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!

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!