But before we get started, let me point out that Jeph Jacques is doing his level best to displace John Allison as the reigning King of Fan-Fiction. Okay, so Jacques did his in-strip, but you can’t tell me that he didn’t enjoy writing this:

Also Hermione and Ginny were both 25 years old and NOT married to Ron and Harry because the epilogue at the end of the last book is STUPID and NEVER HAPPENED.

Which eventually leads to:

So they totally had sex, and it was the most amazing sex in the history of wizarding or muggles or even Space Wizards (who had a lot of sex but it was really bad sex because they were all evil).

• Speaking of Jeph Jacques, I have now a copy of Questionable Content Volume 1, which came with the news that Jacques plans to do a similarly-sized book every nine months or so until he’s caught up. Look for Volume 2 around San Diego time.
• Speaking of John Allison, I picked up his newest book at NEWW — the very limited, convention-only A Feral Flag Will Fly. I enjoy Bad Machinëry to the extent that, although we are presently getting a five-days-a-week Esther story (and Esther is my absolute favorite SGR character), I find myself counting the days until BM and those mystery-solving youths return. AFFWF has soothed my soul until the wait is done.
• Completing the book-buying trifecta, I now also have a copy of Howard Tayler’s sixth Schlock Mercenary collection, Resident Mad Scientist. Much like AFFWF and QCv1, RSM features an oversize trim, a good “in the hand” feel, and a story that is richer, funnier, and more enjoyable for being presented in large chunks. Excellent reads, all three.
• Not full books, but still from NEWW: I purchased David McGuire‘s latest mini, Marty’s Big Day (no link, sorry), the story of a cat having the best first day as cat ever — fifteen minutes in, he’s on furniture scratching duty and they think they’ll move him up to shedding and hairballs within a week! Lots of fun, and an excellent use of McGuire’s clean, heavy-lined, angry-eyed style.

  Also on the mini front, Sophie Goldstein was kind enough to give me copies of her two minis (again, no link), one a collection of hourlies from her time teaching English in Korea (dated 2009-2010), and one a pair of stories about her father (dated 2006).

  The art styles are obviously different (you have to go simple on hourlies), but each fits the tone of the book. The father stories are particularly strong, recounting a visit to Goldstein’s Alzheimer’s-afflicted grandmother and a terrifying dream of monsters (with her balding, bespectacled, utterly badass father to the rescue). Very different from her work on Darwin Carmichel, very moving work.

• Recurring theme at NEWW: Garies. There exists somewhere a picture of Evan Dahm in the Garies shirt, standing next to me for the absolute maximum amount of Garies. The only thing that could have increased the Gary-count would be if I had been wearing the GARY shirt, but as we all know, that may well have resulted in a Gary singularity.
• Speaking of singularities, Mr Dahm was on a panel with Mr Diaz, Ms Spike, Ms Baillie, and Mr Riley on the topic of worldbuilding; an audio recording of said panel is now available, which saves me the trouble of typing up my notes.

  But be sure to particularly pay attention about halfway through when the topic turned to the nature of comics itself, and particularly the ability of comics to present background information and foreground information simultaneously and in appropriate weightings, something all but impossible in prose. Heady stuff from people who have clearly thought about comics.

• Finally, some of the discussion I had with David Malki ! regarding Machine of Death is now public: agreements have been agreed, and MoD is due in bookstores across the US in the next three weeks.