I’ll have more to say once we’re all done with the funding tonight, but right now, wherever we end up: thank you.

- You can now pre-order the third issue of Detective Honeybear on our Kickstarter. Those who have pledged before can just add a bit to their pledge to get issue #3, tentatively titled “Detective Honeybear and the Deadly Domicile” here.

- We’re going to get to do a 3,000 copy print of “Detective Honeybear and the Terrible Llamas… Which also means we can seriously look into bigger distribution methods to stores, like Diamond. We should also have waaaay more than enough for you guys, which is nice, too.

- Oh yeah, that ALSO means… FREE comiXology downloads unlocked for everyone who has pledged $10 or more. You’ll be getting those after the Kickstarter is done, but we’re so excited to be able to offer that to you all! Hooray!

- Here’s the craziest news so far, which I teased the other day: Detective Honeybear is getting published… In Germany! No joke! A really fantastic indie comics publisher called Dani Books will be publishing a German translation of the “Detective Honeybear: Special Edition” including both stories, and some bonus materials. In German. Really.

It won’t hit (German) comic book stands until next year, but in the meantime, Dani Books has their own crowd-funding project going on, for an art book about the incredible Don Rosa. Check it out here: http://www.indiegogo.com/donrosa-art

That’s it for now… Five days to go! Let’s do this!

***We’re partnering exclusively with the awesome folks at comiXology to give Kickstarter donators a FREE digital download of “Detective Honeybear and the Mystery of the Terrible Llamas!”***

That’s right: if we reach our stretch goal of $6,112, we’re going to unlock a FREE digital download code through comiXology for EVERYBODY who pledges the $10 level or above. You’ll still get whatever else is specific to your reward level, plus the free punk pin and the free sticker, and now, the code too. Here’s the official deets:

All backers at $10 or more will be gifted a copy of the book for free on comiXology – the revolutionary digital comics platform.

That means if you have an iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire or access to the web – and if you are reading this than you do – you will be able to read Detective Honeybear in comiXology’s patent pending Guided View across their entire platform!

Okay, official deets over. To just further clarify: if you’re getting a print comic, you’re still getting a print comic; and if you’re getting a DRM free PDF, you’re still getting that too… The comiXology code is a FREE bonus, as long as we reach that $6,112 stretch goal some time in the next eight days.

That’s – as of right now – only $508 away, which is 51 people pledging the $10 level; or less if some of you want to buy shirts or something. And for those of you who already backed this Kickstarter, you can upgrade your rewards level if you like. But only if you want to. But do it. But it’s okay, your choice. But do it.

Seriously, I know I say this every time, but we can’t thank you guys enough for all your support. We’re bowled over to have made it this far, and wouldn’t have ended up with a great platform like comiXology without you folks. From the bottom of my heart, in this last week or so: thank you.

- As of this writing, we’re only $116 from our first stretch goal on Kickstarter, with nine days to go! Amazing!

- Here’s a nice write-up someone did on the Kickstarter, so we figured we’d share – cause we’re flattered! http://distractingdelusions.wordpress.com/2012/09/10/k-t-w-the-list-of-three/

- I know I keep promising some big news… It’s coming! Hang on! Okay!

Anyway, here you go, some of the sketches Josh did, and different takes on the llamas. Not all of these will end up in the final product, though at least two are really close. Just thought it would be a fun treat to see what we’re working on. Thanks again for all your support, and keep the word going!

I’m completely bowled over, flattered, and honored by all your support. Now, Josh and I are going to be able to print our comic, get it into your hands, and keep on doing even more Detective Honeybear. I guess we have to make it good or something, huh? Yipes.

By December, all of you backers will have your comics in hand, as well as buttons, stickers, and any other ridiculous things you agreed to give us money for, like shirts (not so ridiculous) and your llama name (more ridiculous). For that, I can’t thank you guys enough.

“But hey, Alex,” you say. “Aren’t there fourteen days left on the Kickstarter? That’s half the time left!”

Wow, thanks for bring that up, guy who seems to ask pertinent leading questions all the time. That’s where Stretch Goals come in. The way that works is, since we have time, we’re going to add some new goals if we hit levels beyond the hundred percent, and some new fun rewards as well. So, here’s the first stretch goal:

$5,704 - If we reach this amount, we can up the order of 300 copies of “Detective Honeybear and the Mystery of the Terrible Llamas” to 1,000 copies! Here’s why that’s important: you awesome guys and gals have already snapped up over 150 copies of the initial 300 copy order. We not only got a very, very generous price break from a printer if we order a minimum of 1,000 copies, but that will also allow us to bring copies to conventions over the course of the next year. And, more importantly, it will allow us to reach out to comic book stores and get copies on the shelves. We’ve already had a handshake agreement from several stores in the NYC area to stock the book, so we need physical copies of the book to stock!

$5,880 - For just a little bit more, we can print 2,000 copies of the book. This will let us start exploring whether we can afford to list the book in the Diamond catalog, and get it out to even more shops. We’d still need to go through a submissions process, but it’s a big step in getting DH on shelves across America.

$6,112 - This will allow us to print 3,000 copies of the book! We’ll use 1,000 of those copies to make an AWESOME bonfire. Kidding, this will actually make it financially feasible to submit to Diamond. Next stop, Hollywood! Or something.

$31,800 - We will embezzle all the money you guys gave us, not print the comic, and instead buy a life size replica of the Iron Throne from HBO’s hit TV show Game of Thrones. If you ask nicely, we might let you sit in it, but only for two minutes, tops.

But seriously folks, the first three are real. I’ll be adding some new rewards incentives soon, and thanks to all of you again for making this possible. Even if we only make this original amount, you’ve made me a happy clam.

We’ve also gotten some nice press recently!

The Beat: http://www.comicsbeat.com/2012/09/03/kick-watcher-detective-honeybear-dark-zoey/

Comic Book Resources: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=40704

The Comics Reporter: http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/comics_giving_heart_people_projects_in_need_of_funding082712/

To keep it going, here’s a little graphic you can use if you like to help get the word out. Just right click, or ctrl+click to download, and more news soon!

Now, some updates for ya:

- We added a FAQ, with some answers to questions about shipping internationally, and more! You guys like FAQs, right?

- When we hit $1,000, we opened up some new levels, including adowable T-shirts courtesy of BQT! You can snag a shirt, shipping included for $30, or for $55 you get the shirt, the comic, and some cool bonus extras. Here’s a look at a headless man wearing the shirt:

- We were at FanExpo Canada this weekend, giving out some free copies of “Detective Honeybear and the Case of the Curious Cap!” Here’s proof:

Okay, that’s it for now! Thanks to all of you guys again for your continued support, and we’ll have more news soon!

Also, we got a few people asking about the physical book itself, so here’s a FAQ:

Will it be hardcover, or softcover?
Both books will be softcover, regular comic book print. Meaning, slightly thicker cover stock, regular printed comic book pages, full color the whole way through. Except, you know, all the noir black and white stuff.

Yeah, but how long is the book?
“Detective Honeybear and the Mystery of the Terrible Llamas” will be a 24 page comic, with 20 pages of original story, and some bonus extras! The Limited Edition Reprint of “Detective Honeybear and the Case of the Curious Cap” is a 12 page comic, with 11 pages of story and one page of bonus extras.

What if I want something longer?
If we significantly surpass our goal, we should be able to print a 40 page Special Edition containing both stories, the bonus extras, and – if I can strongarm Josh – a completely new Detective Honeybear short story we haven’t even teased yet. It’s about cookies.

Beyond that, though, there’s been a ton of links about the project, so I wanted to take a moment to highlight ‘em:

Turnstyle: http://turnstylenews.com/2012/08/22/crowdfunding-news-and-notes-for-22-august-2012/

PopCultureShock: http://www.popcultureshock.com/support-detective-honeybear/58498/

ComicBuzz: http://comicbuzz.com/2012/08/detective-honeybear-an-all-ages-mystery-comic-now-on-kickstarter/

Comic Related: http://www.comicrelated.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12171

You guys are awesome. Also awesome? All the people that have been tweeting and Facebook-ing about the project to get the word out there. Even if you don’t donate anything, you’re all getting high fives.

More news soon…

As of today, we’ve officially launched the Kickstarter for Detective Honeybear! The first story is free up above, of course, but for our second, full length story – “Detective Honeybear and the Mystery of the Terrible Llamas” – we’re looking for your help! We want to do a small print run, as well as a limited edition reprint of the first story. That’s where you come in! You’ve heard of this Kickstarter thing, right? If not here’s the deal:

- You donate money, even as little as one dollar.

- At different levels, you get cool rewards from us, like copies of the comic, of course; but also some llama themed rewards, the chance to get a voicemail recorded in character as Detective Honeybear, and more! We’ll also be unlocking other rewards the higher the donations go.

- If we DON’T reach our goal, which is a combo of all the money we’ve spent so far, plus printing costs, and that’s it… We get nothing. We’d rather get something, if that’s okay?

All right, enough jabber, here’s the link one more time: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/287184341/detective-honeybear-an-all-ages-mystery-comic

And below, you can check out the awesome promo art for “Terrible Llamas.” Thanks for your help donating and spreading the word!