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LOST LETTERS + MY DEAR PIERROT by Jim Bishop

Created by Magnetic Press LLC

The surreal fantasy of Studio Ghibli meets the dark twists of Satoshi Kon in two award-winning graphic novels by wunderkind author Jim Bishop.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Survey update and FAQ
8 months ago – Tue, Apr 02, 2024 at 04:14:19 PM

Hi everyone!

Thank you for tackling your surveys -- over half of them area already answered! A few questions came up that we thought we'd answer here quickly in a brief FAQ:

- "Where's the Early Bird bonus poster for pledging in the first 48 hours?"
Sorry for that delay -- we had to figure out how to export all of the backer data with pledge timestamps, but figured it out and added those to those pledges that qualified. If you backed early, you should see them now. 😊 If you thought you qualified but don't see it in your basket, send us a message at [email protected] and we'll check it for you.

- "I'm a returning backer but don't see my $2 shipping credit."
That was another item we had to figure out how to assign, but figured it out with Backerkit's help -- you should see that credit on your pledge page now, too. Please note: these are only awarded for PHYSICAL pledges to help with shipping costs... digital-only pledges don't receive this reward. (If you upgrade from a digital tier to a physical tier or add a physical add-on to your order, let us know and we'll credit you accordingly once we confirm your return status...)

- "I pledged for a single book at the $35 tier, but see that LOST LETTERS is only $30 as an addon... why was the tier more expensive than the book?"
The first part of that answer is because the pledge tier includes a digital copy which is a $15 value, so you're saving $10 with that tier package. 😊 (MY DEAR PIERROT is $35 -- it is a bigger book -- so if that is your tier selection, you're getting the digital copy completely FREE!)

- "Why is US shipping so expensive? Media Mail shouldn't cost this much..."
The simple answer is: we aren't shipping by Media Mail, which hopefully can be appreciated. We've been shipping books for years now, and have come to the consistent conclusion that USPS does not treat Media Mail with any respect whatsoever. Other shipping levels can be fine, but MM is a risky venture. Packages shipped by Media Mail get tossed around like junk mail, regularly suffer damages from handling, can sometimes take weeks to arrive, and frighteningly frequently simply disappear with no effort given to locate them. Every package we ship has tracking and arrives within 5-10 days of leaving the warehouse.

We know shipping is expensive these days (particularly international), but there is only so much we can do to combat the rates set by the various carriers. We also have to take the packing materials and warehouse manpower into account, but we do what we can ease the burden wherever possible -- combining campaign orders, offering more add-ons to amortize the shipping costs over more items, and occasionally offering shipping credit as a special reward (as we were able to do this time). Believe me: we feel your pain -- it's eating away at us, too! (Times x1000!) 😉



If you have any other questions, feel free to email us at [email protected] or ask in the comments here (although we may be slower in responding in the comments, since those notifications are easier to miss...)

Surveys coming this weekend!
8 months ago – Fri, Mar 29, 2024 at 12:56:19 PM

Hi Everyone!

We hope you're getting ready for a great weekend. We wanted to let you know that surveys will be going out this weekend!
 
We just sent out the "smoke test", which is a small batch of surveys (about 5% of the total) that are randomly selected and sent ahead of the rest to catch any unexpected technical issues or questions that may come up. If you are one of those randomly selected 5%, you should have already received your notification and link from Backerkit by email. The rest of you will likely get yours later this weekend. Backerkit suggests we wait at least 24 hours or until 75% of those Smoke Test surveys are complete before sending out the rest, just to make sure everything is running smoothly. So, assuming everything is working as expected, we'll send the rest of the surveys out before the weekend is over. 😊

Note: If you use a @privaterelay.appleid.com email address (ie. you registered with Backerkit using your iPhone or other iOS device), then you will need to contact us with an alternate email address that we can use to manually update your Backerkit account. Backerkit has trouble sending messages to privaterelay email accounts, so that is something you will need to help us fix. Otherwise you won't get any notifications from Backerkit and won't be able to log in to complete your survey.

Once the rest of the surveys go out, the Backerkit store will be opened, so if any of your friends missed out on the campaign, tell them it's not too late to join the party! Anyone can now follow the button at the top of the campaign page to place late pre-orders.

If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask! Thanks, everyone!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
8 months ago – Fri, Mar 15, 2024 at 07:00:19 PM

Hi everyone, 

This is coming almost 2 hours after the campaign's original closing time but...

THANK YOU!!!


Backerkit's "OVERTIME" feature kept the campaign open for a FULL HOUR after the original closing time, thanks to backers who continued to hop in after the original close time. (We were live streaming for that full hour -- it was fun!) We had our fingers crossed that the continuous train of backers might bring us to the $70k milestone, but we came just a little bit short... but we aren't mad at that one bit!

YOU ALL ARE AWESOME.


And wee know you will LOVE these books.  We are so proud to bring them to you. The printer has been working with the acetate vendors for the slipcases, and we think they will be something very special. (A first for us... but possibly not the last!)

It has been an exciting campaign, and we've got a lot to prepare now... but for tonight, we CELEBRATE! 🥳🥳

Let's countdown the campaign together! Live stream scheduled!
8 months ago – Fri, Mar 15, 2024 at 02:56:18 PM

Hey everyone!
WOW, you all are crushing it -- we've been watching the backer train all day, and its exciting! 2 HOURS TO GO!

We thought we'd try some of Backerkit's unique features -- OVERTIME and STREAMING -- both of which are new (for us).  We got a streamyard account set up, scheduled an event through our Youtube channel, and linked that stream to the campaign, so join us at 6:55p CST (4:55 PST), and I think we'll be live on the campaign page...? I dunno, its new technology, but could be kinda fun... we'll see if it works as advertised. 😜

And hey -- if there's still a backer train going, we can see how much overtime we clock in!

Woohoo!

The final stretch (goal)! TWO DAYS LEFT!
8 months ago – Wed, Mar 13, 2024 at 08:11:27 AM

Hi everyone!


Yow, we are a little late in updating the page with the FOURTH UNLOCKED STRETCH GOAL which you knocked off the list on Monday... Sorry for that lapse! It has been an extremely busy time here behind the curtain, and I've been distracted with some personal matters that really should have no bearing on this project. I had to slap myself on the forehead when I realized last night that you had UNLOCKED THE POSTCARD PACK and are probably wondering what the next (last) stretch goal is...

...so let it be revealed!




We're really hoping to add these to the current bundle of stretch goals (we love us some coins). Plus -- it's practical! For those tight situations where you're not sure how much you love someone, you can flip the coin to determine whether you love them today or FOREVER... 😜

Some of you may be wondering what a coin has to do with comics, but we've been producing these collectible coins as premium stretch goals for most of our campaigns to date (24 out of 36 so far), and they've become kind of a sought-after thing... The most enthusiastic Magnetic Press buffs have built up quite a collection over the past 4 years, and we're happy to keep that tradition going!

This next goal will be the last at $50k... it may seem a bit off with only 2 days left until closing on Friday, but it's not totally out of reach! If you've been sitting on the fence watching the campaign and debating whether to join the party, now's the time! You'll be getting a sweet pack of stretch goal goodies for FREE, and you could help everyone get this pretty coin, too! 

THANK YOU, EVERYONE! We're excited to approach the finish line with you!