April 26th! Kickstarter! Be there or be square!
Welcome to this very special edition of the Rainy Road Warrior Newsletter in which I’ll give a quick rundown of the GunEngine Zero Kickstarter campaign just ahead of the launch.
This pre-launch link will also take you to the standard campaign page once it goes live.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rainyroad/gunengine-zero-1
Day One
There are a few reasons why you may want to back the campaign right away. The first reason is that some items are very limited and could be gone if you wait too long.
The second reason is that I’ll be giving away a prototype metal trading card with one of Gunny’s earlier design iterations. I only have 4 of them (I’m keeping one for my archives) and I’ll be giving them away to the first 4 backers of physical rewards. And I will sign the back of the card and note each as “2 of 5”, “3 of 5”, etc.
The Basics
There are 4 “reward” tiers. I do this to keep things simple for myself and for the backers.
First reward is a PDF version of the book for those that prefer a digital edition and for international backers since I won’t be shipping outside of the USA because shipping costs are ridiculous.
Second reward is for a physical copy of the book. Just the book. (Of course, add-ons are available for you to choose.)
Third reward is for the “superfan” collection. This is a one-click option to get a set which includes everything GEZ-related in the campaign. There will also be a few exclusive items in the reward, such as the backboard bio art, metal trading card set which includes all the covers that we’ve published so far and the ashcan version of the book.
Last reward is a retailer set for comic shops. This includes 6 copies of the book at a 40% discount and an 18 x 24 promo poster with exclusive art by JC Grande. My hope is that stores will display the poster and support the series throughout its run.
And note that shipping is included in the prices that you see for all physical rewards. But a few of the add-ons will incur a small additional shipping charge.
Add-Ons
Most items are available as add-ons, so you can pick and choose what you want. Of particular note are the other books I’ve published so far. Neotheric, six:eight, Book of Legend and my daughter’s Agents of S.H.H. that can be added on to any base physical reward.
PDF versions of Neotheric, six:eight and Book of Legend will be an option as well.
ComicBooks for Kids
CB4K is a charity that sends comic books and other fun stuff to kids in hospitals and cancer centers. As in the past, what I’ll do is match however many copies of my daughter’s Agents of S.H.H. are pledged for in this campaign and send them to the charity.
For example, if you pledge for her mini-comic (it comes as a set of 3 comics), I will send you a set and a set to CB4K. If you order 2 sets, you’ll get 2 sets and the charity will get 2 sets.
Also, if you would like to pledge for the comics but have them sent to CB4K instead, just let me know that and I’ll abide.
Variant Covers
There will be 3 variant covers that I will limit to no more than 50 copies each. The total number will depend on how many are actually pledged for. So, for example, there could be as little as 10 of each variant printed.
Initially, I will be splitting their availability equally between the “superfan” reward and as stand-alone add-ons. But I can shift the available quantities later depending on demand.
Stretch Goals
All of the stretch goals are meant to be automatically unlocked and dispensed with the appropriate reward, so you don’t have to come back to the campaign to change your reward or add something once it becomes available.
For example, let’s say you pledged for a copy of GEZ and added-on the standard trading cards (Gunny and the V’Raq). Only the stretch goals for the upgraded GEZ cover and the holofoil cards would apply to you if they are unlocked.
“Superfans” will get all unlocked stretch goals.
Note that stretch goals do NOT apply to the retailer reward.
The last stretch goal I have included is for what I refer to as an “after party.” My idea is that, once every backer has received the book, I would create a private livestream and invite everyone to share their questions and comments. This would NEVER be made public. (Not by me, anyway.) But if there’s not enough interest, I’ll nix it.
I might add some more stretch goals if I can think of anything else you all might like or if someone suggests something.
Returning backers
Just as a reminder, I will be giving all returning backers an extra free copy of GEZ. Meaning, if you backed any of the campaigns last year for six:eight, Book of Legend or the A La Carte campaign on Indiegogo and you have the same contact info (so that I have a verifiable record of who you are), you’ll get an extra copy of the book.
Don’t be shy!
As I’ve mentioned many times before, I am open to suggestions. (Doesn’t mean I’ll follow them. But I will at least sincerely consider them.) So, if there is anything about the campaign that you feel I should alter or add, submit a comment on the Kickstarter page or write to me at rrcomics@outlook.com.
We have lift-off!
As I’ve said before, the initial launch phase of a campaign is critical. If we stumble out of the gate, it could mean we won’t even meet our base funding goal. So, please consider supporting this project in any way you can. Even just sharing the campaign page link could help in a big way.
So, this is it. It’s scary. Because failure would be catastrophic. But success would be glorious!
~Michael T Gonzalez