Let's Unpack Some Things

Our First Year Behind Us

Well... here we are. Finally, under the roof of our very own company. It has been roughly one year since I first engaged publicly about our first project: Greasepunk Paradise. Since then, we have nearly finished production on our first release, and I have been growing our team in anticipation of a full "scale up" in 2026. Now, as we approach the end of 2025, the time has arrived to introduce you to our official name: Dusty Box Media.

Selecting a Business Model

Many people have referred to us as a creative studio, and that makes sense given our significant contributions to Greasepunk Paradise. As our founder, I have led much of the script writing so far while also funding every aspect of the project. However, as we take a step back and look at our long-term desires and opportunities, something bigger awaits. I want to do more than just tell our own stories. I want to produce and invest in the stories from other creators as well.

As a media production company, we are both positioned to create in-house content today while also allowing us to work toward producing your own ideas down the road. Just like a book publisher, we plan to identify creative partners, acquire partial rights to works, and then invest in their production. We will continue to prepare the details of how this will work, but until then, we have a lot of our own great content on the way.

The Nuance is in the Name

As we look at Greasepunk Paradise and beyond, we see a huge opportunity to rekindle the magic many of us felt in our younger days of animated storytelling. Today’s projects often emphasize expensive digital polish, advanced 3D graphics, and monetization-first formats. Each of those have their place, but our focus is different: to “dust off” the spirit of a simpler time when it was less about the tech and more about telling great stories with incredible characters.

Like digging out an old, boxed-up VHS tape collection from the basement, we want to explore new stories that call back to that timeless feeling while still creating something fresh for today’s audiences.

The Road Ahead

As we ramp up production on Greasepunk Paradise in 2026, we’re also beginning pre-production on two unannounced web comic series. These new projects will allow us to explore stories within different genres and release content at a faster pace than the ambitious, slow-moving “goliath” that is Greasepunk Paradise. It will also play a major role into our 5-year strategy to grow our audience by accommodating different interests. With three active series, we aim to provide a steady stream of content that fans can look forward to throughout the year.

Additionally, two extra series added to our in-house collection means there will be many more paid opportunities to work with us, including work for writers, artists, animators, voice actors, and sound designers. If you are a creator interested in working with us in the future, stay tuned for announcements on when these two projects get ready to begin production.

Building our Foundation

Formally establishing our business also allows us to open the doors to project backers who want to support our work through donations. We'll have that soon, but there might be another reason you could choose to support us: our cause. We want to help bolster industry standards for the fair treatment of creators. Exploitation has become far too common in creative industries, and some have slipped into cultural norms. This is compounded by challenges related to artificial intelligence. Creators must fight for essential benefits and fair compensation, both of which should be granted freely and without having asked for them in the first place.

We believe small, independent companies like us have the potential to shift cultures in the industry. It happens slowly, but we are greater in number as new independent companies pop up every day. Being small and independent means fewer layers of corporate management separating decision makers from the voices of our community. Equipped with agility and community awareness allows us to quickly adapt as we learn and grow. Dusty Box Media represents just one small but determined group aiming to prove that it’s possible to achieve financial success while proactively treating creators with respect, fairness, and transparency.

This is not a declaration of war on the industry; in fact, it's quite the opposite. I want us to be stewards who demonstrate the "right way" to treat fellow creatives while doing business. By proving our model works, we hope to inspire others in the industry to follow suit, creating an environment where creativity can thrive without compromise. There are undoubtedly other independent production companies like us who want to do the same, and together we can shift the cultural norms to better fit the ideals we'd like to see across all creative industries.

If you’d like to be part of this journey, whether as a fan, backer, or future collaborator, then stay tuned. Soon we will be releasing a comprehensive business strategy that lays out our roadmap for the next 5 years. It will contain many ways you can take action to support us and our objectives, and we look forward to building our future together.

John Hanke, Founder

Dusty Box Media