Your One-Stop Shop for the IMPOSSIBLE!
(IMPOSSIBLE JONES, that is— the thief-pretending-to-be-a-hero created by KARL KESEL and DAVID HAHN.)
Latest Updates from Our Project:
MAY 6TH to be on the THANK YOU Page!
5 months ago
– Sat, Apr 20, 2024 at 06:55:09 AM
The ever-vigilant Patrick Ditton pointed out I listed the WRONG DEADLINE for responding to the BackerKit Survey to get your name on the THANK YOU Page. I mistakenly said April 6, but since I haven't gotten my in-home time machine yet, I assume you haven't either, and the real deadline is MAY 6TH.
MAY 6th SURVEY DEADLINE to be on the THANK YOU PAGE!
(Cut me some slack. I've had pinkeye, dammit!)
If you haven't gotten the survey yet, it will probably be coming your way later today (April 20th).
KK
Incoming: Surveys!
5 months ago
– Sat, Apr 20, 2024 at 06:22:20 AM
The BackerKit Surveys are Ready!
THESE ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE: It's how I collect your mailing addresses so I can, y'know, mail you something someday. Like, to choose an item totally at random, the IMP Vol 2 ULTRA -COOL COLLECTORS EDITION!
It's also where I collect the postage costs for mailing you said hypothetical, Ultra-Cool book.
MOST TIME-SENSITIVE RIGHT NOW: The Survey is where I collect YOUR NAME for the THANK YOU SECTION in the book! So if you want to appear on those prestigious page, please fill out and send in the survey ASAP! I would like to have all names by APRIL 6, which would give me a few days to get them sorted and slotted in place.
A "smoke test" for the survey has already gone out. This is where we reach out to a random 5% of the Backers to see if there are any glitches that need to be fixed before it's unleash on the rest of the world.
So if you've already received your survey as you're reading this, you’re one of our “smokers” and it's doubly important for you to respond right away! (I will probably be sending out the survey to everyone else Saturday afternoon or evening, depending how quickly people respond to the "smoke test" and I'm cleared for take-off.)
THE SURVEY IS ALSO where you could grab another T-Shirt or Enamel Pin or similar IMPOSSIBLE paraphernalia, if you are so inclined, thanks to the fact that this time around I'm making the survey part of the IMPOSSIBLE JONES BACKERKIT STORE— which is NOW OPEN! And not just open to you, but to EVERYONE!
IF YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO MISSED THE KICKSTARTER— now they can pre-order the book and get it at the same time you get your copy! (Minus the sweet swag that people like you are being showered with for supporting it from the start.)
NOTE: For some reason I'm having trouble getting ImpossibleJones.com to forward to the IMPOSSIBLE JONES STORE. So until I get that sorted out, the easy-to-remember link is: bit.ly/3xMMWaY. (Rolls trippingly from the tongue, doesn't it?)
I'm also giving this QR-thing a go. Could someone let me know if it works?
ALSO: If there's anything you want that's NOT in the store, let me know. As long as it isn't sold out, I can make it happen.
"When Will I Get The Book?"
Excellent question! A bad bout of pinkeye (inadvertently shared by one of my daughter's "friends") threw my inking schedule off by a week or so, so now I'm looking to have the book in the printer's hands about mid-May, which would have the finished, printed book back in my hands by some time in JULY.
People Make Plans. God Laughs.
5 months ago
– Sun, Apr 14, 2024 at 07:48:52 AM
Don't Panic— Things Are Going Quite Well.
The Kickstarter money was deposited in my account a week or so ago.
With money in the bank, I felt comfortable signing a contract with a printer— PrintLore. I've never used them before, but one of the Godfathers of Kickstarter Comics, PAT SHAND, sings their praises (with quite a nice tenor voice, I might add) and their rep SAMANTHA AMBORN has been a true pleasure to work with.
I also ordered the POLECAT and CAPTAIN LIGHTNING enamel pins. Here are the printing guides that I OK'ed:
I've been putting together/designing more of the non-story pages of the book. For instance, here's the starting point for all the BACKMATTER spreads:
Each IMPOSSIBLE TEAM-UP comic gets a double-page to fill with all sorts of behind-the-scenes goodness (none of which is in place here, obviously). In the upper left is the KS Project Image to identify the spread, and running across the bottom is a band with 7 of the ads/promo pieces I used on social media during that book's campaign. In total I've produced hundreds of these pieces and while most of them are forgettable, some are quite nice. And I like how it gives a snapshot of the campaign— what was being talked about, and talked up.
I've also been INKING the final 12 NEW pages of story. Which, I'll admit, has been going a bit slower than planned, mostly because of the Big Man having a few chuckles. (Hence this Update's title.)
A couple weeks ago I had some serious dental work done. That cost me some time. And then one of my daughter's "friends" gave me pinkeye which made it impossible to see well enough to draw/ink anything properly. (Sadly, I'm still suffering from it, as I write this.) AND I was rear-ended the other day. No one was hurt, minor damage, but it's still another thing to deal with. AND my blood pressure has decided to spike. No idea why. It's not like I'm under any stress! So there are extra doctor visits involved with that…
I had been aiming for the end of the month to get files to the printer, but now it's looking more like mid-May. Which we might have to wait until, anyway, since ARTHUR ADAMS is still working away on his Fold-Out…
It'll be worth the wait, believe me.
What's Next?
My top priority is getting the BackerKit survey done. It's a lot less fun to put together than designing pages, but it's essential so I can collect names for the THANK YOU page. I'm hoping to have that coming your way in the next 7 days or so.
One Last Thing…
Don't Miss Out On New Projects!
We used JELLOP to help get the word out about IMP this time around, and part of that was IMP appearing in their FIRST BACKER NEWSLETTER, which got Our Gal in front of a lot of people who had never heard of her before.
We'd like to invite you to join the FIRST BACKER NEWSLETTER and its growing community of Kickstarter backers— you'll receive fresh Kickstarter projects, and amazing early bird offers, as well as awesome freebies delivered right to your inbox. Click here to subscribe.
I get this newsletter myself, and it's kinda amazing what shows up in it. Stuff you never knew existed— that didn't exist until someone dreamed it up! Perfect to peruse with a morning cup o' coffee…
All I Can Say Is…
6 months ago
– Fri, Mar 15, 2024 at 11:02:04 AM
An extremely IMP-pressive showing, all around! David and I could not be more thrilled and honored by your belief in IMPOSSIBLE (JONES, that is), and will certainly do everything we can to live up to that trust and faith.
David and I wanted this book to happen, but YOU are the one who made it happen.
Kickstarter 101
If this is your first Kickstarter: WELCOME! Look around. You're gonna find LOTS of great comics on Kickstarter!
Here's What Happens Next
Kickstarter collects everyone's pledges. If your credit card doesn't go through for some reason (it happened to me: I didn't realize the card on file had expired!) they will let you know so you have a chance to, say, put a new card on file, then will re-try your card a few days later. They keep re-trying for a week.
About 2 weeks from now, Kickstarter will send the funds they collect to my bank. That's GOOD NEWS! That means I'll have money to pay the people working on the book, the printer, the enamel pin manufacturer, etc.
David and Ryan and Comicraft and I continue working on the book! This means finishing the 15 new story pages, putting together the (Stretch-Goal-Expanded!) BackMatter section, formatting everything for the oversized, um, size of the book, and going over the entire story page-by-page, painstakingly correcting any typos, color SNAFUS, etc.
I believe I can get the book to the printer by the end of April. That would get the book back in my hands mid-June-ish (depending on a few variables).
Mailing out by the end of June!
In The Meantime…
I'll send out periodic UPDATES (like this one) keeping you apprised of what's going on and, if necessary, what's going wrong with the book. (It's been my experience that you can plan out every detail, but fate always finds a way to trip you up… !)
This is a new series by CALEB PALMQUIST. I've loved Caleb's books forever (UNICORN: VAMPIRE HUNTER— still one of the best high-concepts ever!) and we've become pals over the past year, but the fact remains that this is one Cool Comic!
I love Westerns, especially ones that take Westerns and mash them up with other genres— detective, horror, romance, superhero… fantasy! Cowboys and Dragons! How come no one thought of that before?!
I happen to know this comic is based on the true fact that, in the days of the Wild West, the Post Office often hired people to deliver the mail to the more remote, more dangerous parts of the frontier. These people had to be tough as nails and ready for anything. This is that— with added Dragons!
This one's by ZACH CHAPMAN and BEN TERDIK and is about an order of gunslinging spellcasters! They actually shoot spells out of their guns! Which is just very, very cool. Plus, there are MONSTERS. Gotta shoot those spells at something, right?
You can also get a Blood-Stained Badge from a Fallen Sheriff! Which, yes, I did get for myself.
SPELLSLINGER is a graphic novel, already 100% finished. If you love Westerns as much as I do— or horror (which I also love) or fantasy (not always my cup of tea, but sometimes, like this time)— check it out.
Okay. Time to get to work!
The Final, Fateful 48 Hours
6 months ago
– Wed, Mar 13, 2024 at 11:44:43 AM
FIRST
THANK YOU for supporting IMPOSSIBLE JONES. David Hahn, Ryan Cody, Comicraft and I make the comics— but it’s people like YOU who make those comics, well, possible. We couldn’t do it without you.
I’ve worked for a lot of companies and made a lot of comics in my life— and this is the BEST way, IMO. I’m here as long as YOU are.
I mean, look at the amazing book we’ve put together:
256 Pages! (Up 4 pages from 252 because of a Stretch Goal)
Oversized!
Hardcover!
Fold-Out by ARTHUR ADAMS!
Pin-Ups by ADAM HUGHES! BILL SIENKIEWICZ! STUART IMMONEN! TERRY MOORE! JEFF SMITH! MIKE McKONE! And more!
New Pin-Ups by MICHEAL AVON OEMING and CONOR HUGHES— thanks to Stretch Goals supported by people like YOU!
Collects the IMP TEAM-UP stories from IMPOSSIBLE TEAM-UP A-D!
15 additional, new story pages!
Hot Pink Ribbon Bookmark! (An Ultra-Cool Stretch Goal, if there ever was one!)
Not to mention these charming chibi stickers of Mr. GILA MONSTER, IMP, and PERSEPHONE by the enormously talented and infinitely generous GIAN CARLO BERNAL— FREE to every Backer (digital backers get digital version):
PLUS we’re reaching for the Next Stretch— an ENAMEL PIN of the Peerless POLECAT (also based on the work of Mr. Bernal) once we hit $52,000:
No digital version for enamel pins, I'm afraid. Sorry!
(Between you and me: I’d love to do an enamel pin of CAPTAIN LIGHTING, too— hell, I’d like to see the whole IMPOSSIBLE cast get “pinned”— but one step at a time…)
Which nicely segues into…
SECOND
I need your help.
We’ve raised enough to get this book finished and printed. Easily. Thanks to YOU. But here’s the thing: I want to finish strong and raise enough to pay for the next IMP book.
David and I usually produce a handful of pages for any given IMP comic, launch a Kickstarter, then use the money raised to pay our bills while we complete the book. But that could take 6, 7… 9 months or more.
I want to get ahead of that curve. I want money in the bank so we can finish an IMP comic before we Kickstart it. For us, that would take away a layer of stress, of worrying if we take longer than we originally planned to wrap a book.
For YOU, that means a much shorter time between the end of the Kickstarter and the book showing up in your mailbox. Only the time it takes to get the book printed, really— which, if we’re talking domestic printers (and with IMP we usually are), could be as little as 2 months!
I’m sure this is something we ALL want.
How To Make This Happen
Well, you could just throw fistfuls of cash at us. That would work. But in case you want, y’know, something in return, here are a few ideas:
Upgrade Your Pledge!
If you’re a Digital Backer, you could upgrade to a physical copy. You still get the PDF, but you’d also get that sweet, oversized hardcover that will make you the envy of friends and family (plus any enamel pin swag we swing before the show ends)! If you’re worried about not enough shelf space… Bah! What kind of comic collector are you?
You could Add-On an IMP T-SHIRT. Recent scientific studies show that the IMP T-SHIRT instantly makes you look 39% cooler and 7% taller. I’m not making this up! (Except, I am.)
If you have a little more (well: a lot more) disposable income, you could nab one of these STUNNING David Hahn watercolors:
Why these weren't snapped up LONG ago is one of the world's great unsolved mysteries!
Needless to say, there is only 1 of each. Yet I still felt the need to say it.
The T-Shirts and Watercolors are ADD-ONS. To get them simply:
Click the MANAGE YOUR PLEDGE button
Choose your same reward (or a different reward).
Once you’re in the CONFIGURE YOUR PLEDGE area (why they call it that, I’ll never know; very confusing, IMO) scroll down until you see the goodie you want.
Click it. (This adds the item on to your pledge, hence the name ADD-ONS.)
DONE!
SHARE, LIKE, COMMENT!
Whether or not your disposable income is already disposed of— and I get it if it is, believe me!— please SHARE, LIKE and/or COMMENT on every IMP post you see. AS MANY AS YOU CAN! The more interaction these posts get, the higher they move up the almighty algorithm, the more people get to see them. New eyes are how we find new readers— and let people who already like IMP know there’s a new book on its way. (You’d be shocked how many fans don’t know! I hear from them after every Kickstarter ends. “Oh, no! Am I too late?!”)
You may have seen some IMP ads on Facebook, maybe some other places. I’m trying a company named Jellop, who have a nifty little animated logo:
I have to say, the results have been better than I expected. But I want you to know that SHARES, LIKES and COMMENTS on these ads count, too! EVERYTHING HELPS! In fact, I’ll make a deal with you:
Every time you leave a comment, I will reply to it!
Doesn’t have to be much. “Can’t wait!” or “I love IMP!” or “When are we going to see you naked at an awards ceremony, Karl?” (answer: when I have a body like John Cena’s). I keep pretty close track of my Social Media (Facebook, Twit/X, BlueSky) and Jellop lets me know every time someone comments on their ads— so the chances of me responding to you are very good.
So let’s hit the ground running in these FINAL, FATEFUL 48 HOURS! Let’s give it our all! Or, as Captain America once (in)famously said:
I didn’t know TIM SALE, but I certainly knew— and loved— his work. I always thought “Our paths will cross. There’s time.”
Except there wasn’t. Tim left us far too soon. Luckily, we will always have his amazing art to remember him by.
Part Zorro, part V For Vendetta, unlike either, BILLI 99 is from early in Tim’s career, and it’s astounding how well he had mastered the medium even then. Bold, deceptively simple, completely engaging, BILLI 99 deserves to be in every comic lover’s library.
