Absolute Comics Universe and more products!
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
If you're part of our newsletter or Facebook you may have seen we just made an announcement regarding this week being the 2nd Anniversary of the first issue of White Widow! As a result we're doing a special BUNDLE SET of exclusive covers. After we launched it we suddenly had an idea on how we can do something a bit extra for you backers still waiting on stuff.
So we're going to offer you backers of this and the other current Kickstarters outstanding a special BONUS discount of 20% off of the bundle and everything else in the store! But be aware, you can only use the promo code ONCE so fill your cart with anything you want to get.
To save, simply use promo code: WW2ndAnnual
This code is ONLY for backers so PLEASE do not share! Here's the special deal:
Using a special painstaking process we have created a set of TEN UNIQUE COMICS whose covers are composed entirely of the nearly 350 covers we've published to date to create new artwork drawn from some of the many, fan-favorite artists who have graced our covers over the years. If you zoom in on each, you will see at least one of every cover on each of these NEW comics featuring artwork by:
We've compiled these into a collectible, NUMBERED FOLIO BUNDLE that features a metallic ink art print by Jamie Tyndall and its BACKGROUND contains a montage of most of our awesome covers!
This set will be available only for a limited time, and the comics will ONLY be available in this bundle edition... so get them while you can! Numbering is based on a first-come-first-serve basis!
LIMITED SET SALE ENDS 2/1/2020 at 11:59pm PST!
PS... If you already ordered, contact [email protected] or [email protected] and we will issue you a gift card or refund!
Hey Guys,
This is Jenna Powell, editor for the Absolute line and head of operations. I'm the person who helps manage things like pulling for CGCs, quality control, and making sure the warehouse has what it needs to get things out correctly to name a few.
We don't do updates about personal lives or typically go in depth behind the scenes. I am going to do some in depth explanations.
First, I want to apologize for all the delays we have had. We are a start up and have had a lot of learning curves. We had to get a warehouse, find people to manage it, experimented with comic book paper thickness, different foil processes, lenticulars, sketch covers, metallics, finding a printer in America, getting metals graded, improving metal cover quality...etc. There were lots of mistakes and delays since our first kickstarter. We are constantly improving and have come a long way. I want to thank everyone that have stood by us since the beginning and went though all the painful processes with us. That is, after all, what Kickstarter is for.
There seem to be a few things I would like to clear up regarding these processes and responsibilities. Jamie is not a board member for our company. He is the co-creator of a White Widow and I Make Boys Cry. His jobs are to promote, draw covers, and design characters. In no way is he responsible for the fulfillment of the Kickstarters or any orders. His personal Kickstarters have nothing to do with us so please do not blame him for delays. The only time he setup a kickstarter and did fulfillment was for White Widow #1. After that point, Absolute Comics took over fully when the warehouse in Florida was set up (over 1000 miles away). So emailing or badgering him or not supporting his other ventures simply isn't fair to him. He, like us, wants things to move smoothly.
Benny and I, his wife Jenna Powell, handle ALL production. This includes finding and managing Interior artists, colorers, inkers, formatting, printing, over a dozen titles. It has been a 2 person team until a few months ago. Now its a 3 person team. For the last several years, we have worked from when we woke up to when we went to bed. Most of the time I try to get 7 hrs of sleep while Benny only gets about 2 to 3 hrs of sleep a night. We only get about 2 hrs a day with our kids. I love the rare days a babysitter can't make it or when the kids get a cold because then I get to spend the whole day with them. That only happens a few times a year. Benny and I have not even had a real date in over 2 years. If we wake up before the kids, we cuddle while answering work emails, or we go over plots, or scripts, covers..etc. Weekends and sick days don't exist for us. We have a flu or a cold...tough...there are books we need to produce, artists we need to contact, scripts we need to hash out. I honestly have not even collected a paycheck in over 2.5 yrs. We are not complaining because we love what we do. I don't like to share our burdens, our failures, or our sacrifices, but I understand that our fans like to know what is going on. They want to know that we are working hard for them, that they will get their books, that no matter how many obstacles we face we do our best to get through them. We have a lot of passion for our universe, for quality, and for the fans counting on us.
I honestly had my first break in over 5 years at the end of last year. I made 240ish trips upstairs with 37lb boxes. Basically moved 8,000lbs worth of comics by myself in one day....after unloading them from a truck into the receiving room with 2 others. This resulted in an inflamed chest muscle and my doctor put me on pain meds, anti-inflammatories and even Prozac to keep me relaxed (my emotions were all over the place while adjusting to them.), and put me on bed rest. Customer service was seriously lacking from Mid Nov to the beginning of January because I was down and out. I wasn't even allowed to lift my 2 yr old. I am officially off all the meds. Now our 2 warehouse workers have come down with covid and I am handling all their jobs on top of my normal ones. I am grateful for that long rest because now I am energized to tackle this new development.
We have been really grateful for all the positive feedback, for all the prayers, support, and well wishes. I am really sorry about all the hiccups and we will try to get your books to you as fast as we are able. I hope everyone stays safe during this time and has an amazing weekend!
Moving forward I would like to ask everyone to please email [email protected] about any problems.
Lastly, I do sometimes post personal updates as well as company updates on my work facebook Jenna M. Powell. Feel free to join and follow me there if you want. We are also thinking of making a YouTube video every few weeks or so on our channel, with me as the host, to share behind the scenes, sneak peeks, interviews...etc.
Thank you as always. We love you guys!
Jenna Powell
Just to give further information and transparency, here is where we currently stand with everything. We have now received EVERYTHING. The digitals are all done and there are a few errors we are addressing with those deliveries.
We received the lenticular covers the end of December and the metals came in a couple weeks ago. They began being assembled (which is a painstaking process done by hand) and those are now done. Another delay has been one of lack of supplies. We have had bag and board orders and shipping supply requests at BCW for over 3 months backed up. We ended up having to find alternate suppliers local at an increased cost while we await our main order.
But... EVERYTHING is in so we were all set to ship out...
UNFORTUNATELY on Monday as many of you may have seen in announcements elsewhere, Stuart, our warehouse manager took his son in and he tested positive for Covid-19. He alerted us and went to get rapid testing himself. We sent a message to the other workers not to come in and for them to get tested as well. This included Jenna and Roxy. This also meant shuttering the warehouse. Jenna and Roxy did not test positive on Tuesday, however we made the call to delay returning just in case it was a false positive, and so any possible infections in the warehouse would have time to die. Roxy then felt symptoms yesterday so we ordered another test for her and this time it came back positive. She was set to come back yesterday. Jenna, meanwhile, remains Covid free. Benny, who already had it back in July, was not exposed.
The end result is, we're about a week from the suggested 10 days when Stuart had his positive test, assuming he remains symptom-free, before he can return, and the following week Roxy will return. Jenna continues other remote work and will go begin sterilizing the warehouse areas even further. Despite claims that it can only last a couple days outside the body, we are taking no chances with your health. A saving grace is that he and Roxy had luckily had a cold that kept them out at the end of last week. So no packages left during that initial infectuous period.
So, at the end of next week, we can begin shipping out the orders.
There are about a DOZEN people who still have yet to complete your surveys. So if you were waiting for the last minute... this is IT.
Thank you for your continued support.
Couple of quick notes... regarding the backerkit.
Firstly, for anyone new or who may have forgotten... for ADD ONs Backer Kit isn't the most accurate for SHIPPING COSTS. For this reason we ask everyone that AFTER YOU FINISH ADDING things to your cart, contact Jenna at [email protected] and she will fix and adjust to the CORRECT amount.
Lastly, for anyone who has not done CGCs before... we sign these and take them to CGC. In the past, there was a huge delay between a backer kit and when we would get the CGCs back. For this one, we're launching the Backer Kit now that the books are in. So we will be able to get CGCs done relatively faster. For this reason, we are NOT separating CGC shipments from your regular. This means you will ONLY PAY ONE SHIPPING PRICE. So you will see a MUCH lower cost for CGCs. Instead of 10 choices based on regions, there are simplified 3 choices:
CGC for those who aren't aware is the Comic Grading Company and the standard for sealed and certified collectibles. There are other fine grading companies, but these happen to be close by. The cost, for those familiar, is actually less than what you would typically pay directly... especially since this literally requires us to physically take the books to Jamie or have him fly to us to sign and then drive down. It also takes massive man hours for Jenna to scour them to find the best to undergo this process! So it's a steal.
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So... if you didn't know about CGC or about shipping costs for add ons and have already completed your survey.... don't despair. Nothing is locked yet. You still have time to change your answers and upgrade anything or add on to your heart's content!
If you have ANY questions be sure to ask us via email at [email protected] and we hope to begin shipping ASAP!