Jason Pearson’s BODY BAGS: Artist's Edition

Great news-- proofs are in!
6 months ago – Tue, Oct 07, 2025 at 11:06:28 AM

I have to admit that I squealed like a little kid about to open Christmas presents when the FedEx box containing the proofs arrived yesterday afternoon. To put it mildly, this was a huge relief after all the hurdles we've had to navigate to get to this point, but it also brought a little tear to my eye when opening this glorious tribute to Jason-- his beautiful work, all on display for everyone to soon enjoy. 

Scott and I are both looking over the material and once approved I'll be back with an updated delivery schedule. Keep in mind that all the books still have to be bound and packaged, then shipped from China, so fulfillment isn't happening until November at the earliest, but we can at least see the finish line now. With all that said, here are the first looks at all these beautiful items.

To start things off, we'll focus on the main book, with a quick peek at all the rewards. In the following updates I'll deep dive into the other books, trading cards, and the print sets. 

Enjoy the preview!

Touching base...
7 months ago – Thu, Sep 11, 2025 at 11:23:15 AM

Hi everyone! It's been a month since the last update, so I just wanted to touch base and let you all know that I have been in communication with the printer, and as of this morning everything remains on schedule. If you missed it, here are the important dates:

Date    Status                                                                                                               
8/21:    Start of all printing (DONE)
9/18:    Completion of all printing/folding/start of binding
9/20:    Advance samples sent [hand bound sample books to Scott & Keven for approval]  
9/26:    Mass Binding / Packaging to begin
10/17:    Advance copies [all finished books and all other items to be sent for approval]
10/23:   Advance copies approved 
10/27:   Ex-factory [leaving the plant]
11/07:    Estimated Departure from China port
11/21:     Estimated Arrival @ Long Beach, CA Port
11/28:    ETA @ Fulfillment center/location
12/01:    Start of sending the packages out to the backers
12/05:   End of sending the packages out to the backers

It was confirmed that the printing is in-process and the first round of sample books (basically, the interior pages) are on schedule to ship to both Scott and I by 9/20. 

Regarding surveys, one question that's been asked a few times lately is, "will I be able to change my delivery address after I complete my survey," and the answer is YES. However, we need you to complete your survey now. Your rewards will be boxed up for you at the printing facility in China, and that is happening soon. To be clear, you'll be able to change your delivery address until the books arrive in the US, so don't worry about that-- if you move unexpectedly or are planning to move now but don't know where you'll be living quite yet, you can go to Backerkit and change the delivery address once you know it. So, if you have not done so yet, PLEASE complete your survey! We have roughly 50 people remaining at the moment, so click the link and do it now (thank you!):

Finally, I want to share a Kickstarter with you from writer/artist Josh Greathouse, who was a vocal champion of this project. If you watched Scott and I on the Livestream with the Near Mint Condition team when we launched this campaign, Josh joined us to talk about how much he loved Jason's art and how excited he was for this book. Here's some info on his new graphic novel, Bang: The Ballad of the Tiger. Check it out!

Bang: The Ballad of the Tiger is a Kung-Fu inspired fantasy about a young woman (named Bang) thrown out into the harsh world after being labeled as a rebel by the new government. She is joined on her adventure by Eddie, a scared, small child with hidden powers, and Yasemine the Blade, a deadly sword fighter full of secrets. This is a fantasy story, but at its heart, it's about leaving home and learning to deal with the changes in your life.   

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/448219729/bang-the-ballad-of-the-tiger-volume-3

Update from the Printer (with Timeline) + More Preview Pages
8 months ago – Mon, Aug 11, 2025 at 11:53:45 AM

The long-awaited printing and printing/shipping timeline is finally here! Please note that these dates are estimated as of this morning and could change, but they are the first hard dates we've been given since deciding to move forward (post-tariff insanity):

Date    Status                                                                                                               
8/21:    Start of all printing 
9/18:    Completion of all printing/folding/start of binding
9/20:    Advance samples sent [hand bound sample books to Scott & Keven for approval]  
9/26:    Mass Binding / Packaging to begin
10/17:    Advance copies [all finished books and all other items to be sent for approval]
10/23:   Advance copies approved 
10/27:   Ex-factory [leaving the plant]
11/07:    Estimated Departure from China port
11/21:     Estimated Arrival @ Long Beach, CA Port
11/28:    ETA @ Fulfillment center/location
12/01:    Start of sending the packages out to the backers
12/05:   End of sending the packages out to the backers

This is obviously much later than we ever expected, even after pulling the trigger back in July and rolling the dice on the tariffs not increasing before we could receive the books in the US. Unfortunately, a lot of other customers cut their old orders loose around the same time we did in an effort to get products for the holiday season, and this is just where we fell in the line. 

The good news is we are set to go and everyone's orders should be in-transit by early December. 

Now that our books are officially on the schedule, I will keep you updated on how things are progressing (there is a possibility that the dates could improve, but for now I'm just thankful that we are close to going to press). 

Thank you for your continued patience and support, and please enjoy a few new preview pages from the 88-page, ARTIST'S EDITION+ book!

-Keven

Locking Backerkit Orders Now-- PLEASE COMPLETE YOUR SURVEYS!
9 months ago – Wed, Jul 09, 2025 at 01:12:40 PM

I just spoke with the printer and they still feel good about the tariff situation, so we are moving forward with printing, packaging orders, and shipping the books over from China. I should have word on the arrival time from the printer to the US port sometime next few days, but I expect it to be around 8 weeks. 

However, since the printer is packing each of your individual orders for us before the shipment leaves their facility, we are locking completed surveys starting today (if you have completed your survey you will be getting a final notice from Backerkit today, giving you 48 hours to add anything before we lock it down).

If you are moving between now and September, you will still be able to change your delivery address, as we will not be locking addresses until the books arrive in California (and we will let you know when that happens).

Unfortunately, we still have 80 backers that have not completed their surveys. PLEASE DO THAT ASAP (today would be fantastic).  Even if you don't want to add anything to your order, we still need you to complete your survey and to enter your delivery address. It is a very quick and easy process so please do that by clicking this link now:

Finally, many of you may remember that one of our stretch goals added an 'Artist's Edition-sized' bookmark to all the backers that ordered the $150 book. This bookmark is massive, coming in at 4" x 16" in size. The art for the bookmark is below, which was taken from page 4 of issue #1 of Father's Day (setting up the most infamous scene from the series, and one that allegedly had employees from Dark Horse threatening to quit if it was published). If you know, you know. Ha.  

That's all for now! I should be back with another update next week, but in the meantime, please compete your surveys today!

Backerkit + Shipping Update
9 months ago – Sat, Jun 28, 2025 at 03:43:37 PM

We are expecting an update from our printer soon (between June 30th and July 3rd), but all indications are that the tariff situation is currently favorable, so we are feeling confident about shipping the books from China in the next few weeks.

With that in mind, we will be locking orders in Backerkit very soon. You will still be able to change your delivery address if needed, but since our printer is packing up your individual orders from their facility, we will need to lock the option for anyone to add additional items to their order as soon as we know things are finally moving forward.

Now is also a a great time to complete your survey if you have not done so. At the moment we are waiting on 80 backers; it only takes a few seconds, so please get that done ASAP. If you need your survey emailed to you again, just click this link:

Also, many of you took advantage of your chance to add items (thank you!), so Backerkit will begin charging your credit card for those additional items as soon as Monday (just an FYI). 

That's all for now-- cross your fingers for good news next week!