Grandma Got Run Over By A Hellspawn, Coming Home From Our House On Halloween...

Hi, Everybody!

Did everybody have a good Halloween?

What's with all the torches and pitchforks?

Oh.

So, this then...

BUT FIRST:

Monday:

"Yeah, yeah, enough of your bullshit. What's going on with the Halloween Spawn #10 Cover?!?"

First off: No swearing.

Second: the Disclaimer

As it says in the top righthand corner of this webpage:

So, this is all my opinion unless stated otherwise. And I do things my way pal...

"Yeah yeah, what the FUCK [NO SWEARING] is going on with The Halloween Spawn #10 Cover?!?"

I'll get to it.

Okay, so after the $#!* hit the fan, I faxed all the comments up to Dave to let him know what was going on.

Now before I show you what he said, I want to take a Moment (heh.) to respond to all the comments:

“Unknown” asked: 

Where was the grandma version. What is it. I would have ordered one if I had any idea where it was to order. What is it and I can I please get one?

Welp...it's the Spawn #10 Halloween Variant as offered through the Kickstarter. It's the "Censored-For-Grandma" variant, because when Dave sent the Waverly Press his original cover, they wanted alternate text. Because his was too controversial. (At least that's my read of the situation. Based on what the covers say.) The UN-censored cover was available through cerebusdownloads.com. It's the same art, different text. Kinda like Amazing Spider-Man #300 and #301:

Or Spider-Man #1 and 13:

Well, more like just Spider-Man #1:

Same cover, different text.

“crazyyears” said:
Gotta add my voice to the "Grandma? What Grandma? What? What happened," chorus.
Whatever it was happened without me and that's terribly disappointing.

WAIT! It's not like Todd's covers at all, it's like the covers to Batvark: PENIS:

 See, same art, different text. (Also, the "origin" of the "Censored-For-Grandma" concept.) Also, you can get the second printing of the XXXXX cover now.

Brian West said:
Hi! Yesterday, at 1200 EST in the morning, begun two Flash Sales for two versions of a HALLOWEEN EDITION of SPAWN 10. There was the Kickstarter GRANDMA EDITION, being offered as an add-on for only 24 hours (until 1159pm EST last night) to Backers of SPAWN 10 Remastered & Expanded Kickstarter by The Waverly Press and Dave, and there was a CEREBUSDOWNLOADS UNCENSORED HALLOWEEN EDITION, which was being offered directly for purchase to fans for 24 HRS from cerebusdownloads.com. Both flash sales concluded last night, I regret to inform you.

If I hadn’t been off yesterday from my seasonal night job I probably would have missed all the details myself.

Here’s a link with Dave elaborating on some details: http://momentofcerebus.blogspot.com/2020/10/dastardly-dave-update-7.html?m=1. You can also scroll through the posts by AMOC for Saturday, 31 October 2020, which were plenteous yesterday. Doing that will probably give you the best idea about what was going on then.

12:01 EST thank you very much. (Thanks anyway Brian.)  

Rav said:
Super frustrating. If you are going to do an event you should be coordinated. The Kickstarter clearly stated it was the Halloween cover. I ordered and then did family stuff. If I’d known I’d have ordered both. Now feeling like canceling my full Kickstarter bid because it’s not possible to get all covers. I wish the Kickstarter messaging had mentioned this.

It IS the Halloween Cover. The "Censored-For-Grandma" Cover. The other one is the UN-censored cover. Same artwork, different text.

“unknown” came back with:
Kickstarter may reorder a limited about of Halloween ones because people missed out, you need to offer the other version today again. Free money because I and many others that now know about it will buy it.

I don't gotta do $#!*. Not my dance party... 

Grimm said:
I was here at midnight but I couldn’t find a link to buy it and apparently I wasn’t the only one confused. I didn’t see a Kickstarter. Oh wells bummer

Sorry, that's my bad. When I posted the link the first time, I set it up BEFORE the link led to the order page, so you had to refresh the page to get there. (I think I mentioned that in one of the many "hour-on-the-hour" updates...) So:

Brian West came back:
This came down the pike from Waverly a couple hours ago, as a response to a comment in the KS, which conveyed similar concerns which have been expressed here. Might be of interest.

“The main differences between the 2 versions are Dave's text that he designed for the back cover. Also, the Kickstarter "Grandma" version is unsigned but comes with several new collectibles exclusive to this edition. Dave's version is signed but does not come with the extras. Hopefully this calcifies the confusion over the 2 editions. Thank you all for your support!”

Brian for the win! (Thanks Brian!) 

Jake said:
I’m now more confused than ever. I thought my Halloween Kickstarter add on was the uncensored/unsigned version with a pin. If that’s not the case I’m canceling. Why they sold another version at the same time on Cerebus Downloads is kinda dumb. Talk about gumming up the works.

Well Jake, you bought the "Censored-For-Grandma" version/unsigned/with a pin. 

“Unknown” said:
The image they had posted on Kickstarter was the uncensored version, so if is the grandma version, they didn't have the right cover up. Waverly says they didn't know about Dave's version until it was live. I hope they reorder both of these because this is a mess.

The cover's not finished. You guys noticed that right?

David Birdsong chimed in:
It turns out Android devices were having real trouble with the Kickstarter Add-On page. That and the late announcement caused some consternation. Dagon James at The Waverly Press is contacting Dave about it and it's almost certain more copies will be made available. Dave does not work on Sundays but I imagine there will be some movement on this early in the week. Dave hasn't finished the cover yet so there's no need to panic. Watch AMOC and the SPAWN 10 Kickstarter page for information.

Well...there's movement... 

Jake returned:
Yeah I have to go back, and look on Kickstarter. It’s doesn’t say anything about a Grandma edition. Basically the only way out of this mess is to ask Kickstarter people what version they want sense the Downloads people were the only ones who knew what they were getting. This will mess the numbers up but so be it. I am not down however for more issues being printed, and sold to those that did pledge/buy in the window. That’s the whole point oh the FOMO flash sale. Just add it the surveys. Did you order a Halloween edition? If so which one do you want? Do you want it signed or have some weird sticker on it?

Or...not?

I mean, this is from the guy who DID do this page:

"You can get what you want and STILL not be very happy..." words to live by kids...

“Unknown” said:
I did get the Halloween edition in the time, but didn't even know about Cerebus Downloads and never thought they would offer a variant of the IKS spawn 10 there. I would have bought one of each then.

So...what, you didn't see Saturday's post (that went up at 12:01AM EST) or ANY of the subsequent posts that ran up until the thanks post THAT YOU COMMENTED ON?!?

As I said to Dave: *insert Charlie Brown “ARRGH!” here*  

(What the @$%& was I supposed to do, come to your house and yell the deal through a megaphone? razzinfrazzin fans, razzinfrazzin opinions, razzinfrazzin covers, razzinfrazzin Halloween...)

Bill Ritter said:
This whole flash deal was poorly executed. I managed to get 2 from cerebusdownloads and adjust KS pledge for 1. I thought I was paying attention but did not realize the KS was also a flash deal. Which is as foolish as it might be innovative...I lean toward foolish.

Here's the problem: both flash deals generated a certain ordering level. I ordered 2 from cerebusdownloads figuring it would be low numbering based on how confusingly the whole offer was being done. If this CDO issue is offered again, then I'll be irritated because the numbers will go up and contrary to the original offer. 24 hours, then sales close.

Same logic on the KS. Although now offense is two-factored: 1 because those backers are generating a lot of money and now have perceived incompleteness in the KS, 1 because something linked to the KS was not available via the KS. Poor decision, poor poor execution.

Stupid stupid stupid way to run a promotion. I don't see a way anyone involved can make things right for everyone; hopefully everyone involved learned a thing or two about doing these types of promotions (hint: avoid effing with the KS stuff).

As I said to Dave in my fax of these comments:
Excuse me while I go outside and scream at the full moon…

So, people apparently missed out on the post I did on Friday, that laid out the two versions, and ALSO missed out on the post I did on Saturday where you talked about the cover and your wrist and stuff (that ACTUALLY went up at 12:01AM your time/11:01PM MY time,), and AND ALSO the “every-hour-on-the-hour” (mostly) posts all day that had links and stuff…

*insert Charlie Brown “ARRGH!” here*

Okay, so what’s a guy whose policy is “100% Satisfaction Guaranteed” supposed to do now?

My first thought was “Offer the other cover to anyone who bought the first cover and wants it”. On an either way basis, Kickstarters can get the Downloads, Downloads can get the Kickstarter. “And you’re the little abbess that cries down the lane…”

Doesn’t work: Who’s paying for all these books? You? The Waverly Press? The individual backers who have already given money?

Second thought: print more of the uncensored version, and offer it to the Kickstarter people at a *slight* discount

Doesn’t work: You committed to ONLY 54 copies, so Downloads people will cry “Havoc” and be bitchy.

Third thought: Basically, the second thought modified. Print the 25 copies for the Cerebus Archive, PLUS copies for the Kickstarters who want them, but they all get numbered out of “55 to whatever”, and they are ALL UNSIGNED only.

Fourth thought: I wonder if the dude who runs the blog about Marmaduke is retiring anytime soon…

Amber said:
I will wait until Monday, and if the fix isn't good enough I'm just pulling my money.

And:

TWP just posted this on Kickstarter "Dave sold his own variant without coordinating with us.". I wonder how true this is? I actually thought this was fixable but now I doubt it is. The attractive low production numbers would get all messed up. Seems like the best thing to do is cancle.

See above for my answer.

“Unknown” said:
The thing with this issue is there are two fan bases. I am hard-core Spawn, so I have not really followed Cerebus or the Cerebus websites as much. Cerebus fans do. So offering a version of the KS Spawn book on a Cerebus site misses half the audience. That is why a heads up since it IS a Spawn issue, to the Spawn fans who dont regularly check the Cerebus site or blog should have happened. I hope something can be done.

Again, your house. Megaphone. Maybe if the guy who runs the "A Moment of Spawn" blog touched base more often... 

And then our old “friend” “Anonymous” said:
Only thing that needs to be done here is fill the orders placed on the 31st, and not offer any more at all, leave it as is. Yeah it's a bit of messed up communication here and there, but it adds to the limited nature of the item "the almost secret limited version nobody knew about". This Spawn 10 campaign has 17 books to it now. Don't fix anything, leave orders closed and move to the next one. Lets have a Dave does Spawn left handed cover.

I mean, it's a fair point. At this point you could do a twenty-four page book of Spawn #10 covers... 

And on Oliver’s Sunday column, where I ended with “Next Time: Grandma got run over by a Hellspawn, coming home late on Halloween”,

“Unknown” said:
Are you saying the uncensored Spawn 10 will be available again? Or was this just a wrap up of events. Its says 12:01 am -12 on November 1st and I didn't see anything during that time.

No. I meant that I'd be talking about this. The first post CLEARLY stated: "between 12:01 OCT 31 and 12:01 NOV 1 at cerebusdownloads.com." for the UN-censored version, and "The HALLOWEEN VARIANT bundle will be available for only 24 hours on October 31st, starting at 12:01 am EST tonight and ending at 11:59pm" for the Kickstarter.

______________________________________

See, the thing I don't think people understood was the differences between the two covers.

So with help from "THE MOST SENSATIONAL CHARACTER FIND OF 2020" and my new friend from the 7th circle of Tokyo: Hell-Oh! Spawnee:

Copyright 2020 Matt Dow and Mouse Skull Entertainment
"But that's just two individual intellectual properties mashed together..."
Ah, but you missed the word balloon, that makes it a unique character. Like the difference between The Question and Rorschach...

...we'll look at the art without violating Dave's request of: 

NOTE - Please don't show the HALLOWEEN EDITION back cover on AMOC. You can show the GRANDMA EDITION back cover.

Here's the cover:

And here's the Backcover, so you can get an idea of the IMAGE:

Click for bigger

Click for bigger

NOTE: HELL-OH! SPAWNEE IS NOT ON THE G__ D____ COVER, I USED HER TO COVER UP THE CONTROVERSIAL TEXT! SO NO BITCHIN' WHEN YOU DON'T SEE HER THERE IF/WHEN YOU GET ONE!!!

See, there's gonna be a big ass cape. And hell?

And here's the cover/backcover text for the "Censored-For-Grandma" version:

Everybody see how it's the SAME DAMN COVER?!?

Maybe calm the @$%& down, huh?

Anyway, after sending all that to Dave, here's his response:

There ya go!

If the people who *couch* didn't snooze *cough* are cool with it, there will be a second offering. And if they're NOT cool with it...

Hey where are you @$$holes going with them torches and pitchforks?

Next Time: Hell-Oh! Spawnee takes Pawnee! (Somebody get the owners of Parks & Recreation on the phone...)