Backerkit Surveys are out!
about 2 years ago – Sun, Nov 20, 2022 at 12:50:17 AM

It's true! Your Concrete Arcanum Backerkit Surveys are in your inbox!

 This is a very important step in the process. I need the information I get from the surveys for things like putting your name on the backer page and knowing how many of  what items I need to order. The sooner you get it done, the sooner I can get you your rewards!

SO I'm going to offer a little incentive. If you get your backer kit survey completed before Thanksgiving Day (that's this coming Thursday for the international folks out there) You can use the code SURVEY5 to get $5 worth of credit in the pre-order store!

The code is going to expire on Thursday 11/24/22, so get you surveys done by then!

Thanks again for backing Concrete Arcanum on Kickstarter!

More soon! Till then, be good!

But not too good

-Nathan

SUCCESS!!
about 2 years ago – Wed, Nov 02, 2022 at 01:59:31 AM

CONCRETE ARCANUM HAS FUNDED!!!

Ladies, gentlemen, and peoples non-conforming, I am pleased to announce that Concrete Arcanum has officially funded. A most sincere thank you to everyone who backed, all of the contributing creators, and everyone who shared, posted, or otherwise shouted out the campaign. It was an absolute nail-biter and, I'm not going to lie, I was pretty nervous. But we pulled it out in the last 24 hours.

You guys rock!!

So what next?

The Kickstarter gnomes are already hard at work collecting pledges. 93% have already been collected successfully, but there are still a few backers whose pledges are "ERRORED" This usually happens because of an expired credit card. Pretty easily fixable, but it holds up the process. So if you could please take a second to your Kickstarter account at https://www.kickstarter.com/login and make sure everything's in order, that would be swell. It helps keep the ball rolling towards fulfillment, and it's especially important if you want to make sure your name is on the backer page.

Secondly, the Milestone Bonus Bundles will be going out later this week via Kickstarter's messaging system, so keep an eye on that space for your well deserved bonus comics!

Thanks again to everyone who made this moment possible.

I couldn't do what I do without you.

Literally.

Best regards,

-Nathan

12 HOURS LEFT!
about 2 years ago – Mon, Oct 31, 2022 at 11:19:15 AM

THIS IS IT!

There's just 12 HOURS LEFT to back

CONCRETE ARCANUM on Kickstarter!

With just 10% remaining, we are sooo close!

I love this project! I want you to see it! I want you to see what these awesome creators have come together to create! I want all these cool creators to be able to declare victory! They deserve it!

AND thanks to the very gracious Travis Gibb, everyone who backs between now and the end of the campaign will get a copy of his Lovecraftian anthology CTHULHU INVADES OZ included in your reward!

This is an incredible value on top of all the other bonus bundles backers are getting! The Kickstarter is over at 12 Noon U.S. Central Time!

Funded or not, I do hope you'll join us at 11:30 for the final countdown party!

You can CLICK HERE to watch on my YouTube channel

Or CLICK HERE to watch on Facebook

It is most definitely the final countdown!

What will happen? We'll find out tomorrow!

Till next then, be spooky!

But not too spooky 🎃

- Nathan

Why CONCRETE ARCANUM?
about 2 years ago – Wed, Oct 26, 2022 at 03:12:59 AM

There comes a time in every crowdfunder’s career, often in the final days of a campaign, in which they ask “Why am I doing this to myself? Why am I putting myself through this?”

Kidding (mostly).

Maybe what I mean is more like, “Why am I doing Concrete Arcanum? Why this of all the projects I could be doing?” And that question is quite a bit easier to answer.

1. I’ve always loved the core idea behind modern fantasy. That all the things I read about in mythology and in Tolkien  could be hiding amongst us today. That there’s a secret world hiding just out of sight that a privileged few could access. Back during my caricature days, I would sit at my booth in the mall wondering what fantastical secrets the people walking by might be hiding or how cool it would be if a wizard dual broke out in the rotunda.

2. I’ve taken in a lot of modern fantasy and supernatural media at this point, and from Buffy to Dresden to Harry Potter to American Gods, the magical world is always hidden away from the oblivious mundane public. The reasoning always being that people couldn’t handle the truth. But that got me thinking, what about all real world revelations and bombshells that we’ve had the last several years. Heck, the last several decades. At this point, it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch if it was revealed that magic was real and had been in hiding all this time. What would happen if that became mainstream public knowledge? Would society collapse? Would everyone move on with a shrug? How would it affect everyday life?

3. The concept was too good to pass on, and I realized that I was uniquely positioned to answer it. Not only because I’m a writer/illustrator/publisher of indie comics, but because I had access to an entire community of creative people, each of whom would have their own unique take and perspective on the question. I put out the call, invited submissions, and sought out contributors. Thus Concrete Arcanum was born.

I didn’t know what to expect when I put out the call for submissions, but when the final work first started rolling in, I couldn’t believe how good it was! The art, the writing, the ideas that were coming in… I thought I had a good idea before, but now I knew it.

There are stories about mythical creatures learning to adapt to a modern age, stories about parents worried about their kids getting into magic, stories about dating in the post-magical world, stories about revealing one’s mystical nature to mundane friends, and more! Not to mention the number of different voices and perspectives that have weighed in! There are creators from here in the states to as far away as Australia and India! That says to me that there is something with universal resonance about this idea.

And that is why I’m doing this and why I believe in Concrete Arcanum. Because deep down we all want to believe that there is still magic and mystery in the world, even if it is just out of reach. And maybe, just maybe, someday it will make itself known to us.

If that sounds like you, please join me in helping to bring these 20 tales about magic in the modern day to life.

They could not be a better bunch of stories. I love them and I know you will too.

The Kickstarter is over on Friday at 12 Noon U.S. Central Time and we’ve got about 30% left to go!

And whatever happens, I do hope you'll join us at 11:30 for the final countdown party!

You can CLICK HERE to watch on my YouTube channel

Or CLICK HERE to watch on Facebook

I'm going to see how many of them I can get to show up in costume. Will we be celebrating? Will we be crying? Either way, it's going to be entertaining!

More soon!

Till next then, be spooky!

But not too spooky 🎃

- Nathan

Sketch-A-Day Giveaway 3!
about 2 years ago – Sun, Oct 23, 2022 at 08:55:32 AM

Congratulations to Andrew D!

He's the winner of yesterday's Sketch-a-day Giveaway and he'll be be getting a personalized sketchcard included with his reward! 

And speaking off, here's the one I did for UnownShadow, winner of the first sketch card!

To your chance to get a personalized sketch card featuring your character of choice, just back Concrete Arcanum at any level and answer the question of the day!

And today that question is:

What's your favorite fantasy thing?

I'm not particular about the medium. Movies, TV, books, comics, whatever!

Leave your answer in the comments below and keep an eye on your Kickstarter messages! I’ll be picking a winner tomorrow morning!

Till then, be spooky!

But not too spooky! 🎃

-Nathan