Hi. My name is Krysta Marie Morningstarr*Cox and I humbly come before you in supplication. A.B.O. Comix carries my work as an incarcerated trans female comic artist. 

Have you heard of the proverbial “starving artist”? Well that would be me. I am in sore need of the materials and sustenance that are necessary to bring this art to you. Knowing that my family and myself can survive at the level that is needed for this endeavor, well, it doesn't just feed our bodies, it feeds my soul as well. That very well of creativity that we are all, you and I, enjoying. 

As far as expenses go, each and every page of this comic art uses roughly $10 to produce in materials alone. That puts a 30-page comic costing me about $300 to make, not counting my time, labor, and mental energy. 

This is only possible to do in a timely fashion if I am able to devote myself to this as a full-time job. One would think that a prisoner would have all the time in the world in order to pursue an effort such as this, and that with the State feeding me, it wouldn't put me out much with trying. 

Sadly, this is not true. First of all, in the state of Texas we are not paid for the work we are forced into doing for the State. We basically work as slave labor. We are threatened with disciplinary action, a single infraction of which could cost you your chance for parole, should you refuse to work. Then, there's the factor of time it takes to actually eat the State-provided meals you are given. 

Because we do not control the locks on our doors, a person is unable to bring everything needed with them to the commons area in order to work productively. This effectively locks me away from my tools, sometimes up to three hours per meal. (To top it off, each meal consists of about the same amount of food as a “kid's meal”. Texas is famous for feeding their prisoners for about $2 a day…that's for ALL THREE MEALS.) 

This puts me out about six hours a day to go pick up lunch and dinner. I'll ask, does it really take anyone else that much time to perform the same task? And then, should I want breakfast too, I must awaken at 3am to get it. This is untenable to be able to do this and still devote the mental energy needed for this creative task. 

My request is simply this, I and my family need around $500 for food and art supplies. If only 20 people devoted $25 a month to help me further this goal, it would be completely covered. That's about the cost of a decent fast food meal for two, a small monthly contribution that will make a huge difference in my life.