It’s been 15 months since we hit our funding goal for Shaolin Nun #3, and we’re finally ready to roll out the Kickstarter for issue #4!
This time around, I'm shooting for $7,000. My costs have gone up all around, and did that right when I wanted to publish and ship, putting me well into the red.
I’d also like to reach that $7k sooner rather than later. For the very least to help with my mental health! Last time, we piked in just a few days before the campaign closed:
The time from September 1 to October 23, I easily put on 10 lbs from stress eating. It would be really cool to hit our funding goal in the first week, and spend the rest of the time trying to reach stretch goals. I’ve got some neat prizes lined up for every $500 we make above the initial $7K. Prizes for both digital and physical reward backers! So tell a friend, tell your family, tell total strangers to go to shaolinnun.com/kickstarter, and back the book this week!
OH! I’ll once again offer early-bird discounts on the collected editions of issues #1-#4 during the first week. I’ve also reduced the price per book from $25 to $10, at the recommendation from my awesome inker and Kickstarter master, Laurie Foster, in the hopes that it will drive more people to back us.
Now, here’s one more incentive…
I will give everyone who backs us at a physical (printed) level on our first day, January 16, a FREE Mei Yin sticker.
All four issues are available for those who have missed out on the first three Kickstarters. We’ll also have t-shirts, guest appearances, and prize bundles! Plus, add-ons after you’ve selected a reward!
It's been over a year since our last Kickstarter! In that time, we were able to get issue #3 completed and sent by the summer of 2022. As we were finishing the issue, Greg Maldonado let me know he was leaving the series as penciller, but recommended a fellow Milestone Initiative participant, Tiah Ankum to take over the interior art for future issues. We tried her out and WOW! Check out some of her amazing pencils!
Tiah's "Try-out" page. You can see why we hired her.
Buddha's enlightenment
You could be a guest on this page!
For fans of Greg's work, we have some exciting joint projects coming in the near future, and he will be providing alterate covers for future issues of The Shaolin Nun!
Where's my t-shirt/stuff?
There are six of you that still need to get t-shirts. I apologize for the delay. You should receive an email on or around January 13 or 14 from TeePublic letting you know that your t-shirt order has been placed. For the rest of you, make sure you COMPLETED YOUR Backerkit Survey (https://shaolin-nun.backerkit.com/) so I can mail you your order.
In the meantime...
Get excited! Get ready! I need to raise $7,000 this round. I've also been encouraged to lower my prices to bring in even more backers. This doesn't diminish the value of your books, it just means we can keep this series going! I would love to raise over $10,000, but I can't do that without your support and sharing the pre-launch link with everyone you know and don't know! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jccarter/the-shaolin-nun-4
November Update and T-shirt Delays
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Nov 14, 2022 at 09:18:06 PM
I had hoped to launch the next Kickstarter this month, but it doesn't look like the artwork will be at the level of "done" I was hoping for in time, so we'll likely be launching issue #4 in January instead of November. Meanwhile, our new interior artist, Tiah Ankum, is killing it with the pages she's sending me! Here's a sample of her awesome work:
Shaolin Nun #4, page 6 pencils by Tiah Ankum.
That's great. Now, where's my t-shirt?
As you know, t-shirts are ordered and sent separately from an outside vendor. This vendor has had the same inflation and supply-chain issues as every other vendor post pandemic. So although I was able to send out some t-shirts, I haven't been able to send them all, as I ran out of money much faster this time when I started ordering them (it's amazing how quickly a few dollars more per shirt adds up). This means I need to free up some extra money in order to afford to send the rest. I'm hoping to have them all shipped by the end of the year.
A couple of you may be contacted as they don't seem to have the colors they once had in every size. If I do contact you, please reply as promptly as you can.
Next campaign, I'll be working with a new t-shirt vendor. The t-shirts will all be the same, new logo design and black, with only the size you order being the differentiator. This vendor will let me order the number I need at a much better price, and send the shirts directly to me. Then, I'll be able to ship them along with your comics, saving me both money and hassle.
August Update - Shipping schedule!
over 1 year ago
– Mon, Aug 15, 2022 at 06:57:15 PM
Shipping THIS WEEK!
Comic books, posters and stickers start shipping today!
One of these might be yours!
T-shirts will ship next month.
For my backers who live in Utah, I sent a questionnaire with dates/times for meet-ups. I've had half of you respond. The rest of you need to check your spam to see if there's an email from me.
There are FOUR of you who won't get your rewards, because you NEVER COMPLETED YOUR BACKERKIT SURVEY, and that's the ONLY way I can get your mailing address. Go here: https://shaolin-nun.backerkit.com/
There are THREE of you who won't get your rewards, because we never collected your pledge. You'll have until the next Kickstarter to got to Backerkit, pay for your rewards and COMPLETE THE SURVEY, so I can get your mailing address. If you don't make it by then, you'll just have to back our next Kickstarter!
When is the next Kickstarter?
Cover for issue #4 by Greg Maldonado and Lala Narita
I'm planning to launch the next Kickstarter sometime in October or November, depending on when we have the principle artwork completed. We want to have a nearly finished book this time BEFORE we launch, so you don't have to wait NINE MONTHS for your rewards.
Oops. I forgot to ask for your addresses
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Aug 02, 2022 at 06:35:18 PM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
