Awakening Comicverse Spring 2026 Edition

AWAKENING COMICVERSE
Volume 3, Number 1
Fall 2026
Awakeningcomics@gmail.com
awakeningcomics.wordpress.com/home

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For Immediate Release: Comicverse: Superhero Dreams now funding on Kickstarter

Comicverse: Subspace Chatter, the podcast in comic book form hosted by a comic shop owner and his adopted brother, a magical Chinsese dragon (whose magic powers sometimes makes the stories they are reviewing come true), returns with a new issue and a slightly new direction.

The formula for Comicverse: Subspace Chatter #4, “Superhero Dreams,” is: after Rei and Ying review a classic comic book, Ying has a lucid dream about it in which he and his friends play the parts of the characters in the comic.

For these dream sequences, we’ve once again enlisted some of our indy comics friends to draw single panels. Corey Bechelli, James Banderas-Smith, Lee Thacker, and Brian Payne all return, and we’re pleased to welcome Amanda Powers and Hans Rickheit (who previously drew a pinup in Comicverse: Behind the Counter #1).

As with the past 3 Sparky books, the superhero sequences were drawn on 4″ X 6″ sketch cards, most of which are available as rewards in the Kickstarter. Click here to view all available signed original art cards.

As for the comics that are reviewed, there’s some Marvel classics, X-Men #1 and Amazing Spider-Man #1. And not to leave out DC, there’s Justice League of America #138. We had also planned a review of Sandman: Endless Nights, but lost enthusiasm when the allegations against Neil Gaiman came out. In a Ying dream, Bianca expresses through Ying her feelings about it to Gaiman himself, and the story comes to a powerful conclusion.

At the end of the new book, Rei and Ying ask if the podcast audience enjoy this new direction, and to let them know if they want it to continue. We hope that you, the reader, do enjoy it, and that you’ll let us know if you want to see more!

[Click here to view the Kickstarter]

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An AWESOME offer from James Banderas-Smith! Take a screenshot of your pledge, and James will draw any Awakening Comics character for you for free! I’m not sure if he has reference for deep cuts like Fur Face or Runner the Fox or Rabbit Hell characters, but he’s already drawn a number of Comicverse characters and Sparky!

If you’re a fan of original art, here’s a chance to get art from both James AND me (lots of my art cards available) for a song. Here’s where you can send James your screenshot:

James’s Facebook Page
James’ Instagram Page
EMAIL: Jhamie34@yahoo.com

Bianca and Steve made their yearly appearance at Brave New Worlds in Willow Grove, PA in support of Free Comic Day. As usual, there was a strong turnout and a healthy interest in The Comicverse.

Click here to view photos on Facebook of the event and of Steve’s sketches.

This sketch was towards the end of the day, and Steve was obviously getting tired as his date was off by 2 years!

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Comicverse: Superhero Dreams Art Card Rewards — Spring 2026

Comicverse’s Subspace Chatter, the podcast from outer space returns with a new comic packed with reviews of classic comics, and Ying the dragon dreams about them! Kickstarter for the new book, issue #4, is LIVE and runs through May 21, 2026. Many of these have blank word balloons — if there’s something you want me to write on them, and I can fit it, I will!

Please send your pick(s) to me via Kickstarter messages or (preferably) to awakeningcomics@gmail.com.

I will be contacting backers in order of who backed first, so it will be helpful if you can add a few alternate choices. Check beneath each photo to see whether or not your card has already been picked.

#1, and #4 and #7 are SOLD. All others available.

#10, #12, and #15 are SOLD. All others available.

#17, #18, #22, and #23 are SOLD. All other cards available.

#29 and #30 are SOLD. All other cards available.

#36, #37, and #38 are SOLD. All other cards available.

#41 and #42 are SOLD. All other cards available.

#52 and #56 are SOLD. All other cards available.

#57, #58, #59, #60 and #61 are SOLD. All other cards available.

#65, #66, #67, and #71 are SOLD. All other cards available.

Sparky: Karmic Payback Art Card Rewards — Fall 2025

Here are the 4″X6″ Sparky art card rewards for the Sparky: Karmic Payback Kickstarter, which launches on Tuesday, September 2, and ends on Thursday, September 25, 2025. These cards will be available as add-ons in the Kickstarter. Get as many as you want; I actually have quite a lot more than you see here! I tried to pick the choicest pieces for this one, as I think people lose interest if given too much to choose from. Also note that these are just highlights from the story — there’s much more than you see here!

Please send your pick(s) to me via Kickstarter messages or (preferably) to awakeningcomics@gmail.com.

I will be contacting backers in order of who backed first, so it will be helpful if you can add a few alternate choices. Check beneath each photo to see whether or not your card has already been picked.

#1, #5, and #8 are SOLD.

#16 is SOLD.

#18, #19, #21 and #23 are SOLD.

#26, #31, and #32 are SOLD.

#33, #34, #35, #37 and #40 are SOLD.

#43 is SOLD.

Sparky Art Card Rewards Summer 2025

Here are the Sparky art card rewards for the Comicverse: Third Eye Blind Kickstarter. Please send your pick(s) to me via Kickstarter messages or (preferably) to awakeningcomics@gmail.com.

I will be contacting backers in order of who backed first, so it will be helpful if you can add a few alternate choices, Check beneath each photo to see whether or not your card has already been picked.

#6 and #8 are SOLD.

#9, #10, and #16 are SOLD.

#17, #18, #19, #20, and #21 are SOLD.

#26, #28, and #31 are SOLD.

#28 and #30 are SOLD.

Awakening Comicverse Spring 2025 Edition

AWAKENING COMICVERSE
Volume 2, Number 1
Spring 2025
Awakeningcomics@gmail.com
awakeningcomics.wordpress.com/home

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The Kickstarter for The Comicverse #6 is now LIVE and ends June 5, 2025! It’s our first new Comicverse issue in 8 years (we spent a lot of time working on 3 Comicverse spinoff series and tales of Sparky in between)! A young dragon working in a comic book shop on the final frontier gets a third eye and is plagued by comic book-related hallucinations.

Many thanks to our loyal backers for funding The Comicverse #6 in less than 5 hours! In one week, the funding has already surpassed that of the previous issue, which was launched 8 years ago. In the time between, we’ve picked up some new readers with our Comicverse spinoff books and Sparky projects. But the work is just beginning! We read that Kickstarter projects usually fare better and get more views if they are funded in the first 24 hours, so we set a much lower than usual. We are announcing a couple of stretch goals to get us to our usual goal. This will help us fully pay our costs, as printing and shipping costs continue to rise, and will give extra benefits to us, our guest artists (no guest artists on this issue, but this will help us pay them for our next project), and to you the backers, so please spread the word by sharing and/or Liking our posts on Facebook and Instagram.

ABOVE: Steve with Billy Sherwood of YES. Billy: “We look like a weird punk band!” Steve: “We’ll call ourselves ‘Maybe’!”

STRETCH GOAL #1: $2000

• I will post a goofier and more embarrassing photo of Billy Sherwood and me than the one above
• Digital rewards will receive 3 more PDFs of Awakening comics
• Physical rewards under $50 will get a full set of 9 2025 trading cards
• Physical rewards $50 and up get a small piece of original art
• Bonus pay for the guest artists on our next issue
• Some rapidograph pens for me! Papa needs some new pens!

STRETCH GOAL #2: $2600

• I will post not just the goofy embarrassing photo, but also two super silly photos of me and Billy Sherwood as the punk band “Maybe”
• Digital rewards backers get 6 more PDFs from the Awakening catalog
• Physical rewards under $50 will get the full set of Comicverse Swag (including the trading cards) and a small sketch
• Physical rewards $50 and up get set Comicverse Swag and a larger piece of original art
• A larger bonus for the guest artists on our next issue
• For me, a bunch of Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens and a few pads of Bristol art board for issue #7
• An exclusive mini-comic previewing our next 3 comics and featuring 6 pages of never-before seen Sparky jam comics for all backers with physical rewards
• I will record a custom song for any pledges that total $200 or more

[Click here to view the Kickstarter]

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We had a blast as usual at the Willow Grove Brave New Worlds Comics and Games on Free Comic Book Day!

Bianca and Steve spread the word of The Comicverse to lots of new readers, and Steve drew a ton of free sketches for fans of all ages.

All of the sketches, and several photos of the event, are HERE on the Comicverse Facebook page.

We also got a nice writeup in this local news page.

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Comicverse: Third Eye Blind Kickstarter

The Kickstarter for the next issue of The Comicverse’s main series in 7 years is launching on Tuesday May 6, 2025. Below is a preview of what it’s about and what rewards will be offered. I was told it’s a good idea to lowball your goal, so I’m asking for $500 instead of the usual $2000 or so. I also heard that if you set your goal low and can get the project funded in the first 24 hours, it’s more likely to go viral, so if anyone can pledge on Day 1, Tuesday, it would be much appreciated.

Written by Bianca Alu-Marr and drawn by Steve Peters, The Comicverse is a sci-fi romantic comedy about a comic book shop on a space station. It is run by a young man named Rei and a teenage dragon called Ying, whom Rei rescued from an asteroid and has no memory of his past. They both have a crush on Aki, a pilot who sometimes visits the shop. Many aliens live and work on the station and visit the shop to buy toys or comics, play in a holographic D&D tournament, get some free comics on Free Comic Book Day or just to joke around with the C-verse crew. Comic books on the racks of the store are blank until their resident AI, Smart Rack, puts comic images on them at the customers’ request. 

This new issue, titled “Eye Me Mind,” is the first of the main series in seven years, as Steve and Bianca got distracted by working on the three Comicverse spinoff series, as well as some difficult life events in Steve’s world. 

“Eye Me Mind” picks up after the events of issue 5 and follows Ying, who still has a third eye and is dealing with strange hallucinations, visions and disturbing dreams, often involving comic book art or superhero characters. For example, he picks up an old BatLek comic (an alien version of Batman) and sees a scene in which BatLek and SuperLek meet around 1939 — WHICH NEVER HAPPENED. 

He also sees images of himself and his friends in superhero costumes on the covers of comic books, some of which are still blank and unprinted by Smart Rack. Ying struggles with this new, unwanted power and reaches out for help.

REWARDS

ABOVE: An image from the new Comicverse #6 featuring most of the sketch covers I’ve drawn over the past 10 years. Click on the image to see a larger version.

CUSTOM SKETCH COVER
A blank sketch cover comic on which I’ll draw a classic comic book cover or sci-fi image of your choice, featuring Comicverse characters dressed as the characters on that image. You can pick any sketch cover comic from the list (first come, first pick).

SKETCH COVER LIST
The Comicverse #1
The Comicverse #2 (NEW!)
Captain America #1
Archie #1
Thor: God of Thunder #1
Batman: Detective Comics #44
Swamp Thing: Rotworld #14
Justice League of America #1
Secret Wars #1
Star Wars #1
Wonder Woman #19
X-Men #1
Avenging Spider-Man #1
Rick and Morty D&D Chapter II #1

ABOVE: COMPLETE COMICVERSE SET
Everything we’ve published to date! The Comicverse #1-6 (includes the new issue), Comicverse: Behind The Counter #1&2, Comicverse: Subspace Chatter Omnibus #1, and Parallel Comicverses #1.
778 pages total!

ABOVE: COMICVERSE MAIN SERIES SET
Just the main series, no spinoff books, i.e. The Comicverse #1-6 (includes the new issue).
268 pages total.

ABOVE: THE PARALLELS SAGA
The Comicverse #4, 5, and 6. There is a story arc running through these that will end in issue 7.
188 pages total.

ABOVE: THE LATEST AWAKENINGS
Tails of Sparky #5 (2024) and The Comicverse #6.
104 pages total.

ABOVE: FREUD ORIGINAL ART PAGE #1
Taken from the new issue! A 10″ X 14″ piece of art featuring holographic Sigmund Freud. The top panel is blank because in the comic it was assembled digitally. I can trim the page down so that it’s just the two panels and give you a small piece of other art to make up for it, OR add $20 and I will draw a custom image for you at the top.

ABOVE: FREUD ORIGINAL ART PAGE #2
Taken from the new issue! A 10″ X 14″ piece of art featuring holographic Sigmund Freud.

ABOVE: FREUD ORIGINAL ART #3
Taken from the new issue! A 7″ X 14″ piece of art featuring holographic Sigmund Freud.

Risks and challenges

Apart from a trickle of sales from my eBay page and convention appearances, Kickstarter is my sole mode of distributing my comics to my readers, so I’m quite dependent on it to get my work out there. I also depend on funding from my Kickstarters to be able to pay my guest artists. Although I’m the only artist on this issue, I do use guest artists often, and any surplus will go towards paying them — in fact, I have two Comicverse comics and a Sparky comic coming up that DO have lots of guest artists.

Kickstarter helps us be able to pay them, and the more we make, the more we can pay them. As far as the comic itself, everything is drawn and ready to go; I just need a successful Kickstarter to be able to print it.

Awakening Comicverse Fall 2024 Edition

AWAKENING COMICVERSE
Volume 1, Number 1
Fall 2024
Awakeningcomics@gmail.com
awakeningcomics.wordpress.com/home

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This is the new version of the Awakening Comics newsletter, covering The Comicverse and all of my publications. If you have received this in error or simply do not want to be on our mailing list, please type ‘remove’ in the reply box and accept my deepest apologies.

—Steve Peters

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CONTENTS: Sparky: Cosmic Delinquent Kickstarter is LIVE and ends November 21; New collected Comicverse: Subspace Chatter Omnibus edition, Upcoming convention appearance

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For Immediate Release: Sparky: Cosmic Delinquent Kickstarter Relaunches!

A second installment of the 4-part Four Seasons of Sparky series, titled Sparky: Cosmic Delinquent, was offered from September 10 through October 10, 2024, and the funding FAILED. It has currently been relaunched, and will be funding until November 21, 2024. That is the reason for reviving this email newsletter, as the social media algorithms just don’t seem to be cutting it for getting the word out to our readers anymore.

In the first installment of The Four Seasons of Sparky, Sparky is like the Star Child from 2001: A Space Odyssey. What adventures does the Star Child have as it begins to explore the galaxy? Part 1 sought to answer that question. For those of you that missed it last year, both Part 1 and the new Part 2 will be available as a reward.

In Cosmic Delinquent, Sparky, has grown from the Star Child into a sullen teenager reaching puberty. He’s lost much of his innocence and is using his cosmic powers to do tricks on his planet-hopping stellar skateboard, causing mischief amongst the alien species he encounters. A surly teenager with cosmic powers—what could go wrong?

Both installments were drawn using a “limited palette” — only Sharpie markers were used, and the panels were all drawn on 4″ X 6″ index cards. The original art cards are available as add-on rewards in the Cosmic Delinquent Kickstarter. Backers will be given a link to photos of the art cards to choose from in the order of when they backed the project.

As with Part 1, Cosmic Delinquent features an art gallery with a number of regular Awakening Comics contributors (and some new faces) drawing their versions of teenage Sparky.

View Sparky: Cosmic Delinquent — THE RELAUNCH here!!!

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Get ready to be blown away by our new Omnibus which collects the first 3 issues of Subspace Chatter, a spin off series of the Comicverse (the sci-fi comedy set in a comic book shop on a space station). Subspace Chatter is a comic about Rei, the comic shop owner, and Ying the dragon’s “spacecast” where they discuss comics, sci-fi shows and movies and appear in the chibi or cutesy style. Sometimes Ying’s magical powers make the events of the episodes they’re discussing happen in real life! Fifty new pages were added to the book, and much of the background art for issue one has been newly redrawn by Lee Thacker, Corey Bechelli, James Smith and Steve Peters. From a heartfelt and amusing forward by Jamar Nicholas to a gallery and glossary in the back, this Subspace Chatter collection has it all. It is available as part of the Sparky: Cosmic Delinquent — THE RELAUNCH Kickstarter, after which it will be available in the Awakening Catalog.

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Bianca and Steve will be representing The Comicverse at the Lehigh Valley Comicon on December 7, 2024 at Lehigh Carbon Community College from 10am – 4pm. Main Campus, Community Services Center, 4525 Education Park Dr. Schnecksville, PA 18078.

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Sparky: Cosmic Delinquent Original Art Card Rewards

Here are the 4″ X 6″ index cards being offered as rewards in the Sparky: Cosmic Delinquent Kickstarter. IMPORTANT: Please check underneath each photo to make sure your selection hasn’t already been taken. I will update this page as I receive your picks, based on the order of when you backed the Kickstarter.

These will be made available for sale once the Kickstarter backers have had their pick.

ABOVE: #1, #3, #4 and #6 are SOLD.

ABOVE: #9, #10, #11 #12, #13, #14 and #16 are SOLD.

The yellow cards in the next two sets have special personal meaning to me. Several months before these were drawn, my mother had decided to stop her treatments for multiple myeloma after 8 years of battling it, and to let the cancer take its course. She was in hospice care and I was visiting her every day. Right at that time, I ran out of the 4″ X 6″ index cards I was using to make this comic. Since I was spending most of my free time with her, I didn’t have the time or inclination to go to Staples to find more cards. One thing that I WAS doing was going through her things, trying to figure out what to donate, what to keep, what to give to family members. In a box of photos, I found these yellow index cards that she used to file and separate batches of pictures. There was a bunch of unused ones. It was like a final gift from her.

I believe these are the last of the yellow cards my Mom left to me.

ABOVE: #17, #20 and #22 are SOLD.

ABOVE: All available.

ABOVE: #37 and #38 are SOLD.

ABOVE: #45 and #48 are SOLD.

ABOVE: All available.

ABOVE: #63 and #64 are SOLD.

[Awakening Comics Home Page]

[Sparky: Cosmic Delinquent Kickstarter]

2024 Comicverse Index Card Original Art Rewards

Here are the 4″ X 6″ index cards that were offered as rewards in the Comicverse: Subspace Chatter Softcover Collection Kickstarter. IMPORTANT: Please check underneath each photo to make sure your selection hasn’t already been taken. I will update this page as I receive your picks, based on the order of when you backed the Kickstarter.

These will be made available for sale once the Kickstarter backers have had their pick.

ABOVE: #1 and #2 are SOLD.

ABOVE: #9, #12, and #16 are SOLD.

The yellow cards in the next two sets have special personal meaning to me. At the time, my mother had decided to stop her treatments for multiple myeloma after 8 years of battling it, and to let the cancer take its course. She was in hospice care and I was visiting her every day. Right at that time, I ran out of the 4″ X 6″ index cards I was using to make this comic. Since I was spending most of my free time with her, I didn’t have the time or inclination to go to Staples to find more cards. One thing that I WAS doing was going through her things, trying to figure out what to donate, what to keep, what to give to family members. In a box of photos, I found these yellow index cards that she used to file and separate batches of pictures. There was a bunch of unused ones. It was like a final gift from her.

ABOVE: #21 and #22 are SOLD.

ABOVE: #25 is SOLD.

[Awakening Comics Home Page]

Return of Sparky Index Card Original Art Rewards

Here are the 4″ X 6″ index cards that are being offered as rewards in the Return of Sparky Kickstarter. IMPORTANT: Please check underneath each photo to make sure your selection hasn’t already been taken. I will update this page as I receive your picks, based on the order of when you backed the Kickstarter. Also note that #s 46, 52, 53, and 61 span two cards and have arrows (< >) pointing at each cards—that is because for those selections, you get two cards for the price of one.

This is not a complete view of the new Tails of Sparky #4 comic, as I’ve already given a few cards away to previous crowdfunding backers and people who have bought sets of my comics through eBay or my web site. Also, some may be slightly out of order (of course, they will be arranged properly in the finished comic).

ABOVE: #1, #3, #4, #5, #6, #8, #10, #11, and #12 are SOLD.

ABOVE: #13, #14, #20, #23, and #24 are SOLD.

ABOVE: #37, #40, #42, #43, #44, #45, #46, and #47 are SOLD.

The yellow cards in the next two sets have special personal meaning to me. At the time, my mother had decided to stop her treatments for multiple myeloma after 8 years of battling it, and to let the cancer take its course. She was in hospice care and I was visiting her every day. Right at that time, I ran out of the 4″ X 6″ index cards I was using to make this comic. Since I was spending most of my free time with her, I didn’t have the time or inclination to go to Staples to find more cards. One thing that I WAS doing was going through her things, trying to figure out what to donate, what to keep, what to give to family members. In a box of photos, I found these yellow index cards that she used to file and separate batches of pictures. There was a bunch of unused ones. It was like a final gift from her.

ABOVE: #57, #58, #59, #60, #61, and #62 are SOLD.

[Awakening Comics Home Page]

[The Return of Sparky Kickstarter]