November Update 2: Small Delay and Bonuses
4 months ago
– Sat, Nov 22, 2025 at 11:33:20 AM
Hello and happy Thanksgiving, backers! I’ve got another update about the books and a couple cool things to reveal. I like to be fully transparent with Kickstarter so everyone knows exactly what's going on.
First, the bad news: due to complications with the size of the book, they are taking a longer time to reach me than I’d anticipated, even taking into account past projects. They were sent out overseas around Halloween, but surprisingly aren’t slated to reach me until mid-December now. This has been a source of frustration for me since my goal from the beginning was to deliver everyone’s books in time for Christmas. I was concerned this would happen and I apologize sincerely for the wait.
However, I will immediately get to work at sending out packages upon receiving them so many should still arrive before the 25th. I'll be completing all the fulfillment myself so I can personally ensure that they go directly to the post office with no unnecessary bureaucracy. Sending out 1,500+ big ol’ packages is no small task but as a work-from-homer I can set aside a few days to do so.
A few pieces of good news: first, my liaison is checking on a way to expedite the books to me. They reach the west coast next week in fact, and the remaining time is simply them traveling from California to my home in Louisiana, so that leg of the trip may be able to be sped up. Even one extra week would be a huge relief at sending everything out in time, but we’ll see.
Second, with that extra bit of time, I’ve decided to give you a fun bonus!
It’s an official Brawl in the Family bookmark! This two-sided bookmark is printed on card stock and will be included for free with every book order.
Third, all book backers will also receive an MP3 package of the dozen-or-so BitMusical songs! These include the modern remakes of Ode to Minions and The History of Nintendo, so it makes a fun companion to BitF book. This will be sent out sometime in the next couple days, so check your BackerKit profiles to find it (you should also be receiving an email linking to it).
Fourth and finally, Christmas is my favorite season and I know how important it can be to get your kids or other loved ones a cool gift in time. If you’re in a real time-sensitive situation or this delay is ruining your Christmas plans, please send me a message on KS or email and I'll do my best to help you out.
Okay, so that’s what’s going on! Thank you for your patience and for your support. You guys have stuck with me for a long time and I appreciate it greatly, so I’m trying to do everything I can to help smooth things over. When I next get a solid idea on when the books will reach me, I’ll let you all know. In the meantime, take care!
-Matthew
First Book is Here, the Rest on the Way! Paper Plates Final Week!
4 months ago
– Thu, Nov 06, 2025 at 06:39:47 AM
I have the final book in my hands, and it turned out great!
The rest of them are en route to my home, but will be here in a matter of weeks, according to my manufacturer. My initial deadline was November so that the books would reach customers with time to spare for the Christmas season, and so far we should still be on schedule. But I’ll let you all know shortly if anything changes. I certainly want everyone to have a BitF-Blue Christmas, but only in the best way possible.
Let’s take a look at the book:
Here it is next to my favorite Kirby game for a size comparison. It's a chub! The Ultimate Edition weighs in at about 6 pounds (~2.7 kg) and 780 pages, and about 11.25" x 8.75" x 1.5". However, I think we did a good job at keeping the pages the right thickness so it doesn't feel overtly clunky to handle. It's solid while still being manageable. The smyth-sewn binding helps ensure that it stays put-together too. And you can see a close shot of the ribbon up above!
This one's at a weird angle but it shows you some of the fanciness going on with the cover. The "BRAWL IN THE FAMILY ULTIMATE EDITION" lettering all has a super-glossy blue foil that classes up the place! In addition, the blue comic-rectangle across the cover has its own level of spot UV gloss happening too, so there're several different levels of shininess on the book's exterior. I think everyone will enjoy it.
A closer look at an expanded comic (compared to the book's initial print) and a demonstration that the book can still open up all the way even despite its massive page-itude.
In short, it's big, it's bold, it's blue! And it'll be ready for sending out soon, once the main shipment arrives on several large palettes.
Lastly, my next book project, Paper Plates--a Paper Mario-style cookbook--has reached its own funding goal! We're entering the final leg for that campaign and are starting to incorporate stretch goals, so take a look! Currently we're aiming to work in recipes from other Mario RPGs, so I'm excited to make that happen!
...And that's it! Exciting times, but now we wait for the full shipment to arrive. I'll keep you all posted. Until next time, enjoy the cooler weather and the upcoming festivities!
-Matthew
PDFs of Brawl in the Family sent out! New book Kickstarter! (October Update)
5 months ago
– Tue, Oct 14, 2025 at 07:05:41 AM
Big update today! First up, the wait is (kind of) over--all Kickstarter backers who ordered the physical or digital book should have received the PDF! I went back and forth a little on if I should wait on this or not, but went ahead and did it. It should have been sent out via email. Happy reading! EDIT: It sounds like the PDFs are having trouble reaching many of you; I'm checking with BackerKit support to resolve this ASAP! Stand by.
Second...I'm making another book! It's a Paper Mario-themed cookbook,Paper Plates! It's a collaboration between myself and the culinary artists behind stuff like the Zelda-themed Legend's Cookbook and the official ToeJam & Earl cookbook, so it's going to all taste great too! Except the book itself, don't eat that.
Third: those of you who didn't order the BitF book should've either received your Dededoll and/or cards, OR have them on the way to you! Check your tracking number if you don't; the latest set should've been sent out this morning and you should see some activity in the tracking info by tomorrow at the latest. So between the doll, cards, and PDF, everyone should at least have part of their rewards by now (or within a few days)! The tracking number will only be available for backers who are NOT receiving a physical book! Book order numbers will be coming later.
Fourth, Canada's postal system has been on strike since last month. This makes getting goods to you guys up north tricky since even shipping companies like FedEx may still rely on Canada Post to get to the final destination, meaning the packages may still get lost or returned to me. However, there's apparently been recent progress made where the postal system may resume due to rotating strikes. I haven't forgotten about you backers! If any packages get returned to me, I'll try them again; they should (hopefully?) make it to you at this point. We're in a bit of a limbo!
Finally, the physical books are still slated to be sent out in November as planned! As always, I'll keep you posted when they come in.
I hope you enjoy the new pages, art, and comics. And it would help a lot it if you could spread the word about Paper Plates as well! I can't do it without you, so I greatly appreciate your longtime support over all these years. Thank you!
-Matthew
September Update 2: First Packages Sent Out!
6 months ago
– Fri, Sep 26, 2025 at 08:44:49 AM
A new milestone has been reached. The first Dededolls and cards have been sent out!
Here are the Dededolls arriving on the truck. Welcome to Louisiana! No time for beignets and boudin at the French Quarter though...
...because we've gotta get you guys out of my buddy's driveway and into his apartment! (his landlord wasn't thrilled about the 71 giant boxes on four palettes in front of his place)
The Brawl in the Family Playing Cards, however, were shipped straight to my house instead since they came in 9 very manageably-sized boxes.
Each box contains several smaller boxes which in turn contain plenty of decks of cards. The cards themselves are shrink-wrapped in the box, while the box now has a velvety-soft touch. You're gonna love it!
Ack, my kid is drowning in Dededolls! Better get these things boxed up...
Sammy the cat is curious about all the changes to our living room. But we should be okay as long as he doesn't treat the Dededolls like he treats his own toys...
Do you see those labeled boxes in the corner in that last picture? Many of them burst open overnight! Yes, the packaging tape I used wasn't great so I had to order some much stronger stuff and re-tape all the boxes. As such, some of these boxes are really, really ugly! Like big, bulging cubes of wadded-up tape. But they should be secure! If your Dededoll or cards don't make it safely please let me know so we can fix the problem, but fingers crossed they all survive the trip well. Fulfillment is exciting in its own way but it can also be very harrowing due to how many things can go wrong.
I've sent out all 20 or so of the card-only orders and about 100 of the Dededoll-only orders, so a few of you should be getting them very soon. However, I am not a fan of the boxes I ordered for this so I'm going to try a few other things to ensure the safe arrival of the dolls and cards to the rest of you doll-only folks.
The vast majority of dolls however are a combo with the BitF book orders, and the books are still on track to arrive in November. I'm looking into the mechanics of possibly sending out the dolls and books separately, but it's surprisingly complex; I'd have to double many of the labels/shipments and pay for postage of two (or more) packages rather than one. Either way, the initial fulfillment date for this stuff was November and we're still looking good for getting everything out by then at least!
So that's what's been going on! I'm going to do further research on specifically which packaging material will be best for certain tiers so as to minimize issues. For now, assume you'll get everything in November but I'll keep you posted if anything changes. And for doll/card-only orders, let me know if your package arrives damaged. Make sure to be carefully opening them with scissors because you don't want to poke the Dededoll!
-Matthew
September Update: Dededolls and cards are about to be sent out to doll-only and card-only backers! Check your addresses!
6 months ago
– Tue, Sep 16, 2025 at 11:30:48 AM
Big news today--the Dededolls will be mounting a full-on invasion of my house this week! I expect to receive no fewer than 1,700 of the squishy guys. (If I had a swimming pool, I could Scrooge McDuck-style dive into them)
I went back and forth on this a bit, but I have decided to mail out the Dededoll-only orders early! This will actually get me a good head start on backer fulfillment, meaning when the books arrive in October/November, it'll make that process go that more smoothly and quickly. And since I'm handling fulfillment myself again (for some crazy reason!) I'll take any opportunity to lighten the load and keep it from all hitting at once at the end of the year.
If you have an order with only a Dededoll, your address will be locked in in 48 hours! There are about 200 of you, and if you don't need to change your address on file, you don't have to do anything. For the rest of you (if your order included no doll, or it included the BitF Ultimate physical book), you really don't have to do anything right now.
And that's not all! The cards should be arriving later this month as well, so those of you who have a doll+card order will be asked to lock your addresses soon too. Again, this does not apply to anyone with a BitF Ultimate physical book in their order, as those will be fulfilled once they come in later this year. I will be sending out doll-only orders, card-only orders, and doll+card-only orders this September. Just double-check your address to make sure it's current and you're all set!
I'll be updating later this month with fun pictures and stuff! The endgame has begun! And I'm starting to get my next Kickstarter project ready, so stay tuned...
-Matthew
