STRETCH GOAL REACHED!

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Andreas Qassim

IT’S A WRAP!

In the last sweaty minutes of the campaign we broke through the magic 125%!

This once again calls for:

I suggest you do the same, because this means all of you who pledged at the stickers level or above will get The Pacifiers Magazine No. 1 for Christmas this year!

Thank you so much to all our noble hearted backers! YOU made this happen!

Now I’m looking forward to stop spamming on social forums like a rabid dog and focus on what I actually like doing: making comics! Just got the first batch of scripted strips today from Jimmy, and it does look VERY promising! I wanted to start drawing straight away!

BUT! I’m too exhilarated and exhausted to do anything useful this late hour, so I think I’ll just go to sleep.

Thank you once again! You’ll hear from us soon!

Peace, love and pacifiers
Andreas
zzz

107% + stretch goal for the remaining 24 hours: The Pacifiers Magazine!

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Andreas Qassim

We made it!

Wow, what a day it’s been! Half way through it we hit 100% funding! As I’m writing this we’re at 107%! We’re THIS happy now:

YOU made this happen! Thank you so much! I would like to send flowers to each one of you who supported this campaign, but I didn’t take that into consideration when laying down the budget… So, instead I’m looking forward to stop spamming everyone on social forums and focus on the actual work of making comics, and designing the awesome merchandise you’ll be expecting.

I promise to keep you updated about the work with plenty of doodles and sketches and other “behind the scenes” material. Now you’re part of this project, and we’ll want to include you all the way!

Once again I’d like to point out that the estimated delivery date for the 80 kr pledge level and above – the PDF of the first three Pacifiers comics – is wrong. I have to make the comics before I can make a PDF out of them! This was a beginners mistake (my first Kickstarter campaign you know), and I couldn’t change it once the campaign had launched. The estimated delivery of that reward is the same as the others, i.e. around Christmas.

Stretch goal: The Pacifiers Magazine

Here’s a crazy idea for the remaining 24 hours: Let’s add a stretch goal! Several people asked me about a printed version of The Pacifiers Comic. We reasoned that we’ll get to that once we have five or six full length adventures. Then we’ll print the first proper Pacifiers comic book, and maybe we’ll have another go at Kickstarter to try to fund it. But what the hey, why not throw in a printed version of The Pacifiers now already?

Here’s the deal: If we can reach 75 000 kr before the end of the campaign (tomorrow night), we’ll print a Pacifiers comics magazine featuring the same material as the PDF. There is something about holding a magazine in your hands, that a web comic – no matter how awesome it is – simply can’t compete with. Everyone who pledged 150 kr (the stickers level) and above will get the magazine as a bonus!

This magazine will be super exclusive! It’ll never get printed again. Next print will be the first Pacifiers book, so the magazine will be a real collector’s edition! So, if you pledged 150 kr or above already, you’ll get this extra exclusive reward for free! And if you’re currently below 150 kr and you REALLY would like that magazine, all you have to do is to increase your pledge. And hopefully, new backers will be thrilled about getting two rewards for the price of one.

However, if we don’t reach the stretch goal, we’ll still be THIS happy:

Thank you, thank you, and thank You!

Peace, love and pacifiers
Andreas

If you haven’t done so already, please back our Kickstarter campaign and help us pacify the Bullies of the world! 24 hours to go!

The first time Jimmy met Andreas (according to Jimmy)

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Andreas Qassim

97% funded, and Jimmy presents: Andreas!

One day to go on this crazy campaign and we’re currently 97% funded! You guys are amazing! Thank you so much! I hope we can push this vessel above that tiny little remaining threshold. See you on the other side!

Until then, here’s Jimmy’s recollection of how the two of us first met. Honestly, I don’t remember half of this, but thank you anyway Jimmy. For everything!

How it all started (according to Jimmy)

I remember when I first met Andreas. No wait, I didn’t meet him at all, I just saw him from a distance. It was at an exhibition during my first year in Malmö back in 2001. Some artists held an exhibition where they displayed some of their original comics artwork. Andreas’s hand was in a bandage and he stood there talking to Gunnar Krantz, one of my teachers at the Comics Art School in Malmö. I was quite shy back then and didn’t have the guts to approach a stranger just because I admired his work. What if he thought I was one of those crazy fan boys? So I just admired his pages, from a distance. Andreas’s part of this exhibition was a couple of pages from the classic Swedish comic book Bamse – The World’s Strongest Bear, a comic that meant a lot to me when I was a kid.

So that’s when I learned about his existence. I knew a couple of artists who shared studio with Andreas for a short while. They told me about his love for the Muppets. That’s when I realized he must be a really nice guy.

The years passed. I became less and less shy. I also became a parent. And since I was a parent, I wanted to be a good one. So I started to read for my son, as any good parent should. I read a lot of books, I read poems and I read comics. The first comic that I ever read for my offspring was an issue of Bamse. He enjoyed it, so I read another, and another. I soon learned that this Qassim-guy was one of the best artists working for this comic. But it still took a couple of years before I got to know him.

The first time we met was when I myself had started a professional career as an artist. Andreas moved into the same studio where I spent most of my days. I wasn’t shy at all when we finally met. On Andreas’s second day in our studio, he approached my desk and said something that sounded exactly like ”Hey, I like your work. We should do a project together sometime”. I don’t even know if he remembers this at all.

But here we are, some 8-9 years later (15 years after the exhibition), and we have finally done a project together. That’s sweet!

Q&A with Andreas

How are you? Now that your first Kickstarter campaign is nearly done?

A: – Exhausted!

What would your dream episode of The Pacifiers be about?

A: – I have no idea. It’s up to Jimmy these days.

Who would you pacify if you could?

A: – The list is extremely long. But I guess that at the top of it you’d find internet haters, pavement bicyclists and the royal family of Saudi Arabia.

Peace, love and pacifiers
Andreas

Jimmy & Alfred (and 76% funded)

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Andreas Qassim

YIEEHAAA, we just passed 3/4 funding! 4 days to go! With Your help we can still make it! Let’s make it!!

Reaching this milestone, the time has come to present my dear partners in pacifism, Jimmy & Alfred! Without these extraordinary talents, there would be no Pacifiers Comic, and certainly no Kickstarter campaign.

Jimmy Wallin, scriptwriter for The Pacifiers Comic

Jimmy is a versatile cartoonist and scriptwriter. I don’t know how many titles he’s been involved with. I lost count a long time ago. I always thought there was a charming boy room fantasy kind of quality to his cartoons, whether these are zombies, super heroes, cute animals or just about anything. Jimmy has done it all really.

When he started getting more into scripting I noticed his ability to write simple. He doesn’t overcomplicate things, but focus on what’s most important and finds the peculiar, strange and funny in any given concept. The fact that he’s a cartoonist makes things so much easier, since he writes and doodles at the same time, thus leaving lots of room for the artist to have fun. And he doesn’t try to squeeze zillions of details into every panel, a common mistake made by scriptwriters who “think in text”. So I thought Jimmy would be an ideal writer for The Pacifiers, and I’m very happy he said yes!

Alfred Beckman, web master for The Pacifiers Comic

Alfred is the most amazing guy, and a dear friend. He’s creative, curious and one of those rare people who never sees obstacles, only endless possibilities. We worked together on a number of occasions, and it’s always such joy being around someone so full of ideas. What his actual work title is, I’m not really sure. All I know is that his work involves graphic design, web design, film making, programming, communication strategy and probably many other things.

He’s an entrepreneur who likes to jump aboard on an early stage, if the idea is appealing to him. I want to believe this is why he wanted to help us out with The Pacifiers Comic. He’s currently on parental leave with his daughter, so he really doesn’t have the time for this nonsense. But he’s doing it anyway, simply because he thinks it’s fun! Alfred built the innovative Pacifiers web page, he designed the awesome logo, and he contributed with so many ideas in putting the campaign together and telling the world about it.

Here’s some Q&A with Jimmy and Alfred:

Guys, what do you REALLY think about this crazy project? Come on, be honest!

J: – It’s a simple but very appealing concept that gives me the opportunity to goof around.

A: – I think it’s a great example of what you can achieve as long as you don’t take your medication.

What would your dream episode with The Pacifiers be about?

J: – I’m not sure, but I guess it would be set in The Wild West and involve space travels, mutated cyborg monkeys and perhaps some dinosaurs.

A: – The Pacifiers find square eggs, get lost in the Andes and find a land where everything is square, even the bubbles.

Who would you pacify if you could?

J: – Well, Donald Trump of course. But that’s an easy answer. Racists, religious leaders and bullies all deserve to taste the mighty pacifier.

A: – Bankers and real estate brokers who are driving the housing prices through the roof, probably (once more) creating a big square bubble.

Thanks guys for being part of this, making my dream come true!

Peace, love and pacifiers,
Andreas

If you haven’t done so already, please back our Kickstarter campaign and help us pacify the Bullies of the world! 4 days to go!

That Trailer Voice

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Andreas Qassim

That Trailer Voice

If you watched The Pacifiers project video, did you notice that towering trailer voice in the beginning? I tried doing it myself, but I sucked! So I turned to my friend Johan Rünow for some good ol’ quality voice acting.

Johan is a stand-up comedian, designer and filmmaker. Someone technically skilled and funny at the same time, just what I needed! Not only did he record the voice, he helped me polish the project video with some nice filters, making it look better than it actually was. Thanks Johan!

I actually consulted Johan early on in the development of The Pacifiers, brainstorming ideas for episode premises. I particularly remember the Diaper Sniper one. Maybe we’ll get around to making that some day…

Here’s Mr Rünow in action in the closet:

Johan, what do you think of The Pacifiers? Is it funny?

J: – It is! I really like the idea and I’m very excited about upcoming episodes. We live in very dark times and a comic like this is very much needed now.

What would your dream episode with The Pacifiers be about?

J: – I would love to see them taking on as many racists as possible. And web trolls!

Who would you pacify if you could?

J: – Donald Trump and Putin.