Last Day. Last Chance.
about 2 months ago
– Fri, Nov 29, 2024 at 10:11:16 AM
For those who celebrate: I hope you had a fine Thanksgiving.
And now it's time for the madness that is BLACK FRIDAY— and the last day of our new IMPOSSIBLE JONES: IMPOSSIBLE TO LOVE! Kickstarter.
In case you hadn't heard, there's one, last Go-Big-or-Go-Home STRETCH GOAL:
6-Page EVEN STEVEN Solo Story by Kesel and Hahn!
Thing is, we need to hit $42,000 to pay for that story. And as I write this we're about $4000 and change short of that.
And we only have until 7 PM PDT TODAY (11-29) to do it.
I know this is a Big Stretch. HUGE, even. Might even say IMPOSSIBLE.
But isn't "Impossible" our middle name?
No. No it isn't. IT'S OUR FIRST NAME! (Of the main character of our comic, at least.)
There was at least one EVEN STEVEN solo story in the previous four IMPOSSIBLE TEAM-UP books. I'd like to continue that tradition. And EVEN STEVEN is a fan favorite. For good reason— he's cool! And weird! And enigmatic!
So here's How We Make This Happen…
UPGRADE or ADD-ON to your Pledge
See where it says "One 'Sketch'"? Ignore that. As hard as it is to believe, there are 3 SKETCHES available! David does far more than a simple "sketch" and everyone who's ever gotten one knows it. You could Upgrade your pledge and grab one of these.
There's also some very nice IMP ORIGINAL ART ready for a new home— cover inks (matching pencils often available— just ask) and David's stunning 41st CENTURY JONES Watercolor. All easy Upgrades.
Been eyeing that terrific TERRY DODSON Alt Cover? Or TY TEMPLETON's IMP-pressive IMP-finity Alt Cover? Thinking how stylish you'd look in an ELSA CHARRETIER IMP T-SHIRT? Don't have all of the IMP ENAMEL PINS? These and many other awesome add-ons are yours for the choosing in the, um, ADD-ON section.
LIKE, SHARE and/or POST
Of course, whether you do any of those things or not, you can always LIKE, SHARE, and/or POST about IMP. Getting the word out— spreading the IMPOSSIBLE GOSPEL— has never been more important than it is today.
I've got a zillion posts you can choose from on FACEBOOK and BLUESKY.
LIKE as many as possible— it's a little thing that makes a big difference. SHARE as many as you can. And if you're really ambitious, create your OWN POST about why you love IMP— just please include the link ImpossibleKickstarter.com.
As LBJ famously said: "If you do everything possible, you will get an EVEN STEVEN Solo Story in the new IMP comic." He didn't use those exact words, but close enough.
Thank you for your patience (if you've backed multiple IMP projects, you'll have gotten this Update multiple times— last time, I promise), thank you for you believing in IMPOSSIBLE, and thank you for supporting this book.
Could not do it without you.
IMPOSSIBLE TO LOVE Now on KICKSTARTER!
2 months ago
– Mon, Nov 25, 2024 at 03:21:52 PM
A lot of people don't. They've stepped away from social media for a bit, so I'm looking for other ways to get the word out. Things that end up in their mailbox— Like Newsletters, Podcast subscriptions (I did a commercial on Todd Dezago's great RANDOM ACTS OF COMICS) and, of course, Updates.
If You Backed Multiple IMP Projects…
…You're going to get this Update— or something similar— multiple times. My apologies. But what may quickly be Old News to you may well be real news to someone else, so please bear with me.
Here's what's going on:
TO AVOID ANY CONFUSION: Even though we had fun with this retro-Love-Comic cover, the story inside is the same fast-paced, fast-talking IMP adventure you know and, well, love. Check out the 6-page Preview on the IMPOSSIBLE TO LOVE site to see for yourself.
This book has David's best art ever. And I'm particularly proud of the story. It's probably the best IMP comic we've produced so far. It's self-contained, but is also a prologue to IMP's third arc— where we'll see all her plans come together… or come crashing down.
You already know IMP, so I'll just say there's the usual assortment of swag— Chibi Stickers, mini-prints, even some Original Art (including wonderful mini-watercolor ADD-ONS by David Hahn). And two of my favorite ALT COVERS yet…
That's Friday, November 29th, 7 PM PDT. THIS COMING FRIDAY!
So you might be late to the party (and that's mostly my fault), but you're not TOO late! You can still join the fun!
If you live in the US, you're probably busy traveling or cooking or being with family right now, getting ready for Thanksgiving. I'll be doing the same. All the more reason for you to check out IMPOSSIBLE TO LOVE NOW, before you get distracted by, quite frankly, more important things.
If you celebrate Thanksgiving or not, I can tell you that I'm deeply thankful for my family— Myrna, Isaac, Eliza and Jazzy (Jazzy is not our third child; Jazzy is a dog who thinks she's our third child). But I'm also thankful for YOU. Without you and your support, David and I would not be able to keep making the sort of fun comics we want to read more of. YOU make the impossible possible.
Definitely thankful for that.
Fulfillment FULFILLED!
3 months ago
– Sat, Nov 02, 2024 at 09:21:37 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
IMPOSSIBLE TO LOVE!
3 months ago
– Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 01:19:43 PM
As many of you probably know, today I launched the next IMP comic— IMPOSSIBLE TO LOVE. And if you don't know, here's the skinny:
That's right— the same gang of scoundrels and miscreants are back together for another IMPOSSIBLE go-round. And if you think IMPOSSIBLE TO LOVE is all hearts and flowers, rest assured it's as action-packed and crammed with quips as our other IMP outings…
God, I love CLOWNCAR!
If you like the IMPOSSIBLE JONES ULTRA-COOL COLLECTORS EDITION (which you should have, or will be getting soon; there are only about 68 more packages to go out) then I'm sure you'll, well, love IMPOSSIBLE TO LOVE!
Click any of the highlighted links or images above— they'll take you straight to the new Kickstarter. Or click RIGHT HERE.
With YOUR help we will make the impossible possible— AGAIN!
SPEAKING OF THOSE PACKAGES…
Yesterday I got 4 internationally-shipped packages returned to me because of a "Non-Compliant Customs Form." I know other overseas packages have made it to their destinations without a hitch, so I'll have to figure out what's off here. Once I do, I'll re-send these ASAP. But I am worried other packages may be coming back to me.
So if you're outside the US, it might be a little while before your books arrive. Just so you know.
Sorry about that.
ELSEWHERE ON KICKSTARTER…
MADELEINE HOLLY-ROSING has set the Steampunk standard on Kickstarter with her phenomenally popular and extremely entertaining BOSTON METAPHYSICAL SOCIETY books. And right now she's running a campaign for the second MPS hardcover collection.
You really cannot go wrong with these books, and if you need further enticement…
…I give you the OWL METAL BOOKMARK! In a choice of metals, even! This is one of the coolest Stretch Goals I have ever seen— and a clear reflection of the attention to detail and love that Madeleine puts into her books. Well worth checking out… RIGHT HERE.
But do it SOON— it ends FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, at 11:07 AM PDT!
The Shipping News
4 months ago
– Sat, Oct 12, 2024 at 09:04:02 AM
173 IMPOSSIBLE JONES Packages: Out the Door!
I didn't have as much time to work this week as I normally would because my wife Myrna was out of town, working herself, so I had solo kid-care. Meaning come 2:30 in the afternoon, comics-work ended and dad-work started. Still, that's about 24% of the total number of IMP packages, so not a bad start.
I loaded all those boxes into my trusty Subaru Baja (the back end AND the back seat!) then trucked them over to the local post office, where a very nice postal employee helped us (my daughter Eliza was lending a hand, too) transfer all those boxes to a huge bin in the loading area behind the building.
I should've taken a picture— but in all the excitement, I forgot. Instead, I'll give you a peak inside the PANICKED FULFILLMENT CENTER OPERATION. Normally a closely-guarded secret— but I can trust you, right?
FIRST: I export all the Backer info from BackerKit, filtering out anyone getting only digital rewards, since I don't need to pack those. This data is already formatted to group together people getting the same items.
SECOND: I edit out extraneous information-columns like the exact time you made your pledge, or how much you paid. I don't need either of those things to send you your stuff.
THIRD: I sort each group of simialr orders by country, reverse-alphabetically. This puts all the United States orders on top, and groups all the foreign orders at the bottom. This makes it easy for me to see where in the world IMP is going— something I find interesting, at least.
FOURTH: I move the various columns so they'll sync with PirateShip's import template. (Fascinating, I know!)
FIFTH: I create and print out a stripped down version of this file— my FULFILLMENT CHEAT SHEET. This tells me what each group is getting, and who's in that group. This time around, the Cheat Sheet is 41 pages long. Here are some examples:
I assign each group a LETTER, and pack up all (or a lot) of that letter-group at the same time, writing the letter on each package. If someone is getting something special and singular— like one of David's amazing SKETCHES— I write the correct person's NAME on their box. (At least, I hope I write the correct name!) I then weight a package or two from each group to get it's WEIGHT, and write that down on the Cheat Sheet.
Once I print out a person's MAILING LABEL, I check off their name on the left side of the Cheat Sheet.
Now, to print out that Mailing Label, I go back to the spreadsheet that matches PirateShip's formatting.
The area in GRAY is what I am currently copying, to paste into the PirateShip template. I upload that the PirateShip, then modify the package's size and weight to fit that group. Once the mailing labels have been printed out and the names checked off the Cheat Sheet, I turn that Gray area to GREEN, to show it's been taken care of.
The it's just a lot of peel-and-stick. A LOT of peel-and-stick!
This doesn't cover how I organize the PANIC ROOM to get you package put together as quickly and efficiently as possible, but I figure if you're still awake after reading my thrilling description of data-organization, I shouldn't push my luck.
I listen to a lot of music or podcasts while doing all this. NPR POLITICS, Adam Roche's dazzling SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD, Todd DeZago's wonderful RANDOM ACTS OF COMICS, and most recently HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE SET, where the cast and crew of the amazing 90's TV series HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET are interviewed.
With Myrna back home (Yaaa!) I hope to get the vast majority of the remaining packages out the door NEXT WEEK! Just in time for…
IMP finds herself drawn towards bad-boy DEMOLITION, the Man With the Atomic Touch! Too bad as a newly deputized officer of the law, she's been asked to bring him in!
This is a 60-page comic by the usual suspects, sporting alternate covers by TERRY DODSON and TY TEMPLETON. With any Stretch-Goal luck we'll have Chibi Stickers, guest-artists pin-ups, and a very special back-up story by… someone that may surprise you.
The best way to get in on all this goodness? Sign up on the PRE-LAUNCH PAGE— NOW! That way, you'll know the INSTANT it goes live, giving you access to EARLY BACKER BONUSES and LIMITED ITEMS such as David's always-amazing SKETCHES and— for one lucky person— the COVER'S ORIGINAL ART!
You can get to that PRE-LAUNCH PAGE by clicking HERE.
ELSEWHERE ON KICKSTARTER…
He's a HARD-BOILED MUMMY DETECTIVE who will solve your case even if it costs him an arm or a leg— which it often does!
PATRICK COYLE has created (and writes and letters!) a delightfully deranged series that is equal parts gumshoes and ghouls, femme fatales and freaks, mobsters and monsters— ably assisted by artist GONZALO MARTINEZ and colorist ARTHUR HESLI. If you enjoy IMPOSSIBLE JONES (which I hope you do— or you wouldn't be getting this update!) I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy the BIXBY GRANT series. Give it a look RIGHT HERE.
But do it SOON. The case file (and Kickstarter campaign) for this one closes OCTOBER 17, 7 AM PDT.
