FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

1. Where can I pick up a copy of ThunderKid? I sometimes appear at fairs and farmers markets that I announce on the site, but the best way would be to purchase a copy online.

2. When is the next volume coming out? Not for a while.  The current Chapter 6 will be the next printed chapter and only after the next four issues will I release this previous set as a volume so it won’t be for a while.  Fortunately, I will soon have chapter books to keep you busy!

3. Do you do link exchanges? Not at this time, but I am working on a new plan to have some kind of link exchange program later as there are a couple of good all-ages comics online. So stay tuned!

4. Will you be selling at the {fill in name} comic and/or anime convention? Well we may see! Lately I’ve been doing city markets and festivals in my area because of the community and the overall price. But that’s not to say I’m not looking at bigger conventions. Keep looking at the blog and event calendar! Who knows, we may be coming to a convention near you!

5. My kids are all grown. Would they be able to get into this? Yeah! Some of my first readers were young adults and older teens and they liked ThunderKid too! Not to mention middle schoolers! A copy that’s in a local middle school library is in circulation all the time! So yes, this is for kids and kids at heart.

6. Do you do contract art? Not at this time I’m afraid.  I have a a bit of a backlog between the comics and other products so any new contract art is off the table for now.

7. When did you start drawing? I started drawing very early when I was in first or second grade or so. My sisters started art young too in fact and our parents were always very supportive of our art. As long as we remembered that school came first of course!

8. Where did you get the idea for ThunderKid from? Believe it or not, Rankin Bass! You know? The guys who did the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and other Christmas specials, ThunderCats, SilverHawks, and more! The Christmas specials especially got me thinking of weather people like Snow Miser, the Winter Warlock, and the like. Eventually that inspired the characters and concept of ThunderKid!

9. Do you have a DeviantArt/SmackJeeves account? No. I deleted my DeviantArt account a while ago and my SmackJeeves is mostly defunct.  I would encourage you though to read ThunderKid here as we also have comments and accounts. Plus the environment is a lot more family-friendly overall.

10. Would you visit my class? Do you do school visits? Yes I do visit schools and classes but always on request. If you would like me to speak at your school either write me or write your teacher or principal and we could get something squared away. Location is also an issue of course. Remember, I’m from Montgomery County Maryland!

11. I can read this online so why do I need to buy ThunderKid? Good question! Now this is just a personal opinion, but I find that the printed version looks MUCH nicer than any version that you’ll read online. Plus you don’t have those “ThunderKid Manga” watermarks everywhere. Also there are millions of kids and adults who’ve never even heard of it who don’t frequent online as much. So by offering a printed version, we spread the wealth so to speak! That said, buy it, try it, you’ll like it!

12. Can I get this on my Kindle? My Nook? Not right now, but if we get enough demand for it we will see.

13. What’s your favorite cartoon? I am VERY bad at picking favorites, but I a have a few.  Mostly old school shows like Muppet Babies, Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers, DuckTales, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dexter’s Laboratory, and PowerPuff Girls.

14. What’s your favorite anime? Anime’s a bit easier (sort of). I love Sailor Moon (OG and Crystal 1+2), Zoids Chaotic Century, G Gundam, Gundam Wing, Monster, Aquarion, and Future Boy Conan, one of Hayao Miyazaki’s first works.

15. What’s your favorite comic (aside from yours)? Right now I love Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog (main series and Universe) and Archie’s MegaMan series! And as a huge Disney Afternoon fan I loved Boom’s Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers, DuckTales, and Darkwing Duck series!

16. What’s your favorite manga (aside from yours)? I loved the anime but I ADORED the Sailor Moon manga! It was definitely one of my prime inspirations when going into the manga style for ThunderKid!

17. Where do you get your drive? God first and foremost. I owe all my creativity and drive to Him. Also my desire to do this for kids who could one day themselves become artists, animators, cartoonists, and the like.

18. Do you have a forum? Mmmmmm… No. I tried doing a forum twice and neither really took off as I had hoped. Maybe one day I’ll try it again if I get enough support for one.

19. Why self-publish rather than publish with someone else? Ooooh lots of reasons I chose self-publishing. Mostly freedom I suppose. As an adjunct faculty and post-doc I need to have time to my schedule as well as to working on the comic.