Packing the boxes and the next FRONTIER!
about 1 year ago – Wed, Nov 15, 2023 at 04:00:13 PM

Howdy everyone!

Sorry this update is a bit late -- we tried posting a couple of days ago, but Kickstarter was having issues taking image uploads (and we really wanted to share images...) We hope you're all doing well and gearing up for some rad sci-fi hitting your doorstep soon! Here's where we're at:

All of the books and most of the additional items are now at the fulfillment warehouse. The last remaining items were the last of the signed art reproduction pages, which Eryk Donovan knocked out during a recent event at the Wacom Experience Center in Portland:

Those are now headed to the warehouse so that final packing can begin. The warehouse is checking in all of the various pieces of inventory (there are a LOT of items connected to this campaign, stretch goals and bonus items and whatnot...) and they should be able to start assembling packages next week. Granted, there is Thanksgiving to take into account, but we're in their queue and are pushing them to start getting things out the door by the end of the month. (We're pushing hard, but not too hard -- we don't want to compromise packing quality! Plus, I dunno if we have that kinda clout with them yet... warehouse people get plenty of stress on a daily basis... but we trust these folks and they've done great work for us to date!)

The next update will likely be a hearty "It's all sent out!"  We'd like to thank you for being patient as we prepare to hit *SEND* on our super fulfillment computer. Creating an original book (with this many artists to boot) was new for Magnetic... and it won't be the last!

We'd like to take this time to give a shoutout to Magnetic's newest Kickstarter, FRONTIER, which just launched yesterday! We're happy to be in such good sci-fi company at Magnetic! It can be viewed here at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/neurobellum/frontier-by-guillaume-singelin

 A little about this sibling sci-fi tome:

"After 10 years designing and developing the next generation of exo-archaeological probes, scientist Ji-Soo is sidelined from her own project in a buyout by megacorp Energy Solution. Her attitude earns her a string of reassignments that ultimately land her on the Rock Breaker, an asteroid mining colony in orbit around Vespa. There, her first time in space, she discovers just how complex life can be."

It's a great sci-fi snapshot of life in space with an awesome chibi style that you won't find anywhere else...

That's it for now! Thanks again and the next you hear from us should be "SHIPPED!" :)

Update: Locking Addresses this weekend!
about 1 year ago – Fri, Oct 20, 2023 at 11:23:53 AM

Hey, everyone!

I know we just posted an update that said we'd be locking addresses in Backerkit next weekend (the 27th), but in an effort to get the warehouse ready to roll sooner, we actually initiated the address lock notification from Backerkit today.

You may have already received a notification from them by email today; if not, check your inbox or spam folder. You can also go to https://black-box-chronicles-a-new-sci-fi-graphic-novel-antholo.backerkit.com/ directly to log into your Backerkit page.

While we'd ideally like to avoid any address changes after this point, if you need to change your address after this weekend and before shipping begins, please message us here directly and we'll help get you sorted properly.

Now that the notifications have gone out, Backerkit will automatically lock your addresses in 48 hours, so please try to make any necessary changes before Sunday. 

Thanks, everyone! Things should hopefully start rolling quickly toward your doorstep in the next few weeks! 😊

Emerging from the moon's shadow... with digital files!
about 1 year ago – Thu, Oct 19, 2023 at 11:57:08 AM

Hey everyone!

Apologies for the few weeks of radio silence... we were in deep crunch mode on a number of things, with a few Black Box things taking a bit longer than expected with the vendors. But we have surfaced with a number of updates to report starting with the headline:

Digital Files have been distributed!

You may have already received an email notification from Backerkit earlier today, but if not, check your inboxes, or check your Backerkit page directly. You will find all of the links and instructions on your personal Backerkit page (which you can access at https://black-box-chronicles-a-new-sci-fi-graphic-novel-antholo.backerkit.com/). Once logged in, you should see a  big blue button in the middle of the page that says "Get Your Digital Downloads" -- click on that to see your individual links for each item due.

The books are all hosted by Gumroad -- you will have to follow the (simple) instructions to use your unique codes to download your files from Gumroad for free. 😊 If you have any trouble or questions about the process, feel free to ask here or in a direct message, we're happy to help!

We're also happy to announce that everything has been delivered from the various factories/printers and we're now in the process of getting the bookplates and artist prints signed by the respective team members. We should hopefully have all of those finished and collected back at the warehouse in the next week or two (pending however easy it is to herd those cats). We were at New York Comic-Con this past weekend catching up with David Mack and a few of the other artists --

The 3D printed minis have also been produced and delivered, and frankly, they turned out better than expected! Not that we expected them to turn out less-than-cool, but we upped the ante by putting them in boxes with foam protection, etc. Check out this video from the factory :

That's all cool, but WHEN WILL IT SHIP??

A fair question, you may be seated. As soon as the signed items are finished and back at our warehouse, we'll Lock Addresses so that we can get the final packing data to them. We've already submitted the project so that they can schedule final fulfillment, but they are admittedly running about 2 weeks behind on other projects, so we're hoping they'll be caught up by the time everything is ready. A safe estimate is November (as in "by end of"), but we will keep you posted as dates are confirmed. As of today, however, we're planning to initiate Address Lock next Friday Oct 27. You will get a final notification from Backerkit at that point with 48 hours to make any final address changes necessary. If you aren't sure where you will be by the end of November, send us a message and we'll do our best to help you out.

Thanks for your patience and support, everyone! We'll be back with more shipping news, an update on the video game and RPG, and more in the weeks ahead!

Status report: all systems steady...
about 1 year ago – Wed, Sep 20, 2023 at 04:41:06 PM

Hi everyone!

Hope you're doing well -- we wanted to report in as it has been a few weeks, and things are progressing steadily. While our original campaign estimated delivery was admittedly set in September, the final production of everything has taken a few extra weeks, so we're just a little behind that original target...

As it stands now, the books are expected to reach our warehouse at the end of next week, or shortly after that pending rail congestion. The coins, sketchbooks, prints, and stickers should be there next week as well. The final inbound items (the resin minis and the poker decks) are still in production and should hopefully arrive by mid-October. At that point, we'll be ready to rock-n-roll.  If all goes well, we're aiming to have all orders out the door before the end of October. Hey, that's only a month off the original estimate, which is pretty good by Kickstarter standards... 😜

The "Signed Scavenger" Tier prints will also be signed in October; Chris and Mark are getting the talent scheduled now for that pizza party. 

Digital Rewards!

You've been waiting and we may have mentioned (and missed) some dates, but we're now looking to send those out NEXT WEEK! We just need to add all the backer names to the end of the PDF and that will be good to go. 

The last piece of the puzzle -- the unlocked stretch goal RPG Starter Rules PDF -- is also in production, and (award-winning writer/designer) Andrew E.C. Gaska is working on it as you read this. If it's any consolation for the extra wait, it will likely be significantly more than 32 pages... (and still FREE...)

We sincerely apologize if it feels like we haven't been communicating much recently -- so much cool stuff going on, we have to pull ourselves out of the work to remind ourselves to keep you in the loop! We truly appreciate all of you for your excitement and patience, so THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN! We can't wait to get this project in your hands! 😎

Advance copy pix! Plus reminder: orders locking on FRIDAY!
over 1 year ago – Wed, Aug 16, 2023 at 04:47:32 PM

Hey everyone!

WE GOT ADVANCE COPIES TO SHOW!

A nice big box arrived last night from our printer in China, and it was filled with eye-popping awesomeness!! Are you ready for a flood of sweetness? Too bad if you're not -- 'CUZ HERE IT COMES!

So at this point, everything is inbound across the Pacific, and current estimate is having everything at our warehouse around September 28th. WIth that estimated date in mind, we're pretty optimistic about having these out to everyone by the end of October! We will of course keep you posted, but barring any unexpected delays, that should be doable.

We're still waiting for the coins, the miniature statuettes, the poker decks, etc, but we'll post pix of those as they come in, too.

REMINDER: We're locking Backerkit on Friday!

If you haven't completed your survey, PLEASE DO SO BEFORE 5pm PST on Friday! We need to finalize item counts and get order data locked down to start getting our fulfillment plans in place. You will receive an email when we hit the "lock" button on Friday that gives you 48 hours to make any final changes. Once that period has passed, we will press the "charge cards" button on Monday morning. If Backerkit has trouble running your cards, they will continue to try, but until any issues are solved, your order won't be considered complete.

If you haven't filled out your survey because you can't find your link, please message us directly here and we'll try to help you out as promptly as possible. 

Friday is going to be a busy day for us... not only are we locking BLACK BOX, but our current campaign for TEZUCOMI is also ending on Friday! If you haven't checked it out yet, give it some consideration! We've unlocked a bunch of stretch goals with a few more still in reach! (It's a great set of books, regardless!)

Thanks, everyone! We're excited to get BLACK BOX in your hands this Fall!