State of the Bug, August 2024
Mike here with the ol’ State of the Bug.
It’s been a fantastic year of growth.
We will have debuted 8 new series this year, bringing our entire catalog to 36 total series. We think that’s an excellent place to stay for a moment. Our next objective is to expand our audience, and we can't wait to discuss our plans with you once everything is official.
One area of growth that’s been particularly rewarding has been working with so many more successful creators this year on new series like Bombshell & Atomica (Kat Calamia and Phil Falco), Curse of the Gorgon (Brian Hawkins), Pirates of Miskatonia (Martin Dunn) and a co-published title called Fangers with Garrett Gunn (Good Boy, Warcorns).
MORE TO COME ON FANGERS, AS WE WILL BE LAUNCHING IN LATE SEPTEMBER.
But for now, here’s a cover:
FULFILLMENT/SHIPPING UPDATE
We have returned to charging for shipping at the same time as the campaign after Curse of the Gorgon. It will be the last title where shipping will be paid later through Backerkit. This is a positive change made with your best interests at heart. We know it’s not fun filling out a survey later and realizing you owe more money when the project has been funded and sat dormant for months before distributing. It can be a jarring surprise financially, big or small, and we’ve decided to avoid that entirely in the future.
We’re now distributing from two locations: our West Virginia home office and our shipping partner, Laguna Studios, in Texas. From now on, you can expect to receive tracking information from ShipStation for all your packages.
WE LAUNCHED NO MORE GODS 2 TODAY
Bill Stoddard (Death Nell, Lady of the Black Fan) put together an excellent first issue that set us up with so many fun avenues to explore. With Kris and I taking over story duties, we want to bring some epic action sequences that recall God of War in scale.
I have always loved the idea of a being that absorbs the powers of their fallen foes, and The Antigod demonstrates that marvelously in this issue.
And, come on, that sword is just ridiculously awesome.
This series is going to be a lot of fun. That’s what we aim for - wild and fun.
KICKSTARTER FULFILLMENT STATUS
Curse of the Gorgon 1 - Surveys sent! Book is nearly complete. Just being lettered. Should be on track to deliver digital rewards in a week. You can pre-order here: https://curse-of-the-gorgon-1-a-mythical-thriller.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
Death Nell 4 - 100% Shipped.
Vanya: The Lost Warrior 7 - Digital rewards have been fulfilled. Awaiting print order. You can pre-order here: https://vanya-the-lost-warrior-7-a-prehistoric-adventure.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
HyperGeist 4 - Nearly there! We need three colored pages, and then we can move on to lettering. We will deliver in September. You can pre-order here: https://hypergeist-4.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
Sex Spells 1 - still shipping. 15% complete.
Final Girl Next Door 1 - 85% Fulfilled. Should be 100% by week’s end.
Bobby Jo 4 - Art is 60% complete. We’re at a good pace here. We will beat our delivery date of December.
Bad Bug Midnight Artbook Volume 1 - 90% done with developing the artbook. Lot more work in this than we anticipated initially. Still on track for a December delivery if not sooner. You can pre-order here: https://bad-bug-midnight-artbook-volume-1.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
Abyssal Empire 1 - nearly complete. Should be ready for digital delivery by next week.
AstroWitch 3 - Digital rewards have been fulfilled. Awaiting print order to ship. You can pre-order here: https://astrowitch1-3.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
Undercity Tales 2 - Digital rewards have been fulfilled. Awaiting print order to ship. You can pre-order here: https://undercity-tales-1-2.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
Don’t Talk to the Dead 2 - Digital rewards will be fulfilled soon. Awaiting print order to ship. You can pre-order here: https://dont-talk-to-the-dead-1-2.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
Lady of the Black Fan 1 - book is finished. Surveys will be sent next week and digital rewards will be soon to follow.
Pirates of Miskatonia 1 - Book is almost complete. Just waiting on some additional pages and then lettering. Digital rewards will likely be delivered in mid-September, way ahead of schedule.
MEET SOME OF THE BUGS
CONVENTION APPEARANCES
We had a great time in July and August catching up with fans and friends (or frands, as we would call them) at Huntington Comic & Toy Convention and West Virginia Pop Con. We were fortunate to run into fellow creators Aaron Dowen, DC Horn, Wes Gift, Joe DeSantos, and Jason Lennox and spread the gospel of Bad Bug to new believers everywhere.
NEXT STOP…BALTIMORE COMIC-CON! September 20-22, 2024
Show Hours:
Friday: 1pm-7pm
Saturday: 10am-7pm
Sunday: 10am-5pm
Booth #1908
PATREON EXCLUSIVE THIS MONTH
You only have a few days left to snag this exclusive cover on Patreon.
Here’s how July’s exclusive cover turned out.
That’s it for now, gang! Our next set of updates is going to be extra juicy, so stick around!
Bugs and Kisses,
Mike and the Bad Bug crew