About
Lemonade Summer by Gabi Mendez : Kid-Friendly LGBTQ Stories!
$17,171
548
OUR PROJECT AND DEDICATION TO QUEER STORIES FOR KIDS
Lemonade Summer by Gabi Mendez is an all-ages graphic novel about queer children, adolescents, teens and young adults coming of age in positive environments and finding supportive communities. The book is 136 pages with full color soft-cover and chapter covers. Each story is a monochromatic color scheme mirroring the sun from noon to dusk, reflecting the characters' growth in the book. The stories feature young, queer characters who grapple with the conflicts of their own worlds.
THE STORIES
Strays is about a plucky band of pirates entangled in royal affairs when a runaway royalty joins their crew. Unfortunately, not everyone takes a liking to their new member. This story is a kid-friendly introduction to non-binary gender expression and inclusivity.
Ro & Ella is about a new girl in town struggling to make new friends. Having faced difficulties in the past, she meets someone that shows her the value of real friendship. This story includes transgender characters, trans solidarity, and girl power!
Sk8er Grrl is a lesbian shoujo-inspired romance that takes place on the tumultuous skating rink of love. Blink and you might miss the derby girls stealing your heart!
Witching Hour is about a chance encounter between two lost-in-the-world people: one a former bully, the other a witch trying to catch a shooting star. Together, they confront their flaws, and grab the impossible. This story includes themes of bullying, forgiveness, friendship, and self-acceptance.
Treasure Hunting is about two best friends who go on an impromptu trip to the beach to search for rumored treasure. While change can be scary, true friends withstand great distance and time and will always be there for each other. This story features a non-binary character and themes of insecurity, friendship, and fear of change.
Aventurera is about two former childhood friends, now teens, who take a road trip together. When it feels like nobody's listening, loneliness creeps in. But believing in yourself even when you feel like you're not worth it can change everything for the better. This story includes bisexual and lesbian relationships, familial love, and self-actualization.
Dawning is about the siblings from "Treasure Hunting" and "Aventurera" contemplating the future. As the younger sibling Max is about to head off to college, their older sister Chole is there to reassure them. This story includes non-binary characters, sibling love, and the fear of self-expression.
For us, this Kickstarter is more than just a book. It represents our belief that comics have the ability to encourage and uplift, to give voice to those who have never heard their voices or seen their faces in popular media, to make a difference in society one reader at a time.
Every cent and word of support will go to the printing, distribution, and promotion of this book. It also allows us to reward backers with beautiful, exclusive extras and additional pizzaz to the book. We at Cow House Press believe in Gabi’s passion for creating queer stories for queer children; stories that validate everyone’s experiences, and support these young voices.
- OUR undying thanks to YOU! You'll receive a Digital, Downloadable Wallpaper of the Lemonade Summer cover.
- E-book version of the book, available for download when the Kickstarter is fully funded!
- Physical copy of the book, E-book, and a "Thank you" postcard from us!
- Set of 3 (three) postcards featuring art from the book; physical copy of the book, and E-book!
- Full set of 6 (six) postcards, full color, glossy and rounded corners! Also comes with the physical copy of the book, and E-book.
- Signed bookplate! This is designed by Gabi and pasted into the inside-front cover ourselves. Also comes with the full set of 6 (six) postcards, physical copy of the book, and E-book!
- Option A: Sketch in the book plate by Gabi, signed, and pasted in by hand; physical copy of the book, E-book, and full postcard set! Limit of 10 spots.
- Option B: 1 (one) Limited Edition offset printed poster; physical copy of the book, E-book, and full postcard set!
Posters Available: (insert below)
- Treasure Hunting Print - 12"x18"
- Strays Print - 12"x18"
- Ro & Ella Print - 9"x12"
- All 3 (three) limited edition posters; physical copy of book with signed bookplate, E-book, and full set of postcards!
- Option A: A caricature of you in the Thank You page, physical copy of book, E-book, and full set of postcards! Only 10 spots!
- Option B: A personal commission drawing by Gabi herself (ink and 1 color,) signed bookplate, E-book, and full set of postcards! Only 10 spots!
- A super cute USB drive with 10 original tracks made by A. Cris Valles, including the music from our Kickstarter video. Each song corresponds with a chapter in the book, plus an opening and closing track. Also comes with the signed bookplate, e-book, and full set of postcards.
Cow House Press is dedicated to getting these stories out to places with the least access to comics such as schools, non-profit education centers, prisons and public library spaces!
- Pledge $30 = Buy 2 (You keep one, donate the other.)
- Pledge $40 = Buy 3 (You keep one, donate two.)
- Pledge $50 = Buy 6 (You keep one, donate five.)
For those retailers and librarians who also believe in the importance of queer, POC visibility in all-ages comics, we have an option for wholesale!
- Pledge $70 = Recieve 10 (ten) copies with half-off shipping.
Stretch Goal at $20,000: Behind the Scenes! A booklet full of progress sketches, from thumbnails and scripts to finished drawings, peeks at editorial notes and many more. EVERYONE who backed the physical book will also receive a copy of this booklet.
Cover enhancements! We'll figure this out when we get there.
Gabi Mendez
Gabi Mendez is a west coast artist who studied art-making in Chicago, Illinois before moving onwards to Savannah, GA. In warmer weather, she continues to make comics featuring friendship, misadventures, and the absurd experience of growing up. She makes a lot of silly comics, says "dude" too much, and just wants everyone to feel included.
COW HOUSE PRESS
Cow House Press is a Chicago-based publishing collective comprised of passionate artists who all have an interest in comics. We specialize in publishing emerging and established artists of color, queer identities, and different walks of life.
The Team:
Connie Chu, Social Media Expert
Jenna Kang, Content Creator and Animator
A. Cris Valles, Animator and Musician
Anya Alford, Print Production Specialist
Yeon Kyung (Charlotte) Cha, Operations Assistant
From Team Cow House Press, we thank you for taking the time to read about our Kickstarter!
Risks and challenges
Cow House Press wants to be as transparent as possible to its backers about the print process and publication. At the start of this Kickstarter, we have worked non-stop this past year to assemble the book in its entirety in digital form. While the book is 99% finished, there are some fine tuning edits that need to be made before the Kickstarter ends, including but not limited to proper text readability, color correction, etc. Once the Kickstarter is fully funded, we can put the order in so backers will get their books asap. Also, custom rewards require extra time to accommodate the artist's and printer's schedules. Some rewards need to be put in production, but we have all the services lined up.
Sheika and Charlotte of Cow House Press have over 10 years of convention tabling experience combined and regularly handle large merchandise orders. Our current goal amount takes into account labor cost for fulfillment so we can focus energy and time into getting rewards out promptly.
Questions about this project? Check out the FAQ
Support
Funding period
- (35 days)