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Albert the Alien Vol 4: Space Bullies from Mars

Created by Trevor

The final volume of Albert the Alien! The epic adventure of the first foreign exchange student from another planet ends here!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

The books are out in the world!
about 5 years ago – Tue, Mar 12, 2019 at 09:34:08 AM

I hope you had a fantastic weekend, fellow Albert the Alien friends! Gabo and I spent our Saturday signing a boat-load of books, so I could stuff envelopes and put these bad boys in the mail. 

That's right: the books are (finally) out and on their way to you!

Trevor and Gabo - and the stacks of comics we signed!
Trevor and Gabo - and the stacks of comics we signed!

On Saturday, Gabo came over while my daughters were napping and we started signing hundreds of copies of the graphic novels you guys pre-ordered when you helped successfully fund this incredible series. We spent hours signing copies of the books, printing postage, and putting together an assembly line like no other - where we personally fulfilled each and every order from the Kickstarter, and the pre-order store on Backerkit. 

Seriously, this is a LOT of books...and this is just a fraction of what was pre-ordered
Seriously, this is a LOT of books...and this is just a fraction of what was pre-ordered

Many of the orders were for the latest volume, but a lot of people ordered copies of an earlier volume - OR, got the entire series! You guys were extremely generous with your pledges, and we want to thank you again for making this book a reality. We also appreciate your patience while we worked through these issues with the printer - so each physical copy of the book came with an exclusive bookplate of the cover for volume 4, as well as a collection of bookmarks. 

Gabo put a mini-sketch in each book of everyone's favorite student from the stars!
Gabo put a mini-sketch in each book of everyone's favorite student from the stars!

Not only that, but we had a limited reward tier where you could get a water color sketch card of your favorite character from the series. Gabo personally made each of these sketch cards, and I wanted to share some of them with you guys here: 

Albert watercolor sketch card
Albert watercolor sketch card
Albert discovers a "magic staff!"
Albert discovers a "magic staff!"
Gerty is getting her winter on!
Gerty is getting her winter on!
Gerty on a scooter...why didn't we write this into the comic?!
Gerty on a scooter...why didn't we write this into the comic?!
Splurr is up to his usual tricks
Splurr is up to his usual tricks
Some people wanted sketch cards of series creators Trevor and Gabo!
Some people wanted sketch cards of series creators Trevor and Gabo!
Another sketch card of series creators Trevor and Gabo
Another sketch card of series creators Trevor and Gabo
Albert learns to skateboard!
Albert learns to skateboard!

Thank you again for your continued support of my self-publishing career in comics, as well as Albert the Alien. This project is something truly special, and you helped make that happen - and for that, you have my eternal gratitude. 

The books are in the mail! 

Be on the lookout for them, and when you get them, be sure to take a photo and tag us on social media (@TrevorAMueller and @galvosaur on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram). 

If you have any questions or want to request a copy of your tracking number, please let me know. Thanks again, and I'll look forward to seeing your posts once you get the books!

The Books Have Arrived!
about 5 years ago – Mon, Feb 25, 2019 at 08:09:41 AM

GREAT NEWS! The books have arrived, and I finally have them in my hands. 

My friends, it has been a journey. And one that has mostly been outside of our control. I have been in daily contact with the printer to try to figure out why the heck this was taking so long, but . There were a lot of issues identified that had to be overcome or dealt with in some way, including:

  • The printer experiencing a management shift
  • The printer incorrectly estimating on timing from their end
  • A government shutdown and tariff confusion causing issues with imports from China (where the book was printed)
  • Improper product tracking and lack of pro-active communication on order status
  • And a whole bunch more...

I could go into further detail about some of the communication hiccups I've experienced (and tried to spare you guys from), like the printer telling me the books had arrived and then calling me while I was in the car on my way to go pick them up, only to tell me the books were not actually here (that happened two weeks ago, on February 15). It's been a heck of time to get this project delivered with this printer, and I've been working very hard to try to get these books to you. 

Despite all of these issues, the books have finally arrived. The warehouse manager hand-delivered the books to my house on Sunday, and I verified that all orders from the Kickstarter are included in the boxes I received. 

SO WHAT'S NEXT:  

Our path forward is pretty simple: get these books in your hands. And here's how we're going to do that:

  • Finalize the Backerkit survey, and lock in the orders (please check your e-mail if you have not already confirmed your e-mail address)
  • Schedule time with Gabe to come over and sign copies of the books (still trying to schedule this, but I don't want it to delay sending the orders out)
  • Start stuffing packages with orders and get these rewards into the mail

We're going to get started on order fulfillment this week, and start shipping these rewards out to you guys as soon as possible. 

I want to thank you all so much for your support and your patience during this fulfillment process.

 In my 9+ years of self-publishing, I've never experienced anything like this. They say each book you make is a unique challenge and experience, and I know this book is no exception. But we overcame all the hurdles, and we're finally ready to start sending out books. Thank you again!

Good news, everyone!
about 5 years ago – Wed, Jan 23, 2019 at 08:26:39 AM

I love me some Futurama
I love me some Futurama

I just got an update from the printer, and they have told me he books have arrived at the port. Based on this news, I will be sending out surveys this week to collect your address and other required information to fulfill the orders. 

Look for an e-mail from backerkit this week so we can collect your info and get you the books ASAP. There's also an opportunity in the survey to put add-ons to your order (so if you wanted a pin or t-shirt or the like, you can add them in the survey). 

Thanks again so much for your patience, and I can't wait to get your rewards to you ASAP. 

Cheers!

Trevor

A quick update on the book status
about 5 years ago – Thu, Jan 17, 2019 at 08:30:37 AM

Government shut down; delays at the port

Hey gang, wanted to give you a quick update on the books. Been talking with the printer to get estimates on delivery timelines, and they informed me the books are still on the boat coming over from China. But they also gave me a heads up that because of the government shut down, they are getting reports of delays at the port. 

Because the books are printed over seas and the boats they are on have to get processed through customs (which is a government entity), the printer is saying they're experiencing a backlog at the port right now. This is compounded by the earlier delay, which is the tariff confusion at the port. The books are shipping from China, which is in a trade war with the USA right now and the latest round of tariff changes has caused some confusion and delays at the port for processing, as well. 

The point here being, the books are still coming...but circumstances outside my control are causing some additional delays. We'll likely hold off on sending Backerkit surveys until the books arrive at the port. I'll keep you all posted on the progress as I get it. 

Exclusive bookplates have arrived

On the plus side, we did get the exclusive bookplates in. You'll recall that because of these delays, one of the commitments I made last year was to produce exclusive bookplates that would only be available to our Kickstarter backers. These bookplates are completely free for folks who ordered a physical copy of any of the books. 

The bookplates have arrived, and they look fantastic. If you ordered a physical copy of any of the books, you will get a copy of these bookplates when we ship your book to you. 

Stay tuned for more updates. 

The books are on a boat...with t-pain!
about 5 years ago – Wed, Jan 02, 2019 at 07:57:32 AM

Happy New Year! We're starting the year off right, with some good news (that I literally just received from the printer): 

The books are on a boat and on their way!

Once the books arrive at the port from China (where they were printed), they will have to clear customs, and then will be shipped from the port to the warehouse here. Once they arrive, I'll let you guys know and we'll immediately being processing the orders. 

Look for surveys to come out early next week to collect your shipping information, AND you can order some add-ons if you so desire. 

Thanks again so much for your patience with this delay, and I can't wait to get these books to you!