Collecting the Submerged arc of Tart in an elegant hardcover fit for your home library.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
The Tart Vol 3 Hardcover Kickstarter Campaign will launch October 17th.
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Sep 22, 2023 at 08:26:04 AM
You may be getting a few messages from me over the last few minutes/hours. Each one is similar, but a little different so don't be afraid to read one and be done, or check them all out for extra information. This one is the most different if that matters to you.
I wanted to pop in to our Submerged Kickstarter campaign to let you know that the next hardcover collection is ready to be brought into the world and onto your bookshelf.
We're going to launch October 17th (in theory. The world has forced delays before and I refuse to be arrogant enough to pretend it couldn't do so again. But Kickstarter has a cool Witchtober initiative running that month, and my wife and daughter's birthdays are the week prior so starting in the second half of October is ideal - the second part of that sentence was more important to my scheduling decision than the first).
Tart Volume 3 collects issues 8 - 12. And even though it has many more story pages than Volume 2 - and we all know know inflation has been a bugaboo this year - we're were able to keep our costs for this volume very similar. While Submerged collects four issues, Amissa Anima (Lost Soul) collects five. And we are still going to be able to offer it for only $5 more than Volume 2. I was very relieved when I learned that!
I can't wait to invite you to this party officially, but please consider this your save the date!
Before I go, here's a cool Kickstarter I'm backing and hope others might find interesting.
Jon Westoff has been an indie Comic friend for a while now. I met him through the Wombmates Jason and James Ford when I first started this. And thank god I did or I wouldn't have read Bulletproof Chicken. And send up of over the top 80s cop movies staring a 6 foot tall chicken. It is exactly what you want when you buy a comic called Bulletproof Chicken.
The campaign actually helps Jon and his team print CPS and Depowered as well, so you're doing 66% more good backing this campaign than usual.
I promise by the second page of Bulletproof Chicken #1 you will have gotten your money's worth.
What's next for Tart on Kickstarter? The Limited hardcover version of Tart Vol 3
almost 3 years ago
– Fri, May 19, 2023 at 09:45:21 AM
I want to once again thank you for making Tart Vol 2 a reality. So far we have collected issues 1-3 in Tart Vol 1, 4-7 in Tart Vol 2, and will collect Tart 8-12 for Tart Vl 3. If this pattern continues Volume 10 will be like 30 issues long!
I kid, I kid.
I go pretty far in depth about the schedule in the next four paragraphs. If you want the TL:DR portion, I'll be setting up the Tart Vol 3 Kickstarter in the hopes of being able to launch very soon after Tart 15 is fulfilled to our backers. But that still makes the likely launch mid to late July and possibly, but hopefully not, into August.
THE DIRTIER DETAILS
To let you know how we decided to create this schedule, we just completed the Kickstarter to fund the printing of Tart 5 on May 5th. In the middle of that campaign, Ludo and i compared notes, and he was not going to be able to put pencil to paper (or stylus to screen, you never know how Ludo will make our comic) until late June or July. We usually guesstimate art taking 3 months from his start date (he does full illustrations and all color duty, which is an immense amount of labor), so that would mean a Kickstarter campaign wouldn't come until fall, and the books wouldn't arrive until Christmas.
With that info, I decided we should move the hardcover campaign for Vol 3 up on our schedule. I can run that campaign as soon as Tart 15 is fulfilled, and he can be drawing Tart 16 while the hardcovers are being printed overseas. With the hopes of being able to run a Tart 16 campaign after the hardcovers are delivered to our backers. If that's before the end of 2023, even better.
So I've asked Ludo to find time in his schedule to create a cover for the hardcover and then I won't bother him for a long time while I do my thing.
This campaign is not coming this week or next. As I noted, I have to fulfill Tart 15 before I launch this campaign. So after I hit send on this update, I'm going to go into Backerkit and start the survey building process. The files are at the printers, and they are building a pdf for us to sign off on today. At that point they'll tell me how long they expect the wait to be (Comic Impressions usually takes between 3 and 6 weeks to deliver epending on about a million factors). Fulfillment takes me two to four weeks depending on what craziness is happening in my other four lives. During the times I am idle (say, I have a week after I finish surveys and before Tart 15 is delivered to me to fulfill) I'll be working on the Hardcover Kickstarter campaign page.
IF YOU SKIPPED, START BACK HERE:
If you remember the surveys I sent for the Submerged hardcover campaign, I asked every backer if they might be interested in a Layaway/subscription payment plan that would help them pay for the hardcover over time. I individually messaged every one who said they'd like to hear more, but I actually messed up the Paypal configuration and the first people who tried got charged for one Installment, and the thing instantly cancelled.This is because I confused what Paypal meant by months and cycles and basically instructed the computer to charged every five months, but only one time, instead of once a month, and charged five times. Doh!
It is fixed now, but the links are incorrect. So if you have interest the link to pay 5 installments of $10 is:
Quick caveat, because of Paypal fees the 10 month plan is technically more expensive over the course of the subscription. I don't get any of the extra, Paypal does.
I can go through more ins and outs of this if you are interested, but the long and short of it is, this would get us close to the $45 pricing I expect first day backers to be offered for the book. It is possible with inflation and more pages, that the price point will be higher, and of course shipping will have to be charged then. So backers will still be asked to back within Kickstarter to make it all work.
One backer very generously asked if I'd prefer them to back this to save on Kickstarter fees. My answer is, "Thank you for the kind offer, but no." The fees run about 10% either way, and I am thrilled for Kickstarter to get their fair portion of the proceeds. We would not have a series without Kickstarter and I want them to get their fee. This is project is an experiment, and ONLY designed to help people who might be better served with some small charges over time instead of one big chunk.
That's all I've got for now. I hope you have a great weekend. If you backed Tart 15, you should get an update by the end of next week with all the information I have from Comic Impressions.
Kevin
The next Tart Hardcover Campaign will launch this summer
almost 3 years ago
– Wed, Apr 26, 2023 at 12:43:56 PM
While Ludo and I were communicating about our campaign to print Tart 15 (more on that later), he let me know that he can start work on Tart 16 this summer. Because we are careful to only launch a campaign when all of the interior art is complete, that means a fall Kickstarter to Print Tart 16 is the earliest we could hope to be back on Kickstarter to raise funds for that comic.
While new issues are my priority, I also don't want to sit around while we have backers who are ready for the next Limited Edition Hardcover Volume of Tart. This one collecting issues 8 - 12.
It's too early for a look at the dist jacket cover, but I bet Ludo will kill it like always. Oh, and because everybody wants to see the puppy, here is Lady checking out the books I was taking a photo of. She seems pretty certain these things are chew toys of some kind.
I also wanted to make sure that you know that if you backed the Hardcover campaign, and want to get any of the remaining floppy comics of Tart 8-15, they can be procured during the current Kickstarter campaign to print Tart 15 (running until May 5th):
You would get Tart 15 in any tier you choose, and can add a bundle that includes Tart 8-13 in excellent shape. Tart 14 is available as a separate add on. If you hadn't heard, Tart 14 arrived with a decent number of books slight damaged. We have sold out of all books in excellent condition, so the Tart 14's available for $4 (basically at cost).
We have about 40 copies of Tart 8 and 9 left, and somewhere around that number of Tart 10 - 13 (they range from about 60 to about 90 copies remaining).
We are absolutely comfortable with Hardcover backers staying hardcover backers. But I did want to make sure you knew the opportunity was there.
More on the Tart Vol 3 hardcover in about a month. I've got to finish the Tart 15 campaign, and prepare for fulfillment before much progress happens there.
Kevin
TART 15 IS LIVE!!!
almost 3 years ago
– Tue, Apr 11, 2023 at 09:22:19 AM
I’m updating the last 4 tart Kickstarter campaigns to let you know the Tart 15 has officially launched. The link is right here if you just want to go:
I often joke that the only backer I like more than a brand new backer is a returning backer. But honestly, it’s the returning backers who push Ludo and I to keep going when times get tough. $30 from a new Backer means the exact same to our business as $30 from a returning Backer. But recognizing names over and over again continues to pay off psychologically long after the money’s been spent.
Wanna know a secret? I started to list a few names of backers that I can mention off the top of my head. But after about a dozen I started to realize there were too many to list. And that cutting any out felt bad. Let's leave it that I know who you are if you've been with us over and over. And man I appreciate it.
What I’m saying is if this is the right time for you, please be a returning backer for Tart 15. We are at a pivot point for this series. I have ideas for up to four projects related to Tart that I want to get working on including, of course, Tart 16 which is already written. But we have time to discuss future plans. Today is about celebrating the birth of Tart 15.
