Shaxpur's Blog

 The Kickstarter campaign for  Low Expectations  has stalled at 5% of target with three weeks to go. On the bright side we've now managed to raise more then we ever did for  Vinton's Lot (2019)  Although that doesn't mean much considering Kickstarter is an all or nothing format, we don't get anything unless we reach the target by the deadline.  Sharing campaign link in Facebook groups is somewhat harder than you'd imagine. Admins and moderators in many cases seek approval before a post will be shared. Many groups prohibit what's defined as "self promotion".  Much to the horror of my teenage daughter, I joined TikTok to try and generate traffic to the campaign page. I ran an ad via TikTok and let them select target audience. BIG MISTAKE! My 1st ad was targeted at mainly girls between the ages of 13-17 which I found creepy as fuck. At least I was only exposing them to Greek philosophy.  I tried running other ad's on TikTok but they were rejected, so...

http://kck.st/3zugk0Y In the age of billionaires riding rocket dicks to the edge of space what hope is there for us mere mortals on the ground to realise our own humble dreams? Whatever way you cut it crowdfunding is a fool’s game and I’m nothing but a sucker for punishment. I failed three times in a row to raise any budget for my 1 st film Vinton’s Lot (2019). We didn’t even raise the minimum amount required to withdraw funds from a keep what you raise format. Those three campaigns were a waste of time we didn’t have. The production was being starved of resources in a calculated effort to co-opt creative control of the project. At one point it was even suggested that I use my autism in crowdfunding pitch, but I refused because the idea felt like inspiration porn. Inspiration porn is a phrase coined by late comedian and disability activist Stella Young “ Inspiration porn is the portrayal of people with disabilities as inspirational solely or in part on the basis of their disabil...

A few weeks ago I was given a preview sample of Stu Perrins & Armando Zanker’s ‘Chrono-Cat’ being published by indie comic powerhouse  Markosia and have a confession to make. It was the first time I’ve ever read a digital comic. I’m a traditionalist at heart because I love the tactile feel of paper between my fingertips. That’s why I’ve always been somewhat dismissive of the digital comic format but think ‘Chrono-Cat’ has gone a long way towards changing my mind. Being able to zoom into each panel really shows off the quality of the artwork. I really liked the whimsical feel of what I’ve seen and read. It reminds me of some kind of mash-up of Hergé’s classic ‘Tin Tin’ and vintage cartoons like ‘Biker Mice from Mars’. The title character is sort of like a parody of Rocket from Guardians of The Galaxy or rather a commentary on how that kind of character has become a trope in contemporary sci-fi. The story starts off in a Savage Land setting with our feline protagonist confro...

Megatomic Battle Rabbit  by Stu Perrin’s & Israel Huertas – published by Markosia For context I’ve almost always got a stack of comics by my desk. My six-year-old son is usually too busy watching people talk about Minecraft on YouTube to show any interest in something as old fashioned as comic books. That is until he noticed Megatomic Battle Rabbit. Because it’s billed as a title for all ages, I decided to read it to my son. I’ve read many a great bedtime story over the years, but I’d never tried reading a comic aloud before. It took me a while to realise that I had to apply some dramatic flair to my performance with voices, accents and even characterizations. It’s not a long book but we broke it up over a few evenings. You can see how it was influenced by 80s pop-culture classics like E.T. It was nice seeing my son interested in something other than a screen for a change. Megatomic Battle Rabbit was the first comic he enjoyed, so it will always have a special place in my c...