SECOND Update for International Backers
almost 4 years ago – Sun, May 24, 2020 at 04:01:24 PM

Hello again, Backers!

Once again, I'm addressing only the international backers receiving rewards outside the United States. I'm sure you're wondering why you haven't yet received your shipment notifications! I received an answer straight from UPS...

The virus situation is causing all sort of worldwide shipping problems! For a reason not yet clear to me, UPS is sending many bulk international shipments via commercial airlines. For a package to get on a commercial jet, it must first be cleared by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Apparently the agency is dragging their feet a bit on getting us approval.

While we wait for the TSA to get our clearance numbers allowing packages to go out, I'm looking into two other shipping options juuuuust in case we can't get a timely response:

• Upgrade to more costly UPS international standard, or...
• Freight all packages to England to ship from there via Royal Mail.

I'm researching both options and will follow up with you asap. Since it's Friday (and Monday is a holiday here in the States), I won't have a definite answer until early next week. The good news there is that it'll give the TSA a bit more time to get us approval. If that happens, your packages will go out straight away.

Trust me when I say that we're doing everything we can to get your rewards to you!

I'll be in touch soon!

~Dave

Shipping update for international backers
almost 4 years ago – Fri, May 15, 2020 at 03:35:27 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Keep an eye out... your rewards are on their way!
almost 4 years ago – Fri, May 08, 2020 at 01:38:14 AM

Hey Backers:

The big moment has arrived! You've waited a looooong time for this and we MADE IT! Are you excited? W-whadya mean "no?!"

Some orders went out today. The rest will ship out over the next several days. You should be receiving an email from our shipping partner with tracking info you can update pointlessly every two minutes, wondering why it doesn't just say "delivered" already! The email will have a subject line reading "Package on the way!" from the sender "M Pack Solutions."

Oh! I heard there may be some sort of virus thingie going around causing delays. So I suppose things could take a bit longer to get to you. Please be patient, but if you don't receive a tracking email within the next week or two, hit me up and we'll track down your order. We'll make sure you get your goodies!

Ready for some M Pack-ful News?!

Because you've been so wonderfully patient, I've upgraded us to a much better shipping method. I've taken on a fulfillment partner, M Pack Solutions, based in Tennessee. (Just down the road from the book printer!)

We've also upgraded to a large cardboard shipping cartoon with overlapping sides. There are no exposed or open corners (which you sometimes get with book mailers) and no cheap-o plastic shipping bags. The boxes are oversized and will be packed with bubble wrap to ensure the corners of the books won't get dinged up in shipment (a common problem with hardbound books). Check it:

M Pack uses a process they call the "shake test." After packing, they shake the box. If they hear any movement, they open it and stuff in more bubble wrap! The real question is what you'll enjoy more: reading the book or popping all those bubbles.

International UPS-grade!

Yes, that was my worst pun yet.

If you recall during the campaign, we planned to work with a UK fulfillment partner to keep costs low for international backers. Basically, I'd freight stuff to them and they then ship from the UK, which allows for much cheaper shipping--especially for European backers.

The problem with this method is the freight process to England would take at least 3-4 weeks extra. Then there's the time needed to get everything packed and shipped out via the Royal Mail. Further, the shipping cost doesn't cover tracking info so I'd worry about lost packages.

I feel you've all waited long enough so I've elected to ship all international orders from the States! This will cut about a month of waiting for international backers, will ensure you get tracking info (where possible), and we're using UPS for international shipments! UPS is expensive but more reliable for overseas shipments. Especially ones with precious cargo like comics starring a chameleon and bat.

But, this comes at a major cost... an extra few thousand dollars or so. You're worth it. I really want you to be happy and satisfied. UK backer orders in particular cost an extra $17 USD each! It's a loss, but I want backers to be satisfied (and this will also remove lots of worrying about shipping reliability). Don't say Dave never did nothing for ya!

Shrink Wrap? More like Enlarge Wrap!

 Yes, that was my worst joke yet.

So, guess what?! Each book has been individually shrink-wrapped! If the secure boxes and extensive bubble wrapping isn't enough to protect the books, the shrink-wrap will complete the job. Further, it'll make your copy all the more collectable! But don't forget... I want you to actually read and enjoy the book! Please rip that sucker open and don't just keep it in the wrap forever. That would be a sad thing...

Foiled Again!

We did have to make one design change that will be disappointing for some backers... while we did keep the sculptured embossing on the covers, we decided to cut the holographic foil. Actually, we were kinda forced to cut it. But this isn't such bad news. Read on...

In a previous update, I shared some details about problems the book printer had trying to get the foil to work. We tried every possible solution but, ultimately, were unable to make this particular combo work without resulting in a very ugly thing called "delamination." Trust me... you don't want that to happen to your precious collectibles! Basically, the super shiny gloss lamination doesn't adhere to the foil after it goes through the high heat and pressure embossing machine. So, even a light scratch results in ugly air bubbles appearing. Think of a screen protector with gunk under it. We can't have that!

The worst part is they had already printed every cover with the issue! As you can imagine, this caused a lot of problems and unpleasant conversations. But the choice had to be made. I asked the printer to scrap all the printed covers and remake them without the foil. They were thrilled with me that day, let me tell you.

The only other option was to completely pull out of the deal with this manufacturer, start over from scratch with another one overseas (which would have added 4 more months of waiting...or longer). Even then, there would be no guarantee they could do better. So... really not much of an option.

Well, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The holo rainbow effect is cool when it works but it only shows up about 5%-10% of the time when you're in the right lighting. The rest of the time, it sort of dulls the colors of everything underneath. Check out these un-retouched photos comparing two cover samples to see what I mean (left with holo foil, right without): 

I know there's a way to do this process correctly and I will try to implement it on future books. I hope no one's too disappointed but this was really the only feasible decision and I do think the book looks better without it.

Backer Edition

There was one error made on the books. The cover plant stamped each copy of the Kickstarter run with the "Backer Edition" logo. I see this as a good thing. This will make every copy in this run all the more special. I just don't want anyone concerned if they see a copy in the wild with the backer edition logo and no gilded edges.

For Backer Edition backers, your copies remain distinguished by the best gold gilding I've ever seen on a book. As promised, no copies of this edition will ever be printed again with this stunning feature!

Speaking of Backer Edition backers, I also upgraded your signed bookplates to include beautiful gold foil! They look fantastic against the inside cover endleaves:

Still Reading?!

There's still more info to share and I could fill many more updates with everything that's happened over the course of development. That'll have to wait.

In the meantime...

...let me take this moment to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your support made this possible. YOU made this project a reality. It was made for YOU. It's so important to me that you love it! Oh... and make sure you read the "Author's Note" in the back of the book. ;)

Let me know what you think! We'll be in touch!

~Dave

Addresses LOCKED this Sunday, April 26th
almost 4 years ago – Sun, Apr 26, 2020 at 10:10:09 AM

Hey there, Backers!

Exciting subject line, eh?! Looks like, pending a final check, our books are finally printed and ready to ship! I'll be posting more details on that soon, but for now, I want to focus on the immediate task at hand...

...shipping addresses for rewards are being LOCKED DOWN this coming Sunday, April 26th at 1:00pm Eastern Time! 

Don't say I didn't warn you! If you need to modify your address in any way, this is the absolute last possible chance to do so! If your shipping details are missing or inaccurate after this date and we ship out your rewards to the provided address, I cannot guarantee you will receive a replacement!

How to change your address:

If you need to make a change, or just want to check on the address you have on file, you can access it through your BackerKit survey which was emailed to you in the past. A quick email search should turn it up.

Can't find your survey email? No worries! Tomorrow, around 1:00pm Eastern Time, you'll be emailed an address lockdown notice from BackerKit with a link to edit your shipping info. The email will display the address we currently have on file. If you need to change it, make sure to do so before 1:00pm Eastern Time on Sunday.

If you have any issues, you can always message me directly!

You have all been so wonderfully patient. That patience will soon be rewarded!

~Dave

The End is Nigh! (In a Good Way)
about 4 years ago – Sat, Feb 29, 2020 at 10:58:10 PM

Hey Backers!

I'm sorry it's been far too long since our last update! I usually like to time these when I have definitive good news for you but I also realize that it is important to fill you in on the troubles we're facing as well, if not moreso!

This update will... ahem... cover the nitty gritty details of the many frustrating issues plaguing the completion of the book cover, the only remaining task before the rewards are shipped to you!

Quick notes:

• The book interior pages and endleaves, ancillary products... everything is finished and ready... except the book cover. More details below.
• I'm likely going to work with shipping company M-Pack to speed up and better organize fulfillment of orders. This will be a big cost increase and I'm waiting on final pricing to ensure there's enough money in the budget. More details below.
• The book production has taken the printing plant about three times longer than originally estimated. This being my first publishing endeavor, I'm not sure how common this problem is, but I'm extremely dissatisfied by the delays.

The Book

As mentioned above, the plant did an amazing job with the pages and end-leaves. The paper is really nice and soft despite being very thick and sturdy. I really haven't felt much better paper! 

As for the cover with its combination of special effects... the issue is, simply put, that the plant did not effectively test this particular combination of materials in advance and they are not jiving together. It's complicated. Bear with me...

Because we're stamping the book cover with a very deep sculptural deboss, tremendous pressure is put on the materials. This can easily destroy the very thin holographic foil, so a layer of laminate must be laid down first (so I'm told). BUT, the laminate doesn't effectively adhere to the foil, causing it to be easily scratched resulting in delamination. There are also airbubbles in the small crevices that resemble the sort of bubbles you get under an improperly-attached screen protector. Check out the photos below to see what I mean:

To make matters worse, the plant is still not entirely convinced they know how to solve this. They're in the process of conducting tests, including reversing the order of foil and laminate. We'll see what they come up with but we need a solution quickly.

Regardless of the method used, they will need to reprint the entire run of covers (not as time consuming as it sounds) and I'm having loads of fun discussions with them over who is paying for this process.

The bottom line: these covers are unacceptable for backers. You paid for something very special and that's what you're gonna get. Period. The good news is that, once the problem is solved and the covers reprinted, it should only take a few days to attach them to the books and they'll (finally) be out the door!

Shipping... M-Pack to the Rescue!

If you recall waaaaaaay back during the campaign period, I mentioned working with a fulfillment partner in England to ensure (comparably) low-cost shipping options for international backers. But this would add a lot of extra waiting for those backers as the books need to be freighted to England before being packed and shipped out via the Royal Mail.

We haven't signed the paperwork, but I've been working on setting up a relationship with shipping company M-Pack to get most, if not all orders out to you. They offer a wonderful level of quality and organization, ensuring that every backer receives notice when their package ships as well as tracking numbers when possible. If they take on fulfillment, the books will be inspected, bubble wrapped, and packed in shipping sleeve to keep the items as safe as possible during shipping. Also, because M-Pack is so close to Jostens (the book printer), they can pick up the books the same day they're finished and shipped out immediately.

Even better, we might be using UPS for international orders, which is significantly more reliable than the USPS.

Again, it's not a done deal as I'm still waiting on pricing from them to ensure we can actually afford to use their services, but as long as it's not out of our budget, things are looking good!

Stay tuned...

Obviously, this is a frustrating update. You have been exceedingly patient. I wish things could move faster but the remaining production tasks are, unfortunately, out of my control. I did consider cancelling the production with the book printer due to how many issues had come up (many of which I've not listed here), but it would require me to start from scratch with another printer, likely overseas, which would add way more time (about five months total)! At this point, the only real option is to stick it out with the current partner and see things through to completion. At the end of the day, I'm responsible for all aspects of this project and I'm ashamed that things are taking so long.

Despite these issues, I remain very confident the end result will be gorgeous and you'll be thrilled when you open your package!

More updates soon...

~D.M. Cumbo