The Last Amazon Update - Printing Details Finalized!

David and I are starting 2018 with a big update and some very exciting news! We just finalized our book specs with our printer, Mark Verria, the CEO of “Onthemark”, and sent him our down payment which secured our order, making it "official!" Yay!

Now, you might be thinking, “Finalized? What do you mean, Jamison? I thought the book specs were done before you started this Kickstarter.” And yes, they were, BUT David and I decided that The Last Amazon is too good to not be better, so we, like any sci-fi lovers, got UPGRADES!

We went back and forth on this for a while with Mark of "Onthemark". Months in fact, because Mark and I went to work the night The Last Amazon hit its Kickstarter goal and have been in weekly, and sometimes daily, conversations about every last detail regarding printing these fabulous books for you all. Before we dive into our final upgraded book specs, here are some additional details about Mark Vierra and his company, "Onthemark Printing". 

Mark has been printing extraordinary art books for nearly twenty years, with luminary titles right here on Kickstarter such as Steve Lichman: Volumes 1 & 2, Scurry: Volume 1 & 2, and many others! (We hope to follow in these two titles' footsteps!) Mark will also be printing our posters and prints at the same factory where our hardcovers are being made to ensure we have an identical match of color, paper quality, and gloss coating!

Speaking of amazing quality, let me now tell you about our printing upgrades! First off, these upgrades come at NO EXTRA CHARGE to our fabulous backers! I’ve had some folks tell me I’m “Ants in my Eyes Johnson” crazy for giving backers things they have not paid for. But, if David and I are crazy for making The Last Amazon something we will cherish and feel proud of for the rest of our lives, then I don't want to know what the rest of the world is. I digress...

Here is a list of our full specs with UPGRADES BOLDED! 

The Last Amazon - Regular Edition: 96 pages + end sheets + hard cover Size: 9" x 12"

• Printing and Materials: Printed 1 overall matte varnish + 1 foil (large coverage area) + over 3mm ESKA board on faux cloth. 
• Inside pages: Printed 4/4 on 157gsm gloss art paper with overall gloss coating. 
• Finishing: Silver edging on book block.
• End sheets: Printed 1c + varnish - both sides on 180gsm woodfree/offsetwoodfree
• Binding: Sewn signatures, head and tail bands, case bound
• Bumper boxes, 2 sided at head/foot of book using 2mm corrugated.
• Individual shrink wrapping
• Bookplate labels: Size 3" x 4" Printed 1 Pantone color + 1 foil on 80gsm.

These upgrades will really shine! Literally, because there now is a massive foil stamp on EACH cover and even silver foil on the edging of each page, too! For those who don't know what a silver edging book block looks like, it's silver foil on the edges of each page, making it look like a solid silver block when closed! Here is a pic below! So cool!

We have also upgraded the size, paper, and gloss finish of our prints and posters, too! And they all will be polybagged so they stay safe and secure at no extra charge! Yay!

Prints/Poster:

• Prints: Size - 11" x 17" - 8 versions. Printed 4/0 on 200gsm gloss art paper with overall gloss varnish. Polybagged.
• Posters: Size - 18" x 24" Printed 4/0 on 200gsm art paper with overall gloss coating. Polybagged.

And now the creme of the crop, the SPECIAL EDITION! So, for this epic version, we wanted to do something truly magnificent. Because we upgraded our “normal editions” to foil stamped covers (man, we rock!), we wanted to do something that has NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE IN THE HISTORY OF BOOKBINDING! 

• Special Edition Book: Special Edition Cover Image is printed 1 foil on Metal-X over 3mm board.
• Special Edition Slip Case: Printed 1 matte varnish + 1 foil with brass die (Same art as special edition cover) on Metal-X Silver over 4mm ESKA board.
• Bookplate labels: Size 3" x 4" Printed 1 pantone color + 1 foil on 80gsm label stock.

Mark and I went back and forth on this for so many weeks, and finally, through Mark pulling in some favors and making some magic happen, we were able to get a very special foil book cover (instead of the normal matte black) for our special editions called "Metal-X" Foil for BOTH the books themselves AND the slipcases! (See picture below!) 

Moreover, Mark had to pull some strings to upgrade our entire printing facility to a new plant in China which can handle this metallic material--it's really that special! This not only helps with the special edition, but upgrades the technology surrounding all the page dyes and printing, too, which we are really grateful for! No book has been printed like our special editions before, and we are so excited to be pioneering new artistic ground with our fabulous backers! We will have a proof coming to us in the next month or two and will show you all exactly what it will look like! How exciting! 

Because of these epic upgrades to both the normal and special editions, we are foregoing stickers and bookmarks and will have only 2 poster variations instead of 3. We, however, will be doing 8 print styles instead of 6. And to help make up for one less poster, we will be giving these two extra prints to folks who would have been receiving poster #3. Although it is sad not to have stickers or bookmarks, the book upgrades are much more expensive, and in the long run, David and I are having to add a significant amount of our own money to make this happen, but, again, we wanted to create something truly fantastic which we all will cherish for the rest of our lives!

If folks have questions or concerns about these upgrades, please message me directly here on Kickstarter and I will get back to you ASAP. But ultimately, the team and I wanted, instead of spending money on bookmarks and stickers, to make the actual book as awesome as it could be, and we hope you agree! The book (and the prints) are the real art, and so we wanted to be good stewards of funds and focus on, as Mark Vierra puts it, “The power of wow” and have you all be truly blown away by our books! 

We know when you get The Last Amazon shipped to you in its special corrugated protective bumper box, rip off the cellophane wrapping and see the foil edging and cover (whether it's the normal or special edition), you will be astounded! THEN when you open the cover and see your limited edition, numbered, AND signed foil bookplate, your breath will catch in your throat, and you will think to yourself, as you wipe away a single silent tear of joy: 

“How did they get those bookplates, which were printed in China to both Jamison and David, based in USA and France, so they could be signed, and then back again to China so they could adhere inside my book which was then individuality cellophane wrapped?" 

The answer to that, dear backers, is Marks Vierra’s “The Power of Wow.” Speaking of wow, here is a super cool video of his work. (We will be having a few videos made of our printing process when the time comes! How exciting!)

Additionally, as seen in our first image above, we have a new illustration of the wonderful @MJ_AND_SPIDEY and @whoanerdalert as badass Amazon Soldiers. To see more art as it's made by David, please follow us on Instagram @TheLastAmazon and @ApotheosisStudios We release lots of sneak peeks of prints, illustrations, and other awesome art so throw us a follow and like! 

Again, from everyone at Apotheosis Studios we want to say THANK YOU for making this book a reality! Although David and I still have a good deal of work to do to get them in your hands, we know you will love The Last Amazon: Volume 1 and it will be a book worthy of forever holding an honored place in your beloved hardcover collection! 

💎 Jamison 💎