To Patreon or not to Patreon?

Patreon is a website that bills itself as enabling fans to give ongoing support to their favorite creators. For that matter, it doesn't even have to be your favorite creators. It can be any creator who has a creator account on the Patreon site.

I am fairly new to Patreon as a patron, which is someone who supports creators. At the moment, I have pledged support to a handful of creators, and all of my pledges are for fairly small amounts. As of the time that I write this posting, here's a list of the creators on Patreon who I am supporting:

Paul Brian DeBerry

L. Jamal Walton

Don Edwards

Ray Dillon

Mort Todd


The reasons as to why I decided to support each of these respective artistic creators varies, from individual to individual. Both Ray and Mort already had established followings, as of when I created my account on the Patreon site, in order that I might be able to begin utilizing the Patreon website as a mechanism for supporting artistic creators. Paul, Jamal, and Don all face the task of growing a base of followers of size sufficient to make a noticeable difference in the amount of support that they receive from patrons such as myself.

Even in the relatively short amount of time that I have been using the Patreon website, I have already begun to take notice of various things that I think can help make a positive difference on the part of creators, to persuade me to think more seriously about increasing the amount of support that I pledge to each of them, respectively.

Not that any of these gentlemen that I am a patron of actually read and follow what I post on this blog, but on the off chance that someone on the Internet happens upon this particular blog posting of mine, here are a few things that I take note of, as far as getting me to pledge to support you, initially, as well as things that matter to me, as far as making me want to really think seriously about upping my pledge amount, even by a little bit.

1. Content that is visible.

If you are a creator on Patreon wanting people to become pledging patrons of you and your artistic creations, then having content on your Patreon page and in the activity feed that can visually grab my eye and tempt me makes a big difference in me pausing and considering pledging, or in me just passing your little Patreon page by, in favor of me pledging to support someone else. If your content is invisible, and accessible only by those who have already made the decision to pledge to support you, then it really doesn't generate much in the way of visual temptation for myself and others to take note of - and to support - your career as an artistically-inclined individual.

2. Frequency of posting content.

How often have you been posting content? Have you been persistent, even if (and especially if) nobody has been pledging to support you? When was the last time that you posted something that is visible to me or to other visitors on your Patreon page's activity feed? If you want people to support you, then you really need to consider how much substance that you have poured into the creation and ongoing interaction of yourself with your own Patreon page. If your Patreon page sends the visual message that you, yourself, don't have time to bother with it, or that you don't really seem to care about taking your Patreon undertaking seriously, then why should I or anyone else feel moved to support a half-ass or non-existent effort?

3. Your level of engagement.

One of the biggest considerations for myself, as far as increasing the level of my pledge to a Patreon creator, is how well (or how poorly), not to mention how frequently or infrequently, that a creator engages me and interacts with me. If I have already found your Patreon page, and especially if I have already pledged to support you on Patreon, then the hardest part is already done. You have my eye - and my attention - at that point. So, why not make the most of it?

If I post a comment on your Facebook page, or on your blog site, or even in a forum that we both are members of, and it is difficult to generate a flow of dialogue with and from you, then engagement with this prospective supporter will likely be minimal, indeed, if it exists, at all. If you want greater support, then it requires greater interaction. If you want people talking about your handiwork as an artistic creator, then how do you expect to obtain that, if you don't interact with those making an attempt to talk and interact with you?

4. Milestone goals.

This is one of the very first things that I look at, when I visit someone's Patreon page for the very first time. If you have a really high initial milestone goal set, and you have little to no following on Patreon, then good luck ever reaching that milestone.

Set low milestones, at first. Make them extremely achievable. Then, each one that you achieve will help to send a message to your future Patreon page visitors that you are enjoying some degree of success. Success tends to attract people faster than failure does. People like to be a part of successes. People tend to avoid failures. Give more people more reasons to support you, by utilizing milestone goals as a mechanism to send a strong message of success to both prospective and current supporters.


Hopefully, someone out there will find this bit of Patreon advice to be of some use!

Review - Bud Colbert: Time-Travelin' Janitor - Issue # 1

You owe it to yourself to join Bud Colbert, as he explodes onto the pages of this humor-laced comic book, in a no-holds-barred adventure through time.

Did I mention that he's a janitor?

But, he's much more than just that. What we have here, people, is a home-grown slice of Americana, circa 1961.

He's rockin' while he's moppin', but sometimes in life, shit just has a way of happening.

Call it fate. Call it destiny. Call it the will of God.

But, whatever you call it, don't call it boring, for that's something that Bud definitely ain't!

So, grab yourself a brew (Bud recommends Studweiser), and guzzle down some laughs and smiles, as Bud Colbert's antics transport you along the daring road of adventure.

Published by Checkmate Comics, this righteous romp is a barrel of fun. Well, for you and I, anyway. For Bud? Well, he's got his work cut out for him, and he has to save the day.

If only he knew how.

Bud Colbert is a cross between James Dean, John Wayne, and Rodney Dangerfield, with a little bit of Elvis Presley and Indiana Jones tossed in for good measure. That's how I see him, anyway.

Unlike with some comic books, there's no doubt about who the hero is, in this one. He's bold. He's brash. He's all up in your face, but he still takes time out to comb his hair, have a smoke, and swill some beer.

Circumstances have a way of overtaking Bud and his best laid plans, and soon enough, he's in way over his head. Yet, it falls to him to save civilization. As if he ain't got better things to do!

I just love this comic book!

Accidents on the job suck, but what sucks even more is getting Shanghaied by people from the future - people who are focused on something that Bud can't quite relate to, to put it mildly.

Chaos ensues!

Whump! Thrak! Bud Colbert is on the attack, and he seeks to escape, to get back to who he was and to what he was doing, before things got all strange on him.

This is one of those comic books where I want to show it all to you, but at the same time, I don't want to show you anything, at all, lest I inadvertently spoil the fun of the storyline as it lays itself bare before you in grand style.

Through it all, from one mess to a bigger mess, Bud remains undaunted. He is ever himself, it seems.

God help us all!

A hero for the common man, Bud Colbert is larger than life. When his situation isn't scaring the Bejesus out of him, his priorities remain unfazed.

It's probably best, if you don't piss him off, though. For, if you do, then hold on, buddy! The shit will definitely hit the fan, American style.

Bud Colbert, the time-travelin' janitor, isn't for everybody. But, it should be. Yeah, I'm talking to you!

Honest to God, though, I'm not sure what I like the most about this comic book.

Is it the art? The coloring? The plot of the story?

Or could it be, just could it be, the dialogue?

This thing, this wonderful little hobgoblin of humorous delight, grows on you right from the get-go. But, once Bud awakens to the surprise of his life, the powder keg of this little adventure ignites.

Krakt! Pop! Aaaagh!

It just crackles with swagger. All that Bud really wants is to just get back to how things were, before - before the un-American types spoiled his day.

But, for the reader, it's a Paul Bunyon-sized tall tale that you just don't want to see come to an end. It's a B-grade 50's movie without the movie, one that plays itself out in print.

It harkens back to another era, to a simpler time. Nothing's too complicated for Bud Colbert. He doesn't sweat the small things - like details! 

Or physics, for that matter.

The true nitty-gritty of this adventure, the plate upon which much gets heaped, is Bud's personality, as it makes its way to the center stage of the reader's attention.

As Bud rises to the occasion, laughs ensue.

For me, at least, Bud Colbert: Time-Travelin' Janitor is an instant classic. If you don't end up liking it, then Bud won't care - and neither will I.

Because, you see, there are more important things afoot in this universe that we share. And, if anybody was ever meant to be right smack dab in the middle of it all, when the whole damned universe goes to Hell, then that person, my fair comic-book-reading friend, is none other than the one, the only, the ever-irrepressible Bud Colbert.

In this trek across the space-time continuum, like me, you may well see a little bit of Clint Eastwood and Marlon Brando in Bud Colbert. But, hey, that's OK. It's a cinematic tour de force, minus the cinema, and Bud Colbert is man enough for you to see little bits and pieces of a lot of different macho personalities manifest themselves in him.

Pop a top, good buddy!

Pull yourself up a chair, and do yourself a favor, and go ahead and order this damned thing. No, you probably don't really deserve it, but what the Hell? You only live once - unless you're traveling through time with Bud Colbert, of course!

Of course.

What else would you expect?

Fhoom! Clunk!

Did I mention that it goes great with beer?

Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. There's only one sure fire way to find out, and that's to check it out for yourself.

If you're easily offended, then you might want to seek sanctuary in some other comic book. Not that Bud Colbert aims to offend, and not that he should offend, but people being people, you just plain never know.

Know what I mean?

Abra-ka-dabra!

My least favorite part of this comic book was the white lettering on the pages where Bud is rock'n it, while at work.

But, that's a fairly small nit to pick with the best dang hero to happen along in quite some time. Seems to me that the least that I can do is to cut Bud Colbert a little slack. After all, it's not like he wasn't clocked in, when the world went to Hell in a handbasket all around him.

Kra-Boooom!!

To be certain, this comic book isn't perfect - nor does it make any pretense to be.

There were a few instances where the lettering for the time machine's voice were a tad hard for me to read, without zooming in closer.

Did I mention that I went the digital route?

Like you, I was a bit wary about parting ways with $10.99 for the print version of this comic book.

WWBD??

What would Bud do?

Me? I opted for the $2.99 way out - and boy, am I ever glad that I did! If I hadn't, then I would still be waiting on the thing to arrive, and it's taken a whole lifetime for this comic book to find its way to me, already. I consider myself pretty darned lucky to have snagged it, when I did.

But, if you splurge for the hard copy, then you'll have something uber manly that you can decorate your coffee table with - Forever!

Anyway, I am going to take a cue from Bud Colbert, and wind this rambling excuse for a review up.

Do the right thing. Do the patriotic thing. Do yourself a favor.

Buy Bud Colbert: Time-Travelin' Janitor, today!

God bless America! God bless Bud Colbert!

Find Bud Colbert: Time-Travelin' Janitor on IndyPlanet

Website: http://morttodd.com/bud.html
Writers: Jim Fader & Troy Lowe
Artist: Pat Carbajal
Colorist: Javi Laparra
Editor: Roger McKenzie