 

Tansi everyone! Alina here.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for supporting and talking about this project! It's been incredible to see the support we've received from our backers, and to hear the nice things they're saying about the project in various news sources. So far we've been featured in a ton of top news sites, including CBC Indigenous, Bleeding Cool, Screen Rant, GirlTalkHQ, and The Mary Sue. 

Get your backpacks and battle jackets ready - the embroidered patches are now unlocked! These high-quality patches are now available to add to any pledge, and each of them are inspired by a different style of Indigenous art. These patches were designed by Nipinet Landsem, Jordanna George, Sam "Mushki" Medlock, Rhael McGregor, and Alina Pete. The patches are available on their own for $20, or in a set of all 5 for $85. 

With less than ten days to go, we're down to the final stretch of this project! It's time to really get out there and continue to talk and get new people excited about this project... Especially since the next stretch goal to unlock is the one I've been the most excited about - INDIGENOUS LIBRARY DONATIONS!

When we hit this stretch goal, we will be sending FREE copies of Indiginerds to Indigenous libraries, community centers and schools across the US and Canada.

This also means that each and every one of you who backs this project will be ensuring that Indigenous youth get to see themselves represented in a positive and healthy way, and that kids who might not normally have access to mainstream libraries still get a copy of this book in their hands!

This feels especially important now that it's Native American Heritage Month--the month where everyone is encouraged to learn about Indigenous culture, traditions, music, crafts, dance, and ways and concepts of life. What better way for people to support Indigenous art and culture than through comics?

So, let's keep it up! Please help us by continuing to spread the word about this project, and together we can help send some free books to Indigenous youth! 

November is National Native American Heritage Month, so it’s the perfect time of year to give back by supporting Indigenous creators. And this year, it's easy to do so directly because Indiginerds: Tales of Modern Indigenous Life is NOW FUNDING on BackerKit! This all-new anthology is an up-close-and-personal chronicle of the day-to-day life of Indigenous nerds, showing how the pop culture they love influences and interfaces with it all!

This project has already funded, but we've got some exciting stretch goals still waiting to be unlocked, including the $35,000 level - INDIGENOUS LIBRARY DONATIONS. When we hit this milestone, Iron Circus Comics will be sending FREE copies of Indiginerds to Native libraries, community centers and schools across the US and Canada. 
 
This Native American Heritage Month, YOU can help us twice - by supporting higher page rates for our creators, and by giving Indigenous kids a chance to see themselves represented in comics!

What can YOU do to help?

FAQ:

Indigenous people are chronically underrepresented in media generally, but especially in comics. In the past, when we did have any representation at all, it was often full of harmful stereotypes and not written by anyone Indigenous. Indiginerds, along with other Native-led publications, is an important platform for Native folks to tell OUR stories. It’s also an accessible way for non-Indigenous people to learn about our culture. But, because of the institutional barriers in our way, we don't have the same reach as "mainstream" comics. 

Why is THIS collection so important?

Most of the stories about Indigenous people are all focused on two things: current grief and the tragedies of the past. Native culture is living, vibrant and evolving, and generations of Indigenous kids have grown up watching the same movies and tv shows that non-Indigenous folks have. Indiginerds is unique in that it features joyful stories of Indigenous people living in a way that blends modern pop culture with traditional cultural knowledge. 

National Native American Heritage Month is celebrated each year in November. The Department of the Interior website says "It is a time to celebrate the traditions, languages and stories of Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and affiliated Island communities and ensure their rich histories and contributions continue to thrive with each passing generation." This means learning both about the history of colonization, as well as the ways in which Native people live and thrive today. 

Hey again, everyone! Spike here, with an update about Indiginerds' STRETCH GOALS!

After some discussion, consulting, and hammering-out, we've finally decided on the following goals:

$30,000 - IRON ON PATCHES. There will be five separate designs, made by our pals at True Metal Works! We predict they'll be $20 each, or $85 for the full set.

$35,000 - A FANCY COVER EFFECT. Gloss! Embossing? Glow-in-the-dark? We'll add a nice enhancement to the cover of Indiginerds!

$40,000 - INDIGENOUS LIBRARY DONATIONS. We're still waiting for details on the logistics for this from one of editor Alina Pete's colleagues, but this is one stretch goal we really wanna hit!

$50,000 - AN 11" X 17" TREK SPLASH POSTER! Editor/contributor Alina Pete's story "Dorvan V," features a cool splash page. We'll transform it into a poster if we hit $50k!

We're already at around $25,000, and we still have most of a month to go, so please keep spreading the word! Indiginerds is relying on word-of-mouth support to get funded, so link it where you can, recommend it to friends, and make sure people know were out here and funding.

Thanks, everybody!