With a Heavy Heart...We Delay

As a wrestling fan, I’ve seen my fair share of heartbreak. There’s nothing quite like a wrestler standing in the middle of the ring, explaining to the crowd that due to injury or some other ailment, they’d no longer be able to compete or they’d have to relinquish a title they worked so hard for. While not nearly at that level of heartbreak, we shared this week that we are postponing the launch for A Real Slobberknocker #2 on Kickstarter.

This decision was not made lightly. It’s due to a few reasons. While Dan is powering through the interior artwork, we’re not quite as far along as we would have liked to be. Pete is putting the finishing touches on the variant cover this week too. It’s important to have several finished pages on the Kickstarter page so readers know that we’re serious about this book. Yes, we successfully printed and distributed the first issue, but we’re hoping to capture the attention of new readers too and a great way to do that is show that we already have skin in the game. As a quick teaser, here’s just a snippet of Pete’s cover:

My one big concern with the delay is that we launched the first campaign in April of 2023. This postponement will put us almost two years since the last campaign. I hope that the folks that pledged the first time around return to check out the next chapter, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. This delay will ensure that we’re getting the comic into readers’ hands faster too. Since I’d like to run another Kickstarter campaign later in the year for Clean Up Crew #1, this is a must.

I’m also working my way through the ComixLaunch course to ensure that this is the best possible Kickstarter experience for everyone involved. For example, I haven’t had a video on any of the previous projects I’ve run and that’s a key component, so I’m putting that together.

I’m looking at other types of rewards too. Last time we didn’t do any stretch goals at all. We also only had the book itself (with a standard and/or variant cover), commissions from Dan, and a chance to get drawn into the comic as a wrestler. We’ll have all of that in the next campaign, as well as catch up tiers for anyone that missed the first one, but I’m curious as to what else people might want. Enamel pins? T-shirts? Stickers? Prints? Do you want me to cut a promo on you?

While I’m not personally a fan of variant covers, I do understand the interest in them. I’m considering doing a limited variant or a Kickstarter exclusive variant for this next issue. That means that we’d either print a set amount (e.g. 50 or 100) of the cover and once it’s gone, that’s it, or we’d print enough to cover those that backed for it on Kickstarter and no more. Once it’s printed, it will never be printed again. Are there any artists you would love to see take a crack at Bret and Jake for a cover?

In any case, be sure to click on the Notify Me on Launch button to ensure you’re the first to know when we set the new campaign live. You can get there by clicking on the button below.

One of the perks of my day job in advertising is that I occasionally get tickets to see wrestling shows. I got some last minute tickets to AEW Full Gear in New Jersey and went with my brother and my two sons. This was the first time I’ve seen an AEW PPV as I’ve been spoiled by WWE being on Peacock and can’t bring myself to drop the money for the full PPV on its own. I’ve always read about how great the shows were and this one did not disappoint.

It was a packed card and every match delivered. Yes, some were better than others, but we were entertained from beginning to end. My boys were not very familiar with AEW, but quickly picked their favorites and had a blast. Oliver, my oldest, told me the next day that this was one of the best experiences of his life. It’s funny to think that Will Ospreay and a bloody Orange Cassidy had something to do with that.

I’m so grateful that I get these opportunities every so often. It’s also important to me that I have something like this I can share with my kids. It’s a thing we bond over. I think they like it for different reasons too. Oliver is the theater kid so I think he likes the spectacle and show of wrestling, while Parker is the sporty kid, so I think he likes the moves and acrobatics aspect. It’s also something I can share with my brother. Bonding all around.

Speaking of bonding, there was this small group directly behind us during the show. They were really into the wrestling and had some great commentary. The only problem was they were cursing up a storm. As a reminder, I’m there with my kids. After the first couple matches, Parker even commented to me about it. I had to say something, so I turned around and asked nicely if they can tone down the F-bombs as I’ve got my kids here. The main culprit was super apologetic and totally understood. He then became my best friend for the whole show. He was telling me jokes and sharing comments. Wrestling brings people together.

We’re going from this huge show last weekend to a small local show this weekend. We’re just as excited to go to the next ECPW: Hudson Valley show as we were for AEW Full Gear. It’s definitely a very different experience, but still a great time. These indie shows are great and if you yell something out during a match, the wrestlers will hear you and often yell back.

In any case, today is Thanksgiving in the US. I am thankful for you for reading this newsletter. It’s been a surprisingly therapeutic experience and I look forward to writing it each week. I hope you enjoy reading it. Thank you!