I Thought You Loved Me is MariNaomi's Gen X graphic memoir, which is told in prose, collage, and sequential art, explores queer culture, feminism, race, class, sex work, and the flawed nature of memory as Mari works to uncover a long-lost best friend that she can no longer remember but can’t let go of. The book is ready to go, but we need your help to get it printed!

Jodie was Mari’s best friend through their teens and twenties. As young Mari began to explore her identity as a bisexual, biracial outsider in a rich, white town, Jodie was her constant confidant, even kissing Mari out of the closet. The two were inseparable as they sought to gain a foothold in life and love as young feminists, Jodie an entrepreneurial sex worker, and Mari working in the boys’ club of video game development in the late ‘90s. Then, suddenly and mysteriously, Jodie ends their friendship. Years later, Mari is stunned when she discovers why.

Now much older, Mari is ready to forgive, but her memories of Jodie seem to have vanished. Through journal excerpts, letters, conversations with friends, and cross-country travel, she pieces together lost memories from a lost friendship in an attempt at catharsis. The reader follows in real-time as the author unravels her own mystery, examining the expectations of friendship, the unreliability of memory, and the struggle to let go.

Our funding goal is $17,500 USD. These funds will be used to directly pay for printing and transportation of the books back to our warehouse, as well as for processing fees, book design fees, and other additional miscellaneous expenses. Here is the breakdown of our costs:

We're offering a variety of packages, including previously published work, to help fund this print run, but we need your help to make this book a reality.

For supporters who are used to Kickstarter, you'll see something missing in this graph - fulfillment! If you purchase something that must be shipped to you, shipping and fulfillment costs will be applied during check-out when you support the project.

Backing a Crowdfundr campaign is a little different than other crowdfunding platforms you might be used to. Click the perk you're interested on the right-hand side of the page (or by using the PERKS link on a mobile device or tablet), and add it to your cart. You can add multiple perks to your cart before checkout, so if you want to order multiple rewards, (or if you want multiple copies of the book), you can do that before checkout.

We're offering a special selection of rewards; scroll through the campaign page to find out more, and check out images of original art that can be purchased at the bottom of the page.

We have exciting plans once this book reaches its initial funding goal. Stay tuned!

Fieldmouse Press is a nonprofit publisher of comics and literature, based in Grass Valley, California. Founded in 2019, Fieldmouse Press is committed to expanding the reach and appreciation of the comics arts.   Fieldmouse Press publishes the online literary magazine SOLRAD, and since 2021, has begun publishing international and American comics. We are passionate about comics and our goal is to advance the medium through the publication of new and underrepresented voices. We believe that comics should be a place for every story and every person.   I Thought You Loved Me is Fieldmouse Press' sixth book and third crowdfunding campaign, and our most ambitious project yet.

Fieldmouse Press has successfully funded and fulfilled two crowdfunding campaigns; one through Kickstarter, and one here on Crowdfundr, so we have the experience of crowdfunding under our belts. We are working with the fantastic folks at  White Squirrel Distribution to help make sure that packages get out quickly and efficiently.  We have done all the pre-work to make sure that this campaign will be successful.

However, risks remain, especially with transportation and the uncertainty of the COVID pandemic. Books may be damaged in transit or may not be printed to specifications. We are working with a Canadian printer for this book in order to reduce the risk of transportation delays from overseas shipping. We expect to be able to start shipping books in January, but have given ourselves until February to fulfill this campaign completely.  We promise to keep our supporters up to date with any news, including delays and uncertainties, as we work through the campaign process.

MariNaomi is offering backers a special opportunity to obtain original art during this campaign. Some pieces offered are pages of comics, while others are sketches or mixed-media compositions. Each piece of original art will also come with a copy of I Thought You Loved Me. 

Piece #1 - "Haircut" from Turning Japanese

Piece #2 - "Stereotypes" from Turning Japanese

Piece #3 - "Prayer" from Turning Japanese

Piece #4 - What's Your Fucking Problem

Piece #5 - Selfportrait

Piece #6 - "Loveseat" from the Life on Earth Trilogy

Piece #7 - "Untitled" from the Life on Earth Trilogy

Piece #8 - Three Page Spread from Kiss and Tell: A Romantic Resume, Ages 0 to 22

Piece #9 - "Hello, Dear" - Exhibited at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco as part of a "Caption This" exercise

Piece #10 - "Snakecharmer" Exhibited as a part of a Giant Robot group show

Fieldmouse Press is proud to be a part of the Small Press Expo (SPX)Creator Spotlight, and will be accepting pledges for books at SPX the weekend of September 17th. If you have any questions about the campaign, our team will be on-site at SPX Table M8.