Welcome Back
It’s been a simultaneously long and short ride for From Parts Unknown. The series is coming to an end just under a year after it has launched with a total of 116 pages behind 14 covers through 4 campaigns.
That’s a pretty decent feat for any independent creator.
Still, I’m feeling a nervousness I haven’t felt about a launch since Unlimited Udo. If you were here last week, you’ll know that FPU3 was a mild setback. Much of it was my own doing, from moving too quickly between issues 2 and 3, to not putting much of any effort into promoting it.
That changes with From Parts Unknown #4.
I’ve done the podcast circuit. I’m putting a bit of money into Instagram ads. I’m more active than ever on Twitter, BlueSky and Instagram (and have seen my follower counts slowly growing on each). I’m doing everything I can to send this series out the way I had hoped it would launch.
I’ve also made a couple small shifts in the way I run my campaigns. Some were forced upon me and others were put in place to try and mitigate it.
Before we get into that, let’s look at the week that was…
Worklog Updates
This week, I:
Finalized the FPU4 campaign and LAUCNHED!
Launched call for entries on bigsmokepulp.com for BSPv2
Realigned the calendar for 2025, pushing Project Hollywood back and Naked Kaiju Woman 2 up (The inks for NKW2 are nearly done!)
Developed a new novella, Project Hop, as a straight-to-KU project
This is the plan for next week:
Continue work on pestocomics.com & pulpwriterly.com
Finalize outline for new project: Project Hop
Rework the outline for Project Hollywood
For some ongoing projects…
Project Updates
Here’s what’s going on right now:
From Parts Unknown #4 launched TODAY.
Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1 is available on KU from now through August.
40 incredible stories from 40 excellent authors - including yours truly.
The Call for Entries for Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 2 are now open! If you have a short story, under 5000 words, send it my way. You can find out more by clicking the link.
As mentioned in the Worklog updates, Project Hollywood has been pushed out to October. Naked Kaiju Woman 2 will be taking its place in the Kickstarter calendar.
Project Hop, a shorter work than Project Hollywood, is planned to be completed before Word on the Street in September. It will go straight to Kindle Unlimited digitally, but paperbacks will be available widely. More to come on this project very soon.
Now let’s talk about what’s live for launch TODAY!
Main Story
It’s Finally Time
With this series, I was really trying to replicate the feeling of going to the LCS. I like the idea that you could finish your copy of From Parts Unknown #2 and find the next one on Kickstarter right away.
The truth is that shipping internationally and small teams like ours have a really hard time making it all happen (there’s three of us plus 2-3 variant cover artists for each). Don’t get me wrong, this was primarily my fault. I control the timelines and the launch dates - and it was my decision to speed things out based on how on top of everything Daniel and JP were.
I’ve learned my lessons. From Parts Unknown #4 had more than enough time to cook. It’s the best issue yet for a multitude of reasons. One of which is how we approached the finale.
What Happened to Issue #5?
From Parts Unknown #4 is the combination of what was #4 and #5. After careful consideration, I decided to combine these two issues into one mega volume. There’s a clear cliffhanger on page 22, which was the original ending of Issue 4, but I didn’t want to break that pace.
The last pages are the most action-packed we’ve had. I wanted to have the story pay off the slow build through issues 1-3 and having it in one massive, chaotic issue felt like the right choice - even if it meant missing out on some potential revenue by splitting it up.
Other Changes to the Campaign
Aside from combining 4 and 5 into a massive Issue 4, I’ve made four changes to how the campaign will run:
1. Shipping No Longer Included
I had a tradition of baking the shipping costs into the price of each tier. This wasn’t very risky at the time. Shipping prices were stable and pretty even across the board.
Until Section 321 was changed.
Although the comics are printed in Canada and shipped from Canada, we saw a huge rise in shipping costs (or, in some cases, halted shipping) due to the constant flux and change regarding tariffs.
Thanks to this, I’ve gone back to using Kickstarter’s shipping calculator which will include shipping at checkout based on your country. I still couldn’t bring myself to do it post-campaign, which would put all the risk on backers, but I needed to mitigate it a bit as I lost quite a chunk of change on shipping with the last two books.
2. I’m a Gemini
I’m technically a “cusper” Gemini-Taurus, but that’s beyond the point.
Using Shippsy, a Stallion Express service in reverse, I’ve been able to source some Gemini mailers using their US address. This should the resolve the handful of cases where backers were getting their comics aggressively folded and crumpled by mail carriers. It’s long overdue.
3. Secret Rewards
If you made it this far, click this link to save 20% on a catch-up tier:
If you’ve backed any of From Parts Unknown in the past, check your email as there’s more.
This new system on Kickstarter has made it a lot easier to reward long-time backers, newsletter readers and more with special rewards and discounts only available via a special link.
It’s my first time using this tool, so we’ll see how well it does. For situations like a series, where readers may have dropped off, I see it as a great opportunity to try and get them back onboard.
4. Lower Pricing Overall
On the face of it, prices look a lot lower. That’s misleading as the shipping will bring that price back up — but still lower than it’s been on previous campaigns.
The cost of printing has gone down a little bit, somehow, and I’ve decided to pass that savings on. It might make it a little harder to clear a profit on this campaign, but the goal is to get the book in as many hands as possible rather than make money on it (though, I’m still hoping to long term.)
Again, if you’ve back in the past, check your email. I make it right for those who paid a bit more on previous campaigns.
What’s Available This Time?
If you’ve ever backed a Pesto Comics campaign, you will have a good sense of what’s on offer. I do my best to estimate prices from the most frequent backer zones (those of you from Australia and New Zealand can look at the Canadian dollar as we’re nearly par) and I always stack reward levels.
Let’s go through what’s “readily” available on the page.
(Don’t forget about that secret reward!)
If you don’t want to deal with shipping and you’ve read the first three issues of From Parts Unknown, this tier is for you.
(Though, you should check your email for another secret reward.)
Daniel provided two excellent covers for this campaign. One main cover with full colour from JP Jordan and a second black & white variant. We’re keeping these at the same price to celebrate Daniel’s (and JP’s) achievement on this book.
For the first time in the series, I put out an open call for variant cover artists. Though I ended up going to Riccardo Faccini again, after his recent variant on Issue #3, I got to work with two new artists in Henry Saints and ThisMightyDimo. They brought some very different sensibilities to the book.
For those who are new to From Parts Unknown, backers can find the entire series at a very, very affordable price. There’s almost no reason not to back at this level.
Unless you want more all of it. For just a few dollars more, you’re getting double the comics in your inbox. This is all in the name of spreading the joy of Pesto Comics to as many backers as possible.
For those that missed the series entirely, we have the physical catch-up tier including every main cover in the series so far - plus digital versions. This tier isn’t for you, dear reader, as we still have the…
If you’ve backed any of From Parts Unknown in the past, check your email as there’s more.
If you like these covers as much as I do, you can get all of them sent to you at a nice discount - along with a digital copy if you prefer to keep your bagged and boarded comics pristine.
If you’re new to Pesto Comics and want the books in your hands, well there’s a tier for that too. Get one copy of every comic book we’ve released thus far, plus digital copies for each,.
If you really want to jump into the series with both feet, you can get every version of From Parts Unknown at a great discount. That’s 14 covers in one bundle, plus digital copies of each. This is for the completists out there.
Unless you’re talking about this pack. Get everything we’ve released (minus a couple of covers that have since been sold out) all in one gigantic box. For this tier, you get the option to pay in installments plus I might throw in an extra few trinkets for your dedication to the cause.
Now, you might ask…
Is There Going To Be a Collection?
Full disclosure: Yes - but not for a while.
If you know me at all, you know I’m a planner. My 2026 release schedule is nearly set and the From Parts Unknown Trade Paperback is well past 15 months from this campaign.
I have so many new projects planned, including Project Hollywood, Project Cut, Project Hop and a couple more I’m settling on, which I’ll share soon, plus the rest of Naked Kaiju Woman and the next entry of Big Smoke Pulp. Those will take precedence over a trade of any sort.
If you want to read this book, now is the time to get it - or be ready to wait a while.
So, Wait, What’s It About?
On the surface, this is a story of vampires and pro-wrestling.
I’ve gone into the inspiration behind From Parts Unknown at length in the past, but it’s my ode to brotherhood. This series was spawned on long drives with my brother to Detroit and beyond. Seeing it come to a conclusion feels surreal, even if the release schedule felt too quick at times.
Bruno, Pietro and Cindy fighting for their lives (and you know how much I mean that if you’ve been reading) while a vampire brood, headed by Big Jim D’Orso, attacks them from all angles. Sheriff Ross tries to keep the crowds under control as chaos reigns inside and out of the arena.
This ending is everything we’ve been building towards and you won’t see it coming. I can’t wait for you to read it.
I’ll be back on Saturday to talk about selling comics here in Canada and back next week to do an update of all the wonderful artists I’ve worked with. I’ll be pushing this campaign all month here and on the socials.
Any shares, likes and otherwise are always appreciated.
Until next time…
Upcoming and More
Coming Up on the Substack
Saturday July 5
Pesto Comics (Paid)
The Canadian Comics Scene
Happy (belated) Canada Day!
Wednesday July 9
Pesto Comics (Free)
Artists I've Worked With
…and an overdue guide on how to find work as an artist with Pesto Comics (and beyond)
Wednesday July 16
Pesto Comics (Free)
Look Up!
Did James Gunn finally do Superman justice?
Upcoming Appearances
Release Calendar
Pesto Comics
Kickstarter
From Parts Unknown #4 - Live NOW through August 1, 2025
Naked Kaiju *** (NKW#2) - August 20 to September 19, 2025
Project Cut #1 - January 7 to February 6, 2026
Naked Kaiju ****** (NKW#3) - April 8 to May 8, 2026
Project Cut #2 - May 27 to June 26, 2026
Pulp Writerly Books
Kickstarter
Project Hollywood #1 - October 8 to October 31, 2025
Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 2 - November 19 to December 12, 2025
Project Hollywood #2 - February 25 to March 20, 2026
Project Love - July 15 to August 7, 2026
Project Hollywood #3 - August 26 to September 18, 2026
Kindle Unlimited (Digital)*
Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1 - Available Now until August 11, 2025
Project Hollywood #1 - November 30, 2025 to February 28, 2026
Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 2 - January 11 to April 11, 2026
Project Hollywood #2 - April 19 to July 18, 2026
Project Love - September 6 to December 5, 2026
Project Hollywood #3 - October 10 to January 16, 2027
*Books will all go Wide (Kobo, Apple, Google, etc.) the day after the Kindle Unlimited window closes.
Physical copies will be available post-campaign on PulpWriterly.com and digital copies when wide.
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