Digital Rewards! Swag pix!
10 months ago – Sun, Jul 16, 2023 at 05:23:18 PM

Hi everyone!

Hope everyone is having a great summer so far! We've been busy not only getting our next excellent Kickstarter project ready for launch in a few weeks, but also getting ready for San Diego Comic-Con this week... We won't have a booth this year (but we will have  "virtual convention booth" open for 6-days with some cool exclusive stuff available!)  We're looking forward to seeing friends we only seem to see once a year, and if we can share some Toby love, even better!

We've been getting the final items in from the manufacturers and its all looking great -- 

But not only have all the PHYSICAL items been pouring in, but we also got all of the DIGITAL rewards uploaded and distributed! 🤩

You may have already received an email notification from Backerkit earlier this afternoon, but if not, check your inboxes, or check your Backerkit page directly.

You will find all of the links and instructions in your personal Backerkit page (which you can access at https://my-friend-toby.backerkit.com/). Once logged in, you should see a  big blue button in the middle of the page that says "Get Your Digital Downloads" -- click on that to see your individual links for each item due.

The Add-on books are all hosted by Gumroad -- you will have to follow the (simple) instructions to use your unique codes to download your files from Gumroad for free. 😊 

If you have any trouble or questions about the process, feel free to ask here or in a direct message, we're happy to help!

Since we'll be gone for most of the week, we hope to get your AMBASSADOR REWARD POINTS distributed as soon as we get back the following week. 

Have a great week, everyone! 

A busy summer :)
10 months ago – Thu, Jun 22, 2023 at 09:00:33 AM

Hi everone!

There's not much news to report, but a couple of you have requested an update. 😊 The books are still inbound from the printer, and we expect them in the next 2-3 weeks or so. Port congestion seems pretty clear these days, and customs has been able to things around quickly, but there's always that small chance that the shipping container carrying our books will be randomly selected for inspection, which could add a few days to the journey... Either way, we still think that a late-July shipping window seems comfortable. We'll keep you all posted as we get closer to that date!

We're aiming to get the digital rewards ready for distribution through Backerkit next week, so keep an eye out for that update soon! 😊

STAY TUNED -- MORE TO COME!

Locking orders on Friday!
11 months ago – Wed, May 24, 2023 at 12:19:24 PM

Hi everyone!

Just a quick update to let you know that we'll be locking the Backerkit orders on Friday! This means you won't be able to make any more changes to your order after that point. Specifically, that refers to your pledge selection and the items in your cart. You will still be able to adjust your address later until we lock those down for shipping, but that won't happen until later in July. (We'll let you know when that date approaches.)

SO PLEASE BE SURE YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR SURVEY BY FRIDAY!

If you haven't done so yet, please log in at https://my-friend-toby.backerkit.com/ using your Kickstarter-associated email address and complete the survey/order process.

Please note: If you used a privaterelay.appleid email address on Kickstarter (probably from creating your Kickstarter account on your iPhone without specifying a real email address), then your survey link may not work. Please message us here on Kickstarter with an alternate email address, and we will update your Backerkit survey to go to that location instead.

In addition to making sure your order items are correct, please also be sure your payment method is current. Once we initiate the order lock on Friday, it will start a 48-hour "last chance" window before Backerkit truly does lock that information down. Any amount due (add-ons, shipping, etc) will then be collected on Monday. If Backerkit runs into any trouble with your payment method, they will notify you repeatedly until you fix it. We can't ship your rewards until they collect any balance due!

We will begin producing the final items (ribbons, patches, etc) next week so that everything can be in hand by the end of June. Our hope is that the books and everything will be ready to start packing and shipping at the end of July! We will, of course, keep you posted.

Thanks again, everyone! 😊

Advance copy pix and a flipthrough video!
12 months ago – Sat, May 13, 2023 at 02:42:23 PM

Hi everyone!

What a cool way to end the week -- we got advance copies of MY FRIEND TOBY from the printers yesterday, and it is AWESOME! Check out a few quick pix --

We got so excited we made a quick flip-through video, too...

Now that the advance copies have been received and approved, the rest are being loaded onto a boat next week for the long trip across the Pacific to our warehouse, a journey that will probably take 6-8 weeks. Hopefully, the awful port congestion and customs queues that have plagued the supply chain these past two years won't raise their ugly heads again...

In the meantime, we will be getting the rest of the items together, including the ribbon pins, squeeze balls, etc so that once the books arrive in late June we can hopefully start shipping orders right away. Our goal is to have everything (including international orders) shipped before the end of July, if not sooner. We will, of course, keep you posted as those dates get closer.

While you wait, if you are a fan of speculative sci-fi like Star Trek or The Expanse, you may want to check out our next Kickstarter launching on Tuesday --

This is a bit of a new type of project for us: a brand new, original science fiction anthology produced by some absolutely amazing comic creators under the creative direction of design studio Horrible Future!

"Centuries of exponentially advancing technological discoveries have ultimately ushered Mankind to the stars and beyond. Each new star, each new planet, each new lightyear traveled reveals wonders never imagined. But for all the distances explored, there lies one unreachable domain, a mysterious destination we all go to eventually… THE GREAT DARK...

Each starfaring spacecraft is equipped with a comprehensive data recorder: a BLACK BOX that records every layer of collectible data within its fixed perimeter. Salvaging the remnants of a crashed spacecraft can be a highly lucrative business, and recovering the details behind a tragic disaster can reveal hidden truths and untold personal stories… as well as hints towards greater secrets…"

Written by Horrible Future cofounders MARK SCHEY and CHRIS NORTHROP, this stellar volume includes artwork by celebrated award winners and nominees such as David Mack (Daredevil, Kabuki), Michael Avon Oeming (Powers, Bulletproof Monk), Zach Howard (Hellboy, Wild Blue Yonder), Eryk Donovan (Memetic, Quantum Teens are Go), Marco Fodera (Nathan Never), Gavin Smith (Star Trek: Mirrorverse), Toru Terada (Small World), David Messina (Star Wars: Han Solo & Chewbacca, 3Keys), Giovanni Rigano (Global, Artemis Fowl), Drew Moss (The Crow, Red Sonja), Christian Dibari (Revolvers, Providence of Madness), Taki Soma (Sleeping While Standing, Bitch Planet), Mario Alberti (Spider-man and the Fantastic Four, The Wall)., SARAH BASLAIM, FLAVIO DISPENZA, K. MICHAEL RUSSEL and M. SEAN MCMANUS.

In addition to the anthology, we're producing a world-building Art Book entitled BLACK BOX: DESIGN SPACE featuring an encyclopedic look at the various devices, locations, and technologies that make up this new future setting. Illustrated by concept artist Shane Molina, this supplemental book is full of amazing, rich cutaway schematics and lore that add further dimension and layers to the mysteries explored in the anthology.

This really is a sci-fi lover's FEAST, and we hope you'll check it out when it launches on TUESDAY! We'll have the usual assortment of premium exclusives and exciting Stretch Goals to make it another thrilling campaign you will not want to miss! :)

If cool sci-fi comics are your thing, be sure to go to www.blackboxchronicles.com to pre-register for a FREE double-sided star map poster, then click over to the Kickstarter page now to be notified when we launch.

Thanks, everyone!

(Edit) - We posted this update too soon! Smoke Tests have been sent!
about 1 year ago – Fri, Apr 28, 2023 at 03:15:32 PM

Hi everyone!

If you feel like you just read this update and it said something completely different, that's because we JUST NOW got confirmation from Backerkit that the surveys have been greenlit and the Smoke Test has been sent. 😊

While we reported (just a few minutes ago) that it looked like they might not go out until Monday, we are completely revising this update's text to state the opposite!

5% of you will receive your surveys immediately -- please watch your inboxes for a message from @backerkit.com in case you are one of the lucky few! That small early portion is meant to give us a chance to fix any unexpected issues or answer any questions that come up before the full batch of surveys are sent. They usually suggest waiting 24 hours or until 75% of those Smoke Test surveys are complete to make sure everything is running smoothly before sending out the rest. So, assuming everything is working as expected, we should be able to send out the rest of the surveys over the weekend. 😊

We will, of course, let you all know here once they go out!

Thanks for your patience and for your support behind the campaign! More to come...! 😊