When Plans Go Awry...

...you get one of the most popular universes at DREN

As I write this latest Substack I come bearing amazing news amid a story of redemption.

First: I’m happy to announce our latest Kickstarter Campaign: The Plan 59 From Outer Space SUPER DELUXE KICKSTARTER!

Following the announcement that Source Point Press will be the exclusive publisher of all Planiverse Graphic Novels, we decided we wanted to do something special rather than just release it as-is to retail shops and bookstores across the country.

So, we went ahead and took the original Graphic Novel and crammed it full of 30+ extra pages – including a BRAND NEW story featuring the Ghoul called Journey of the Ghoul. Originally released as a stretch goal digital short story during one of our recent Planiverse campaigns, the fully illustrated tale has been converted into comic book format and provides a necessary bridge between Plan 59 and its sequel Plan 79.

Second: We’re offering a KICKSTARTER-ONLY Hardcover Edition for the true Ed Wood fan-collector out there. That’s right, you can ONLY get it in this campaign. We won’t be selling it in stores, online or anywhere else following its completion.

Not bad for a series that almost never made it off the ground, huh? (Cue the redemption part of my story!)

Back in 2015, co-publisher James Mascia and I were still wading through the waters that was Kickstarter, at at time when crowdfunding was still in its infancy. I had successfully Kickstarted the first issue of my series The Undone (now called Time Trader, releasing in stores later this year from Rogue Matter), but between the both of us, we hadn’t really waded through the possibilities of what Kickstarter would ultimately become for both us and the industry.

In other words, we were still very much newbies at it.

So, we decided our first joint venture at Kickstarter would be the sequel to the worst movie of all time: Plan 9 From Outer Space. Affectionately, we took to calling our series Plan 10 From Outer Space, launched the campaign with a ridiculously high number for our goal…and effectively struck out.

That’s right, it was the one-and-only campaign we’ve ever had to cancel because we weren’t going to reach funding. And not because we didn’t think the project had any legs, but because we just weren’t well-versed on how to run a successful campaign at that time. So Plan 10 ultimately went the way of the dinosaurs and we went on our merry little way, figuring out our next move with DREN.

Fast forward a few years later and Kickstarter has become an essential cog in our publishing wheel. Between James and I we’ve backed over 300 projects and launched over 100 successful projects of our own. We’ve signed some licensing deals with established properties (more on that in the coming months), signed with Philbo Entertainment for distribution, Source Point Press for Graphic Novels and Greenwood Lit for representation of our IP.

And in between, after a conversation with Plan 39 writer Tom Hutchison, re-launched Plan 10 as Plan 59 From Outer Space and the rest is history. So, now we’re truly at a full circle moment, re-releasing one of our most important IP to date in deluxe fashion.

So, sometimes Plans go awry. And sometimes they work exactly as you’d hoped. In this case, I’d say we did both.

You can get notified when Plan 59 From Outer Space Super Deluxe Edition goes live. Just click the button below to follow the project on Kickstarter.