It appears that I got the release date wrong for Achewood Volume 2. Although Things From Another World (closely associated, possibly owned by the same people as publisher Dark Horse) lists the publication date as 2 September (yesterday!), it was not at my local shop. Dropping by Borders, they have the book listed for pre-order for the 16th, and Amazon.

Bottom line, looks like I won’t get Worst Song, Played on Ugliest Guitar for another two – three weeks. Even more disturbing, as I was just typing this, my Freudian subconscious invented a book called Worst Song, Played on Ugliest Guigar (I swear to God this actually happened) and I do not want to know what that means.

But despite these trials which might reasonably be expected to break the spirit of any man, I am in a tremendously good mood today, because my local shop did have a copy of Kazu Kibuishi‘s just-released Amulet Book Two: The Stonekeeper’s Curse and oh boy is it good.

For starters, don’t sit down with this book unless you have a lot of time free; it clocks in at more than 200 gorgeously-illustrated, beautifully thick pages (I’m a sucker for the physicality of books — and when a compact trim size like this is dense and heavy in the hands, I’m over the moon), but may well be the fastest 200+ page read ever. There’s no pausing here, as the story forces you from beginning to end at a brisk pace, with no time wasted (but with the narrative not being rushed either).

Then comes the compulsive re-reading, as this story draws you back and demands that you go over it again — first in individual pieces, then in large chunks, then from front-to-back again. I’m on pass #4 and anticipate at least a dozen before I can put it to the side. If you do not wish to have elements of plot revealed to you, stop reading now and call this review a five-star rave. For those willing to risk it, spoilers ahoy.
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Which means that Fashion Week is nearly upon us. Thankfully, I won’t be coming into the office most of next week, so I get to avoid the crowds that are dressed in black, reeking of too much money and other peoples’ work. True story — I once asked a cop on guard duty outside the main tent if he got that gig by being supercop or by pissing off his desk sergeant. He thought a moment before answering, “A little of both.” Here, there is no runway, there are no tastemakers that annoint the ridiculous and see how many go along with it. There’s just stuff that I think is cool, and you can either agree or not. Let’s start the show!

• Oh my stars and garters, Patched Together (who have already brought you Paul Taylor‘s Shelley and Monica figures (and will be bringing you David Willis‘s Amber figure) are now gauging interest in Ursula Vernon‘s Biting Pear of Salamanca, perhaps better known as the LOL WUT Pear. Let ’em know if you want one.
• Speaking of garters, know who has none? Julia Wertz. That’s because garters absolutely do not go with the hopelessly unstylish garment known as the hospital gown. To raise money to defray her medical bills, Wertz is having a bash in Brooklyn that promises “free booze n’ snax!” to all who attend. 282 Broadway, 8:00pm on September 18th (that’s a Friday, so no need to fake being sick at work the next day) — come for the comic reading, stay for the medical horror stories!
• Interesting experiment over at Something*Positive: every strip in the month of September (there are two so far) will take place in the same day of story-time. October first, I’m going to be re-reading all of them to figure out how the story’s world changed. Given that the little blue psychohorror is actually being — quiet? Potentially remorseful? — I’m guessing that the changes will be nothing good for at least some characters.

  By the bye, if you ever meet S*P creator Randy Milholland and provide him with enough larynx-soothing liquid refreshment, his voicing for Fluffmodeus (yes, that’s its name) is both frightening and hilarious.

• New strip alert: Like his Applegeeks cohort Ananth Panagariya, Mohammad Haque does a journal-ish comic on the side (Panagariya with co-creator Yuko Ota, and Haque with co-creator Jessica Watson). Check out The Watsons while it’s still got that new-strip smell.
• Further proof that Topatoco is a Real Boy Grown-Up Company publisher now: book signings and other events are now a semi-regular occurence in the secret lair of reclusive genius Jeff Rowland. Next Friday, Little Gamers creators Pontus Madsen and Christian Fundin (son of Farin — sorry, geek joke), will be signing their fourth book and you can come if you wanna:
  

  “We believe we have obtained the proper permits to allow Pontus and Christian into our town for a few days,” said TopatoCo president Jeffrey Rowland. “The police and fire departments have been notified, power grid secured, emergency items stocked, and everyone over the age of 65 has been vaccinated. If all necessary safety precautions are taken and all recommended action items are performed in a timely fashion, this experience should prove to be calm and orderly.”

  TopatoCo urges all attendees to bring along any sprays and/or unguents they may need for the event, as the house supply is expected to go quickly.

  6:00 to 9:00 pm, Eastworks, September 11th, 2009, and may God have mercy on your souls.

Could the final times of webcomickry be upon us? Nah, I’m guessing there’s more stuff tomorrow. But for now:

• Today is the last day before Amulet 2: The Stonekeeper’s Curse releases, hooray! Even better is the knowledge that the series is only just getting started, what with the news over the summer that Kazu Kibuishi‘s almost-all-ages story got extended to seven books (with a rumor of an even ten being a possibility).
• Today is the last day that I must suffer being without the annotated Achewood collection; like last year’s The Great Outdoor Fight, Worst Song, Played On Ugliest Guitar gets the hardcover treatment and what looks to be a beautiful job of book design (kudos to publisher Dark Horse for the obvious love they put into their hardcover collections … their Wondermark collections show just as lavish attention).

  Plus, unlike the continuous narrative of The Great Outdoor Fight, this time we get the alt-text, and annotations from creator Chris Onstad. Honestly, that last has me a little worried, as I’m not sure how much I want to know about the inner creative process that drives him — yes, I’m curious, but on some level, I’d like to think that work like yesterday’s strip just comes straight out of his subconscious, sui generis, without any tawdry explanations as to how (as if it were a replicable process).

• Yesterday was the last day one needed to make do with earlier releases of Tyler Martin‘s ComicPress plug-in for WordPress. The new version (that would be 2.8 for those of you keeping score at home) features menubar customization, author & user pages, a feature to link strips directly to specific merchandise items (i.e.: Buy This Print), members-only content, .SWF file support, links to related content/strips, and much more.

  There’s a reason why ComicPress has become so widely used, and everybody that uses it (or did use before creating their own site solution, or is thinking about using it) ought to take a moment to thank Martin for his contributions to our little medium. It’s pretty damn lucky that his hobby supports your art, innit?

• Finally, today is the last day that I look upon periods as a scarce resource. Look for me to use them more liberally, starting tomorrow.