He is eleven years old today, and yet I am 44. If you’re not sure how that works out, it’s because of his powers. Evil powers, which will fully manifest when he hits the cranky teenage years in 2020.

• Following up on a discussion of Kickstarter and taxes from last week (including comments¹ on same), I came across a link (via the twitterfeed of Colleen Doran, who always finds/thinks the best stuff) regarding this very topic. Key takeaway — consult with a professional, since there are lots of rules (which may or may not apply to you, and may or may not seem to conflict with other rules), preferably before launching your Kickstarter campaign.

  It appears that the US federal tax rules have been worked out (you’ll get a 1099-K; if you don’t know what that is, consult with a professional), but state and local rules (especially with respect to sales tax issues) are going to vary widely. When in doubt, refer to the exchange between Kurtz and Stevens here.

• A little while ago, “Uncle”² Randy Milholland announced an original art sale that left me with a few thoughts. To wit:

  Milholland is (and I’ve told this to him in person) criminally underpricing his work. Granted, he doesn’t do full strips, per se, with borders and the rest on bristol board; a lot of one-off character bases and extraneous elements (backgrounds, hands, eyes) get done on paper and then assembled in Photoshop, but still — US$20 for four sheets, which may include multiple characters? It’s the bargain of the century, and only the fact I don’t get to paw through the box looking for favorite bits³ is keeping me from buying up Milholland’s work by the kilo.

  I am reminded of another art sale (for all intents and purposes) that took place years ago, one inspired by Milholland’s famed “pay my salary” fund drive. That was the event that brought me into the orbit of creators, as US$100 was exchanged for original art. Goats wasn’t the first online strip that I followed, nor was it the first webcomic that I bought merch from⁴, but that first original was purchased because two years earlier it was when a casual interest turned into a rabid interest. Jon Rosenberg intersected a Manhattanite’s rage over the intrusion of K-Mart culture into a place that rejected big-box stores with a rage over the burgeoning, post-9/11 security state and made it hilarious with two words:

  Anal sovereignty.

  That moment, in the opening days of 2002, when Carl went spelunking was the start of this infatuation, which led to the exchange of money for goods, which led to many, many beers which led to my absolute privilege to have an ever-expanding circle of friends made up of the best people on earth.

  And now, the strip that started me on this journey to new fresh hells considerable laugh-chuckles is coming back if another US$18,000 (roughly) can get raised in the next 22 days. Milholland may not have intended his announcement to be a Proustian madeleine, but it worked out that way.

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¹ I didn’t comment on Warren Terra’s “I’m a complete layman, but” assertion at the time, but he seems to be conflating the tax implications of corporations and those of individuals (who may or may not have a formal business structure, whether a single-proprietorship, an LLC, an S-Corp, among others).

² Possibly of the “creepy” variety.

³ I am the proud owner of “came a brain” and this bit of fanservice.

⁴ That would have been the oft-hiatused but never fully gone You Damn Kid, which I happened upon via a particularly circuitous route following a purchase of a BoFH collection from the now-defunct Plan Nine, volumes of which were predominantly illustrated by various Keenspot creators of the day. But the YDK collection, and a sketchy of Jethro featuring the famed frog rocket wiener (re-released several times, most recently here), that was the first purchase, and the reason that Owen Dunne will always have a place in my list o’ webcomics over there to the right, no matter how long the current hiatus may be.