New — in some cases long-awaited — things popping up all over the damn place today.

• Ever want a Scott C painting of your very own? I’ve got a couple and they’re great, but they aren’t necessarily in everybody’s price range. The valiant Mr C heard your cries of despair, though, and has a solution:
  

  THE GREAT, GREAT SHOWDOWNS HUNT

  DAY 1

  Here’s what’s happening: I will post a little painting from a popular little film once every day this week leading up to the Revenge of the Great Showdowns exhibition on Friday, July 11th at Gallery 1988. These paintings shall be placed into envelopes and hidden somewhere at the location in which that scene happened.

  The first person to find this painting shall keep this painting as a gift from me to you! I only ask that you post a picture of the found painting in your possession, so I can congratulate you in front of the world. Tweet it or whatever you like. #GreatGreatShowdownsHunt

  Today’s painting appears to be of the cast of Reservoir Dogs, and it’s been placed in proximity to the diner from the early scene where they discussed tipping. Get on that, LA people! Presumably the others between now and Friday will also be in LA, but maybe he’s arranged for one to be left somewhere in suburban New Jersey. Please?

• From the twitter machine yesterday
  

  Baby arrived 8:14 this morning. Seven pounds, four ounces, 19 1/2″ long. Enjoying family bonding time at the hospital right now.

  That would be the sprog of Shaenon Garrity and Andrew Farago, born to webcomics royalty. There’s only so much you can say in 140 characters, so we at Fleen will presume that mother, child, and father are all doing well, and hope that all settle into their new routines easily. Child, you are going to have an amazing life, with parents that not only love the crap out of you, but also draw great pictures for your amusement and have a appreciation of nerdy things second to none.

  Listen to them well, learn their lessons, and you may someday inherit your mother’s crown as one of the three Nexuses of All Webcomics Reality and Radness Queen of the East Bay and Adjoining Metropolitan Areas. Welcome, little one; we’ll try to make the world worthy of you.

• Little baby children are all adorable, and a good thing too, or the stories of what they’re like at two years old would have led to a lot more of them being raised by wolves¹. Nightmares at that age, the lot of ’em. Not that nightmares don’t have their appeal from a storytelling perspective, which is why I’m equally curious and (given the imagery coming out of Broodhollow these says) trepidatious about Kris Straub’s newest project:
  

  What if there was a company that could go into your dreams and kill your nightmares? EXTERMINITE is a mind-bending 5-part graphic novel from Len Peralta, Mikey Neumann, and Kris Straub that will scare you out of your own pants, hilariously.

  Okay, sure, the blurb there claims that Exterminite will also have the hands of Len Peralta and Mikey Neumann, but when you start talking about nightmares, really disturbing nightmares, my mind goes straight to Straub. Hopefully the ha, ha aspects of this one will outweigh the Well great, you can just rock me to sleep tonight, Kris aspects.

  May Straub find this project a means to deal with his well-known fear of ghosts, because he’s just way too nice a guy to spend his days spooked by the things that aren’t quite there. Besides, he’s expecting his own first child soon, and as I understand it worrying about everything dangerous your infant can do to her/himself leaves little time to worry about ghosts.

• New book cover/recently rediscovered Art Deco masterpiece courtesy of Justin Pierce; Wonderella may be taking a little break while the third collection of her nonadventures is being put together, but if we get beautiful renditions like this (love the juniper, barley, and hops, very apropos) I’d call that a fair trade. Kickstarter information to come soon.

Spam of the day:

Depending which type, gas powered or electric, make certain you hands are dry before plugging it in to operate. You can buy this dryer at Sears, Home Depot and select Loews locations.

And remember, you have to keep the lint screen clear or you’ll burn down your house.

_______________
¹ Or perhaps moles; I can never keep those two straight.