Dark Fire Press Turns Five!

Dark Fire Press: Five Year Anniversary, 2018-2023
Dark Fire Press, turns five this year! Since leaving Rosarium Publishing, J. M. DeSantis brought Chadhiyana over to Dark Fire Press in 2020/2021. And though publication has been a bit slow, the announcement of their five-year anniversary should bring a lot of new content, including more Chadhiyana (including the near-complete issue #3, and in-production issues #4 & #5). This milestone means five years of creator-owned publishing not only of J. M. DeSantis’s work, but that of others such as Jorge Media, Luiz M. Cruz, and Anibal Arroyo. Help celebrate by checking out their site, darkfirepress.com, & join their mailing list for updates in your e-mail (their socials are linked on their site). Congratulations, Dark Fire Press! To another five and more years!

Chadhiyana Kickstarter

kickstarter.com/projects/jmdesantis/chadhiyana-the-girl-with-the-fire-ringed-eyes

It’s Been a While…

Since starting my blog back at the end of 2012 (on jmdesantis.com. following the publication of the first Chadhiyana comic), I don’t think I’ve ever let so much time pass between posts. The reasons for that are many, but rather than dwell on the past, I’d like to get everyone up to speed on the new, the old, and the behind-but-catching-up (and to do so in as few words as possible).  Read more… ›

No Such Con & The Final Days…

J. M. DeSantis Blog: No Such Con & The Final Days...
First, thank you to the students at Vassar College for their hard work at the No Such Con this past weekend and for inviting me back. I had a great time catching up with some people I met last year–both exhibitors and attendees–and speaking on the panels about Cultural Competency and Self-Publishing respectively (and a special thanks to Danielle Draik and Emily Ree for inviting me to the latter). There were a few surprises during the weekend too, but before I get into that, I want to point out to my readers that the final days are approaching to get your name included in the And They Call it Mummy Love collection as a supporter (deadline: 28 February 2018).  Read more… ›

See You in Baltimore This Weekend

J. M. DeSantis - Baltimore Comic Con 2017
Another year and another Baltimore Comic-Con. It’s one of the shows I’ve done for the longest length of time (in, I believe, about eight years of exhibiting at conventions—since the Fall of 2009), and it’s one of my favourites. Baltimore is extremely artist friendly (just look at the size of its Artist Alley), and I’ve always found the show to be well run and the staff quite friendly (though, admittedly, I’ve never been to a show where the latter wasn’t true). Read more… ›

Rosarium Publishing Panel this Weekend

J. M. DeSantis at the AAPCL Comic Con 2017

Just a brief reminder that I’m speaking on a panel with other members of Rosarium Publishing at the AAPCL (Anne Arundel Public County Library) Comic Con this Saturday. The panel is called Diversity in Children’s Comics and will also feature Micheline Hess (Malice in Ovenland) and Bizhan Khodabanden (The Little Black Fish), and it will be moderated by none other than Rosarium Publishing’s fearless leader (and writer of the recent viral–though long-ago-written–letter to DC Comics about diversity), Bill Campbell. Read more… ›

Convention Season 2017

I’m taking a break from writing about Dark Souls and other related games this week (on my blog on jmdesantis.com, that is), to give you all a little update on my convention schedule for this year. Currently, there are a few unconfirmed appearances (and one which I haven’t decided upon just yet), but the months are starting to fill in (admittedly, I’m not the most active con-exhibitor, usually averaging about one a month or month-and-a-half each year). True, I already exhibited at No Such Con in February so this may seem a bit late to be listing what’s coming in 2017, but I don’t usually attend cons in the winter. Now spring is officially here, and I already have an event coming up in May! Read more… ›

Panel Podcasts from No Such Con

As promised, I’m sharing the podcasts of the artists and writers panels I was on during No Such Con this past weekend. I had a lot of fun at the show (which you can read about in Tuesday’s blog piece: jmdesantis.com/2017/02/no-such-con-2017-write-up/), and both panels were great to participate in. Thanks again to our moderator, author Thomm Quackenbush, for having me on them. Read more… ›

New Chadhiyana Artwork & an Upcoming Con

In support of the recent movements such as the Women’s March across the country (and the world) and the resistance of the Muslim and immigrant ban, as well as any movement going forward which seeks resist to exclusion or mistreatment based on race, sex, creed or culture, a new piece of Chadhiyana artwork has been created for personal and internet sharing. Chadhiyana: Resist (in two variations) can be downloaded below and used freely (please retain the copyright information). More, next month, I’ll be appearing at a convention (and speaking on a number of panels) in just a few short weeks. Read more… ›

The Final Days of Chadhiyana and Rosarium

Chadhiyana Rosarium Publishing: The Next Level

The end of the Rosarium Publishing IndieGoGo campaign approaches (http://bit.ly/rosariumpub), and with it your chance to pre-order Chadhiyana volume 1 (issues 1 – 6) which comes with an exclusive mini-comic containing a new Chadhiyana story (see last week’s post for more information on that comic). Chadhiyana has consistently been one of the top-claimed perks since the beginning of the campaign. More, just hours after I had written this post yesterday, Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series, announced that he would match up to $10,000 in donations through the end of the campaign during the day on Wednesday, May 4th (rickriordan.blogspot.com/2016/05/support-great-publisher-who-values.html).

So, if you haven’t contributed yet, please do so soon. Simply click on the Chadhiyana perk, and it will bring you to a page to complete your pre-order. You’ll not only get the Chadhiyana trade and the comic, but you’ll be supporting diversity in publishing, which is the main mission of Rosarium, and help them reach the match-goal Mr. Riordan generously offered.
Read more… ›