Cyclopedia Exotica - May/June 2025 Edition of Devin's Chicago Comics Book Club Digest
Also, Crowdfunding Campaign Round-Up
Happy AAPI Heritage Month, everyone! I almost missed our meeting, because, while I arrived early and took a seat at the bar to watch the front door, everyone else came in through the back. I started to worry that no one was going to show up until someone texted me and it turned out I was ten minutes late! Lol We got caught up and shared other comics and books we’ve been reading. Next time I’ll stake out a large table as soon as I sit down. XD
In this issue: What We’re Reading - About What We’ve Read - Shameless Self-Promotion - Some Thoughts on Crowdfunding Campaign Round-Up
We had a lively and fun discussion about this comic. Everything from the modeling career of Caroline Cossey to Big Trouble in Little China came up. One person went in not knowing anything about it and enjoyed it so much that they plan to buy a copy. The first few pages made one person think it would be a fake encyclopedia about cryptids and made me worry it would be too dry, but we were both pleasantly surprised. It was more a collection of comic strips than a cohesive graphic novel, but the characters interacted with each other and had recognizable arcs. Of the characters, Pol was easily everyone’s favorite; his “hopeless optimism” made him especially endearing. The neuroses and overthinking of other characters made them relatable to everyone. One person sent a page to their mother for Mother’s Day of a cyclops who had just given birth declaring, “I am the creator of life!” before passing out. We all shared about certain experiences that came to mind while reading, including interracial marriage dynamics, microaggressions from baristas, and being set up on a blind date with a coworker’s “other gay friend.” The appendices were informative and helpful without belaboring any of the points made in the comic. It was cool learning the origins of the names of the characters!
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, June 18 to discuss Flamer.
What We're Reading
June 18 - Flamer by Mike Curato
July 16 - Squire by Sara Alfageeh and Nadia Shammas
August 20 - Hostage by Guy DeLisle
September 17 - Gaytheist/Growing Up and Getting Out by Lonnie Mann
October 15 - Trese, Volume 1: Murder on Balete Drive by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo
November 19 - Ginseng Roots: A Memoir by Craig Thompson (tentative)
Next month’s selection is not on hoopla, so make sure to secure a physical copy from the library! There are plenty for everyone, including an eBook version.
About What We’ve Read
Cyclopedia Exotica was covered by The New York Times when it was released. It was nominated for Book of the Year and Digital Book of the Year at the 2021 Harvey Awards and for Best Humor Publication at the 2022 Eisner Awards. It was named as an Honor Book at the 2021 Virginia Library Association Graphic Novel Diversity Award. Aminder Dhaliwal spoke to the Hindustan Times about its creation and development.
The latest NEWS digest is available here. The next NEWS digest will be posted in two weeks on Friday, June 13.
Shameless Self-Promotion
The Prism anthology is in pre-launch! It will be going live next week, so make sure to follow along. It will feature comics, poetry, and my 500-word sci-fi prose piece, “One Thousand Years and Only Two Likes” with art by Wren Rios. I’ll have more to share once the campaign is in full swing, but I hope you support it if you read this newsletter. Thanks!
While I wait for updates on various projects, I wrote another comic for The Comic Jam in honor of Star Wars Day! I chose two rather obscure characters from a single episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated show. I’ve always found these two fascinating. I probably should have included an editor’s note or something to explain who they are or point readers toward said episode, but I hope this tells a complete story. Or at least hints at one. XD
The art is by Aerie Skysinger, who brought a painterly quality and level of detail to this page that really impressed me. Elijah Joseph did an excellent job with the lettering. I hope I get to work with both of them again.
Elijah also created a very helpful tool called ComicSlice to help creators looking to format their print comics for webcomic platforms. If this is something you’ve been looking to work on, check it out!
I don’t have any news on Blackout, but I shared the cover for The Passion of St. Alban of the West last week.
’s Archetypes #2 is aiming for a print and ship timeline of June or July. I received an email double checking my shipping address yesterday, so it should be close to complete. Their next campaign is in pre-launch, too!The first anthology to publish a comic I wrote, CyberSync, is available for purchase. It’s gone into a second printing!
Crowdfunding Campaign Round-Up
I attempted to come up with an essay, but there were a lot of topics covered by Cyclopedia Exotica and nothing really came together, so I thought I would try something a little different. With the imminent launch of the Prism anthology, I realized I know a lot of people who are running their own campaigns and it might help if I gave them a signal boost.
Part of me already regrets this, because I know I’m going to accidentally forget a friend. If that’s the case, please know that I’m so, so sorry! Leave a link below to your campaign’s launch page so people can follow along. I’m already at the email limit for this newsletter.
Ending Soon
Bump in the Night: A Cryptid Comics Anthology from Irish publisher Limit Break Comics has less than a day left and a ways to go. I know some of the creators in this book, and this publisher has an excellent track record. Please throw some support their way!
is also in the final days of his campaign for This Eternal Coil 1. It’s a comic about “grief, family, and dia de los muertos.” I know Luis from here and several Discord servers, and this is a real passion project. Make sure to help this comic come to life!I shared my latest work with the Comic Jam earlier, and Luke W. Henderson is someone I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know thanks to that organization. They have a poetry chapbook on Kickstarter right now, Grow In Grow Out. I know it’s not a comic, but you’d still be supporting a comic creator!
has a campaign on Crowdfundr! Nightmare Tales - A Nightmare Ink Horror Anthology has reached its goal, but is still accepting contributions.Over on the Ko-Fi platform, Nazi Puncher Books has an anthology to raise money for The Trevor Project to support trans suicide prevention.
Final Heist is a one-shot crime comic from
of the that looks like a fun mash-up of various genres. I’ve backed a few of Jon’s campaigns in the past and his comics are always enjoyable! is one of the reasons I follow so many Kickstarter campaigns and I can’t recommend his newsletter enough. Kevin has his own campaign for his comic Chainsaw Nosejob, and you can read more about it here. has a little less than two weeks left on TATSUMI: The Serpent Mistress #1. It’s a 32-page “swashbuckling, high seas adventure”! has a little more than two weeks left for the series finale of his NSFW slice-of-life series SMUT (#3 of 3). just launched Aces and Aros: An Asexual and Aromantic Comic Book Anthology! It’s 100 pages and starting off strong. is accepting late pledges for his campaign for American Dreams Issues 1-6, which successfully concluded on May 22.Launching Soon
has the next volume in a comics anthology series in pre-launch. Click through to follow the campaign for Faster Than Light, Volume 2, a sci-fi anthology about family.Concrete Arcanum: Living with Monsters is a 216-page fantasy anthology. I know a few of the artists who have contributed to this.
The Childless: A Twisted Comic Book Anthology is a campaign created by
and that you can read more about here. It has a timely premise, and I’m curious to see how people explored it. has an upcoming Kickstarter for the next issue of his series Spillblood. Spillblood: Downpour will offer issues 1 and 2. I’m a big fan of the creative team on this comic, both individually and when they work together. I’m excited for when this campaign launches! is launching his comic Family Matters (An Addison Grove Tale). Make sure to check it out!C.J. Hudson from
newsletter has an omnibus in pre-launch for Interstellar Dust, an NSFW sci-fi action comic.Last but certainly not least,
has a fantasy comic in pre-launch titled The Healer’s Blade. Described as “Wonder Woman meets Sword in the Stone,” you can check out the cover reveal here.Thanks for reading! Feel free to share any thoughts or comments. Are you following or running a crowdfunding campaign? Please leave a link below if you are! If you haven’t already subscribed, consider doing so. Take care of each other. Make sure to be here next month for Flamer by Mike Curato!
Thank you for adding This Eternal Coil
Thank you for mentioning Spillblood: Downpour and the for the kind words, Devin!