WEBVTT 00:00:03.802 --> 00:00:07.496 You are listening to the USDN on the 00:00:07.575 --> 00:00:08.900 DFPN. 00:00:40.520 --> 00:00:41.246 Thanks for watching! 00:01:12.103 --> 00:01:14.049 What is up everybody and welcome to the 00:01:14.108 --> 00:01:15.634 United States Department of Nerds where we 00:01:15.653 --> 00:01:17.618 are for the people, by the people, 00:01:18.100 --> 00:01:19.444 and of the people. 00:01:20.418 --> 00:01:23.620 Today we have a returning creator who 00:01:23.700 --> 00:01:26.222 doesn't just make comics. 00:01:26.543 --> 00:01:28.204 He builds them with intention. 00:01:28.305 --> 00:01:30.706 Every panel, every page, every decision. 00:01:31.246 --> 00:01:33.989 And now it's go time. 00:01:34.489 --> 00:01:37.012 The Kickstarter for the Diary of Sweet Pea 00:01:37.572 --> 00:01:40.215 is officially live. 00:01:40.555 --> 00:01:41.996 So we brought him back. 00:01:42.617 --> 00:01:45.259 to talk about the campaign the story and 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:48.162 why this is the moment to jump in 00:01:48.441 --> 00:01:52.325 on the diary of sweet p the council 00:01:52.365 --> 00:01:56.349 of nerds is now in session aleem welcome 00:01:56.368 --> 00:01:59.152 back to the usdm my friend i appreciate 00:01:59.191 --> 00:02:01.493 you man thanks for having me back oh 00:02:01.694 --> 00:02:03.516 we knew this was happening months months 00:02:03.575 --> 00:02:05.878 ago we were like gotta bring you back 00:02:05.897 --> 00:02:08.841 when it goes live so welcome you back 00:02:09.877 --> 00:02:11.518 And we'll dive in man. 00:02:11.538 --> 00:02:13.158 So the Kickstarter is live. 00:02:13.679 --> 00:02:14.058 Yes, sir. 00:02:14.098 --> 00:02:16.900 How does it feel for it to finally 00:02:17.319 --> 00:02:18.120 be live? 00:02:18.759 --> 00:02:19.661 It's overdue. 00:02:19.820 --> 00:02:20.961 I'm happy that is here. 00:02:21.200 --> 00:02:24.102 Um, I've been, uh, 00:02:24.122 --> 00:02:25.581 I kind of dread Kickstarters cause 00:02:25.961 --> 00:02:26.201 they're, 00:02:26.241 --> 00:02:27.682 they're an emotional rollercoaster, 00:02:27.723 --> 00:02:29.663 but this one's pretty good. 00:02:30.463 --> 00:02:33.824 Good. 00:02:33.884 --> 00:02:34.064 Yeah. 00:02:34.085 --> 00:02:35.645 You're off to a great start, man. 00:02:35.705 --> 00:02:36.485 I mean, you're what? 00:02:36.504 --> 00:02:38.806 Three quarters of the way there almost. 00:02:38.945 --> 00:02:39.105 Yup. 00:02:41.436 --> 00:02:43.777 Just this past Wednesday at seven PM. 00:02:43.799 --> 00:02:45.259 So not even a full two days, 00:02:45.580 --> 00:02:46.721 making pretty good progress. 00:02:47.762 --> 00:02:49.282 Dude, that's legit, man. 00:02:49.423 --> 00:02:50.123 I always look, 00:02:50.524 --> 00:02:54.127 I'm always happy to see when, you know, 00:02:54.168 --> 00:02:56.330 they start and then they just power 00:02:56.370 --> 00:02:57.850 through right through within a couple of, 00:02:57.991 --> 00:02:59.431 you know, days they're done. 00:03:00.272 --> 00:03:01.033 Now, um, 00:03:02.141 --> 00:03:02.862 I mean, 00:03:02.923 --> 00:03:03.742 I was going to ask you how the 00:03:03.782 --> 00:03:05.304 response has been so far. 00:03:05.364 --> 00:03:06.064 But I mean, 00:03:06.104 --> 00:03:07.186 if you're looking at the numbers, 00:03:07.205 --> 00:03:08.826 that response is pretty good for just a 00:03:08.866 --> 00:03:09.707 couple of days in. 00:03:10.228 --> 00:03:10.527 Yeah. 00:03:10.548 --> 00:03:11.489 Twenty nine backers. 00:03:11.688 --> 00:03:13.591 That's been that's been amazing. 00:03:13.770 --> 00:03:15.671 You know, like I think, you know, 00:03:15.692 --> 00:03:17.032 like I guess like this certainly have 00:03:17.074 --> 00:03:19.594 helped the whole lot just out there and 00:03:19.635 --> 00:03:20.635 trying to get out in front of the 00:03:20.695 --> 00:03:21.597 people and let them know. 00:03:21.616 --> 00:03:23.318 And the response is is there. 00:03:23.337 --> 00:03:24.658 We'll see what happens over the next 00:03:24.699 --> 00:03:26.080 twenty eight some odd days. 00:03:26.161 --> 00:03:27.421 And hopefully, you know, 00:03:27.442 --> 00:03:29.103 that number gets a zero behind it. 00:03:31.961 --> 00:03:32.882 I have no doubts. 00:03:33.301 --> 00:03:34.723 I have no doubts that it'll get there, 00:03:36.144 --> 00:03:39.187 man. 00:03:40.728 --> 00:03:42.028 This is for number three, 00:03:42.068 --> 00:03:45.311 but issues one and two are still available 00:03:45.472 --> 00:03:46.893 on this campaign as well. 00:03:50.335 --> 00:03:55.699 What has been the reactions so far that 00:03:55.718 --> 00:03:56.219 you've got? 00:03:56.479 --> 00:03:58.320 Have you been getting messages or 00:03:59.431 --> 00:04:01.473 know people reaching out and just uh be 00:04:01.492 --> 00:04:03.074 like hey i cited the third one is 00:04:03.115 --> 00:04:05.956 here yeah it's been a few people come 00:04:05.977 --> 00:04:07.438 back happy to see that it's coming i've 00:04:07.459 --> 00:04:09.860 been um it's been in promotion for such 00:04:09.881 --> 00:04:11.983 a long time now due to me uh 00:04:12.002 --> 00:04:14.405 taking a break to work on other projects 00:04:14.425 --> 00:04:16.346 and things like that i think people are 00:04:16.406 --> 00:04:18.970 happy to finally see it to come to 00:04:19.029 --> 00:04:20.951 lunch and we're getting back to our home 00:04:20.971 --> 00:04:22.112 base and taking care of the things we 00:04:22.132 --> 00:04:23.954 need to take care of for our people 00:04:25.370 --> 00:04:26.471 Dude, I like to see it. 00:04:26.971 --> 00:04:28.091 And for those who don't know, 00:04:28.872 --> 00:04:30.291 he doesn't just do his own comments. 00:04:30.331 --> 00:04:32.012 He also works on other people's stuff as 00:04:32.052 --> 00:04:32.353 well. 00:04:33.293 --> 00:04:34.613 And that's what he's referring to. 00:04:34.733 --> 00:04:37.714 For those wondering why he hasn't just 00:04:37.735 --> 00:04:39.154 been working on his own thing, 00:04:40.254 --> 00:04:40.975 we got families. 00:04:41.896 --> 00:04:45.096 We got to feed them too. 00:04:45.916 --> 00:04:47.637 So we did bring up the Kickstarter 00:04:47.677 --> 00:04:48.117 homepage, 00:04:48.158 --> 00:04:50.077 and we just want to kind of present 00:04:50.817 --> 00:04:53.259 what a Kickstarter page looks like. 00:04:54.264 --> 00:04:56.125 You can see here, I had it saved, 00:04:56.185 --> 00:04:56.704 of course, 00:04:57.466 --> 00:04:59.987 because I think I saved it as soon 00:05:00.007 --> 00:05:00.786 as I got the link. 00:05:02.187 --> 00:05:05.149 It gives you that reminder to say, hey, 00:05:05.788 --> 00:05:06.970 you have this saved. 00:05:07.029 --> 00:05:08.331 And it will remind you, 00:05:08.411 --> 00:05:10.011 like when this went live, 00:05:10.112 --> 00:05:11.992 I immediately got the notification, hey, 00:05:12.413 --> 00:05:15.293 Aleem just kicked off the Diary of a 00:05:15.334 --> 00:05:16.675 Sweet Pea. 00:05:16.694 --> 00:05:17.014 Cool. 00:05:18.482 --> 00:05:21.144 And it literally I think you can get 00:05:21.204 --> 00:05:23.026 text alerts and get email alerts. 00:05:23.045 --> 00:05:24.065 You can get all kinds of alerts. 00:05:24.105 --> 00:05:25.127 However you want your alerts. 00:05:25.247 --> 00:05:28.108 You can get them up for email, 00:05:28.149 --> 00:05:30.511 of course, because I don't know. 00:05:30.870 --> 00:05:32.612 I'm just a glutton or I'm old school 00:05:32.632 --> 00:05:33.052 like that. 00:05:33.093 --> 00:05:36.415 I like to get my my emails organized 00:05:36.435 --> 00:05:37.076 and everything. 00:05:37.937 --> 00:05:39.658 It's the best way to keep me organized 00:05:39.757 --> 00:05:40.499 is through email. 00:05:41.737 --> 00:05:42.598 But yeah, 00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:44.000 so if you want to back the project, 00:05:44.019 --> 00:05:46.281 you would just hit back the project and 00:05:46.302 --> 00:05:48.904 then but you can also you can scroll 00:05:48.925 --> 00:05:52.307 through and it tells you the story of 00:05:52.348 --> 00:05:53.149 the comic book. 00:05:53.910 --> 00:05:55.610 It tells you some of Aleem's work. 00:05:57.033 --> 00:05:58.053 And it gives you the overview. 00:06:00.028 --> 00:06:00.149 Yeah, 00:06:00.168 --> 00:06:01.850 get a brief introduction to the 00:06:01.889 --> 00:06:05.011 characters, look at the interior pages. 00:06:05.672 --> 00:06:06.291 And of course, 00:06:06.312 --> 00:06:08.992 all the different rewards that we have 00:06:09.072 --> 00:06:10.774 some exciting stuff down there inside of 00:06:10.793 --> 00:06:11.713 the award section, 00:06:11.754 --> 00:06:14.675 including Marvel artists, 00:06:15.295 --> 00:06:16.315 things like that, 00:06:16.336 --> 00:06:17.656 that came on board to be a part 00:06:17.697 --> 00:06:18.317 of the project, 00:06:18.357 --> 00:06:19.557 whether it be for a cover, 00:06:20.098 --> 00:06:21.778 or to make some custom work for 00:06:21.877 --> 00:06:23.259 potentially for backers as well. 00:06:26.851 --> 00:06:28.315 Which, I mean, this is really cool. 00:06:28.596 --> 00:06:30.541 And the stretch goals aren't too bad. 00:06:31.704 --> 00:06:32.767 So early on, 00:06:33.348 --> 00:06:34.451 so you've already hit the mobile 00:06:34.471 --> 00:06:35.475 wallpapers, see? 00:06:36.550 --> 00:06:36.889 Yep, 00:06:36.910 --> 00:06:39.011 that was in a combination between the 00:06:39.071 --> 00:06:40.232 followers and backers. 00:06:40.672 --> 00:06:43.132 I combined those two numbers together so 00:06:43.173 --> 00:06:43.814 we can get them. 00:06:43.834 --> 00:06:45.274 Because the goal is I want to be 00:06:45.314 --> 00:06:47.216 able to give people as much as possible. 00:06:47.716 --> 00:06:50.216 And these digital rewards are an easy way 00:06:50.257 --> 00:06:50.757 to do that. 00:06:50.797 --> 00:06:52.418 So it's just a nice little incentive. 00:06:52.718 --> 00:06:53.358 The more backers, 00:06:53.418 --> 00:06:55.019 even if people are only putting a dollar 00:06:55.060 --> 00:06:57.800 in there, it adds to the back account. 00:06:58.100 --> 00:07:00.401 And then I'm able to then unlock these 00:07:00.482 --> 00:07:02.603 rewards for people along with the things 00:07:02.624 --> 00:07:03.283 that they purchase. 00:07:04.416 --> 00:07:06.119 And then you have the early bird specials, 00:07:06.199 --> 00:07:07.740 which if you were smart, 00:07:07.779 --> 00:07:09.161 you would jump in on the early bird 00:07:09.182 --> 00:07:12.305 specials and get in on some of these, 00:07:13.185 --> 00:07:14.286 you know, five dollars off, 00:07:14.346 --> 00:07:16.809 ten dollars off, fifteen dollars off. 00:07:23.204 --> 00:07:25.545 I think we went over that last time. 00:07:26.026 --> 00:07:26.865 That sketch cover, 00:07:26.886 --> 00:07:30.848 that's for the artists that love to put 00:07:30.869 --> 00:07:33.011 their own little flair on things. 00:07:34.351 --> 00:07:35.132 So there, 00:07:35.172 --> 00:07:37.653 if you want to have Imani fighting 00:07:37.713 --> 00:07:38.935 Godzilla, you can do that. 00:07:38.954 --> 00:07:40.115 You just draw it up and throw it 00:07:40.216 --> 00:07:40.435 in. 00:07:42.937 --> 00:07:44.678 And this is probably my favorite cover 00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:45.158 right here. 00:07:46.848 --> 00:07:47.028 Oh, yeah. 00:07:47.048 --> 00:07:47.807 Yeah, I love that cover. 00:07:48.187 --> 00:07:50.369 And that's the holochrome that you stopped 00:07:50.449 --> 00:07:50.848 on now. 00:07:50.889 --> 00:07:53.230 So that's going to be like a foil 00:07:53.269 --> 00:07:53.629 print. 00:07:56.050 --> 00:07:56.769 It's going to sparkle. 00:07:56.810 --> 00:07:57.670 It's going to be amazing. 00:07:59.031 --> 00:08:02.011 Yeah, the first time I got that cover, 00:08:02.370 --> 00:08:02.831 I knew. 00:08:02.932 --> 00:08:03.331 I was like, 00:08:03.372 --> 00:08:08.413 that's the cover I'm getting right there. 00:08:08.432 --> 00:08:09.733 We got some completionists. 00:08:10.918 --> 00:08:11.199 Yeah. 00:08:11.218 --> 00:08:12.439 So that's like an a la carte, 00:08:12.499 --> 00:08:14.459 but at a, at a deep discount. 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:17.141 So it's a limited sale because it's, 00:08:17.281 --> 00:08:19.000 it's a, it's very, very, 00:08:19.060 --> 00:08:21.461 very little profit inside of there. 00:08:21.901 --> 00:08:21.982 Yeah. 00:08:22.802 --> 00:08:24.843 The few people that want to get everything 00:08:24.963 --> 00:08:27.124 all in one go is there for you. 00:08:27.204 --> 00:08:28.283 And it brings, you know, the, 00:08:28.644 --> 00:08:32.826 the price overall down significantly. 00:08:32.846 --> 00:08:33.025 Yeah. 00:08:33.046 --> 00:08:34.905 Some add-ons, some posters, 00:08:34.926 --> 00:08:37.486 there's even some trading cards. 00:08:37.626 --> 00:08:37.767 Yeah. 00:08:41.412 --> 00:08:42.533 The team right here, man. 00:08:42.552 --> 00:08:42.633 Yeah, 00:08:42.653 --> 00:08:46.615 it's the dream team to make it happen. 00:08:46.635 --> 00:08:49.678 Then Mike down there looking like a total 00:08:49.739 --> 00:08:52.260 goofball that he is. 00:08:53.982 --> 00:08:55.104 Money Mike. 00:08:55.224 --> 00:08:56.024 Exactly, dude. 00:08:56.465 --> 00:08:58.606 And for anybody who's wondering why we're 00:08:58.626 --> 00:08:59.607 not making fun of Mike, 00:08:59.748 --> 00:09:01.249 although Mike is really easy to make fun 00:09:01.308 --> 00:09:01.448 of, 00:09:02.931 --> 00:09:07.153 the dude's mind for comic books is top 00:09:07.173 --> 00:09:07.434 tier. 00:09:08.599 --> 00:09:10.860 If you go back and watch my episode 00:09:10.900 --> 00:09:11.741 with Mike, 00:09:13.023 --> 00:09:19.308 like it is a master class of comic 00:09:19.349 --> 00:09:23.513 book storytelling, writing Kickstarters, 00:09:24.253 --> 00:09:26.615 you name it, we discussed it. 00:09:27.395 --> 00:09:27.856 And 00:09:29.264 --> 00:09:30.144 It's all there. 00:09:30.423 --> 00:09:34.546 It was such a freaking amazing episode. 00:09:34.625 --> 00:09:37.606 And that's how I ended up meeting Aleem 00:09:37.647 --> 00:09:37.966 here. 00:09:38.288 --> 00:09:40.268 That's how we had both Mike and Aleem 00:09:40.307 --> 00:09:41.469 on at the same time. 00:09:42.009 --> 00:09:45.570 But now Aleem is back soloing it so 00:09:45.630 --> 00:09:48.652 we can kick off this Kickstarter the right 00:09:48.731 --> 00:09:50.292 way. 00:09:50.451 --> 00:09:52.013 And I'm going to take that off the 00:09:52.033 --> 00:09:54.173 screen so we can keep on going. 00:09:55.868 --> 00:09:58.590 diving through this Kickstarter, man. 00:10:01.153 --> 00:10:03.235 So if someone backs today, 00:10:03.335 --> 00:10:05.297 what kind of journey are they stepping 00:10:05.797 --> 00:10:07.918 into with Imani? 00:10:09.259 --> 00:10:12.722 So the benefit of backing today is you 00:10:12.743 --> 00:10:15.044 have access to two previous issues. 00:10:15.105 --> 00:10:19.349 So that's close to almost ninety pages of 00:10:19.408 --> 00:10:21.071 content for you to read through now. 00:10:22.207 --> 00:10:24.528 And then we have one more after that 00:10:24.568 --> 00:10:26.229 that'll bring us to the completion of that 00:10:26.408 --> 00:10:27.428 introductory arc. 00:10:28.929 --> 00:10:30.470 So it's a good time to get in 00:10:30.509 --> 00:10:32.990 because most of the journey in this 00:10:33.051 --> 00:10:34.331 introduction is behind us, 00:10:34.750 --> 00:10:36.110 and you only have one more to wait 00:10:36.150 --> 00:10:36.392 for. 00:10:36.532 --> 00:10:38.692 And as we've gone through from issue to 00:10:38.792 --> 00:10:39.192 issue, 00:10:40.452 --> 00:10:42.432 we started off good and we've gotten up 00:10:42.452 --> 00:10:45.374 to a level of, I wanna say, great. 00:10:46.793 --> 00:10:49.134 We're still searching for that perfection. 00:10:50.195 --> 00:10:50.294 Yeah. 00:10:50.916 --> 00:10:51.035 Well, 00:10:51.056 --> 00:10:53.096 we always going to be searching for that. 00:10:53.116 --> 00:10:53.977 We've come a long way. 00:10:53.998 --> 00:10:55.678 This is definitely a good time to jump 00:10:55.698 --> 00:10:56.298 in, I believe. 00:10:58.100 --> 00:11:00.140 So at the core of Sweet Pea is 00:11:00.221 --> 00:11:03.302 grief, memory, and power. 00:11:04.123 --> 00:11:08.466 How does that evolve across these first 00:11:08.505 --> 00:11:10.807 three issues with Imani and her 00:11:10.846 --> 00:11:14.589 discovering her powers herself and kind of 00:11:14.649 --> 00:11:15.610 who she is? 00:11:16.774 --> 00:11:18.697 Yeah, so for those that are new, 00:11:18.716 --> 00:11:21.080 first time hearing from me or about this 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:21.659 project, 00:11:23.241 --> 00:11:26.865 Imani is a young fourteen-year-old girl in 00:11:26.885 --> 00:11:28.587 Philadelphia that's trying to survive an 00:11:28.687 --> 00:11:29.508 alien invasion. 00:11:30.495 --> 00:11:30.735 Now, 00:11:30.855 --> 00:11:34.116 these aliens have unlocked this dormant 00:11:34.397 --> 00:11:35.456 cosmic energy. 00:11:36.317 --> 00:11:37.979 They go from dimension to dimension, 00:11:39.078 --> 00:11:41.179 creating this catalyst event that 00:11:41.460 --> 00:11:42.841 unleashes this energy that they then 00:11:42.880 --> 00:11:45.302 harvest and leave the dimension as a husk 00:11:45.601 --> 00:11:46.182 and move on. 00:11:46.222 --> 00:11:47.283 But for the first time, 00:11:47.403 --> 00:11:49.563 sentient life is absorbing that energy. 00:11:49.624 --> 00:11:52.346 And Amani has an extremely high absorption 00:11:52.426 --> 00:11:52.666 rate. 00:11:53.105 --> 00:11:54.988 She's unaware that she's been empowered, 00:11:55.048 --> 00:11:57.549 but she is one of the few humans 00:11:57.971 --> 00:11:59.272 that develop these powers. 00:11:59.692 --> 00:12:01.474 Her powers work subconsciously, 00:12:02.394 --> 00:12:04.636 and they sort of affect reality in a 00:12:04.677 --> 00:12:08.860 way where what she thinks becomes a 00:12:08.941 --> 00:12:09.981 constructed thing. 00:12:10.990 --> 00:12:11.309 Now, 00:12:11.789 --> 00:12:13.471 this affects her in ways that she can't 00:12:13.571 --> 00:12:17.192 always tell reality from her imagination 00:12:17.851 --> 00:12:20.113 after she even becomes aware that this is 00:12:20.133 --> 00:12:21.433 a thing that's happening to her. 00:12:21.913 --> 00:12:23.494 And this also makes her a person of 00:12:23.653 --> 00:12:26.534 interest for multiple other groups inside 00:12:26.575 --> 00:12:28.755 of the story that all are trying to 00:12:28.775 --> 00:12:30.836 get to the bottom of what's happening or 00:12:30.917 --> 00:12:36.639 stop what's happening to our planet. 00:12:36.678 --> 00:12:36.859 So. 00:12:41.192 --> 00:12:43.212 so yeah you just you just hit the 00:12:43.253 --> 00:12:46.014 big point right there is that it is 00:12:46.033 --> 00:12:49.995 a story on a large level about the 00:12:50.155 --> 00:12:54.999 aliens but the story focuses on amani's 00:12:55.139 --> 00:12:57.779 journey during the alien invasion which is 00:12:57.840 --> 00:13:01.442 really cool almost like um a quiet place 00:13:01.922 --> 00:13:03.423 if people need something to reference it 00:13:03.462 --> 00:13:06.104 to which i haven't even seen a quiet 00:13:06.144 --> 00:13:08.524 place to be fair to everybody out there 00:13:08.745 --> 00:13:09.865 i have never seen a single one of 00:13:09.885 --> 00:13:09.966 them 00:13:12.529 --> 00:13:14.250 some of them were all right quiet places 00:13:14.392 --> 00:13:17.594 was okay yeah i mean i've heard they 00:13:17.614 --> 00:13:20.475 were good i just i it's having time 00:13:20.515 --> 00:13:24.198 to like sit down and actually watch it 00:13:24.298 --> 00:13:29.003 so yeah but let's talk a little bit 00:13:29.182 --> 00:13:31.504 more about amani's powers and her 00:13:31.544 --> 00:13:33.385 abilities they're not just powerful 00:13:33.405 --> 00:13:36.649 they're dangerous how does the escalation 00:13:36.688 --> 00:13:38.990 play out as this story progresses 00:13:40.017 --> 00:13:40.898 Well, 00:13:40.937 --> 00:13:42.099 like I said- Without giving too much away, 00:13:42.119 --> 00:13:42.538 of course. 00:13:42.938 --> 00:13:44.460 Yeah, like I said, Imani has, 00:13:45.400 --> 00:13:46.881 it's a subconscious activation. 00:13:46.922 --> 00:13:48.543 She hasn't figured out how to willingly 00:13:48.583 --> 00:13:49.764 control her powers yet. 00:13:50.548 --> 00:13:53.230 So when she's dealing with things like 00:13:53.289 --> 00:13:57.510 regret or high levels of grief or 00:13:57.551 --> 00:13:58.451 emotional trauma, 00:13:58.490 --> 00:14:00.991 they may manifest in a way that is 00:14:01.011 --> 00:14:01.993 a hindrance to her. 00:14:02.613 --> 00:14:06.714 But also when she may just need protection 00:14:07.134 --> 00:14:07.854 at that time, 00:14:08.654 --> 00:14:10.455 they can also manifest in a way that's 00:14:10.475 --> 00:14:12.755 going to protect her and keep her safe 00:14:12.796 --> 00:14:13.255 as well. 00:14:13.895 --> 00:14:16.177 So until she learns to control it, 00:14:16.336 --> 00:14:18.658 it's both a help and a hindrance to 00:14:18.697 --> 00:14:18.778 her. 00:14:21.604 --> 00:14:23.708 So at what point in this story, 00:14:23.729 --> 00:14:25.392 or yeah, 00:14:25.572 --> 00:14:27.736 so when does this shift from a personal 00:14:27.778 --> 00:14:31.525 story to something much bigger in the 00:14:31.566 --> 00:14:32.287 grand scheme? 00:14:33.336 --> 00:14:33.576 Well, 00:14:33.716 --> 00:14:36.298 issue one is strictly character-driven. 00:14:36.357 --> 00:14:36.937 Issue two, 00:14:37.379 --> 00:14:38.940 we opened up the world a little bit, 00:14:39.139 --> 00:14:40.921 introduced new groups and everything like 00:14:40.941 --> 00:14:41.140 that. 00:14:41.181 --> 00:14:43.123 And as we introduced those groups in issue 00:14:43.163 --> 00:14:43.503 three, 00:14:43.962 --> 00:14:45.624 I made the decision to take it a 00:14:45.703 --> 00:14:48.385 step away from just being a peek into 00:14:48.426 --> 00:14:52.188 this young girl's diary of survival into 00:14:54.929 --> 00:14:56.551 the different factions so that you can get 00:14:56.571 --> 00:14:58.673 a look at what these other people are 00:14:58.712 --> 00:15:01.014 doing outside of their interactions with 00:15:01.073 --> 00:15:01.434 Imani. 00:15:01.475 --> 00:15:02.696 That was the original goal. 00:15:03.456 --> 00:15:06.277 to just have it all be you know 00:15:06.297 --> 00:15:08.597 just strictly character driven but i but 00:15:08.619 --> 00:15:10.379 there's so much else going on inside of 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:11.740 the world that i don't want it to 00:15:11.779 --> 00:15:14.421 just be people popping out of the the 00:15:14.461 --> 00:15:15.902 woodworks and falling down through the 00:15:15.922 --> 00:15:17.182 ceiling into the book and then 00:15:17.222 --> 00:15:18.682 disappearing again because we're only 00:15:18.722 --> 00:15:20.844 following amadi so now we're starting to 00:15:20.864 --> 00:15:22.705 get a glimpse of what's going on with 00:15:22.865 --> 00:15:25.166 with uh fido fighters in defense of 00:15:25.206 --> 00:15:27.888 humanity as well as the razoas which are 00:15:27.908 --> 00:15:31.548 the ancient enemies of the invading force 00:15:32.009 --> 00:15:32.730 on planet earth 00:15:34.803 --> 00:15:36.586 love it dude so much cool little 00:15:36.645 --> 00:15:40.048 backstories there man so much going on i 00:15:40.428 --> 00:15:43.072 i love it and i always love both 00:15:43.091 --> 00:15:45.933 to have like the primary story and then 00:15:45.953 --> 00:15:48.155 like a secondary story and then they got 00:15:48.196 --> 00:15:49.878 this tertiary thing going on in the 00:15:49.937 --> 00:15:52.100 background and it's one of those where 00:15:53.645 --> 00:15:57.267 the writer could easily lose track of what 00:15:57.287 --> 00:15:59.447 they're doing if they're not careful. 00:16:00.148 --> 00:16:02.129 And I love to see that you have 00:16:02.149 --> 00:16:04.470 it on point with all that. 00:16:06.250 --> 00:16:07.270 I made that adjustment. 00:16:07.291 --> 00:16:08.371 I didn't want to lose track. 00:16:08.392 --> 00:16:10.351 I didn't want to lose the reader. 00:16:11.092 --> 00:16:13.474 There's some important things that happen 00:16:13.494 --> 00:16:16.554 that Imani may not necessarily have any 00:16:17.434 --> 00:16:19.375 information on or be aware of, 00:16:19.655 --> 00:16:21.397 but it's important because it affects her 00:16:21.417 --> 00:16:22.457 and it affects the story. 00:16:22.898 --> 00:16:24.158 So we just want to make sure that 00:16:24.198 --> 00:16:27.441 we get everything in there, you know, 00:16:27.480 --> 00:16:30.721 while not losing our central focus. 00:16:30.741 --> 00:16:32.803 But it's so important as you're writing 00:16:32.844 --> 00:16:37.346 people to keep a notebook full of notes 00:16:38.346 --> 00:16:40.128 about your own story. 00:16:40.288 --> 00:16:43.690 So you yourself don't get lost in your 00:16:43.789 --> 00:16:45.490 own sauce when it comes to writing 00:16:45.510 --> 00:16:45.990 stories. 00:16:47.336 --> 00:16:48.356 Because it will happen. 00:16:48.756 --> 00:16:50.378 It doesn't matter who the writer is. 00:16:50.518 --> 00:16:52.638 It will happen if you're not paying 00:16:52.677 --> 00:16:53.538 attention to it. 00:16:53.577 --> 00:16:55.938 So that's why you see my man with 00:16:55.958 --> 00:16:57.318 all the notebooks in the background. 00:16:57.339 --> 00:17:02.320 All kinds of those things. 00:17:02.640 --> 00:17:05.381 I got tons of outlines, 00:17:05.520 --> 00:17:07.622 character designs and all kinds of stuff 00:17:07.642 --> 00:17:08.122 that's out of here. 00:17:09.261 --> 00:17:09.701 Oh, dude. 00:17:09.922 --> 00:17:10.182 Yeah, 00:17:11.201 --> 00:17:12.522 it's one of those like I've seen some 00:17:12.542 --> 00:17:13.502 people and they have like 00:17:14.982 --> 00:17:18.086 bookshelf just full of like scripts and 00:17:18.707 --> 00:17:20.868 just notes on their stuff, stuff they, 00:17:21.028 --> 00:17:23.352 they will probably never even like publish 00:17:23.392 --> 00:17:24.413 or see the light of day. 00:17:24.432 --> 00:17:25.993 And I'm just like, dude, 00:17:26.153 --> 00:17:27.895 there's just so much sitting there. 00:17:28.517 --> 00:17:29.176 And then you, you, 00:17:29.357 --> 00:17:30.378 you think to yourself like, 00:17:31.391 --> 00:17:34.652 There's a lot of legendary artists and 00:17:34.692 --> 00:17:36.893 writers out there who have that same type 00:17:36.913 --> 00:17:40.755 of wall or bots of just notes and 00:17:41.035 --> 00:17:43.736 storylines that will never see the light 00:17:43.796 --> 00:17:44.056 of day. 00:17:44.096 --> 00:17:45.516 They will never be published, 00:17:46.196 --> 00:17:51.499 but they could be the next big thing. 00:17:51.578 --> 00:17:51.959 Easily, yeah. 00:17:51.979 --> 00:17:53.159 But let's talk about some more of the 00:17:53.199 --> 00:17:54.319 Kickstarter and... 00:17:56.327 --> 00:17:59.413 So you definitely believe or a person who 00:17:59.452 --> 00:18:01.676 believes that every panel counts as we had 00:18:01.717 --> 00:18:04.421 discussed in your first visit to the USDN. 00:18:05.001 --> 00:18:07.145 How does Kickstarter help you protect that 00:18:07.205 --> 00:18:09.409 level of creative control? 00:18:11.484 --> 00:18:14.625 Well, um, I'm in full control of, 00:18:14.905 --> 00:18:16.105 of the campaign. 00:18:16.486 --> 00:18:17.006 I was able to, 00:18:17.086 --> 00:18:18.547 I was able to build that myself. 00:18:19.267 --> 00:18:21.346 I don't have to compromise through, uh, 00:18:21.487 --> 00:18:23.788 any kind of partnerships or censorship or 00:18:23.807 --> 00:18:24.647 anything like that. 00:18:24.688 --> 00:18:27.888 Besides my own morality is the only filter 00:18:27.909 --> 00:18:29.009 that I have to deal with, 00:18:29.348 --> 00:18:31.209 which is high. 00:18:31.249 --> 00:18:33.769 So, you know, um, 00:18:35.702 --> 00:18:37.804 I do censor myself a bit, but, yeah, 00:18:37.884 --> 00:18:39.505 I mean, it's all me. 00:18:39.545 --> 00:18:40.444 It's all my choices. 00:18:40.484 --> 00:18:42.766 I don't have an editor besides Mike, 00:18:42.786 --> 00:18:44.646 who's a very challenging editor, 00:18:45.186 --> 00:18:46.788 by the way, but in a good way. 00:18:48.048 --> 00:18:49.628 But I don't have somebody telling me, 00:18:50.230 --> 00:18:50.609 you know, 00:18:50.710 --> 00:18:53.651 we need to fit this agenda inside of 00:18:53.691 --> 00:18:56.291 here or we need to add this target 00:18:56.452 --> 00:18:58.933 to this demographic or whatever. 00:18:58.993 --> 00:19:00.674 I'm just telling the story the best way 00:19:00.694 --> 00:19:02.434 that I know how in hopes that it 00:19:02.474 --> 00:19:03.855 resonates with somebody out there. 00:19:04.884 --> 00:19:05.625 Oh, a hundred percent. 00:19:06.205 --> 00:19:06.787 A hundred percent. 00:19:06.826 --> 00:19:08.167 And Mike's probably one of the, 00:19:08.769 --> 00:19:10.111 I don't like to toot Mike's horn too 00:19:10.151 --> 00:19:11.853 much because the boy's got an ego on 00:19:11.893 --> 00:19:14.395 him, but he's a damn good editor. 00:19:14.576 --> 00:19:16.078 Like, yeah, absolutely. 00:19:16.439 --> 00:19:18.260 If anybody out there needs an editor, 00:19:18.340 --> 00:19:19.423 I would highly, 00:19:19.742 --> 00:19:21.586 highly recommend Mike to anybody. 00:19:23.132 --> 00:19:25.172 And he's just good about keeping people on 00:19:25.211 --> 00:19:27.252 the point that they need to be on. 00:19:27.272 --> 00:19:28.373 Yep. 00:19:28.432 --> 00:19:29.972 He knows this stuff and he's good. 00:19:29.992 --> 00:19:31.012 If you listen to him, man, 00:19:31.032 --> 00:19:33.374 he has some really good advice for how 00:19:33.453 --> 00:19:36.693 to improve your own writing process as 00:19:36.794 --> 00:19:37.515 well. 00:19:37.875 --> 00:19:38.755 Oh, a hundred percent. 00:19:38.775 --> 00:19:40.134 And like I said earlier, 00:19:40.615 --> 00:19:41.815 my episode with him, 00:19:41.914 --> 00:19:46.395 I consider a master class of writing and 00:19:46.635 --> 00:19:48.477 editing and that kind of stuff. 00:19:48.517 --> 00:19:50.376 So, but yeah, 00:19:53.709 --> 00:19:55.990 What does backing this campaign allow you 00:19:56.030 --> 00:19:59.673 to do that a traditional route might 00:19:59.874 --> 00:20:00.334 limit, 00:20:00.374 --> 00:20:02.615 such as if you were being published by 00:20:03.036 --> 00:20:06.919 Dark Horse or Dynamite or Boom or whoever 00:20:07.199 --> 00:20:07.578 image? 00:20:10.662 --> 00:20:11.541 Well, for me, 00:20:11.662 --> 00:20:13.544 it just releases constraints. 00:20:15.305 --> 00:20:17.366 Besides the percentage that Kickstarter 00:20:17.406 --> 00:20:20.108 takes for the overall campaign, 00:20:21.288 --> 00:20:23.550 I determined the pricing based on the 00:20:23.590 --> 00:20:25.451 expenses of creating the book and then, 00:20:25.692 --> 00:20:27.294 and then going on to print and ship 00:20:27.314 --> 00:20:27.874 the book out. 00:20:29.378 --> 00:20:29.700 You know, 00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:32.801 I determine how much I can print and 00:20:32.842 --> 00:20:33.502 things like that. 00:20:33.522 --> 00:20:34.703 There's a lot of there's a lot of, 00:20:35.344 --> 00:20:35.604 you know, 00:20:35.644 --> 00:20:37.026 red tape that you have to go through 00:20:37.526 --> 00:20:38.866 when you get one of those guys. 00:20:38.967 --> 00:20:40.127 And I get to go move at my 00:20:40.228 --> 00:20:40.808 own pace. 00:20:40.888 --> 00:20:43.651 I don't want to make a book and 00:20:43.671 --> 00:20:45.711 then not have a follow up book the 00:20:45.752 --> 00:20:46.373 next month. 00:20:46.573 --> 00:20:48.654 If we're talking about dealing with one of 00:20:48.674 --> 00:20:49.596 those guys, yeah, 00:20:49.935 --> 00:20:51.057 able to do that right now. 00:20:51.636 --> 00:20:53.118 So for me, 00:20:53.259 --> 00:20:55.921 there's the hardworking guy that's trying 00:20:55.941 --> 00:20:57.162 to do this to the best of his 00:20:57.201 --> 00:20:57.702 ability. 00:20:58.083 --> 00:21:00.005 Kickstarter is perfect because it allows 00:21:00.045 --> 00:21:01.665 me to move at my own pace and 00:21:01.705 --> 00:21:05.150 engage directly with the public at large. 00:21:06.310 --> 00:21:08.231 That's the key right there, isn't it? 00:21:08.413 --> 00:21:08.553 Yep. 00:21:09.596 --> 00:21:12.278 And it's not just being like, I mean, 00:21:12.919 --> 00:21:15.559 y'all seen how well his Kickstarter page 00:21:15.579 --> 00:21:16.480 was organized. 00:21:16.500 --> 00:21:16.861 I mean, 00:21:16.921 --> 00:21:19.702 it's one of the better ones because you 00:21:19.722 --> 00:21:22.223 can see some Kickstarter like front pages 00:21:22.263 --> 00:21:24.766 that are just a hot, hot mess. 00:21:25.865 --> 00:21:27.786 But that way it's very well laid out. 00:21:27.865 --> 00:21:29.885 It's very well organized the way it should 00:21:29.925 --> 00:21:30.205 be. 00:21:31.086 --> 00:21:35.607 It's easy to, to go through and to, 00:21:35.928 --> 00:21:37.108 and it's, 00:21:37.128 --> 00:21:38.989 it's a very well put together campaign, 00:21:39.169 --> 00:21:42.170 which I always, always enjoy seeing. 00:21:42.809 --> 00:21:43.451 I don't have to, 00:21:43.471 --> 00:21:46.471 you don't have to dig through a mess 00:21:46.510 --> 00:21:48.192 to find what you're looking for in there. 00:21:48.231 --> 00:21:51.633 Cause when I, when I do back, uh, 00:21:51.712 --> 00:21:54.074 individuals and projects on Kickstarter, 00:21:55.355 --> 00:21:57.977 It's one of those where I'm looking for 00:21:57.997 --> 00:21:58.856 that. 00:21:58.978 --> 00:22:00.718 I'm looking for key gains. 00:22:00.738 --> 00:22:01.838 I want to see who worked on the 00:22:01.898 --> 00:22:02.199 book. 00:22:02.838 --> 00:22:05.819 I want to see if it hits certain 00:22:05.859 --> 00:22:06.200 goals. 00:22:08.040 --> 00:22:08.580 Stretch goals, 00:22:08.942 --> 00:22:10.541 I'm not doing it for stretch goals or 00:22:10.602 --> 00:22:11.343 for freebies. 00:22:11.403 --> 00:22:12.942 I'm doing it because I legitimately 00:22:13.042 --> 00:22:14.463 believe in the project. 00:22:14.523 --> 00:22:16.164 That's why I'm going to be backing it. 00:22:16.884 --> 00:22:20.266 But it's one of those where you have 00:22:20.286 --> 00:22:23.166 a curiosity checklist in your head like 00:22:23.248 --> 00:22:24.008 everybody else. 00:22:25.221 --> 00:22:26.502 And so when you go to go to 00:22:26.542 --> 00:22:27.442 a Kickstarter page, 00:22:27.482 --> 00:22:29.364 you're expecting it to hit certain check 00:22:29.384 --> 00:22:30.423 marks in your own head. 00:22:31.765 --> 00:22:33.006 And that's what you're looking for. 00:22:33.425 --> 00:22:34.086 Is it clean? 00:22:34.125 --> 00:22:35.626 Is it well put together? 00:22:36.146 --> 00:22:37.928 Can you see who's working on the book? 00:22:37.948 --> 00:22:40.028 Can you see, you know, 00:22:40.689 --> 00:22:44.151 the just the interior pages and things? 00:22:44.230 --> 00:22:44.671 Yeah. 00:22:44.770 --> 00:22:47.332 Just is there a cool little video? 00:22:47.372 --> 00:22:49.032 Cause that's a big thing now is you 00:22:49.053 --> 00:22:51.513 have to have at least some type of 00:22:51.574 --> 00:22:52.394 video that 00:22:53.268 --> 00:22:55.349 of the comic book kind of come into 00:22:55.390 --> 00:22:57.632 life so to speak right you know and 00:22:57.711 --> 00:23:00.053 giving you some some i don't want to 00:23:00.073 --> 00:23:01.954 say spoilers because spoilers i don't i 00:23:02.194 --> 00:23:04.497 don't believe in spoilers but you know 00:23:04.517 --> 00:23:05.958 just a little bit of a taste of 00:23:05.998 --> 00:23:09.039 what what you're doing you know and it's 00:23:09.121 --> 00:23:10.422 that's one of those where and those things 00:23:10.442 --> 00:23:12.502 aren't cheap to make unless you know how 00:23:12.522 --> 00:23:14.845 to do it yourself which you know if 00:23:14.865 --> 00:23:16.546 you do then hey you'll shoot me a 00:23:16.566 --> 00:23:18.167 message in because i want to know how 00:23:18.188 --> 00:23:19.008 to do it myself too 00:23:20.148 --> 00:23:21.648 But yeah, 00:23:22.148 --> 00:23:24.650 and that's a big thing with Kickstarters 00:23:24.670 --> 00:23:27.310 is make sure it's organized. 00:23:27.651 --> 00:23:29.730 Make sure it tells the story of your 00:23:29.770 --> 00:23:33.451 project and you and the project. 00:23:36.333 --> 00:23:37.992 So for people watching right now and 00:23:38.032 --> 00:23:38.893 listening later, 00:23:38.992 --> 00:23:41.534 what do backers actually get when they 00:23:41.574 --> 00:23:42.953 support Sweet Pea? 00:23:44.246 --> 00:23:45.709 Well, we have a lot going on. 00:23:45.769 --> 00:23:48.414 So you can get a digital copy or 00:23:49.036 --> 00:23:51.039 all the digital copies of issues one 00:23:51.059 --> 00:23:52.623 through three, if that's what you prefer. 00:23:52.702 --> 00:23:54.748 We also have physical copies available, 00:23:54.768 --> 00:23:55.209 of course. 00:23:56.361 --> 00:23:58.462 Um, for the, for the new issue, 00:23:58.522 --> 00:24:00.324 we have four covers. 00:24:00.763 --> 00:24:03.246 We have our standard cover by our interior 00:24:03.326 --> 00:24:04.606 artist, Yusef Shitu. 00:24:05.027 --> 00:24:06.407 If you want to count the sketch covered 00:24:06.468 --> 00:24:07.909 and we have that available as well. 00:24:07.929 --> 00:24:09.049 That's what I mentioned before, 00:24:09.089 --> 00:24:10.671 where you get to basically do your own 00:24:10.691 --> 00:24:13.292 thing with it and flesh your own artistic 00:24:13.333 --> 00:24:15.453 talent or just scribble, tag it up, 00:24:15.473 --> 00:24:17.395 which we know what a, uh, 00:24:17.415 --> 00:24:18.997 what a perfect marker, if you want, 00:24:19.037 --> 00:24:19.636 it's up to you. 00:24:19.717 --> 00:24:19.998 Yeah. 00:24:20.657 --> 00:24:22.200 And we have J. Travis Smith, 00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:24.801 the IDW artist, Second Sight Publishing, 00:24:24.842 --> 00:24:27.404 and a long list of others who did 00:24:27.464 --> 00:24:28.605 a cover as well. 00:24:29.226 --> 00:24:30.728 Mark McKenna did a cover. 00:24:30.748 --> 00:24:32.910 He's a long-time Marvel artist since, 00:24:32.930 --> 00:24:34.412 I believe, in nineteen eighty five. 00:24:34.432 --> 00:24:36.053 He's worked with DC and a couple of 00:24:36.113 --> 00:24:36.673 other people. 00:24:37.409 --> 00:24:37.809 long, 00:24:37.849 --> 00:24:40.792 long list of titles that he's worked on. 00:24:40.833 --> 00:24:42.075 And now you can add the Diary of 00:24:42.095 --> 00:24:43.195 Sweet Pea to that as well. 00:24:43.836 --> 00:24:45.919 Then we also have posters. 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:47.480 We have some trading cards, 00:24:47.520 --> 00:24:49.042 which is our first time printing those 00:24:49.182 --> 00:24:49.324 out, 00:24:49.784 --> 00:24:51.946 just to get the character on front and 00:24:51.967 --> 00:24:53.909 then some trivia and information about 00:24:53.929 --> 00:24:55.510 that character on the back of the cards. 00:24:57.392 --> 00:24:58.952 And then like inside of the stretch goals 00:24:58.992 --> 00:25:00.813 is bookmarks and other things like that. 00:25:00.873 --> 00:25:02.673 But what I wanted to try to do 00:25:02.773 --> 00:25:04.815 was because the cost of shipping, I mean, 00:25:04.835 --> 00:25:06.075 that's not shipping, well, 00:25:06.134 --> 00:25:06.894 actually that too, 00:25:06.914 --> 00:25:10.155 but the cost has gone up significantly. 00:25:10.676 --> 00:25:13.196 So we starting off with a very low 00:25:13.237 --> 00:25:13.517 goal, 00:25:13.657 --> 00:25:16.198 only a thousand dollars and the quality of 00:25:16.979 --> 00:25:18.838 the book is pretty standard. 00:25:18.878 --> 00:25:20.720 But as we climb in the stretch goals, 00:25:20.759 --> 00:25:22.079 the monetary stretch goals, 00:25:22.099 --> 00:25:23.760 then the quality of the book also 00:25:23.800 --> 00:25:24.300 improves. 00:25:24.840 --> 00:25:27.042 so it's not just me taking the money 00:25:27.063 --> 00:25:28.624 it's me taking less but i'm getting a 00:25:28.663 --> 00:25:31.526 little bit more in return so the cover 00:25:31.566 --> 00:25:35.608 goes up to a a thicker cover that's 00:25:35.628 --> 00:25:36.549 a little less floppy 00:25:37.692 --> 00:25:39.973 The interior pages also get a higher 00:25:40.013 --> 00:25:40.493 quality. 00:25:40.534 --> 00:25:42.675 Everything's getting like a nice build to 00:25:42.796 --> 00:25:42.935 it. 00:25:43.195 --> 00:25:43.955 All kinds of stuff. 00:25:43.976 --> 00:25:46.458 It's just a thank you for the level 00:25:46.498 --> 00:25:48.219 of success that I'm hoping for. 00:25:48.680 --> 00:25:49.940 But either way, you know, 00:25:49.980 --> 00:25:51.060 as long as I can get the print 00:25:51.080 --> 00:25:52.261 the book out, I'm happy. 00:25:52.721 --> 00:25:54.343 And I want to be pleased when they 00:25:54.363 --> 00:25:56.444 get the book in their hands. 00:25:56.525 --> 00:25:58.445 And I don't think people really realize 00:25:58.465 --> 00:26:01.748 that or maybe they don't pay attention to 00:26:01.827 --> 00:26:02.628 the different. 00:26:03.871 --> 00:26:05.912 comic books on their shelf at their local 00:26:05.951 --> 00:26:08.153 comic shop there's different card stocks 00:26:08.553 --> 00:26:11.713 that are used for the covers there's 00:26:11.753 --> 00:26:14.515 different types of like weights of paper 00:26:14.555 --> 00:26:16.395 that are used on the interiors and it 00:26:16.415 --> 00:26:19.477 determines really the overall quality of 00:26:19.537 --> 00:26:22.218 the book and the longevity that that book 00:26:22.278 --> 00:26:26.559 will last and so and like he was 00:26:26.579 --> 00:26:26.920 saying 00:26:27.640 --> 00:26:29.480 the more support he gets the better paper 00:26:29.500 --> 00:26:32.162 quality that he can eventually when he 00:26:32.182 --> 00:26:34.343 goes to print the book print on yes 00:26:35.784 --> 00:26:38.224 so if you want a a better quality 00:26:38.285 --> 00:26:42.146 book make sure you give some support if 00:26:42.166 --> 00:26:43.508 you're going to be back in the book 00:26:43.548 --> 00:26:45.229 because that's really at the end of the 00:26:45.269 --> 00:26:47.849 day what is being paid for at the 00:26:47.910 --> 00:26:51.711 end of the day is that the paper 00:26:51.751 --> 00:26:53.853 quality and then they're going to hit you 00:26:53.873 --> 00:26:55.773 with the shipping because that's the two 00:26:57.280 --> 00:26:58.301 heaviest, hidden, 00:26:58.582 --> 00:27:02.905 most expensive things that any comic book 00:27:02.967 --> 00:27:05.588 artist or creator is going to deal with. 00:27:05.648 --> 00:27:07.790 Shipping costs, paper. 00:27:08.632 --> 00:27:11.414 It's not gotten any cheaper. 00:27:12.300 --> 00:27:14.462 yeah i mean it's not like printing on 00:27:14.803 --> 00:27:16.444 toilet tissue if i just meet the minimum 00:27:16.525 --> 00:27:19.326 funding goal or anything yeah what i mean 00:27:19.366 --> 00:27:22.670 but it's just like a more luxurious feel 00:27:22.730 --> 00:27:24.791 as we go up in the levels and 00:27:24.832 --> 00:27:27.753 everything like that so yeah yeah man 00:27:27.794 --> 00:27:29.075 think of it as a difference of a 00:27:29.174 --> 00:27:31.678 magazine quality page versus a newspaper 00:27:31.698 --> 00:27:35.300 quality page right right exactly so i know 00:27:35.320 --> 00:27:37.883 i know um who is it i think 00:27:37.903 --> 00:27:38.903 it's mad cave 00:27:40.028 --> 00:27:42.670 that does almost like a newspaper stock 00:27:42.710 --> 00:27:43.109 paper. 00:27:44.269 --> 00:27:44.750 But it's cool. 00:27:44.789 --> 00:27:46.371 It feels cool to me. 00:27:46.730 --> 00:27:48.171 I dig it because it reminds me of 00:27:48.191 --> 00:27:51.392 the old school newspapers from when I was 00:27:51.491 --> 00:27:52.251 a kid. 00:27:52.612 --> 00:27:53.553 If we ended up doing that, 00:27:53.593 --> 00:27:56.153 you're still going to get a quality book. 00:27:56.413 --> 00:27:58.013 The page turns are still going to be 00:27:58.074 --> 00:27:58.354 nice. 00:27:58.394 --> 00:27:59.693 Everything's going to feel good inside of 00:27:59.794 --> 00:28:00.355 your hands. 00:28:00.394 --> 00:28:01.214 It's not like you've got to 00:28:02.115 --> 00:28:03.896 Use tweezers so you don't rip the page 00:28:03.997 --> 00:28:04.897 or anything like that. 00:28:04.959 --> 00:28:06.059 And you know what I love about it 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:06.259 too? 00:28:06.339 --> 00:28:08.201 I love the sound that each different type 00:28:08.221 --> 00:28:10.984 of paper makes when you turn it. 00:28:11.065 --> 00:28:11.826 Each weight, 00:28:12.046 --> 00:28:14.568 each everything just has a different feel 00:28:14.588 --> 00:28:15.190 to the page. 00:28:15.230 --> 00:28:16.651 The sound it makes when you're turning it 00:28:16.750 --> 00:28:16.971 over 00:28:18.105 --> 00:28:20.327 Yeah, dude, to me, I don't know. 00:28:20.347 --> 00:28:21.848 I'm just I'm a nerd when it comes 00:28:21.888 --> 00:28:24.311 to like it's the little things about a 00:28:24.392 --> 00:28:26.333 book that make a book like in the 00:28:26.393 --> 00:28:27.755 sounds, the paper makes the smell, 00:28:27.775 --> 00:28:30.196 the paper has all that stuff. 00:28:30.297 --> 00:28:31.738 It is turning the page, man. 00:28:31.978 --> 00:28:33.779 I still prefer having a book inside of 00:28:33.819 --> 00:28:35.401 my hands over slide. 00:28:35.421 --> 00:28:36.142 A hundred percent. 00:28:36.863 --> 00:28:38.584 A hundred percent. 00:28:39.144 --> 00:28:40.125 A hundred percent. 00:28:41.277 --> 00:28:43.318 because you get the full experience, 00:28:43.358 --> 00:28:43.638 you know, 00:28:43.659 --> 00:28:46.540 when you're holding it and you can smell 00:28:46.560 --> 00:28:49.063 the pages and you turn the page and 00:28:49.103 --> 00:28:53.686 it makes a special sound. 00:28:53.787 --> 00:28:54.867 I might read after this. 00:28:58.069 --> 00:29:00.291 So I know we went through the page 00:29:00.352 --> 00:29:00.652 earlier. 00:29:00.711 --> 00:29:02.794 Is there anything extra or anything like 00:29:03.795 --> 00:29:05.675 special that if they jump in early, 00:29:05.736 --> 00:29:06.936 I know I showed it earlier, 00:29:07.438 --> 00:29:08.538 but let's do that again. 00:29:09.627 --> 00:29:10.108 I mean, 00:29:10.548 --> 00:29:12.691 I'm not sure when we going to, uh, 00:29:12.711 --> 00:29:14.071 are we live now or are we doing 00:29:14.132 --> 00:29:14.313 it? 00:29:14.452 --> 00:29:17.095 Uh, Oh, we always live. 00:29:17.476 --> 00:29:17.675 All right. 00:29:17.715 --> 00:29:19.017 Well then, yeah, if you jumped in, 00:29:19.076 --> 00:29:20.298 if you jumped in right now and you 00:29:20.338 --> 00:29:22.019 got until midnight to take advantage of 00:29:22.039 --> 00:29:22.980 the early bird cells, 00:29:23.020 --> 00:29:24.502 those are still available right now. 00:29:25.262 --> 00:29:27.566 So, uh, the, the, 00:29:28.405 --> 00:29:32.430 the PDF digital is five dollars off that 00:29:32.450 --> 00:29:33.991 brings that down to five dollars. 00:29:34.772 --> 00:29:37.413 the covers are all five dollars off that 00:29:37.433 --> 00:29:39.434 brings the standard down to ten and that 00:29:39.474 --> 00:29:41.996 brings the variant covers down i believe 00:29:42.016 --> 00:29:44.936 to ten and fifteen and that collector's 00:29:44.977 --> 00:29:47.318 bundle is the uh sorry not collector 00:29:47.419 --> 00:29:48.919 completionist bundle is the one that i 00:29:48.999 --> 00:29:50.500 want people to really take a look at 00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:56.982 because you get in five books issue one 00:29:57.063 --> 00:29:58.763 and two and all the covers for issue 00:29:59.163 --> 00:30:01.505 for issue three you're getting three 00:30:01.545 --> 00:30:03.766 posters two stickers 00:30:04.683 --> 00:30:08.766 and uh the two trading cards early bird 00:30:08.865 --> 00:30:10.767 that's only that's down to sixty dollars 00:30:11.567 --> 00:30:14.268 now mind you after the early bird special 00:30:14.788 --> 00:30:18.029 each book is fifteen dollars by itself so 00:30:18.049 --> 00:30:19.691 you can imagine this is going to be 00:30:19.730 --> 00:30:22.031 this is a huge sale it's the time 00:30:22.051 --> 00:30:24.932 to jump in right now yeah which is 00:30:24.972 --> 00:30:26.114 probably what i'm going to do when we 00:30:26.153 --> 00:30:27.654 finish up here is jump in and get 00:30:27.734 --> 00:30:28.154 in on it 00:30:28.992 --> 00:30:29.893 Cause I need to ask you is one 00:30:29.932 --> 00:30:30.272 and two. 00:30:30.894 --> 00:30:31.233 Oh yeah. 00:30:31.273 --> 00:30:32.894 Please take advantage of the early bird. 00:30:33.474 --> 00:30:33.914 They're there. 00:30:33.954 --> 00:30:36.695 They're there to help drive forward the, 00:30:36.715 --> 00:30:39.076 uh, you know, towards that funding goal, 00:30:39.116 --> 00:30:41.656 but they're also there for people to take 00:30:41.676 --> 00:30:43.597 advantage of and save a couple of dollars 00:30:43.637 --> 00:30:44.018 as well. 00:30:44.178 --> 00:30:44.397 Yeah. 00:30:44.417 --> 00:30:47.058 I'm all about saving some money. 00:30:47.078 --> 00:30:48.180 Kids in college, man. 00:30:48.200 --> 00:30:49.119 You know what I'm going through? 00:30:50.119 --> 00:30:50.601 Yup. 00:30:50.621 --> 00:30:51.480 I know it, man. 00:30:52.141 --> 00:30:52.340 Yeah. 00:30:55.458 --> 00:30:57.519 But so you're building this while also 00:30:57.618 --> 00:30:59.339 raising a family. 00:30:59.380 --> 00:31:01.682 How does that real life responsibility 00:31:01.721 --> 00:31:04.002 show up in not just your work, 00:31:04.063 --> 00:31:06.805 but also the amount of work you get 00:31:06.825 --> 00:31:08.665 to put out? 00:31:08.726 --> 00:31:09.226 Yeah, I mean, 00:31:09.266 --> 00:31:10.807 I have to steal time from myself to 00:31:10.846 --> 00:31:13.489 be able to follow my passions right now. 00:31:13.608 --> 00:31:13.969 You know, 00:31:14.528 --> 00:31:17.270 hopefully one day we get a big hit 00:31:17.451 --> 00:31:18.771 and it'll allow me to take 00:31:19.570 --> 00:31:21.231 at least some of the overtime off of 00:31:21.932 --> 00:31:23.773 my plate. 00:31:23.834 --> 00:31:26.855 But I steal as much time as possible. 00:31:27.195 --> 00:31:29.017 I discovered this during, 00:31:29.057 --> 00:31:30.557 this passion during, 00:31:31.288 --> 00:31:32.848 The covid twenty twenty. 00:31:32.888 --> 00:31:34.150 So I was out on a furlough and 00:31:34.170 --> 00:31:35.890 I was able to dedicate all of my 00:31:35.930 --> 00:31:36.851 time to it. 00:31:37.030 --> 00:31:40.472 And I realized this is genuinely what I 00:31:40.532 --> 00:31:41.773 love to do and what I would love 00:31:41.814 --> 00:31:43.013 to do with my life. 00:31:43.555 --> 00:31:44.894 But for right now, you know, 00:31:44.954 --> 00:31:45.695 I have a wife, 00:31:46.455 --> 00:31:49.018 five children from a freshman in college 00:31:49.057 --> 00:31:51.038 down to a kindergartner. 00:31:51.459 --> 00:31:54.059 So there's a lot of responsibility. 00:31:54.119 --> 00:31:54.621 Horrible. 00:31:55.280 --> 00:31:55.580 Yeah. 00:31:55.760 --> 00:31:56.221 Thank you. 00:31:56.300 --> 00:31:58.383 So I got some I got some things 00:31:58.442 --> 00:31:59.423 outside to take care of. 00:31:59.583 --> 00:32:00.983 I ask you to be patient with me. 00:32:01.512 --> 00:32:02.594 Hopefully, 00:32:02.693 --> 00:32:04.174 you like what I'm doing and you're able 00:32:04.194 --> 00:32:04.796 to support it, 00:32:04.816 --> 00:32:06.817 which will allow me to be more free 00:32:06.857 --> 00:32:08.459 to create more work for you and get 00:32:08.479 --> 00:32:10.160 started on some of these other projects as 00:32:10.200 --> 00:32:11.942 well. 00:32:12.041 --> 00:32:13.042 I love to hear it, dude. 00:32:13.143 --> 00:32:15.785 And if y'all haven't seen the video of 00:32:15.845 --> 00:32:19.949 him and baby boy kicking off Sweet Pea, 00:32:20.789 --> 00:32:22.310 go follow Aleem. 00:32:23.010 --> 00:32:24.752 Check that video out because it is 00:32:24.792 --> 00:32:25.834 freaking adorable. 00:32:27.295 --> 00:32:28.056 I'm just saying. 00:32:29.280 --> 00:32:30.582 Yeah, he's great. 00:32:30.602 --> 00:32:32.263 I might let him take over as my 00:32:32.403 --> 00:32:33.325 marketing lead. 00:32:33.384 --> 00:32:34.705 Hey, 00:32:36.027 --> 00:32:37.627 you want to hit that thousand dollars? 00:32:38.568 --> 00:32:39.549 That's the one. 00:32:39.569 --> 00:32:40.711 That's the one right there. 00:32:42.932 --> 00:32:44.534 So as this campaign grows, 00:32:44.554 --> 00:32:46.875 what are you hoping to unlock next for 00:32:46.935 --> 00:32:47.416 Sweet Pea? 00:32:48.834 --> 00:32:48.973 Well, 00:32:48.993 --> 00:32:51.596 I want to get started immediately on issue 00:32:51.635 --> 00:32:52.195 number four. 00:32:52.236 --> 00:32:53.596 I also want to get out and see 00:32:53.636 --> 00:32:55.558 people again and get back to the 00:32:55.638 --> 00:32:57.319 convention scene, that circuit. 00:32:57.941 --> 00:32:59.281 Maybe a little bit more local, 00:32:59.301 --> 00:33:00.982 start with some small things, but, 00:33:01.002 --> 00:33:02.304 you know, shake some hands, 00:33:02.824 --> 00:33:04.704 get issue four done so you can have 00:33:04.724 --> 00:33:06.967 a complete introduction into this world 00:33:06.987 --> 00:33:07.768 that I'm crafting. 00:33:08.387 --> 00:33:10.009 And then maybe give you a peek into 00:33:10.189 --> 00:33:11.548 some of the other things that I've been 00:33:11.568 --> 00:33:11.969 working on. 00:33:11.989 --> 00:33:13.910 I'm thinking maybe after issue four, 00:33:14.410 --> 00:33:15.750 I drop a graphic novel. 00:33:15.790 --> 00:33:17.711 So it's all everything together all at 00:33:17.872 --> 00:33:18.031 once. 00:33:18.071 --> 00:33:20.613 And I can get back to that again. 00:33:20.633 --> 00:33:22.272 And that's a really popular thing to do 00:33:22.333 --> 00:33:22.593 right now. 00:33:22.613 --> 00:33:24.153 I know a lot of others that do 00:33:24.173 --> 00:33:24.993 the same thing. 00:33:25.453 --> 00:33:27.214 They'll do four or five books, 00:33:27.595 --> 00:33:28.655 maybe even six, 00:33:29.415 --> 00:33:31.156 especially if they're on the smaller side. 00:33:31.176 --> 00:33:32.096 Like if they're only twenty, 00:33:32.156 --> 00:33:33.817 twenty two pages, they'll do like six, 00:33:34.337 --> 00:33:36.479 five or six books and then drop a 00:33:36.519 --> 00:33:37.219 graphic novel. 00:33:38.354 --> 00:33:39.634 Which I enjoy seeing. 00:33:39.653 --> 00:33:40.875 I think it's really cool to do that. 00:33:41.394 --> 00:33:42.335 Yeah, I would do that. 00:33:42.835 --> 00:33:44.195 Only way that I would do that is 00:33:44.256 --> 00:33:47.076 if I go in and add some additional 00:33:47.115 --> 00:33:48.096 content or something. 00:33:48.136 --> 00:33:49.977 So the people that have already purchased 00:33:50.057 --> 00:33:51.037 the originals. 00:33:51.557 --> 00:33:51.998 And I mean, 00:33:52.057 --> 00:33:54.878 like some behind the scenes stuff is cool, 00:33:54.939 --> 00:33:57.538 but just a couple of pages here and 00:33:57.558 --> 00:34:00.339 there in between issues or in between 00:34:00.400 --> 00:34:02.340 moments add to the story. 00:34:02.881 --> 00:34:04.181 I like it when they do like when 00:34:04.201 --> 00:34:06.761 you get one that has the covers from 00:34:06.781 --> 00:34:07.582 the series in it. 00:34:08.510 --> 00:34:10.150 Like they're their own individual pages in 00:34:10.190 --> 00:34:11.692 the book and then you maybe get some 00:34:11.711 --> 00:34:13.291 like character development pages. 00:34:13.311 --> 00:34:14.592 I always think those are really cool. 00:34:15.753 --> 00:34:17.492 Or just a little bit more description of 00:34:17.572 --> 00:34:19.893 certain characters that you may have 00:34:19.914 --> 00:34:21.574 caught a glimpse of and you're like, ooh, 00:34:21.594 --> 00:34:22.735 I wonder about that character. 00:34:23.175 --> 00:34:24.574 He didn't really hit on that too much. 00:34:25.155 --> 00:34:26.675 And they give like a character background 00:34:26.715 --> 00:34:28.215 on particular characters who... 00:34:29.666 --> 00:34:31.086 who may have played a part in the 00:34:31.106 --> 00:34:31.367 story, 00:34:31.387 --> 00:34:32.927 but may not have gotten a lot of 00:34:33.007 --> 00:34:33.728 panel time. 00:34:34.449 --> 00:34:36.028 I always think that's really cool to see. 00:34:36.728 --> 00:34:39.869 But how big does this story get from 00:34:39.929 --> 00:34:40.210 here? 00:34:41.170 --> 00:34:43.512 So, I mean, it's a huge world. 00:34:43.992 --> 00:34:44.612 It's like I said, 00:34:44.652 --> 00:34:47.213 we've got fighters in defense of humanity. 00:34:47.873 --> 00:34:48.994 We've got the Bane, 00:34:49.014 --> 00:34:50.956 which are the invading alien force. 00:34:51.016 --> 00:34:52.237 We have the Rezois, 00:34:52.317 --> 00:34:53.858 who are their ancient enemies. 00:34:54.358 --> 00:34:55.920 We have the Illuminated, 00:34:56.300 --> 00:34:58.302 who are the people who are absorbing that 00:34:58.402 --> 00:35:00.704 energy and becoming superpowered. 00:35:01.344 --> 00:35:03.786 And then we also have the Sons of 00:35:03.907 --> 00:35:05.467 Adam, Last Sons of Adam, 00:35:05.487 --> 00:35:08.150 which is like a purist cult that's trying 00:35:08.190 --> 00:35:09.731 to maintain power. 00:35:10.871 --> 00:35:11.333 their, 00:35:11.373 --> 00:35:13.193 what they believe to be humanity and their 00:35:13.233 --> 00:35:14.894 human values inside of the world that we 00:35:14.934 --> 00:35:15.155 live in. 00:35:15.235 --> 00:35:16.596 It's all kinds of stuff going on. 00:35:16.635 --> 00:35:18.956 And we've only really focused on the 00:35:18.996 --> 00:35:20.878 central figure, who is Imani. 00:35:20.898 --> 00:35:22.318 But there's a lot of stories to be 00:35:22.358 --> 00:35:22.958 told in here. 00:35:22.978 --> 00:35:25.541 And Imani's story is far from done by 00:35:25.561 --> 00:35:26.641 the time we get done with this 00:35:26.722 --> 00:35:27.382 introduction. 00:35:27.422 --> 00:35:30.344 She has a lot of story left. 00:35:30.364 --> 00:35:32.125 So there's a lot of ways that we 00:35:32.144 --> 00:35:34.686 can go. 00:35:34.806 --> 00:35:35.567 Oh, a hundred percent. 00:35:35.586 --> 00:35:36.927 I'm here for it, dude. 00:35:38.260 --> 00:35:38.940 I mean, you know, 00:35:38.960 --> 00:35:40.501 you're always welcome back here to talk 00:35:40.541 --> 00:35:41.922 about whatever you want to talk about. 00:35:42.641 --> 00:35:44.722 Sure. 00:35:44.742 --> 00:35:46.864 So let's talk directly to the audience 00:35:46.983 --> 00:35:47.583 right now. 00:35:48.184 --> 00:35:51.405 This will be live again on both podcasts 00:35:51.425 --> 00:35:54.146 and platforms and live again on YouTube, 00:35:54.427 --> 00:35:58.327 probably most likely Sunday morning before 00:35:58.347 --> 00:36:00.688 you go to church. 00:36:00.708 --> 00:36:03.369 But if somebody is on the fence right 00:36:03.429 --> 00:36:03.730 now, 00:36:04.530 --> 00:36:07.492 why should they back the Diary of Sweet 00:36:07.512 --> 00:36:07.711 Pea? 00:36:09.005 --> 00:36:10.646 The Diary of Sweet Pea is a unique 00:36:10.666 --> 00:36:11.166 story. 00:36:11.346 --> 00:36:13.367 It's not really like anything that you've 00:36:13.407 --> 00:36:14.047 seen before. 00:36:14.106 --> 00:36:15.588 I know you've heard that before, 00:36:16.027 --> 00:36:18.088 but it's really because you're getting 00:36:18.949 --> 00:36:20.530 something from a unique creator. 00:36:20.590 --> 00:36:24.351 I'm not the standard of what you've been 00:36:24.472 --> 00:36:26.413 used to, a very observant person. 00:36:26.452 --> 00:36:29.875 I've made a lot of observations throughout 00:36:29.914 --> 00:36:30.375 my life, 00:36:30.414 --> 00:36:33.217 and now I'm trying to present those in 00:36:33.277 --> 00:36:35.177 a way for people to enjoy. 00:36:36.237 --> 00:36:37.559 if you take a chance to win me 00:36:37.860 --> 00:36:39.481 i don't think that you'll be disappointed 00:36:39.621 --> 00:36:42.043 man it's it's just something that's fun 00:36:42.764 --> 00:36:46.909 it's it's exciting and it's surprising i 00:36:46.929 --> 00:36:49.972 won't argue it really is i think i've 00:36:50.032 --> 00:36:52.134 read volume one but i'm still going to 00:36:52.173 --> 00:36:54.396 be getting in on the the early bird 00:36:54.436 --> 00:36:56.797 special because i want all three physical 00:36:56.838 --> 00:36:57.338 copies 00:36:59.090 --> 00:37:01.891 But if y'all are watching right now and 00:37:01.911 --> 00:37:03.211 you want to support creator-owned 00:37:03.231 --> 00:37:05.873 comments, this is your moment. 00:37:06.313 --> 00:37:09.795 Back to Diary of Sweet Pea on Kickstarter. 00:37:10.155 --> 00:37:11.735 Just simply go to Kickstarter, 00:37:12.195 --> 00:37:14.456 type in the Diary of Sweet Pea. 00:37:14.996 --> 00:37:18.559 You have twenty-eight days from today, 00:37:19.980 --> 00:37:21.000 March twenty-seventh, 00:37:21.039 --> 00:37:23.121 to get in on this book. 00:37:23.501 --> 00:37:25.641 Not only support Aleem and what he's 00:37:25.681 --> 00:37:25.981 doing, 00:37:26.021 --> 00:37:26.902 but support 00:37:27.932 --> 00:37:29.574 diary of sweet pea because it is a 00:37:29.614 --> 00:37:32.757 phenomenal book phenomenal art shout out 00:37:32.777 --> 00:37:34.818 to the whole team that helped put this 00:37:34.878 --> 00:37:36.460 book together because they are some 00:37:36.679 --> 00:37:41.023 phenomenal creators but elene before i let 00:37:41.043 --> 00:37:44.166 you go man tell everybody where they can 00:37:44.206 --> 00:37:46.688 find you so you can find me on 00:37:46.748 --> 00:37:49.208 facebook instagram and tick tock all you 00:37:49.228 --> 00:37:50.630 have to do is look up sweet pea 00:37:50.670 --> 00:37:53.652 comic or alter ego arts we'll be right 00:37:53.693 --> 00:37:54.713 there waiting for you 00:37:58.532 --> 00:38:00.634 And it's really just that simple. 00:38:01.253 --> 00:38:02.313 Even I can do it. 00:38:03.954 --> 00:38:05.996 So. 00:38:06.036 --> 00:38:08.936 But this is what Indie Comics is all 00:38:08.996 --> 00:38:09.277 about. 00:38:09.456 --> 00:38:10.137 Real stories, 00:38:10.197 --> 00:38:13.077 real creators built from the ground up. 00:38:13.739 --> 00:38:16.519 Aline is building something with the Diary 00:38:16.539 --> 00:38:17.260 of Sweet Pea. 00:38:17.840 --> 00:38:20.001 And now it's live for the world to 00:38:20.081 --> 00:38:20.800 support. 00:38:21.802 --> 00:38:22.322 Head over. 00:38:23.302 --> 00:38:23.942 Kickstarter. 00:38:25.322 --> 00:38:26.402 Back this project. 00:38:27.204 --> 00:38:27.983 And as always. 00:38:29.141 --> 00:38:29.862 I'm the chairman. 00:38:30.282 --> 00:38:33.346 This is the USDM podcast where indie 00:38:33.385 --> 00:38:35.349 comics come to life. 00:38:36.550 --> 00:38:39.273 The Council of Nerds is now adjourned. 00:38:39.954 --> 00:38:41.076 Y'all be safe out there. 00:38:41.896 --> 00:38:42.617 Happy Friday.