BackerKit Smoke Test and another sneak peek at an inked page from Midnight Tiger!
11 months ago – Fri, Oct 20, 2023 at 11:55:22 AM

Happy Friday everyone!

This update is short and sweet, so we won’t take too much time before you’re all off enjoying the weekend. We just have two things for you.

(1) BackerKit Smoke Test

After going through BackerKit with a fine-tooth comb on our end and with the BackerKit team, we are ready to deploy the Smoke Test. The Smoke Test will randomly choose 5% of Midnight Tiger backers and give them early access to their surveys. This is a quality assurance check. If you are selected for the Smoke Test and find any hiccups with your survey or if something like an Add-On you added through Kickstarter didn’t migrate over to BackerKit, please shoot us a DM and we will fix the hiccup on the backend.

Hopefully, there won’t be any bugs like this. If there are any, our team will correct surveys before they are sent out to all backers. We’re aiming to open BackerKit surveys to everyone on Monday, October 23rd.

(2) Inked Sneak Peek

Ray-Anthony Height is cranking out pages for Midnight Tiger and really wanted to share this page inked by Pete Pantazis as a little weekend treat for everyone.

Again, thank you all so much for supporting Midnight Tiger on Kickstarter. We really appreciate your continued support to bring this project to life.

-CEX and the Midnight Tiger Team

Production Update!
11 months ago – Thu, Oct 19, 2023 at 10:46:23 AM

Hey Backers!

Andy Schmidt here, publisher at CEX. It's been a while since we've updated you, so I wanted to give you some insight as to where Ray and the team are with the book. There are still a few more pages to go, but we are looking to have coloring and lettering wrapped up in November. 

As the final pages are coming in, the design team will be working on the design of the book and other items in the campaign. Our hope and target is to go to print around the first or second week of December, largely depending on how the holidays interfere with our best laid plans.

I believe we've mentioned this before, but the book is being printed overseas with a plant that I love working with in South Korea. They do phenomenal work. If you've enjoyed IDW's Artist Editions, this is the same printer that handle those great, high-end books. The downside is that it adds to the production timeline. So even though manufacturing should take about three or four weeks at the plant to complete the project, all the shipping times mean we'll still have a couple of months after that.

I've been in frequent contact with our fulfillment partner, and we've got a solid plan in place that should hopefully make fulfillment go rather smoothly and quickly.

I don't want to over promise our timeline because I know the holidays always slow things down with companies taking days off, limited hours of operation, the creative team and CEX staff also taking time off, so there will be a bit of a slow down. I'm hesitant to say a month that you  should be getting your books, but we hope to be shipping books out from the fulfillment company in March, though I want to be up front that things can happen and it could slide. But again, I sincerely hope not and we're working diligently towards that goal.

As always, thank you all for your patience, we know you're going to love the book, and I'm super excited to see it all finalized, too!

And let me tell you. The pages I'm seeing coming in look FANTASTIC! As much as I wish they were coming in faster, they're totally worth the wait. Here's a little taste of Pete Pantazis' coloring work I got just yesterday! 

Thanks so much!

Andy Schmidt

CEX Publishing

Big thank you for making the Midnight Tiger: Origins Kickstarter BADASS! And, next steps.
about 1 year ago – Wed, Sep 06, 2023 at 03:04:05 PM

We frickin’ did it. Midnight Tiger: Origins met and surpassed its funding goal on Kickstarter and that’s all because of you! Ray-Anthony Height and CEX cannot thank you all enough for making this beautiful hardcover collection a reality and we cannot wait to deliver the final product to you in 2024.

And, now a special video from the Midnight Tiger creator Ray-Anthony Height:

So, what’s next?

Here’s a little road map of what to expect in the next coming weeks while the rest of the interiors are in the work and we prep the book for press.

Week 1: Today, Kickstarter will collect fees and charge the card linked to your Kickstarter account. If your pledge payment did not go through (the card used was reported stolen, the charge was flagged by your bank, maxed out, etc.), Kickstarter will give you a chance to update your payment information. Please check to see if you’ve been notified by Kickstarter that there was an issue with paying for your pledge. You’ll have until next Tuesday night to resolve any payment issues.

Note: If you’re unable to resolve this pledge issue by then, it’s no big deal. Shoot us a DM and we’ll be able to make sure your pledge goes through post-campaign via BackerKit.

Week 2: BackerKit surveys go out (around September 22). Once Kickstarter has finalized everything on their end, we’ll be able to send out surveys via BackerKit. For those of you new to crowdfunding or who have never used BackerKit before, it’s a platform used to collect backer shipping details and info like shirt sizes. We’ll also be collecting shipping fees here. And, if you wanted to add any reward items you missed during the Kickstarter to your existing pledge, you’ll be able to do that through BackerKit!

December 2023: We are aiming to deliver all digital rewards for Midnight Tiger: Origins before the holidays in December. Digital rewards will be sent in an email with a download code from BackerKit.

2024 and beyond…we’ll keep you updated on the project’s progress. If all goes as planned (and we’re not affected by mass Global Warming or another pandemic *knocks on wood*), Midnight Tiger: Origins is scheduled to go to press shortly after digital rewards are distributed.

Some things don’t go as planned and we’re just as flexible as Teddy. If any delays arise, backers will be the first to know and be notified right here in a Kickstarter update.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to shoot us a direct message.

Again, thank you so much for supporting Midnight Tiger on Kickstarter. Ray and CEX cannot wait to get this awesome hardcover in your hands next year.

Less than 24 hours left to pledge ⌛! Comic Book Industry Virtual Panel - Exclusive to Midnight Tiger: Origins backers and CEX mailing list subscribers!
about 1 year ago – Tue, Sep 05, 2023 at 02:03:55 PM

We're racing towards the finish line with the Midnight Tiger: Origins Kickstarter campaign, and we can't believe the incredible support you've shown so far! With just 24 hours left, don't miss out on the Midnight Tiger: Origins Hardcover with the Kickstarter Exclusive dust jacket and other amazing rewards offered in this campaign.

Exclusive Zoom Panel with Ray-Anthony Height and other Comic Book Industry Pros
Along with all the rewards offered in this Kickstarter, backers will also get an invitation to join a Zoom Panel later in the year featuring creator Ray-Anthony Height and other industry professionals who helped make this Kickstarter possible. Backers will get insider knowledge on the ins-and-outs of making comics from creators, crowdfunders, editors, and more. A Backer-only update and email with details will be sent out after BackerKit surveys go out in the next few weeks.

Remember, the clock is ticking, and our Kickstarter campaign will be closing in less than 24 hours. Let's make the final stretch count!

Again, thank you for being a part of the Midnight Tiger: Origins Kickstarter and a part of the first CEX Kickstarter.

Art Class with Ray-Anthony Height @4 PM PST: Layout & Storytelling - Discord Link for Backers Only!
about 1 year ago – Fri, Sep 01, 2023 at 01:34:27 PM

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