Hey Lifers and Lifettes! (Okay, THAT one won't stick. Srsly.) Now that things are moving in the store side of things, (and trust me - in the next week probably, I've got some BIG announcements about the store and a CERTAIN figurine that's going to be starting pre-orders) I've found that we've got a very, very small extra stock of the Silhouette shirt ninja t-shirts available! We have all sizes ranging from Small to XXXL, but keep in mind that limited doesn't even BEGIN to describe how many of these we have... two sizes, we only have ONE shirt each in that size. So, that being the case, it would be a good idea to act fast! These will ship out priority mail, so you should get them right quick.

And just a quick note to those of you who have ordered prints - they are going to be on their way shortly. Right after we started the print sale, our trusty HP LaserJet 2550L pretty much gave up the ghost on us. We purchased a 2605dn to take care of things, but that came with a scuff on the fuser film, which left a noticable mark on every print - completely unacceptable. The GOOD thing is, because the 2605dn is apparently discontinued, they're replacing it for free with a 3505dn - about TWICE the price of the 2605dn. It should be arriving here either today or tomorrow, and as soon as it does, we're going to be printing like madmen to get these things out. Sorry it took so long, but equipment failures are, to be frank, a bitch. :P

The OTHER bit of big news - a new online store!

by sagus

Posted at 05:26 PM on Monday, May 12, 2008

Wow, today's just a whirlwind of announcements, isn't it? Well, without further ado, I present to you the SECOND big announcement of the day - the brand new Real Life Store!

I've been working on this for about two months now, making sure everything is ready and looking super-spiffy, and phillip has been working like CRAZY behind the scenes trying to make sure it doesn't crash and burn... but here it is! The brand-new store! It's chock-full of new features, too... wishlists, gift certificates, coupon codes... you name it. You'll also be able to log into your account and track orders you've made, too. And the great part is, this store finally tracks inventory properly - it means I don't have to be sitting by the computer making sure to remove items the second they sell out - if an item becomes unavailable, it becomes no longer available for purchase. No more confusion!

In addition, we're also taking this time to mention a new item we've been holding on to until the new store was up and running: Real Life Character-colored chainmaille bracelets! These are made and distributed by a reader, and feature alternating metal and rubber rings in a persian 3-in-1 pattern. Check out the page at the new store for all the details!

Last but not least, I realize now that I screwed up the links to the remaining stock of Silhouette Shirt Ninja t-shirts above... no worries, because the proper link on the new store can be found here.

Remember, the new store's address is easy - store.reallifecomics.com. That's it. And you can always access it by hitting the "Store" link at the top menu bar. Enjoy!

Shirt Ninja Figurine - Details and Pre-Order!

by sagus

Posted at 01:37 AM on Monday, May 12, 2008

Remember on Friday how I said I'd have big news to announce on Monday?

Well, here it is:

I'm going to eschew all the flowery sales text here and just come out and say it - I am ECSTATIC to be able to offer the very first Real Life Figurine - The Shirt Ninja. I've been working with the fantastically talented Gensen Figures to bring the Shirt Ninja to life. (By the way, I recommend browsing their gallery to get a sense of the quality these guys put out... I'm still in awe of their talent.)

Now, I should note - the figurine you see above is obviously not complete. It is the initial prototype, carved out of sculpting wax. Gensen is currently in the process of casting, sanding, and finishing a painted prototype that will be exactly like the finished product, and I should be receiving the pictures of that in the next few days. I'm only offering this up for pre-order now because in order to get these in a timely fashion, I need to be able to place the order as soon as possible. That's why I'm not simply waiting for the colored photos to be available. Once they arrive (Again, in the next few days) I will post them here for all to see. I do assure you, however, that if you were to pre-order the figurine, and do not like the way it looks when painted (for whatever reason), I will offer a full refund.

I suppose it's time to talk about the nuts and bolts of this bad boy:

The figurine stands 4" tall and 5" long.
It will be permanently attached to an oval base - it's kind of off-balance otherwise, so it's impossible to make it free-standing.
Each figurine will come packaged in form-fitting plastic in a custom-designed box - for those collectors who like to keep things in their original packaging. And... you know. To keep it safe during shipping.

Remember, pre-ordering is the only way to be SURE you're going to get one of these, because once I make the order, the quantity available will be fixed. No more will be ordered after that point, so pre-order yours today to be guaranteed one of these fantastic collectibles!

So, this Feedburner thing.

by sagus

Posted at 03:56 AM on Saturday, May 10, 2008

Upon a little further looking around, I'm thinking perhaps I will be keeping Feedburner around after all.

The main reason is because by using Feedburner, I'm able to automatically add all those sharing links you see at the bottom of the feedburner feed - to sites like stumbleupon, del.icio.us, reddit, technorati and whatnot. That's what all you crazy kids are using now, anyway - I gotta get with the times, I suppose. :)

The best part is, I'm fairly certain now that I can slip PW ads into the feed, and that makes everyone happy. Well, me mostly, but since it means I'm keeping the image in the feed rather than cutting it down to just a link, there's a little bit of goodness to go around. :P

As an aside - be sure to check the rantspace on Monday. Big announcement. :)