Comics, Novels, and Stories

[kbspangler]

Where to find me, Tumblr version

Like everyone else who uses Twitter as a rowdy bar where you can read highfalutin political takes while watching the real-time saga of a brother-in-law who accidentally purchased an entire semi trailer full of uncooked rice, I'm now searching for my social media home once that bird site implodes. Here is my current "Where to find me" list [updated June 2023] as I poke around.

A Girl and Her Fed (webcomic). Long-running science-fiction webcomic with quite a lot of ghosts. Once written and drawn by me, now drawn by @alepresser. Very infrequent news updates on non-AGAHF projects and books. No personal information shared.

SideQuested (webcomic) - Brand-new medieval fantasy comic about queer disaster teenagers falling in love all over the place. Written by Ale and myself, drawn by Ale. Very infrequent news updates on non-SideQuested projects and books. No personal information shared.

kbspangler.com - Personal website which is updated when I have major project news such as book releases, etc. Personal information is shared, but the focus is on writing, editing, and comics. Has a signup link for my mailing list, which I have now sent out...um...twice? This is also where potential editing clients can query me about their projects.

Patreon - Regular updates on Monday/Thursday with AGAHF comics. Semi-frequent news updates on projects and books. No personal information shared. Basically paywalled with a minimum of $1 a month.

Bluesky: I'm hoping this will become the viable Twitter alternative for its seamless politics-to-shitpost experience, but as of this update it's invite-only.

Redwombat server on Mastodon: I use this mainly because some good friends migrated to Mastodon. Comic updates are posted regularly, with irregular use for everything else.

Goodreads -I have some control over how content is displayed, but not much. New releases will appear; I do not update the news function. No personal information shared.

Amazon Author - I have some control over how content is displayed, but not much. New releases will appear; I do not update the news function. No personal information shared.

KBSpangler on Instagram - Mostly squatting on my name. Updates infrequently.

I'm not on Facebook or TikTok. Anyone claiming to be me, isn't.

*sigh* I just want to be able to liveblog congressional hearings and get in shouty fights about selling koalas.

[kbspangler]

tfw some idiots have Fucked Around™ and are about to Find Out™

[kbspangler]

Good evening from SIDEQUESTED, in which our heroine has broken out one of her most deadly skills…process-of-elimination!

(I love making hidden joke lists)

[kbspangler]

Good morning from SIDEQUESTED, in which Charlie is all of us all of the freakin' time these days, dang, I mean, seriously, dang.

[kbspangler]

It's time for a musical interlude at SIDEQUESTED!

Our Dear Lad doesn't know it but he's about to go to his happiest place.

[kbspangler]

I'm not saying this isn't my favorite scene at SIDEQUESTED thus far, but I'm not not saying it.

"But KB shouldn't you be writing comics for other people?"

lol rofl lol

I mean yeah probably

[kbspangler]

Good morning! It's webcomic day at SIDEQUESTED!

Music store guy knows where humanity's magic really comes from, and it ain't from something as wasteful as conflict.

[kbspangler]

We're fifty pledges away from bringing the Peony plushie to life... just in time for the holidays.

I swore really loudly when I realized this, I'll have you know.

[kbspangler]

SIDEQUESTED has updated and...well.

Me when I started writing this scene: Just killed off the fucky agent and turned him into a god of joy, might as well have some fun with that in the other comic.

Me, now: The fucky god comic is a Hugo finalist and I have no idea how to explain any of this to anyone.

[kbspangler]

So @alepresser and I went to Manhattan for our first ever professional book signing (SIDEQUESTED), and then...A GIRL AND HER FED was announced as a Hugo finalist.

We are incredibly honored and humbled and suddenly realizing that a lot of strangers with extremely strong opinions on science fiction are going to read our (my) earliest strips, oh dear.

[kbspangler]

It's new comics day! At SIDEQUESTED, our favorite vulture/former death omen drops some hard-won life lessons.

[kbspangler]

Good morning! At today's SIDEQUESTED, we learn move about Vulture Culture!

[kbspangler]

SIDEQUESTED is up!

Charlie is having a moment and her emotional support vulture is along for the ride.

[kbspangler]

SIDEQUESTED is up! Take a break from the doom and appreciate how our Dear Lad™ is Dear Ladding™ again.

(It's still doom but it's different doom. Kinda like eating at an unfamiliar Subway.)

[kbspangler]

SIDEQUESTED is up, and If you learned your birth mom was the former goddess of Fate you'd make the Roger Rabbit eyes too.

Have you read the strip? Cool, thank you! Now for the spoiler commentary.

This is what I wrote over on Ale's Patreon:

In THE SIMPSONS, there's a moment where the family learns they have a trillion dollars and Lisa, the focused pro-environment scholar, tells her mother "Screw college--let's get dune buggies!" She had her moment of complete freedom and it peeled everything away. This is Inner Charlie with the fear gone--gonna POKE THAT DRAGON!!! For SCIENCE!!!! But mostly for FUN!!!!!!!

A large part of Charlie's character is driven by fear, specifically fear where she holds herself back from doing what she wants to do. And for this one brief shining moment, she's given the keys to the dune buggy.

[kbspangler]

tfw your secret backstory as an immortal is busted by a tipsy vulture…

SIDEQUESTED is up!

[kbspangler]

We have a book coming out in 15 days. Here's its story:

April 2023: We get a cold call from an agent who likes SIDEQUESTED, but is more interested in our other projects

Sep 2023: We finalize putting together a formal graphic novel pitch from the book and take it to another agent he recommended. She loves it and signs it! YAY!

Sep-Dec 2023: Stuff goes out, stuff comes back, stuff goes to lawyers, stuff goes out, stuff comes back, rinse-repeat forever. This stuff phase is mostly legal. If you take nothing else away from this post it's that agents earn their commissions.

Dec 2023: I'm at a 9-year-old's birthday party when we receive an offer from a publisher. YAY!!!

Jan 2024-June 2024: Stuff go in/out again. This stuff phase is mostly technical data, such as deadlines and delivery items, with minor prepress work.

June 2024: We can finally announce that Sidequested is going to print!

Dec 2024: I'm at a 10-year-old's birthday party when @alepresser delivers the last art for the first book. YAY!!!

Jan 2025-Oct 2025: Stuff go in/out again. This stuff phase is almost entirely prepress.

Oct 2025-Now: ADVERTISING. The publishers' side. Our side. Everything is book book book. No one will buy it if they don't know it exists! BOOK! BOOK!!!!

Dec 2025: I'm at an eleven-year-old's birthday party when I learn that Molly the Baby Dragon is going to be available as a bonus item.

Feb 2026: Our publishers put together a free giant downloadable movie poster as another bonus item.

Now: All is screaming about this book on social media. There is no room left in my brain for anything but the Persistent Everyday Horrors and this book.

And now it's almost go time. And I got to this point in the timeline and took a breath, a pause, a moment of peace, and then remembered at minimum it's a two-book deal.

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