Running the Show
A Caine (The Amazing Digital Circus) Zine
About
Running the Show is an unofficial fanzine centered on-
Ahem! Let's try introducing this here shindig with a little more GUSTO!Welcome to Running the Show, an AMAZING (unofficial) project all about your favorite digital circus ringmaster: CAINE! There'll be plenty of goodies for all you brilliant buzzing bees, with a zine featuring awesome art and writing and such, plus marvelous merchandise you're sure to love!· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·Running the Show is an unofficial fanmade project and is not endorsed by nor affiliated with Glitch Productions.· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·Status: LAUNCH!
Info Doc
For this project's COMPLETE information, do check out this handy info doc, linked HERE!
FAQ
What is a zine?
A zine is a self-published magazine- or book-like project all about a specific topic or theme. They can be single- or multi-issue, and can be anything from a few folded pages to a larger bound book; they can be made by a single person or team of people. Fanzines, like Running the Show, tend to also have physical and/or digital merchandise available for purchase with the zine (such as charms, art prints, stickers, etc.). Running the Show will be a single-issue bound book with merch, made by a team of moderators and contributors!· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·Is zine experience required to apply?
Zine experience is not required to apply. The Circus is open to all, whether you’re brand-new to zines, a seasoned zine veteran, or somewhere in between!· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·Is there an age requirement?
We require all contributors to be at least 18 years of age at time of application – no exceptions. This is due to us needing to collect contributor information for physical compensation (as well as monetary information i.e. a PayPal email for profit distribution, as this zine is planned to be for-profit) and the fact that the work for this zine will be sold.· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·Will this zine be digital or physical?
We will have a physical zine and merch, but we will additionally have a digital version of the zine available to purchase during preorders. Pending the interest of our contributors, we may also offer some digital merch.· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·Will this zine have any NSFW?
No, this zine will not have any NSFW. The entire project will be SFW and not go beyond material shown/portrayed in the canon source (so there may be some canon-typical violence or mature themes, for example).· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·Will this zine feature any shipping between characters?
No, there will be no romantic shipping in this zine, aside from references to established canon romantic relationships/feelings. However, what contributors ship outside of the zine will not influence their odds of acceptance – and characters other than Caine may appear, so long as Caine is the star of the show!· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·How many contributors are you aiming to accept for each role?
Including guests (but not including mods), we aim for 1 cover artist, 25-30 page artists, 4-8 writers, 8-10 merch artists, 2-4 spot artists, up to 4 comic artists, and potentially up to 3 alternative creators (such as recipes, crochet, etc.). These numbers may change pending our interest check and application period.· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·How will contributors be compensated?
We will, at minimum, provide all contributors with a high-quality digital copy of the zine and any potential digital merch. Pending preorder sales, we will do our utmost to provide contributors with a full bundle of the zine at no cost (or as many items at no cost as possible). We will also do our best to cover shipping! If there are any items we cannot provide at no cost, we will allow contributors to buy copies of items at production cost. We will also allow contributors to purchase extra items at production cost.We will divide the remaining funds post-production, -shipping, and -leftovers amongst mods and contributors (a.k.a. we are a for-profit zine).· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·Do I need experience producing merch to apply as a merch artist?
No, you do not need experience producing merch! We will provide specs for you to follow as a merch artist specific to your merch types, and the mod team will handle producing and shipping all zines and merch made for this project. If you are accepted as a merch artist and have more creative ideas for your assignments, you’re welcome to discuss with mods about their feasibility~· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·Are there limits on content we can make for the zine?
Zine pieces are required to be SFW. For things like combat/violence and mature themes, they must be reasonably within the bounds of The Amazing Digital Circus’s canon material within the show or promotional material posted to official accounts. NSFW is prohibited. Mods will ensure pieces follow these guidelines, so if you’re accepted, don’t be afraid to pitch your idea if it’s SFW but you’re not sure if it falls within the bounds of the show!· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·Is A.U. content allowed in this zine?
Yes, A.U. (or alternate universe) content is allowed in this zine! The only caveat is: contributors may only portray an A.U. that either 1) the contributor created themself or 2) another contributor in the zine both created and gave explicit permission to the other specific contributor to portray in the zine (so no blanket approval!). This is due to the zine being sold via preorders, and we’d prefer only selling contributors’ original work/ideas.In that same vein, contributors may draw their own interpretations of Caine & the cast, provided they follow the zine’s guidelines and they show the mods this interpretation prior to approval. We will also, of course, permit the portrayal of Caine and other characters/settings on/from adventures not shown in the series! (like a cowboy-themed adventure, a bug-catching adventure, etc.)· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·My question wasn’t answered here, what do I do?
Please use this link to submit your question – we will answer you via email! We will also post it to Twitter and Tumblr should it be a general question others find helpful.
Schedule
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Zine Launch | June 27th, 2026 |
| Zine Interest Check Launch | July 1st |
| Zine Interest Check Close | July 31st |
| Interest Check Results | August 5th |
| Contributor Applications Open | August 14th |
| Contributor Applications Close | September 15th |
| Contributor Application Results | September 25th |
| Contributors Join Server | October 2nd Latest |
| Pitches Due | October 11th |
| Check-In #1 | December 5th |
| Check-In #1 for Spot Artists | December 12th |
| Check-In #2 | January 16th, 2027 |
| Check-In #3 | February 12th |
| Final Pieces Due | March 13th |
| Preorders Open | April 10th |
| Preorders Close | May 15th |
| Production and Shipping | May 15th Onwards - follow socials! |
Mods
Promo Artists
Contributor Applications
For our contributor guidelines and application requirements, please visit our info doc - linked HERE for your convenience!When applications open, we will add buttons linked to the application forms!