I didn't want to make this personal...

I didn’t want to make this personal.

I prefer to stay in the background, working behind the scenes, and let my work speak for itself.

I’m Mike Tener - I, with the help of so many others, formed Bad Bug Media. It was nothing more than a name to put on books while I got into the rhythm of being an independent comic book creator.

Fast forward to now, and I’m in with a group of comic creators who all want to do the same thing: entertain. The writing team of Scott Wilke, Kris Jerome, Jason Pell, Bill Stoddard, Allen Dunford, John Macleod, Ruben Romero, and Casey Bowker, have made that the priority. (Special shout out to Scott Wilke, who has been my ride-or-die from the beginning.)

It’s all about branding…not me…but for Bad Bug. I want you to see the logo (made by the illustrious Dave Lentz, btw) and know that the book you’re about to open will be FUN. That’s all we have ever cared about.

This is me and my wife, Alice. Thank you for making my wife look extra stupid, Louie Quevedo.

Here’s the personal thing I wanted to share with you: I left a great job to make comics full-time. I couldn’t do both any longer. Bad Bug has grown so much in sales and readers this past year. As exciting as it was, juggling a job where I was on the road a lot and managing multiple comic projects was exhausting.

For Bad Bug to really “get it right,” it needed my full attention. Thanks to my loving and trusting wife, Alice, who helps manage some of our projects, I was given her blessing to do this…all or nothing…in 2024.

2024 will be our best year yet. A lot more is riding on it now. It’s scary…but you…ALL of you…are the reason why we get to be here and do this. I can’t be more grateful for you than I am right now.

The most important thing is staying focused and keeping the nose to the grindstone. With that, I’m going to outline some housekeeping notes for 2023 so far:

Pricing - we adjusted our pricing downward on most physical items. Digital experienced no change and may inch up (digital supporters matter; however, digital sales alone don’t yield a profit for our business - we’re determined to add value to physical and digital markets that justify our pricing structure)

Printing - we recently upgraded the quality of interior pages (Bobby Jo 2 was the first step in that direction). We will settle on a new printing partner for 2024 that represents our standards fully.

Fulfillment - I will tell you that we’ve dropped the ball here in terms of getting it perfect. This issue stems from having a staff of 2 most of the year. Not nearly enough to handle the volume of demand we faced. We were slow. And tired. So very tired. We now have a fulfillment crew of 6 people. Their first project was Bobby Jo 2, which was our biggest campaign ever, and they shipped it all out in two days (which is really fucking good). Note: if there are any issues with your orders, please contact us by emailing shaynarose@badbugmedia.com - we will fix it.

Customer Service - Shayna was a supporter just like all of you, but we really appreciated her positive attitude and LOVE for comics, so we asked her to join and help us/keep us from messing things up with you guys. She’s been good at following up with me about any issues that have popped up since we’ve been getting her integrated with our production. Note: PLEASE never message us on Kickstarter. It’s such a poor tool for private messaging. Shaynarose@badbugmedia.com is the GUARANTEE that we will get your issues addressed efficiently. Kickstarter messages function like snail mail in comparison. .

Non-erotic books - we still have several books planned that stick to our roots in humor, action, and horror. So, if erotica isn’t your thing, don’t worry…stick around…we’ve got a lot planned for you.

Erotic books - we intend to stay focused on the fundamentals of a good comic while still giving you tingles in the no-no zones.

Engagement - we’ve been so quiet here. We don’t feel as connected to you as we want to be. Our social media presence is inconsistent. Over the next few months, we want you to see what culture we’ve cultivated at Bad Bug Media. We have one of the tightest bonds in the industry, and it’s been a bummer that we haven’t shared more of who we are with you. That’s all about to change!

Feedback - this is what we need. I will create some surveys (with incentives) that will help us determine what we’re doing right, what we’re doing wrong, and what we should start doing. Now more than ever, I want to ensure we’re giving you the content you want. It’s personal now!

Bugs and Kisses,

Mike and the rest of the gang