Back To Earth - A Sapphic, Post-Apocalyptic Graphic Novel

TLDR: 11k sticker reveal + new add-on

Hi everyone!

Thanks to all of you, we are now sitting at 167 backers, and we are SO close to funding with only $1,176 USD ($1,623 CAD) to go! We can nearly touch the finish line!

Your support for independent comics means a whole lot to the team so let me extend a big heartfelt THANK YOU to each of you.

We added a new add-on: Kiwi PDF. Since the paperback version is sold out, we thought that offering the digital version might be a good idea if some of you would like to get it!

I put the 16 physical copies I had left up for grabs, and your support in wanting to read my debut graphic novel has blown me away. This comics is nowhere near perfect; I think we can all see things we would change in our past work while still being proud of it—that's how we grow as creators—but it was my very first official foray in sequential storytelling, I was lucky enough to work with a real all-star creative team, and I'm happy about the result. I hope you guys will enjoy that read as well :)

Anyway, if you want to see if it could interest you, here's what Skylar Patridge and Elsa Charretier had to say about it:





Back to the campaign!

We also surpassed 10k last night which means another sticker reveal! Just like the rest of them, the 11k sticker is so on point. Ver collaborated with Kej for them and they are fantastic. Can't wait to show y'all the last one!


Let's get this fully funded!

Until next time.
Cheers,
MH, Kej & Ines

TLDR: New Sticker Design!

Hi everyone!

I'll write a proper update this week, but in the meantime we've surpassed 9k this weekend so y'all know what this means: a new sticker has been unlocked! Here's the sketch for the 10k sticker that I just couldn't wait to share with everyone! (aren't they all super pretty?!? I love them so much)

We're so close! Let's do this!

Hope you had a great weekend.

Cheers,
MH, Kej & Ines

TLDR: 9k sticker, mini art book talk, and even more art!

Hiiii!

Two updates in two days?! Well, I owed you some new sticker graphic so that's why!

I also realize that we didn't go into details to explain what the Mini Art Book available at some tiers is going to be made of. First off, true story; we wanted a whole different cover for it, but since we were ultra focussed on the graphic novel, Kej ran out of time before the campaign to polish the separate cover. All this to say; yes the final cover for this will be different than the main one! Kej & Ines already have sketches and line art for it :)

So, the mini art book is going to comprise a ton of behind the scenes content for process junkies and art aficionados (like us)! We spent a lot of time to build the aesthetics and mood of the world of Back To Earth and we wanted to share the majority of it with you in the form of an art book. We love all the prep that goes into constructing the visuals of stories we build, and thought it would be fun to offer a glimpse into our process. From sketches to notes, from thumbnails to coloured concepts, we aim for this Mini Art Book to be a feast for the eyes!

In other news, here's the 9k sticker achievement! We're so close y'all. Let's get this funded!



And another reminder of the extras everyone will be getting as soon as we are funded:

- Digital Tiers Backers + Physical Tiers Backers : Liana Kangas high-res wallpaper + Ver's stickers as digital wallpaper
- All Physical Tiers Backers: Ver's oversized sticker sheet (12 stickers inspired by the Back To Earth universe!)
- Physical Backers at the Budding Tier and higher: Extra prints by Liana Kangas, Natasha Alterici, Emily Schnall, Fell Hound, and Orlando B.

Until next time lovely backers,
MH, Kej & Ines

TLDR: Crushing through achievements + Bonuses update

Hi everyone!

There's 119 of you here supporting us, and it means the world. Truly. We are very grateful to you for believing in our emotional yet hopeful story. We are more and more convinced that we'll reach our goal with your help!

I was about to send an update to say that we crushed through 7k and to show off the next achievement for 8k which looked like this:

BUT y'all crushed through 8k as well before I even had time to write up this update yesterday! So we're working on a graphic for that to show you which additional sticker was unlocked and which one is coming up at 9k!

Plus, let's not forget about the fun extras everyone will be getting as soon as we are funded:

- Digital Tiers Backers + Physical Tiers Backers : Liana Kangas high-res wallpaper + Ver's stickers as digital wallpaper
- All Physical Tiers Backers: Ver's oversized sticker sheet (12 stickers inspired by the Back To Earth universe!)
- Physical Backers at the Budding Tier and higher: Extra prints by Liana Kangas, Natasha Alterici, Emily Schnall, Fell Hound, and Orlando B.

We might have more in store, stay tuned!

Speaking of, here's Emily's super pretty B&W piece!


That's about it for now.
Thank you again, and let's keep the ball rolling! We can do this!

Talk soon.

Cheers,
MH, Kej & Ines

TLDR: Getting a little personal, achievements, stickers, and more cool rewards!

Hi everyone!

First off, I want to thank you all for supporting this project, and I'd like to get a little more personal than I usually do. If you don't want to read it, you can scroll down, I'll indicate where my rambling stops so you can read about news from the campaign!:)

I became a scientist and worked in research for more than a decade now because I have this need to understand things. Really understand them as much as I can.

When I sat down to write Back To Earth, it was one of the few times in my life that I was overwhelmed. I needed to get the angst and introspection about the future out. So I imagined a future not far from now where technology has taken over every aspect of life. From cyborgs to literal robots, this world became a mix of Blade Runner and The Last Of Us. But then things caught up with what was left of humanity, and the apocalypse hit. What then? What happens when everything seems to have collapsed?!

It's easy to break things. It's harder to rebuild them.

Through time, I realized that when facing hardships, what counts above all are the connections we made along the way. I wanted to channel that in this story. When you can count on people, and they can count on you. The true spirit of community. But also on a deep personal level of that ONE person who sticks with you through thick and thin. You are stronger because they are by your side, and you can face anything. They are your best friend, your lover, your world.

Enter Sasha and Leora and their exceptional bond. It's a love story for the ages in a way.

Anyway, as soon as I finished the script, I only had one artist's name in mind: Kej. I collaborated with them previously—albeit briefly—for my debut graphic novel Kiwi, and I knew they'd be the perfect match for this deeply emotional story. I was thrilled when they read it and accepted to jump on board.

What followed was a year full of discussions about world building, about those characters that became family, and gorgeous art at every step of the way. Kej (and Ines) are dream collaborators, and in my opinion they should be on everyone's radar. They bring beauty and uniqueness to the table in ways I can't even describe (and I'm supposed to be the writer here haha).

They made literal magic with my words.

What you're seeing in this project is only the beginning. We have more in store for you, and if you give us a chance we aim to bring you this specific graphic novel, but also more queer stories full of heart in the future!

ENOUGH WORDS HAVE BEEN TYPED! ONTO THE FUN NEWS ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN!

We officially surpassed 50% funding! We're actually more than half of the way there! We can do it!

It also means that we unlocked two new stickers since last time I posted an update, so here are all the currently unlocked designs:



Aren't they so pretty? Which is your favourite so far? The cyborg's arm floating in water? The wind chime made of robots remains? Sasha's backpack with Twinkle the star? Sasha's side view? The pinky fingers hold? The sequoia with pine cone split horizontally as comics panels? Let us know! :)

As hinted at previously, we have some fun surprises for you all! As you already saw on the campaign page, as soon as we get funded, everyone is getting a high-res wallpaper from Liana Kangas, and the oversized sticker sheet/digital wallpaper of them by Vern, but there's more!

We are thrilled to announce that as soon as we get funded, all backers at the Budding Tier or higher will also instantly get three extra prints added to their packages. Those prints will be of exclusive illustrations by Fell Hound, Emily Schnall, and Natasha Alterici (it was a stretch goal, but why wait? With Natasha, we agreed that it would be instantly activated upon funding!). The illustrations will be slowly unveiled in the next few weeks leading to the end of the campaign, but with them you can bet they're going to be gorgeous! 

We are currently working on updating the main page to reflect this update in rewards, but all the creators have already been added to the Team section :)

We are also in talks for another quite exciting bonus to offer upon funding (hint: might be a variant cover) so stay tuned for updates on that front.

That's all for now! We're wishing you a wonderful weekend, and thank you again for the support everyone :) 

Cheers,
MH, Kej & Ines