The final week begins!
about 1 year ago – Tue, Feb 07, 2023 at 07:32:37 AM

Electricians!

We're heading around the corner into the home stretch and I'm happy to say that we've knocked off the first two stretch goals. The Electricia and Dr Hate trading cards have been unlocked and all physical backers will be getting those included with their packages! We've had a few cancels but the Lover Boy card is still super close to also being released into the wild and, with a little luck and elbow grease over the last 7 days, here's a look at the next batch of trading cards coming your way. 

I'm dying to reach the mystery card because once you see it, you'll agree it's something we never knew we needed in our lives until it was right there in front of us. And credit where it's due, all the cards are designed by our very own Robb Miller! Aside from being an amazing colorist, Robb also creates the videos we use in the New Pain campaigns.  I keep trying to find something he's not good at but so far, he's got me checkmated.

ANYWAY...

If you guys want to see the mystery card as much as I do, shareshareshare! And remember to use the hashtag #theswitchbaby so we can add you to our raffle where one lucky winner is taking home a brand new Batman And Robin Omnibus.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE...

One more, to be exact. There's still one more Doug Mahnke "RED" variant of the original Switch hardcover available. The Mahnke covers are extremely rare and this is the last one I have on hand. If you'd like it, just adjust your pledge by $40 ($60 if you want a remarked headsketch of a Switch character) and drop a note and it's all yours! 

FINALLY!

I've tried to keep the cross-promoting to a minimum during this campaign but you all need to know about GOLDEN YEARS, which launched this morning on Kickstarter.

In Golden Years, Captain Future, a superhero from the 1950s, is trapped in suspended animation by his archenemy and not freed until 2023. He awakens to a bizarre new world, a fish out of water looking for a way to get back to his own time.

 GOLDEN YEARS is a complete 120-page graphic novel written by my friend Michael Katz, with art by Kevin Maguire, Jack Herbert, rising star Netho Diaz and some other guy. It's got colors by Julio Santos and is lettered by 5th grade spelling bee champion Alphie Betts.

If you like your comics with some drama, some comedy, some action, some heart and some eyewatering art, this is right up your alley. Golden Years gets my highest possible recommendation so if you've got a second,  CLICK THESE WORDS RIGHT HERE AND GET GOLDEN! 

That's all for now, team. Let's hit this final week hard and when the smoke clears, Tom Nguyen will buy you all a drink.

Your best friend,

Keith Champagne

Podcasts, new rewards and more!
about 1 year ago – Thu, Feb 02, 2023 at 07:23:01 AM

Electricians!

You ever have one of those days? Mine is starting out like one. I just finished writing this update the first time, possibly my finest writing of all time (SHAKESPEAREAN EVEN!) and...my computer blinked out on me and it was lost to the abyss. 

So...let's give it another shot.

Last night, Tom "Tommy" Nguyen, "Double B" Robb Miller and myself had a little chat with Cody for his Keeping It Geekly pop culture livestream.  Cody's a great host, he always comes prepared and brings a lot of positive energy to the table. If you dig through his archives, he's had some amazing guests on his show too, so I recommend busting out a shovel.  If you want to give the Switch episode a listen,  CHECK IT OUT RIGHT HERE! I even talk a little shit on my editor from the last time I wrote Superman if you're the type that enjoys a little "inside baseball."

NEW REWARDS

A RETAILER REWARD TIER has been added to the page offering a substantial discount for our brick and mortar partners. Also, I've (grudgingly) offered up the original art to the Electricia pin up I drew, that the legendary Keith Williams inked. 

I kinda hope no one picks it up because how many times am I gonna be inked by Keith Williams? But the first stretch goal is getting close so I'll take one for the team. By the way, if you've never met Keith Williams, he's literally the nicest man in comics and potentially, the nicest guy on the planet. I'm not sure, I haven't met everybody walking the earth yet but trust me, Keith is a gem of a human being. If you're ever at the same convention, seek him out!

ALSO...

We've added 10 copies of my hardcover graphic novel, FRANK N. STEIN, PRIVATE EYE to the add-on section of the campaign.  Each story is drawn in a different style by the incredible Dev Madan and features Frankie solving cases for other fictional characters (Popeye, Red Riding Hood, the Riverdale Gang, to name a few). The books are listed at 50% off cover price and come signed by the author. So if it sounds like something you'd enjoy, thanks in advance.

Caring is sharing, guys. By all means tell a friend and hopefully, we knock off some stretch goals along the way!

Your best friend,

Keith Champagne

THANK YOU! and Stretch Goals
over 1 year ago – Fri, Jan 27, 2023 at 08:22:39 AM

Electricians! 

Something magical happened last night. Maybe you noticed, maybe you were sleeping, maybe you have an actual life and weren't paying much attention but...

WE HIT OUR FUNDING GOAL!

Barely (so far). A couple of cancels could put us right back in the woods so we'll keep trying to drive this sucker up the mountain. Tom, Robb and I have a few podcasts coming up that should help. If you know a guy that knows a guy that likes comic books, send 'em our way!

IN THE MEANTIME...

How about some stretch goals?

Robb Miller did a fantastic job designing these Switch trading cards and we've set them at tiers that we think are attainable for this campaign.  There are three more cards (The Truth, The Moss and a mystery card) waiting in the wings to be unveiled that will make up a complete set. All we'll need after that is a stick of cardboard-like chewing gum to complete the experience!

Let's keep pushing, guys. Thanks again for being here with us.

Your best friend,

Keith Champagne 

Ever heard of Dreadstar?
over 1 year ago – Wed, Jan 25, 2023 at 01:12:45 PM

Electricians!

A quick update to let you all know that we're super close to our funding goal, over 90% of the way.  Whatever you guys are doing to get the word out is definitely working, thanks! All we need is roughly 8-10 more backers  to get us across the finish line so if you know a guy, feel free to send him to bit.ly/theswitchbaby.

To help fight the good fight, Tom Nguyen drew up a nice piece of Electricia art to add to the campaign page:

We'll be creating a new $150 tier tomorrow to list this on the page but wanted to give you guys first dibs. If any of you would like this new Electricia art, we're offering it to our existing backers first for only $100.  All you need to do is add $100 of extra support to your pledge and leave a note. Landers will verify and it's all yours. 

In the meantime, if you're looking for something else to read, I've been working hard behind the scenes with the crew from MonkeyWrench and Jim Starlin on the new Dreadstar graphic novel, Dreadstar VS The Inevitable. 

Jim Starlin's work speaks for itself and as one of maybe 4-5 people that have already read this, I can tell you it's freakin' great! We're lucky to have Jim creating new Dreadstar work if you ask me. If you'd like to check it out, by all means HIT THIS LINK RIGHT NOW! 

And Finally...

Good friend of New Pain and former American Ninja competitor, Charlie McElvy, is running a campaign to collect his Spider Squirrel series into one complete package.  His campaign is already funded and they're knocking away at their stretch goals.  Aside from Charlie, Spider Squirrel is LOADED with talent and it's a really fun, exciting, heartwarming series. To paraphrase my own pull quote I gave Charlie once, "if you're not reading Spider Squirrel, you're a d*ck."

Sound like your cup of tea? Well, New Pain highly recommends Spider-Squirrel. If you'd like to check it out,  MAKE WITH THE CLICK! 

That's enough for today, guys, right? Thanks for reading and we'll see you soon with some stretch goals!

Your best friend,

Keith Champagne

State Of The Union Address
over 1 year ago – Mon, Jan 23, 2023 at 07:53:15 AM

Electricians! 

How were your weekends? Everything going OK for all of you out there in the big, wide world? I hope this update finds all of you doing well!

Things in Switch-land have been...interesting, in relation to the campaign. We're currently hovering at 80% funded, a few pledges and a few cancels over the weekend have more or less kept us running in place. 

If you don't mind my venting for a second, it's become a little frustrating to market these New Pain campaigns; it's sort of bizarre how a non-campaign related post on social media will be seen by a ton of people but a campaign-related post is throttled and consistently seen by less than 10% of followers. It's a nut that's getting harder and harder to crack so if any of you are more savvy with social media marketing than I clearly am, feel free to help me bust this almond wide open!

In the meantime, we only need to find about 20 more backers to reach our funding goal and unveil the first stretch goal. If you guys are willing to share out the campaign to your own comic book circles of friends, that always goes a long way.  If you're inclined to post, please use the link bit.ly/theswitchbaby and add the hashtag theswitchbaby so we can keep track. At the end of the campaign, we like to have a raffle to reward a random backer for their help and this time, the raffle prize is:

Still in its shrink wrap, this Omnibus is busting at the seams with great work by Peter Tomasi, Pat Gleason and many more, including myself. I think it retails for like 8 billion dollars so it's pretty much the greatest prize ever, right? So by all means, play to win!

I should also mention that there are still two copies of the Doug Mahnke-variant "RED" cover of the original Switch hardcover available to be claimed.  Here's a look at Doug's cover art, minus the logo and stuff.

The red Switch covers are very rare and difficult to find out in the wild. If you'd like one of these last two copies, be like John N and add an additional $40 to your pledge, $60 if you'd like a head sketch of a Switch character on the interior, leave a note so we can keep track and it's all yours!

That's all for now, gang. Everyone have a great day and let's make some magic happen together as we hit week two of this endeavor!

Your best friend,

Keith Champagne