Gotta be honest, 3W3Mers. The last couple of weeks were a rough patch.
We certainly hit a high getting our Sourcebook out to the printers and getting the good news that we will have the print version of Foundations ready before con season hits its stride this month.
(NOTE: The print version of FOUNDATIONS will be going out to Founders and the first 100 annual subscribers later in the summer along with our [SYSTEMS] Sourcebook and the other assorted benefits that come with being an early, essential part of this new universe.)
Plus(!) we were able to debut the completed FOUNDATIONS to all paid subscribers via PDF format. Thanks to our groundbreaking designer, Sasha E Head, I hope you’ll agree it is a beauty.
However, for me anyway, all of that was completely overwhelmed by the news of the unlikely and unacceptable passing of Marvel’s Marketing mensch: Mike Pasciullo.
Mike was one of my favorite people on planet Earth (and I hate that that sentence contains the word ‘was.’) and he was a name that was unfortunately anonymous to most Marvel fans. “Unfortunate” because they reaped the witnessed the benefit of his work in countless ways
I worked with Mike on countless projects in comics, TV, podcasts, and digital media. He was (IS!) a salt-of-the-earth idea guy who always pushed strongly to keep the “fan” in mind when coming up with new angles and ideas to market Marvel’s projects. His heart was huge, his marketing mind was massive, and his work to bring Marvel to the masses over the past 20 years was unending (though his love of the Phillies and Eagles was always baffling to me…I mean he seemed so smart otherwise!!).
Mike bled, sweated, and breathed Marvel…but he was well-read in comics and culture in general. Plus, he did a mean version of *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” that had to be seen to be believed.
He was the smartest guy from Philly since Ben Franklin and it’s simply wrong that he’s gone.
Anyway, I don’t say all this to bring everyone down. Mike would hate that. But it is an excellent reason to remember that:
A) More folks go into making anything you love than most even realize. (Hell, Even stuff you hate is the result of real work from real people.)
B) Life is shorter than is acceptable and we should wring every drop we can out of it…
…just like Mike did.
Onward!
THE AMAZING KRESKA!
Several weeks back, I asked a question to all of you Founders out there about the printed [SYSTEMS] Sourcebook.
It was a simple question about if you would choose English or Kreska for our “special thanks” section. The response was pretty overwhelming in one direction, so here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll see later this summer in the printed book.
Just showing a few names here, but you get the idea. I think going with Kreska was the right call here. The number of Founders filled up two solid pages and we kept the list open as long as possible for some late-comers.
So start learnin’ your Kreska, kids! It’ll be a terrific party trick when you pull the book off the shelf!
3W3M/SDCC
In case you missed it, the whole team will be appearing at SDCC this year. More details here:
QUESTION TIME!
Okay, let’s see where your heads are at this week!
Q1
Pat Darcy responded to the SDCC news with:
Can non-SDCC Founders get access to the swag and items for sale?
A1
We’ve gotten versions of this question around all the cons we’ve announced that we are attending. We know not everyone has the resources to travel around chasing us like we’re trapped in the opening scene of “Hard Days Night.” However, there are show-specific reasons why we need to keep those items exclusive for the time being. But we are working on a way for you to be able to get access to them eventually.
We will have more news on that soon, though to be honest, we are focused on getting the SOURCEBOOK and FOUNDATIONS delivered first. So give us just a touch more patience on that.
ON ANOTHER NOTE: I’d also like to do some kind of exclusive update during the cons here on the newsletter, but I’m not entirely sure what shape that could take other than a normal post. Any ideas?
Q2
Devin Arscott hit us with:
As far as Vallars, will we see this in print? If so, will annual subscription holders be able to receive copies as we have with the upcoming Sourcebook, or are there other plans?
A2
We haven’t made final decisions yet on the rewards for year two of 3W3M, but that is certainly one of the ideas we’ve discussed.
The team is carving time out at our coming convention appearances to figure this out. (And frankly, it’ll be nice to do this in person instead of over screens.)
And if you folks have other ideas for cool products/collections we could offer, don’t hesitate to leave a response below!
Q3
Nalo’s fingers come at us with:
Is the Vallars comic even starting before the year anniversary of this Substack? AKA when Founder levels expire.
A3
Yup. We are well into production on the first massively oversized issue. And while it of course makes business sense to make sure we have content ready for folks when their annual subscriptions renew, we also are excited to bring you something huge just for its own sake as opposed to doling it out a couple of pages at a time.
Just my gut, but I think something longer that feels more substantial is simply more fun to read. Your mileage may vary, though.
Thanks to everyone who wrote in questions. Don’t forget to leave your question below in the comments and you may even see YOUR name on a screen! EXCITING!
ENDTIMES
That’s it for this week. I know it was a long one this time out and, look, I’m sure no one even reads down this far, but if ya did, thanks! You really must have a free schedule.
Here’s a special treat just for scrolling down this far. Something secret coming soon:
Viva Pasciullo!
Steve W.
7/4/22
IF YOU CARE WHAT I’M DOING:
Music: Human League - “Dare”
Book: “The Talented Mr. Ripley”-Patricia Highsmith
TV: “Stranger Things” (I , mean, duh.)
Will the "Founder" subscription level still exist in year two? Or will it go to just annual and monthly? If you keep it I propose changing the title to "Space-Whale".
I'm all in on year two "Founder's" level. Would love a nice large screen print. Large. Screen. Print.
Thanks!