Table of Contents
Welcome Back (0:00)
Project Updates
Event Updates
Main Story
The Overlap (5:23)
New Printer for the New Series (06:53)
Bag and Board Blues (08:32)
Protection Racket (11:08)
Getting Readers In for #1 (12:38)
Lessons Learned (13:50)
Release Info & Updates
Upcoming on Substack (14:46)
Upcoming Conventions (15:07)
Pesto Comics Release Calendar (15:53)
Instant Ink Comic Book Podcast (16:31)
Super Secret Epilogue (17:06)
Welcome Back
It’s incredible how your perception of time can change completely depending what you’re going through. I feel like the campaign for From Parts Unknown #1 was months ago, when in reality it just wrapped up with the last packages going out last week. (Though there’s still about 5 backers who never provided addresses, so there’s a potential they fill out their surveys eventually.)
Fulfilling From Parts Unknown #1 while simultaneously launching Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1 has made everything feel a lot faster than in the past - but in the best way. If anything has felt like it’s “stealing” my attention, it’s the Instant Ink Comic Book Podcast. I do light edits, at best, but it still takes a lot of time nonetheless. I’ve watched each episode 3-4 times before it gets posted - time I would have otherwise used to write, letter comics or catch up on some reading.
Speaking of which, when I do get the time I’m catching up on Black Science and it’s been so good. If you’re not into zany sci-fi, this might be a bit much for you, but it’s very much in the “space opera” category. You don’t need to know why or how things work, just accept it and get absorbed by the trouble Grant drags his family and co-workers into. Things really start to pay off around the Godworld arc, particularly at the end with Rebecca’s story, and really do get better from there. I can’t recommend it enough.
Rick Remender puts his best work out with Giant Generator and has a great partner in Matteo Scalera with this series. If you haven’t read it before, there’s a few options to get caught up. I picked up hard copies at my local library, but you can also find it on GlobalComix.
Not that Remender or anyone else publishing with Image Comics needs my help in pushing their books. I’ve got my own to push.
And on that note…
Black Friday Sale! Free Shipping!
I’ve been getting some FOMO with all the Black Friday deals hitting my inbox lately. I’ve decided to join the fray.
From now until Sunday, use the super creative code BLACKFRIDAY on pestocomics.com and get free shipping!
Catch up on books you’ve missed - all send to your door. If From Parts Unknown #1 catches your eye after this newsletter entry, you can get it there!
All that said, there is still a great way to get an even better deal until Friday - and that’s by checking out Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1 on Kickstarter. I reserve my best deals for Kickstarter, through bundles, and shipping is included on these orders (with the exceptions of add-ons).
Either way, you’re getting these at as close to cost as I can get without losing my shirt. But just take my shirt! Take everything and get yourself some sweet deals at pestocomics.com through Sunday or on Kickstarter until Friday.
Speaking of Kickstarter…
Project Updates
Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1 Smashing Stretch Goals
I’ve added even more stretch goals as we’re barreling through them at a speedy pace. This book is getting thicker by the day and you can help make it even more so by showing your support before the campaign ends.
I'm very excited that folks are so into this book. It means a lot not just to me, but to all the authors that are involved.
The stories range from ‘sword & sorcery’ to straight ‘noir’ to zany ‘sci-fi’. These authors really did get the assignment and offer up some endlessly entertaining stories. You may not like every story, but I can more than guarantee that there's a story for you in this collection. Probably a few of them.
What’s been doing really well is the Kickstarter-Exclusive Hardcover Edition. I'm going to print this one to one based on what’s ordered, so this is the only chance to get it in this format. If you’re the type that likes to keep things pristine, you get a digital copy with it so you can read on your Kobo while keeping the spine of the hardcover uncracked.
Or heck, give it as a gift and keep the digital copy for yourself.
The good news is, with how well this is all done, I'm definitely going to do a volume two next year. Who knows, maybe we can make it even bigger - but that only happens with your support:
If you'd like to help us hit all the goals, you can find it on Kickstarter until Friday November 29th 6pm EST.
Prelaunch Coming Soon for NKW
I've received the first few coloured pages from JP and I'm very excited for how this is all coming together.
The book should be completed before the launch on January 8th. My goal is to get the Kickstarter prelaunch up by the next newsletter, but for now you can follow using the Backerkit prelaunch page:
More to come next week.
Naked Kaiju Woman launches on January 8th.
Event Updates
Wayside Comics & Cocktails Christmas Market!
The Christmas market has officially begun at Wayside. I’ve been following all the festivities on the Wayside’s Instagram at it’s getting me excited for my turn at the plate.
The last time I actually spent some time in the shop, I sat to have a beer, thinking I'd hang around for half hour or so, and ended up spending the entire afternoon there. It’s a really friendly and warm place that I can't wait to re-experience.
If you're in the Toronto area or it's more specifically Newmarket, you should come by to have a drink or a fancy coffee. (Omar also makes an excellent latte, by the way.)
Come by and chat about some comics. Plus, as a newsletter subscriber, I'll have a gift for you too, so be sure to come by.
Find me there on December 7th!
But first, let’s talk fulfillment…
Main Story
The Overlap
This is the first time I've been able to do overlapping campaigns on Kickstarter. It's a restriction for “new” creators on the platform. You must be both a “creator in good standing” and have successfully fulfilled four campaigns before launching your fifth. I, technically, did not qualify until after I fulfilled From Parts Unknown #1.
However, after speaking with the Kickstarter Trust & Safety Team, I was allowed to launch Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1 without having shipped out copies of From Parts Unknown to backers. It was very kind to them. Even more so, it's a testament to how your reviews clicking that happy face on the campaign page makes a big difference.
Overlapping campaigns are a huge benefit as they’ll allow me to launch campaigns a lot more frequently. If you’re a fan of Pesto Comics, but a wrestling comic isn’t your style - much like
Strilchuk let me know while we were chatting at Thought Bubble last weekend - I’ll surely have something more to your liking launching next year.
2025 is going to be absolutely huge. We’re talking 4-5x the current output. Much of this track was laid in 2024 with Daniel and JP working well ahead into the final issue of From Parts Unknown before Issue 2 is ever launched and Rafael ready to get into Issue 2 of Naked Kaiju Woman.
Fortunately, I’ve become pretty good at the overlap. Planning has been key. Knowing what needs to be done next and how to go about it really makes all the difference. Though there’s still been some room for experimentation…
New Printer for the New Series
If you’ve read my previous entries, you know I’ve used Mixam to print our comics. I’ve been really happy with the print quality. In fact, they've made some changes recently that may draw me back for future projects, lowering the threshold for offset printing and bringing the costs way down per issue. That said, it’s been a challenge to get help with things like variant covers - which I do for every campaign.
For Crazy Latte Thing Called Love, there was such a high threshold for doing offset printing that I've been saddled with a heavy inventory of every cover.
(Reminder: You can help me offload some of these by checking out the store and using the code BLACKFRIDAY until this Sunday.)
With From Parts Unknown #1, I didn't want to be in the same boat. I needed enough to have copies for future backers getting caught up when ordering issues 2, 3, 4 or 5 - but I didn't want to be stuck with hundreds of copies filling up my basement. As well as things have been going with each campaign, I'm still not at the point that I can do hundreds and hundreds of copies without feeling the cost of it.
That where my new printer, Copywell, comes in.
When I was speaking with Keith Grachow at Fan Expo Canada this year, he told me that he's used Copywell for all of his comics (a set of which I picked up - Saltwater was excellent and not just for the print quality).
Unlike Mixam, they're in one location that you can actually visit. The whole process with them was very smooth. They were always responsive, very quick to work with adjustments, and it was easy to pick up my books once the order was ready, rather than worrying about boxes ending up on my porch on a rainy Sunday.
The quality of their books are great too - though not without some issues that I didn’t anticipate…
Bag and Board Blues
The one unfortunate thing in switching to this new printer is that the comic is just a hair larger than it used to be. To the naked eye, you really can't tell the difference between this and a copy of from of Crazy Latte Thing Called Love…
…until you try to cram it into a bag and board.
The comic fits, but it does struggle. They're a little too tight and are liable to rip the bag if you're taking the comic out more than once or twice. If I'm being honest with you, I hope that's what's happening!
Not the bag ripping, but I hope everyone is sharing From Parts Unknown #1 with their friends and flipping through the art and seeing the amazing work by Daniel and JP. I hope it’s not spending too much time in that bag and board, basically.
This setback wasn't too big a deal as I ordered some new bags and boards from Comic Pro Line that are “silver-age sized”. They have an extra half an inch of width allowing the comics to glide in with ease.
Fortunately, with the boxes and boxes of Crazy Latte Thing Called Love copies I have sitting around, I have more than enough use for those smaller bags and boards. No waste is happening on this end.
Still, I do wish I planned that a little better, not unlike…
The Mini-Magnet and Other Stretch Goals
Usually I think of stretch goals during the campaign, instead of beforehand, which is not something I ever advise.
You should always plan and have an idea of what you’ll offer well in advance so you know you’re within your budget. It’s a good way to avoid things that you'll regret later. For example, the digest copy of Crazy Latte Thing Called Love.
This time I had a plan. I commissioned a extra piece of art from Luke Marrone right off the top when I got him to do the ‘joke’ cover. I had faith we would be able to hit the first stretch goal, so I was happy when we did. We got these cool little postcard-sized gags and everyone who contributed to the campaign got their hands on one.
I was very happy with the magnet from Crazy Latte Thing Called Love and wanted to repeat it with this campaign. My normal printer for these magnets is Jukebox Printing and I'm almost always happy with the results. I use them for my business cards, coasters, bookmarks - basically anything that isn't the main book.
Amazingly they had a special sale on magnets just at the time that I was getting ready to fulfill the project. I already knew what image I was going to use for the magnet itself, which was the cover and was ready to print. I thought I was using the same specs as Crazy Latte Thing Called Love and it turns out I went a little bit smaller. By little, I mean quite a bit smaller.
Don't get me wrong, I still really like how the magnet turned out, but it's not exactly what I imagined in my head. Given that these are extras, I don't think anybody's too upset with how they turned out.
There was one thing to be upset about, though…
Protection Racket
For every campaign that I've used Stallion Express for in the past, I've always included the “Stallion Protection”, which is an extra 10% or so, per package, on the cost of shipping. It’s not a lot of money. We're talking $0.50 to $0.75 a package. But that adds up when you're sending dozens and dozens of packages.
Not that I was looking to cut corners. I'm always happy to pay extra if it means the packages are going to get where they're meant to be going intact.
My problem was after the last campaign, when I did try to make a claim on a missing package, I had such a hard time doing so that it soured me on the whole protection aspect of things as it was impossible use the insurance. So many loopholes and the burden of proof was way too high.
I figured if the protection isn't actually offering any protection, why do it for this latest campaign?
That was a mistake.
A couple of backers had received their packages in some of the worst states that I've seen in the past four campaigns that I have done. Someone must have danced on these packages enroute.
I'm not one to feed into conspiracy or believe that any company is going to go out of their way for an extra $0.50, but I must have been lucky in the past as I’ve never seen packages damaged like the evidence these couple of backers sent me.
(FYI: If you received a damaged package, just let me know. We’ll sort it out.)
For the couple of packages that I resent, I was sure to reinforce them before sending again - cutting up some boxes to make an insert. It's an extra step, and it's a lot of manual work, but if it means that people will get their comics as expected, then I'm happy to do it.
Getting Readers In for #1
This is just the beginning of a five-part series.
For that reason, getting number one out there to as many human beings as possible is of the utmost importance. In the coming weeks, I'll be putting the digital copies available for sale on all the usual DRM-laden stores that you can find, like Amazon, Kobo, GlobalComix and Google Books. (If you want DRM-Free copies - those are exclusive to Kickstarter!)
I'm also making an effort to push this book as much as possible in person wherever I go. I really do believe in this series.
Any of you who have read it and saw the twist in the end know that things are going to get pretty wild going forward. It pays off in a huge way while getting more intense with each page.
If you think there wasn't enough wrestling in this wrestling comic, don't worry! You’ll see a lot more of that in upcoming issues. And if you think there wasn't enough horror in this horror book, once again, that'll be ramping up too!
The end goal is to get this in as many hands as possible before the launch of Issue 2 in February.
(Last reminder: If you haven’t read it, get it shipped to you free using the code BLACKFRIDAY at pestocomics.com)
Lessons Learned
My mother always repeats a version a phrase, basically about of being “penny-wise and pound-foolish”.
I think that's a little bit of what I did in this campaign when it came to fulfillment. I'll be putting in not only the extra effort, but also a little bit of extra funding to make sure that everyone gets their copies as expected. Moreover, I’ll make sure stretch goals are budgeted so that there's no surprises at the end of the campaign.
I thank all of you who backed this one. I truly believe it’s the start of something really special.
We'll do this all again very shortly, as Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1 is almost wrapped up with just two days to go in the campaign. I'm excited to keep things rolling with Naked Kaiju Woman launching in January - after a small break for the holiday season.
I’ll still be here though, every Wednesday, as usual. I still have a lot to share and happy to have you to share it all with. For the Americans still reading, have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Until next time…
Release Info & Updates
Upcoming on Substack
December 4
Getting the Reps In
Reviewing NaNoWriMo - or whatever we're calling it now
December 11
An Ode to My Cat, Oliver
He's the most handsome
December 18
Post-Mortem: Big Smoke Pulp
Reviewing the first non-comic project by Pesto Comics
Upcoming Appearances
Pesto Comics Release Calendar
Instant Ink Comic Book Podcast
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