Hedrick Newsletter #42

My 2025 Recap! Because all of the cool kids are doing it.

Hi Everyone! 👋🏼

“Buon Anno” (Happy New Year) as they say here in Italy. I wasn’t going to do a year-in-review since I didn’t have anything new come out in the direct market for 2025. But then I got to thinking and was reminded that I still accomplished a lot despite the follies of Diamond’s fallout.

Also, there’s a lot of projects that I was hoping would be announced by now so I could include them in this. Alas, the goalposts are always moving and I can only control what’s in my power.

Additionally, it was a big crowdfunding year for me! For most of 2025, I was attached to a project that was running by either me or someone else.

So, let me hit you with the highlights! Here are the wins and lessons (because it’s only a “loss” if you didn’t learn from it). ⤵️

Wins

1. Capable #7 was successfully funded!

The final issue of Capable launched at the beginning of the year. It was my first time running a “Make 100” project on Kickstarter and it worked great! 166 backers pledged €3,779 (approx. $4,436.36). The last chapter of Capable is now the most rare with only 100 copies of the main cover produced (125 total including the blank sketch cover). If you missed out, you can pick up a copy from the only retailer who backed it, Famous Faces & Funnies in Melbourne, Florida. Or, read it now on GlobalComix!

2. Nerd Show Bologna & Ferrara Nerd

I added two more European conventions to my resume of shows which brings the total for this continent to four! I’m hoping to return to some and visit new ones in 2026 to grow my international audience further.

3. The Recount rights returned!

I regained the full rights to The Recount back from Scout Comics after the publishing contract expired. Then, I proceeded to give the series away right here on my Substack across 17 weeks…for free! Afterwards, I had the covers redressed and the credit pages redesigned by the Geek Collective before adding them to GlobalComix. The series already has over 1000 views there!

4. Atticus & The Magical Pillow Fort #1 was funded!

It took awhile but we finally got printed copies of Atticus & The Magical Pillow Fort #1 out in the world. The campaign was a humble one with 95 backers pledging a total of $1,887. But considering the climate of crowdfunding and it being an all-ages book, I was just happy we reached our modest goal of $500. If you missed out on backing it, you can still get copies from Famous Faces & Funnies or Crescent City Comics in New Orleans, LA. It’s also available on GlobalComix. It’s close to having 1000 views!

5. Holiday Spirits - Volume 4 was funded!

My second entry into the Holiday Spirits series and fourth with Orange Cone Productions raised $8,449 across 234 backers. This edition included my story “A Lost Claus” (with artwork by Hernan Gonzalez) which was originally printed within a floppy, Holiday Spirits: Christmas in July #3, last year. I’m very grateful to have another story alongside so many other talented creators!

6. The Tuff Stuff Prison Special was funded!

I was honored to be asked by Tuff Stuff creator, Kevin Delgado, to script the fifth issue of his creator-owned series back in 2024. It meant a lot that he would entrust his project to me so when the Kickstarter launched last summer, I promoted it just as much as I would have for any of my own. 52 backers pledged $4,048 and physical copies have been printed which means fulfillment will begin soon!

7. Footpath: Dangerous Nights was funded!

Yet another project I was asked to write back in 2024 for another creator, Alfred Paige, was Footpath: Dangerous Nights. Then, this summer Alfred asked me if I could also run a Kickstarter campaign for it since he hasn’t had much luck running his own. He caught me at the right moment too because he just so happened to ask me around the same period of time when I realized the artist for Spillblood: Downpour had no intentions of ever drawing that book and I was going to have to shelve the project.

With my crowdfunding schedule open and my desire to see the project become a reality, I agreed to run Footpath under my own account. I invested a lot hours to building out the campaign, prelaunch marketing, live promotion, and continue to manage some of the post-campaign duties.

192 backers pledged $4915, so far. We’re still getting late pledges as we continue to remain on schedule for a February physical fulfillment. You can make a late pledge here if you missed out on the project when it was live!

8. Brackish rights returned!

Back in 2023, I made a deal that I would eventually regret to let someone else crowdfund and publish my creator-owned series Brackish. Although the campaign they launched in 2024 was (barely) successful, I still felt like its introduction to audiences fell flat. Worst of all, I never felt more disenfranchised from my own IP!

Knowing that the contract would terminate at the end of this year, I proactively began to have issue one re-lettered (or “remastered” as I prefer to call it). Leo McGovern joined the series as the new letterer and is a much welcomed addition to the project. He’s also already lettered issue two which had been waiting for lettering since the beginning of 2024, prior to issue one’s campaign.

I immediately placed the remastered deluxe edition of Brackish #1 on GlobalComix for free so we can build up anticipation for the launch of Brackish #2 next summer! Read it now right here.

9. Horror Not Hate is live!

Earlier in the year I put my wife, Francesca Fantini’s name in the ring in a call for artists that would be the Horror Not Hate anthology. That in turn created an invite for me to come on as a writer, which eventually led to Francesca drawing the story I wrote. So, I failed in my attempt to find her some paid work, but succeeded in us collaborating once again! 😅

You can back Horror Not Hate now on Kickstarter at the link here!

Lessons

This year wasn’t without it’s disappointments. Most of them are just delays with no clear understanding of why or when they will happen.

• A project I wrote back in 2024, “Operation Gatto” (first mentioned in Newsletter # 21, July 2024), was intended to be released in 2024 still hasn’t been officially announced yet, despite a preorder link being out in the world. The project was completed in October of 2024 so I expect to hear something any day now. From what I understand, the delay is outside of the publisher’s control.

• A project I wrote this year that was intended to be announced this year still hasn’t been advertised. I’ve seen fully colored and lettered pages of the entire book, but some editing on the letters was needed. I was told it would ship in February so, any day now. Again, this is most likely outside of the publisher’s control.

• I was really hoping the second volume of Dream Master would see the light of day this year. I was told at the beginning of 2025 when the Diamond fiasco started making headlines that the series would come out one way or another (i.e. crowdfunding or another distribution channel). The last estimate I was given has passed by several months and my last message to the publisher (two months ago) has gone unanswered.

• As previously mentioned, Spillblood: Downpour had to be shelved after not being able to get the necessary artwork from the artist to launch a campaign. I invested a lot of time on building out the page, obtaining variant covers, and promoting the prelaunch page. It remains on indefinite hold.

• Time Served #3 shared a Kickstarter campaign with another project that was eventually canceled. Issue 4 is in the works and I know Brad Scott Studios still has plans for this series and more with me.

• We had to cancel our appearance at Thought Bubble due to a lack of funds to pay for the travel. Hopefully we can return next year! 🤞🏼

• I missed my goal of writing a page everyday in 2025 by 48 pages/days. A combined 317 pages were written between the second half of Dream Master Volume 4, the first two issues of my first NSFW project, several anthology stories and more. I chalk up the missing pages to a low morale caused by being kept in the dark on multiple projects that I’ve put a lot of heart and soul into. Additionally, running a Kickstarter campaign for someone else’s project, the passing of our sweet girl, Akita, and being absent once again from the Ringo nominations. However, I’ve learned to not let so much of this stuff rent space in my head when it should have been evicted a long time ago.

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Heading into 2026!

• Hospice: Tunnel of Love is launching on Kickstarter February 3rd! Follow our prelaunch page at the link here.

• Brackish #1-2 is launching on Kickstarter next summer! Follow our prelaunch page at the link here.

• I want to reach 300 followers on GlobalComix in 2026. I’m currently at 218! So, if you’re not following me there yet, please do. Link here.

• I’d like to reach 1000 subscribers here on Substack. I have 912 right now (less after I hit send 😜)! You can help me now by sharing this newsletter below.

  And that’s about it! Sorry for the lack of graphics in this one. There was a lot of text needed and I didn’t want to run out of room.

That’s it for now! Talk to you soon. Until next time,