Everybody likes different stuff.

Of course, that didn’t do you a LOT of good in the days of newspaper cartoons.  You read what the editor of your local paper assumed you’d like, and what he or she assumed your neighbor would like.  More correctly, you read what he or she thought you’d be least offended by.  Didn’t stop people from being offended of course, but it was only the loonies who actually wrote the paper to complain about the funny pages, but that’s a whole ‘nother rant.

I like webcomics.  Not just this one, either.  There are lots of them I like.

Something I don’t like, much, is when there’s a tip jar.  It’s like listening to NPR during fund drives- you feel sorta guilty.  There are some bits I like on NPR, and I feel like I should hand over some money on occasion.  I assume they use the money wisely.  It’s not like they could be pulling in THAT much, and they have a LOT of people to pay no matter what.  Not like they’re buying Ferraris for that guy who hosts This American Life or anything.

Webcomics, though.  Man, you just know those cartoonists are tooling around in some fine automotive machinery.  Like the cars you see on Top Gear or something.  It’s because they do all the work themselves, you see.  NPR or PBS or whatever they’re called, they get that bazillion dollars every year and they have to spread it around to what must be fifty or sixty people that run that network.

Webcartoonists get all that webcartoon money, and they can just keep it all themselves.  Wow.

So here’s me, setting out the tip jar.

 

Donation Art 02

If it makes you queasy to see such a thing, knowing I’m just going to blow the money on sportscars, I’ll make you a deal.

It’s not like I’m not already doing Hubris, and have been for a while.  I probably won’t quit any time soon.  That’s not the plan, anyhow.  But Hubris will have to pay it’s own way sometime.  My fault for not rushing a little quicker to build up readership and upgrade the site and all those business things that people always plan to do, but there it is… Hubris the Comic doesn’t make back the money it costs to host it and manage it.  Yet.

I had intended to put the ol’ tip jar out a long time ago.  Somebody even mentioned it in the comment section once, but I don’t recall who.  The GoComics thing came up.   That seemed good enough at the time, and like I already said, I’m not that keen on tip jars.

Plus, there are always other plans. See, eventually, I hope that there’ll be enough of you guys reading every day to try this:  Three free Hubris cartoons every week, just like it used to be, but for a small fee, you get admittance behind the paywall with an extra three cartoons a week.  That sounds pretty good to me.  And that’s still the plan, but I’ve gotta reel in more daily readers.  They say that you’re lucky to get a half-of-one-percent of readers who’ll be devoted enough for a loony plan like that, even if the cost is four dollars a month billed automatically and all.  Not there yet, and my family already doesn’t see me on nights that I write and draw Hubris, so I can’t just pay to have it all set up and then draw the extra cartoons for eight or twelve dollars a month.  Eek.  So I’ll advertise more and visit some conventions and add to Team Hubris.

But I digress.  Tip Jar.  There’s now a button over there on the left.  It looks like this:

support-hubris

See?  It’s like a little cardboard sign that I’m standing on the corner of ONLINE and WEB holding in front of me.

If you click it and read the encouraging stuff I wrote on the following page, and then click all the proper buttons and fill in the windows and such, you can pitch the electronic equivalent of your loose change into the digital equivalent of my upturned hat on the pavement. Once enough people have done this and there’s, let’s say, fifty bucks in there, then I post an extra Hubris or two that week in celebration.

There’s already a dollar in there, so we have 49 to go before we get there. It’s a fine start.  Plus, I’d like to point out that it’s fifty bucks before I’ve paid the taxes on it, so that’s a bonus for ya.

 

There’s all the other plans, too- The next book (which some of you will make guest appearances in, you know) and the book after that… along with two other Hubris-related book projects.  And the paywall thingy.  And the Conventions.  And upgrading the store… You HAVE visited the store?  Look to the left again-  It’s the button that looks like this:

Outdoor Galore Store!

 

So there you go- the webcomic equivalent of Pledge Week.    If half the crazy plans for this site pan out, one day I’ll be able to do it during the proper workday, and the inking and coloring will improve, if nothing else.