Updates, proof photos and more!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Jun 06, 2023 at 06:49:55 PM

Greetings from Fort Indiantown Gap, PA!

Hey all! Haunted Box Co-creator Jon Santana here. For those who don't know, I serve in the U.S. Military in the Army National Guard.  This is the busiest time of year for my unit (we are mid-way through our Annual Training exercise). As you might imagine, there's not a lot of time to run the production side of The Haunted Box - and since we never expected the printer delays we are experiencing, I never thought I'd have to juggle production while conducting military training! 

Even so, I've got some good updates for all you patient backers that we are so thankful for!

Proof updates

Yes, we are SO far behind with the proofs. There have been several attempts at getting the formatting, sizing, and colors right and this is the most recent one. Unfortunately, the blacks of the images in the foreground are STILL too dark and can barely be seen against the background, as you can see in the paper-and-ink matched proofs for the folio in the image below:

Part of the delays are due to the overseas shipping speeds - it takes so long to get proofs and get them quick enough to turn around corrections. This last proof took 3 weeks just to get the paper to the U.S. office of the printer company. The printing company - Printlore Creative Print Solutions- assured me today they are getting the next folio cover proofs this week along with copies of all of the complete printed book variants! I will share pics as soon as I get them.

DELAY DETAILS

I included the screenshot above as an example of the types of delays we've been experiencing. I in no way want to disparage Printlore as a printing company or discourage any creator using them for all their printing needs. They have been very good about communicating their delays, even when they have been unexpected and very, very far beyond their original prediction dates. The screenshot above is a great example of some of the strange obstacles we have faced, such as graphic content being cause for a vendor to have to refuse the project in certain parts of China in favor of other provinces that are legally allowed to print our book.

I also want to take ownership of our part in the delays. The folio (slipcase) in particular was a far greater challenge than we expected. The die-cut and spot-UV design caused complications we could not have anticipated, and we have learned a great deal about the limitations of die-cutting tools throughout this process. 

I feel like we are close to the finish line with the printer, and I am hopeful I will FINALLY be able to provide accurate shipping dates once the folio is finally approved to begin production. I apologize for the confusion of previous updates, as I will admit I was confused as to where in the post-production part of the process we were in at certain times.

Lastly I want to (quietly) announce that pre-production has begun with The Haunted Box #2! We have 3 stories turned in from our writers, one of which has already been sent to one of our artists to begin pencils! Note that I did not highlight, embolden, or provide a header to this last paragraph.... The "official" announcement is yet to come! Shhhhhhh.....

Production process photos, updates, and photos of HB swag!
over 1 year ago – Mon, May 01, 2023 at 06:15:48 PM

We want to thank you all for patiently waiting as we continue the production process with our printer!

This has gone far beyond the timeline we expected and we at Iron  Age greatly apologize for the delays.  Some of the delays were caused by incorrect depth/sizing of the slipcase and some were caused by incorrect image files in the design (that last part was totally my fault). 

Overall, the communication has been very slow with the printer and every question or concern brought up takes a week (or more!) to address at times.  Our best estimate for us to package and ship the books and folios to you is now mid-June. We will keep you updated as progress moves along!

In the meantime, here are some photos sent of the final production re-design sent by the printer this weekend (for those process nerds out there!)

Below are photos of some of the bonus items included in the Collector's Box tier and as add-ons when the Backerkit survey goes out!

Production update, slipcase progress and more!
over 1 year ago – Tue, Mar 07, 2023 at 06:21:13 PM

Hey everyone!

We're happy to provide you some updates on the production of The Haunted Box #1!

Biggest news: we have a prototype slipcase/folio built from the printer! This process took longer than expected, but the folio is definitely the slowest part of the production. We're excited to see photos sent in by the overseas team! Check them out below.

Below is the updated production timeline:

• Digital proof from printer (Printlore) and any corrections needed made to the files. [Estimated time: 1 week or less.] COMPLETE
• Physical proof produced and reviewed by Iron Age Comics and the printer. We'll be reviewing for quality and they'll be using the physical proofs to create the exact dimensions needed for the slipcase production. Backerkit Surveys sent to backers to lock in shipping addresses. [Estimated time: 3 weeks or less.] BACKERKIT SURVEYS IN PROGRESS FOR MARCH; PROOFS REVIEWED BY PRINTER COMPLETE.
• Haunted Box #1 Copies go into production overseas. Slipcase specs sent to Iron Age to finalize folio design. [Estimated time: 2 weeks or less.] DELAYED DUE TO MULTIPLE CORRECTIONS IDENTIFIED DURING THE PROOFING PROGRESS. NEW ESTIMATE: 1 MORE WEEK.
• Slipcase design goes to printer to begin folio production. IN PROGRESS/ON SCHEDULE. Additional Domestic rewards orders are placed and go into production. [Estimated time: 4 weeks or less.] IN PROGRESS/1 WEEK OFF SCHEDULE
• Estimated shipping time for Slipcase folio plus comic magazines from Asia: [Estimated time: 4 weeks or less.] NOT YET IN PROGRESS
• Estimated time for fulfillment (sorting, packaging, and shipping out): 1 week or less. NOT YET IN PROGRESS

Shipping time from Iron Age HQ to your doorstep: Varies from 3 days to 4 weeks, depending on your distance from New York, USA. NOT YET IN PROGRESS

Note some of the estimated production times stated above will overlap, meaning our overall estimate is shorter than the total sum of all of the weeks listed out. The estimated timeline, if maxed out, takes us past our original goal of a February delivery date.  Our best adjusted estimate to ship out the packages is currently the end of April -to-the-beginning-of-May at the soonest. The longest estimate is currently projected to be the end of May. We will keep you posted with updates if the timeline changes for better or worse!

Haunted Box #1 Digital Copy Delivered!
almost 2 years ago – Mon, Jan 30, 2023 at 03:39:05 PM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Happy New Year! Here's a jam-packed update!
almost 2 years ago – Fri, Dec 30, 2022 at 10:40:48 AM

Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday season and has a great New Year celebration!

We wanted to update you all with some new artwork and a production status.

ART UPDATES

PRODUCTION UPDATE ('Rona strikes again!)

Technically, we are still on track for a physical delivery of March 2023 (this is pushed back from February 23 as per the last update).

Unfortunately, one of our artists who was SO CLOSE to being done with pages came down with COVID in late November/Early DEC. Their entire work schedule got pushed back, but they're now plugging away at their final pages. The good news is the artist is doing both line art and tone/color work, so we don't have to get these pages to another artist to complete the coloring.

In addition to that delay, one of our colorists got a huge opportunity with a major publisher and their work has compounded. As a result, their Haunted Box page production has slowed. We are against the clock but it's still possible we'll make delivery in March!

In the meantime, we have regular communication with our printer who is excited to cut the folio for our die-cut slipcase! 

Failed Kickstarter credit card payments

Lastly, we regret to have to address several failed credit card payments from some of our backers. It's a totally understandable part of life and we hope those backers can support future projects! The only reason we have to address it here is because the failed payments totaled over $1500 of a loss to our project.  We are in danger of not being able to pay for the foil cover stretch goal for all physical backers. Here's our plan to keep the foil cover alive:

1) We'll be reaching out one more time to our failed payment backers to see if they would like to renew their pledge using our Backerkit survey update (coming soon).

2) We are currently building an Indigogo campaign to attempt to recoup the lost funds and grow our fan base further! We'll share that with you all when it's ready so you can pass along to friends who missed out on the Kickstarter.

Thanks again so much for having faith in our project and we can't wait to put this book in your hands!