The Final Countdown

Just a few days left until The Crimebusters launches on Kickstarter on June 11, and I’m busy crossing all the i’s and dotting all the t’s, or however that works.

I’ve learned a lot about the process so far, both in terms of printing, and the Kickstarter campaign itself. One big thing I discovered is the review period for Kickstarter. They list it as 1-3 business days, so I worked feverishly to get my page done a full week in advance in case there were any problems and it had to be reviewed twice.

In fact, it turns out the main part of the process is automated, and took about 30 seconds. Apparently, their bots check to make sure everything is done correctly from a procedural point of view, but the actual content isn’t really reviewed. Which I guess is nice, as it gives me a few more days leeway than I expected. And it also explains why I occasionally see Kickstarter campaigns that are clearly breaking one or more Kickstarter rules with their rewards, as it seems no person actually looked to see if those rewards were allowed.

The upshot of all this is that my Kickstarter campaign has been approved and is ready to launch! I’ll be pressing the shiny red button to go live on the morning of June 11, and when I do, I’ll be shouting it to the four winds.

That’s not the most exciting news of the week, though…

Yes, there it is, the first (proof) copy of The Crimebusters #1!

I received this from the printer I am using, Comix Wellspring, which is a branch of Greko Printing in Michigan. Overall, I’m very pleased with the quality of the printing. There are a couple wrinkles I’m sorting out — I realized I had miscolored something on the back cover, for instance, and a few of the margins were off either due to my error, or my lack of understanding the printing process. Still, nothing major — everything took about 45 minutes total to fix — and it’s all part of the process. That’s what proof copies are for!

Now I’ll be going back with the corrections, and once I receive and approve the digital proof of the corrected edition, I’ll be placing my order. I expect by the time the proof process is complete, I’ll be a few days at least into the campaign and will have a rough idea of how many copies I’ll need (or can afford).

Plus, I’ll also be sending them the variant covers so those can be printed up as well. And speaking of that, as I promised last time, here’s a look at all four covers for The Crimebusters #1!

I’m also putting the finishing touches on the final reward, which I am super excited to show off. Once that reward is ready, I’ll be making a video to show it off, which I will probably share both here and as a Kickstarter update after the campaign launches.

I’m so excited! And I thank you all for sharing this journey with me. See you on June 11 for the launch!