Pesto Comics - Audio Edition

Round 2: From Parts Unknown

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Round 2: From Parts Unknown

The first issue 2 of Pesto Comics launches today

Adriano Ariganello

Feb 19, 2025

Transcript

Welcome Back (00:00)
Main Story
- Letting the Cat Out of the Bag (02:14)
- Not Getting Ahead of Ourselves (03:21)
- Shouldn't I Just Wait for Issue 5? (04:03)
- What Makes Issue 2 Special? (04:33)
- What's Available This Campaign? (05:36)
- What If I Live in Timbuktu? (08:43)
- When Can I Expect Everything? (09:23)
- For Those That Don't like Comics, Wrestling, Vampires, or Otherwise (09:49)
Updates
- Coming Up on the Substack (10:44)
- Upcoming Appearances (11:07)
- Pesto Comics Release Calendar (12:22)
- Instant Ink Comic Book Podcast (13:33)
Super Secret Epilogue (14:20)

Welcome Back

It's launch day!

'From Parts Unknown #2' on Kickstarter

It's a very interesting time in my nascent crowdfunding career. In my previous campaigns, I was limited to having only one campaign at a time until it was completely fulfilled. Now, as a creator in good standing with more than four successful campaigns completely fulfilled, I can have up to five at a time with pending orders.

My goal is to never let this get too out of hand. Right now, Big Smoke Pulp (prints in production, digitally delivered) and Naked Kaiju Woman (funds just cleared, printers engaged) are pending fulfillment. Even with just these two campaigns, I’ve run into a couple of snags.

It’s Murphy’s Law: If things can go wrong, they will go wrong.

My intent was to get Big Smoke Pulp in everyone's hands a month ago. There have been a couple of mistakes on my end that led to delays. First is adding a thank you page, which then caused the delay of having to collect names for via survey. Not everyone seems to care about getting the books out as quickly as I do.

Second is that when all that was finally settled and I thought I was ready to go to the printers, the printer itself then had an issue with the paper format. There were some changes required with the artwork and all of the interior pages.

Nonetheless, that book will be in backers hands very soon as I expect to receive the prints in my hands next week.

Naked Kaiju Woman should be a lot smoother. I'm dealing with a local printer that did a great job with From Parts Unknown #1 and I feel a lot more comfortable fulfilling comics in general.

All of this to say, I'm very excited for what I have to share with you today. It's the first issue #2 for a series by Pesto Comics, even though this will be our 7th Kickstarter campaign.

The first one did well but I am hoping we could build on the success of Naked Kaiju Woman and From Parts Unknown #1 to make issue 2 a smashing success…

'From Parts Unknown #2' on Kickstarter

Main Story

Letting the Cat Out of the Bag

SPOLIERS: If you want to keep Issue 1 unspoiled, skip to the next section..

I'll get into this concept in a broader sense next week, but the biggest challenge I had with selling From Parts Unknown #1 was that I couldn't actually tell people what it was about without spoiling the final pages of the first issue.

I really wanted that to remain a surprise. It's the first act in a larger story and now that it’s out there, there's no harm in letting people know exactly what it's about:

Pro-Wrestling Vampires.

I was being very quiet about it with issue one, usually saying that “there's something mysterious happening” and Bruno and Pietro would have to fight for their lives to escape. I wasn't saying what the threat was nor do the first few pages of issue 1.

I wanted everyone to get to know the trio of Bruno, Pietro and Cindy before diving into the undead of it all. I made sure that issue 1 picks up with some wild fighting scenes and tension filled introductions.

Now that the true conflict is out there, things really do start to pick up.

Not Getting Ahead of Ourselves

This is issue 2 of a 5 issue series. Although a lot of readers like to wait for the trade, serializing the book is the only way this is feasible as an independent comic creator (and making sure the artists involved, Daniel and JP, get paid).

Personally, I would love to release everything as a slick 120-page graphic novel, but it wouldn’t reach nearly the same audience with a one-off campaign. The trick with growth Kickstarter is to have something available more often than not. The best way to do that is to serialize the book.

Fortunately, the Kickstarter community is very supportive of this method of releasing books. We’re doing our part in making sure the entire book is ready and available to come out on a clear timeline.

Shouldn't I Just Wait For Issue 5?

You could certainly do that, but there's always going to be things that are exclusive to each campaign.

Not to mention: the best time to get variant covers for each issue are going to be during the live campaign itself. I always make sure to overprint the main cover, but the variant covers are a limited amount. I print just enough so I have some for tables and a handful for future campaigns.

Once they sell out, they sell out.

If there's one that catches your eye, the campaign is the time to grab it.

What Makes Issue 2 Special

We've got a new variant cover artist on board: Francesco Sala. He's providing not just one, but two variant covers this time out. He offered so many unique and different options that I didn't feel that it was right to hide those from the world.

Not just that: we also have the excellent main cover from interior artist Daniel Caval and colorist JP Jordan.

Beyond the covers - on the inside pages, the story truly ramps up as Bruno has to live with what he's done at the end of issue 1. He tries to convince Pietro to leave what it's sure to be a packed house. It isn’t as easy as you would think. Cindy also seems to be motivated to convince them to stay, but it's unclear why.

Outside the building, the mystery deepens with the sheriff as he tries to calm the ornery crowd. They know what happens to their town every time this show is put on, and they want the sheriff to stop it. So why won't he?

Referee Ted knows more than he’s letting on.

We finally get to the ring with one last surprise leading into Issue 3 — which will be hitting Kickstarter shortly after Issue 2 releases!

What’s Available This Campaign

Here’s a quick walkthrough of everything you can get your hands on:

I always like to provide a tier for the folks that want to support but don't necessarily care to read the comic. In the past, I’ve offered a grab bag including all kinds of extras from previous campaigns.

I've decided to step it up this time. Instead of campaign leftovers, I'll be creating something entirely new.

With the success of the enamel pin from Naked Kaiju Woman, we’ll have a new pin for From Parts Unknown.

This tier doesn't come with the comic, but if you still want the pin, it will be available as an add-on with any of the comic rewards.

For the digital supporters, we have the usual DRM-free digital tier.

For those of you who missed Issue 1, we have a “catch-up” digital bundle that includes both Issues 1 and 2.

If you want the comic in your hands, the main cover by Daniel Caval and JP Jordan is our entry tier. Of course, this includes a digital copy and shipping is included.

As previously mentioned, we have our two variant covers by Francesco Sala. Digital copy included with those too.

For those of you that prefer physical comics but didn't pick up the first issue, we have a physical “catch up” tier that includes both main covers of issue 1 and issue 2 — and digital copies of both.

For the collectors out there, you can get all three covers plus a digital copy at a great discount. This will be the best way to get these covers, both in terms of cost and potentially availability.

For those collectors that sat out the first issue, we have the “All Parts Unknown” tier that comes with every cover from Issue 1 and 2.

For those of you that have not been around for Pesto Comics previous releases, or maybe you just missed the first handful of books, you can catch up digitally with the Pesto Comics Digital Pack. This includes every comic book that we have released thus far.

And for those of you that need more reading in your life, that includes not only the all the comics we've produced, but also a copy of Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1.

If digital isn't your style and you want to pick up everything physically, we also have the Pesto Comics Starter Pack. This gives you the main cover for every book, plus a copy of From Parts Unknown #2. Of course, this comes with digital copies of everything.

Much like the Digital Starter Pack, you can also pick up the Pesto Comics + Book Starter Pack that includes everything in the previous tier plus a paperback copy of Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1.

What if you're new to Pesto Comics and want to get caught up real quick? There's an easy answer to that.

Pick up the The Pesto Comics Pack. This includes 20 comics. Every available cover of Unlimited Udo, Stay Cool, Crazy Latte Thing Called Love, Naked Kaiju Woman and both issues of From Parts Unknown - with digital copies of all.

And, of course, there’s The Pesto Comics + Book Pack. It includes the previously mentioned comics and a paperback copy of Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1. It’s a big box of books, delivered straight to your door.

Now, you may be asking…

What if I live in Timbuktu?

Much to my chagrin sometimes, I offer “all in shipping”.

What this means is what you see is what you pay.

As much as it would be easier to charge after the campaign with whatever the shipping ends up being, my goal is just to get this comic in the hands of as many people as humanly possible, even if it's sometimes at my expense.

More importantly, this is a special thing I only do for those that support during a Kickstarter campaign. If you pick up these comics after the fact at my website or elsewhere, I do not include shipping.

Getting the books during a Kickstarter campaign is always going to be your best deal possible.

When Can I Expect Everything?

Issue 2 is ready for print. (So is Issue 3. Issue 4 is being coloured and Issue 5 is being inked.)

That means that Issue 2 has been done for a while yet. When the funds clear, this book is going straight to print and getting out to backers.

You won't be waiting very long. Nor will you be waiting very long for the campaign for #3 to launch so you aren’t left waiting for a resolution to the cliffhanger.