Early Bird Vol. 1 is now FUNDED!
almost 3 years ago – Wed, Jun 14, 2023 at 08:35:38 AM

In just a single week, you've all successfully funded the entirety of Early Bird Vol. 1, which just completely blows me away. I was already wary on the possibility of success with this project, especially with it being a totally new story that's so far removed from my prior material that I've campaigned on Kickstarter, but the campaign is already fully funded with still weeks remaining.

Early Bird began to take shape with some illustrated character concepts in 2019 by Heather Campbell and V.V. Glass, and later evolved into a much more ambitious aspiration in 2020 with Federica as the main illustrator and Chris Blanco designing the logo. We put together a 13-page pitch in an attempt to seek out interest privately with publishers and other possible partners.  Only a single publication that Early Bird was offered to even bothered to respond.

This was, of course, discouraging to say the least. But Hector and Satoru still remained the original characters burning laps through the circuitry in my brain even when I had nearly convinced myself there was no chance their story had a future. My friends, including those involved with Early Bird's development and promotion like Heather Campbell, V.V. Glass, Chris Blanco, Veitstanz, and Kumanaru, plus my close knit group of work colleagues, former L&B backers, and on-going D&D crew, all remained confident that even in the wild, Early Bird would find its fans.

At the end of 2022, Federica and I rallied to build Early Bird again, with more acutely developed writing, refined artwork, and all new pages for preview. However, this time it was going to be in an attempt to sell it directly to its audience, and we were not disappointed. Taking Early Bird to flight has been challenging and worrying, but seeing the success of the Kickstarter over the past week has made it all more than worth it. 

This is a story I truly believed I might never get a chance to tell; thank you all for proving me wrong! I can't express how much it means to me that people have already grown so attached to Satoru and Hector, and there's so much more about these two that I can't wait to share in the full book.

Early Bird is over 80% funded in less than a week!
almost 3 years ago – Mon, Jun 12, 2023 at 09:16:25 AM

I'll have more detailed thoughts to share later, but at the moment I just wanted to announce a recent milestone that the campaign passed! For a totally new story, especially one so far separated from my previous work, I can't believe that Early Bird is already so close to being fully funded!

Over 40% to goal in less 24 hours! Plus, new art by Veitstanz, and promoted by Kickstarter as a "Project We Love!"
almost 3 years ago – Wed, Jun 07, 2023 at 07:52:56 AM

At the time of this update, we're still under a full day into the campaign, but Early Bird Vol. 1 is already closing in on the halfway mark to the funding goal at a VERY quick pace! You've all been incredibly supportive, and I can't wait to see how well the campaign will do from here!

Thank you everyone!

Also, to help celebrate and promote the launch of the Early Bird Kickstarter, Veitstanz lined and colored an amazing piece of art featuring Hector and Satoru:

Not only that, but Kickstarter has reviewed and labeled Early Bird as a "Project We Love," which gives the campaign a nifty tag and also helps with promotion and discoverability within Kickstarter!

I hope you're all having a great week, and thanks for checking in on this update!