Okay, it’s day after a holiday, but that’s not why I’m late. I’m late because I spent the day yesterday under the weather
and I’m just now getting caught up. But I couldn’t let these stories — some days old! — go by.

• Spike — we’re done with the initial C, we’re done with the Trotman, we all know who I’m talking about — has launched the latest Iron Circus Comics anthology of wonder over Kickstarter way. Tim’rous Beastie, a collection about little anthropomorphic critters having adventures — was announced in December, went through submissions in January, and per Spike’s Twitterfeed, has all of its contributor’s work finished and received by editor Amanda Lafrenais to do her magic.

  Nothing left to do but fund the printing bill on that sum’bitch, a process that started Monday night, and which is presently (as of this writing) 72% complete. Per the FFFmk2, look for a final funding of US$40-58K, or 2x to 2.5x goal, more or less.

  Uncharacteristically for Iron Circus, this is a lean campaign with only three pledge levels (PDF, PDF+book, early bird PDF+book with discounted shipping) and one stretch goal (a fancier cover at 125% of goal) along with the customary unlimited artist bonuses (US$10/page for every US$10K over goal). Evan Dahm, Ryan Estrada & Rachel Dukes, KC Green, Abby Howard & Eli Church¹, Sloane Leong & Lauren H, David McGuire, Jemma Salume, and Jessi Zabarsky, along with Lafreais and Spike.

• As long as we’re on Kickstarts, the Foglios are Kicking the newest Girl Genius collection, with the customary soft launch (they went live on 27 June, but didn’t start talking about it until the next day, and only notified past backers several days after), short run (18 days), and fast turnaround (rewards at due to go out in September).

  It appears to be somewhat simpler than the past campaign or two — the fancier rewards are things they’ve done before and have a decent idea of what production times will be — and hopefully the efforts of putting together thousands of sometimes complex fulfillment packages won’t drive them insane.

• 2017 is going to go down as the year of finishes; so far we’ve seen Dr McNinja and Octopus Pie conclude well-loved decade-long runs, and there’s at least one more on the horizon. Sometime this year, John Allison will be putting up the chairs of the ScaryGoVerse and turning off the lights:
  

  Hard Yards will be the last story set in the little Tackleford universe we’ve been visiting nearly every day since 1998. While I still love the characters, I feel like I’ve done almost all I can with them, and for the last two years I’ve been trying to find ways to create a satisfying end to things, or a possible way to continue that felt somehow the same, but new. In the end I’ve had to settle on ending things.

  I don’t know exactly when the last strip will be, just that it will be before the end of 2017, so I’ll let you know when we get into the final straight. In the meantime, as you were.

  We’ve come a long way since Rich, Shelley, and Tim first appeaared; it’ll be nineteen years that the every-widening gyre of characters centered on the ginger ninja have been engaged in their wordplay and skylarking. The good, the bad, the indifferent (frequently the same character, just at different times) have had their time and if we don’t get Britain’s weirdest little town, at least we’ll still have Giant Days (as of today, 28 issues and better each month)².

  I won’t weep; it’s better for Tackleford to end without diminishing. If Allison finds down the road that he has more stories to tell from that end of his imagination, the weirdness magnet that is Tackleford will still be there³. It’s harder still to be sad when one realizes what’s coming next: Desmond comics, from Desmond Comics [SFW, but contains Desmond].

  So if you happen to be in San Diego in a couple of weeks, do look Mr Allison (and Mr Fishman) up and thank him for all the weird times; me, I’m clearing a spot in the links list over there to the side for whatever comes next, because it’s going to be great.

Spam of the day:

Final Notice Regarding Your Payment Info

[next day]

Final Notice Regarding Your Payment Info

[next day]

Final Notice Regarding Your Payment Info

I’m starting to think that “Greg” doesn’t actually understand the world “final”.

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¹ I tried to find a website for Church, but the name may well be un-Googleable. Searching for eli church cartoonist brought up a lot of serviceable cartoons featuring Noah’s Ark.

² Although Giant Days would seemingly have its own expiration date: if I understand correctly, the British university system is built around a three-year course of study, and Esther, Daisy, Susan, and Ed have already seen their second Christmas together.

³ And Lor’, what I wouldn’t give to see Shauna and Lottie grown to adulthood some day.

It’s not that there’s nothing going on in the Wide, Wide World o’ Webcomics¹, but we are in a momentary summertime lull before SDCC² and the rest of the major con busy season. I mean, I could point you towards the updated tour dates for Meredith Gran³ and Mike Holmes — in fact, I think I will — but there’s only so much of your time I can occupy there. Or you could take five minutes to watch the second episode of animation from The Nib, that works.

Done? Okay, let’s make fun of spammers and see what crops up between now and tomorrow.

Spams of the day:

Bonus! $350 after your first 150 rides driving with Lyft!

Figuring that any ride will take the drive a minimum of 15 minutes (from notification until drop-off), US$350 for 37.5 hours labor, or less than US$10/hour. Minus gas, insurance, and the rest? I think you actually come out negative on this deal.

Some DNA testing can be done from home

I did one of those home DNA spit tests once, on account of being adopted, I was sick of telling my doctor I didn’t know if there was a family history of various diseases. Still don’t know, but I am reliably informed that there’s a 68% change that I’m obese based on my genes. I am a super-skinny dude. I’m starting to regret not doing what I seriously thought of doing at the time, which was to let my dog drool into the collection tube just to watch the lab freak out.

[New SMS] You Received a Glance from Gelya (from Kazan, Russia)

I have received roughly thirty-seven variations of this spam with different combos of name and Russian city. Apparently, Russian mail-order brides really dig me.

Confirm Your Account with us

This one’s great — a big graphic that says ACTIVATE YOUR ACCOUNT in block letters, not even bothering to make up a lie about which account or with what company. Balls nasty.

Garytyrrell 2 messages marked as unread disobeys

Oh, no, the Facebook account I don’t have is threatening me for leaving messages unread.

Vital to Your Wellness: Good Dental Health

Not to brag, but I just went to the dentist on Saturday and she told me my hygiene was excellent. I like my dentist, she is quick and painless.

Juicy Couture Tracksuits

Nnnnooope.

Knives that are too large are very impractical and tremendously difficult to control. Ecclesiastes 12:17 (The Message) Old King Solomon said it all

King Solomon used swords; I don’t think he was overly concerned with a knife being too large.

I’ll immediately snatch your rss as I can’t in finding your email subscription hyperlink or e-newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Please allow me recognise so that I could subscribe. Thanks.

I think I just got sexually harassed.

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¹ There’s not a good visual for the agony of defeat in webcomics, so please accept the original instead.

² Programming details coming soon!

³ Octopus Pie volume 5 (final!) out now!

Know what else is awesome? One of the greatest, most enabling guys in [web]comics, Christopher Butcher, is getting a new job. He’s been great at managing one of the best comics shops in North America, and he founded one of the great comics shows in the world. Now he gets to hunt out new talent in North America and Japan, and Publishers Weekly has the story:

Chris Butcher, longtime manager of The Beguiling comics bookstore and founder and artistic director of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, is leaving The Beguiling and has been named a consulting editor-at-large for Viz Media.

In this new consulting role for Viz Media, Butcher will scout acquisitions and new talent and new publishing projects, while splitting his time between North America and Japan. In addition Butcher will also scout for original non-Japanese comics projects.

It couldn’t happen to a nicer, more qualified guy. Congratulations to Butcher, and to Viz for recognizing skill when they see it.

In other news:

• New animation from The Nib.
• Matt Furie is reclaiming Pepe from fucking Nazis.
• Tickets are now available for Marian Call’s SDCC-adjacent concert.

There’s, uh, not a lot extra to say about any of those. Enjoy ’em.

Spam of the day:

Search free coupons for toilet paper discounts

How much toilet paper do you think I use?

Iverly! Oh, my yes, Iverly is back today and perhaps more before too long! Jeffrey Rowland has been keeping creators in rent money but DANG if I haven’t missed his take on comics. Read it from the beginning.

Onwards …

We mentioned XOXO co-founder Andy McMillan during the Comics Camp Roundup Extravaganza last month, and in that time he’s been busy. The Liberty Foundation has been communicating with the world via the occasional tweet, and the website is now up and running. The first big reveal on what they plan to do will be at an official launch party, tonight, in Portland, from 6:0pm, at Outlet PDX.

McMillan’s plans and intentions will be made clear this evening, but we can share the general outline:

The Foundation will begin by offering a number of fellowship awards. Under the guidance of our advisory board, we will be prioritizing awarding our fellowships to a diverse and representative group of artists working in contemporary fields such as film, music, podcasts and audio storytelling, writing, comics, tabletop and board games, and video games.

Our fellows will each receive a $60,000 cost of living grant and support for health insurance costs for one year. These grants will not be project-based, but rather aimed at giving creators a chance to step back and make decisions based on curiosity and long-term growth rather than dire and immediate need.

The second aspect of the Foundation supports this goal by providing an extensive coaching and support program to help artists maintain momentum, focus on their work, and grow it into a sustainable business. This will involve workshops and tutorials focused on business development, marketing, financial planning, and legal support.

The processes of application and selection are to be announced, but I can tell you this — I discussed things with McMillan during and after Comics Camp, and I have made a pledge of financial support to The Liberty Foundation; as such, I will be covering it lightly in future, to avoid any potential conflict of interest¹. If creating a mechanism to aid artists past the building phase of their careers to where they can self-sustain and grow is something you’re interested in, drop him a line. The more people on board with this, the more people contributing and participating, the better.

Spam of the day:

This coupon is waiting for a trip to sears.com!

Amazingly, this appears to actually come from Sears and not, say, Brandon Bird.

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¹ And any coverage that I do provide, I will add a disclaimer.

By which I mean, the map of San Diego Comic Con’s exhibitors, in handy PDF form, which I painstakingly re-capture and format every year. Well, not this time! I’m keeping the maps from last year to the extent that they match the layout this year

The North Half Layout Is The Same
It’s on the right side of the overall floor map, and apart from a logo change or two, the booth numbers and major players correspond to the same layout as last year:

The Webcomics, Small Press, and Independent Press Pavilions remain reasonably accessible from the “B” lobby. Let’s break ’em down.

The Last Stand Of Webcomics?
It’s been a long run, but more and more creators are opting to skip SDCC; of course, once you give up a booth you won’t get it back in the current decade, so expect to see a bit more holding on. Centered roughly on booth #1332, you’ll find a majority of the webcomickers who will be at the show within about a 1.5 aisle radius; some are slightly outside the orange area, but not too far. Those that return are for the most part at the same booth number as previous years, but there’s been some upheaval, as we shall see.

Notes:

• :01 Books appear to have been relocated to booth 2800, and taken Macmillan Children’s Publishing with it (2802).
• Rhode Montijo (of Happy Tree Friends fame) in 1329.
• No news yet on which TopatoCo creators will be along; we’ll update once we know.
• Hachette (1116), Harper Collins (1029), (1117), and Simon & Schuster (1128) remain in Publisher’s Row; Knopf Doubleday appears to be skipping.
• As of this writing, Booth 1332, the heart of Webcomics Central, is listed for Flex Comics which sells (quoting here) Bro Tank shirts and does occasional mash-up strips with a fitness theme. Far be it from me to criticize a webcomic for selling t-shirts, but given that the shirts are on the front page and the comic found off at a link, I’d say it inverts the normal order of things.
• But that’s still not as bad as booth 1235 going to Pulsar Entertainment LLC, which appears to have its origin in a talent contest (ugh) and is celebrating its own launch by running its own contest (double ugh) with all entries granting a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to Pulsar Entertainment (triple ugh). They’re over next to Blind Ferret; I’m sure Sohmer will have lots to say to them.
• Dumbrella this year will only be Rich Stevens and Andy Bell; they’ve invited Cards Against Humanity to share space.
• Meredith Gran will be at the show with husband Mike Holmes, but I don’t have a definitive location yet. Possible locations include Image (Gran), :01 (Holmes), and Dumbrella (both). More when I have it.

Small Press Abides
Right by the Webcomics section is Small Press. Here you should find:

From the Small Press section, you’re close by:

Notes:

• Gallery Nucleus will feature arty types when they aren’t hanging out at Mondo down in booth 835. Keep an eye out for your Scotts C, your Beckys and/or Franks, and alumni of the various Flight anthologies.
• No confirmation yet on which webcomickers will be at the BOOM! booth when, but I’d expect a pretty strong rotation.

Now head back toward the “B” Lobby into the Independent Press area and you’ll find Terry Moore at Booth 2109, which is split (in accordance with tradition)with Jeff Smith (who remains the best). You’re also not too far from the Jack Kirby Museum at Booth 5520 which, yes, is a very large number but is actually just inside the B1 entrance. Weird, right?

Going back to that larger map of the northern half of the exhibit hall. Wedged in between the Marvel and Image megabooths you’ll find Keenspot in Booth 2635.

The Far End Is Exactly The Same
There’s still some neat stuff if you keep wandering past the video games, Star Wars, Legos, and suchlike.

Give yourself half an hour or so, try not to spend all your money on Copic markers (Booth 5338), and you’ll find both Udon Entertainment (home of such worthies as Christopher Butcher and Jim Zub — although rumor is Zub is sitting this year out — at Booth 4529); and The Hero Initiative (at Booth 5003). Zub’s onetime Skullkickers artist, Edwin Huang will be in the Artists Alley at table EE-19, and Katie Cook will be at table HH-17.

Offsite
Every year for the past half-decade the amount of stuff you can see outside of the exhibit hall has grown; I’m guessing we’re only a year or so away from complete parity. If you know of anything especially good, let us know and we’ll add it here. Otherwise, just wander the city and see what you got.

Spam of the day:

Getting Christie Brinkley’??Perfect Skin Just Got a Lot Easier

This sounds suspiciously like it’s intended for serial killers.

We at Fleen continue to bring you all the news from the world of French [web]comics, courtesy of Fleen Senior French Correspondent Pierre Lebeaupin. Take it away, FSFCPL!

And that will wrap up Fleen’s coverage of LyonBD 2017. With any luck, we’ll have more reports from a variety of festivals from FSFCPL in the coming years.

Spam of the day:

Xarelto Lawsuit Information

Xarelto is an anticoagulant. If there’s one things EMTs hate, it’s anticoagulants, because they make our lives more interesting on calls. Nevertheless, I think it’s a little disingenuous to sue the maker of an anticoagulant on the basis that it caused you to have difficulty stopping bleeding because that’s what the damn thing is meant to do.

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¹ Fun fact: Sunday was also polling day for the French general elections, and mainland France does not have mail-in voting or early ballots, and I hope it never has online voting: so I had to appoint a proxy to vote on my behalf, there is no other way to vote while away on polling day.

We continue the reporting of Fleen Senior French Correspondent Pierre Lebeaupin from the grounds of Lyon BD. If you missed Day One, it may be found here.

Fleen, as always, thanks Lebaupin for his attention and insight.

Spam of the day:

Your Car Service Reminder

I don’t own a Vauxhall, don’t live in Central England, and don’t need a service plan, thanks. While we’re on the subject, because it’s only British spammers that ever bring it up, I’m fine on double glazing, too.

______________
¹ Note the use of autrice, a feminine form of the word auteur which has recently resurfaced (because when auteur is used for both masculine and feminine forms, it tends to erase female creators), and is still not widely accepted.

² Who, by the way, is tag teaming with Boulet to cover the animation festival in nearby Annecy this week.

As seen on Rob Den Bleyker’s Twitter just now:

I just applied to run for U.S. Representative as a democrat in my district (Texas 32nd). I have no experience. Let’s see where this goes.

As recent elections have shown us, having no experience is no bar. I’ve known Rob for years and he’s really, really sharp. If I lived in Texas’s 32nd, I would absolutely consider him sincerely; taking into account that the incumbent is the odious Pete Sessions, I’d be even more inclined.

It’s a long way until November 2018; Fleen will attempt to interview DenBleyker on his candidacy as the opportunity presents itself.

Fleen Senior French Correspondent Pierre Lebeaupin¹, as noted earlier in the week, spent some time prowling the recent Lyon BD, and he’s brought an extensive recap. Pret-ty sure that there’s no other webcomics blog this side of the world with a report from Lyon (or anyplace else in France), so be sure to share with your friends. Take it away, FSFCPL!

As always, Fleen thanks Lebeaupin for his contributions.

Spam of the day:

Ich habe hier mein Sofa im Test online gefunden.

A discussion of a sofa in German? I suspect that either Rich Stevens or Brett Porter is trolling me. In which case: Bravo, gentlemen.

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¹ Who, I should note is now the first person besides yours truly authorized to carry a Fleen business card (complete with a rendering of our masthead mascot by Meredith Gran). You’re officially a pixel-stained wretch, FSFCPL!

² The permanent collections are also worth checking out, including this bit. The caption reads: Crayon drawing This portrait drawn in crayon by the celebrated caricaturist Gavarni is of particular interest. Comparing the proof with the stone it can be seen that a moustache has been added. This kind of alteration was made possible by a process developed by Godefroy Engelmann in the 1820s. The stone is in its final state, the proof from a previous state ‘before the moustache’.

Thanks to a frustrating, blinkered, blind adherence to arbitrary rules on the part of various IT types¹ that make it impossible for me to do my job² , possibly of possibly my entire career, has struck me today. How bad? I actually spent a good ten minutes this morning calculating whether or not I’d be beaten by Security if I pitched my laptop out a third floor window and screamed YOU CAN BILL ME (laced with appropriate profanity, naturally) in front of horrified customers.

So, Monday.

But I’ll not leave you wanting. By coincidence, today’s classic episode of You Damn Kid (which will eventually permalink here, unless I miss my guess) neatly parallels my feelings today, substituting for the titular Kid’s Dad. I don’t want to be an old man, much less the Old Man, but there you go. I would also be remiss if I didn’t point out that Owen Dunne has a placeholder on the front page of YDK that promises

YDK TV
Starts Monday, June 12!

… which would be today. Nothing yet, but still quite a few hours left in the day.

And while we’re waiting to see what Dunne has cooked up, let’s also whet your appetite for a fresh field report from Fleen Senior French Correspondent Pierre Lebeaupin, who spent the weekend at Lyon BD:

I did get to meet authors and glean interesting info from them, to visit expos, to attend panels, etc. Oh, and I managed to ask Scott McCloud a few questions, too.

Oh, good — glad those two go to meet. Better mood, more news tomorrow.

Spam of the day:

Je demande pardon qu’est intervenu … Chez moi la situation semblable. On peut examiner.

Good to know that French spam has as little regard for sensical reading as English spam.

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¹ And I work in IT! Hey, IT guys making my life miserable — there’s a reason why we’re hated, and it has to do with you not even helping your colleagues. Jerks.

² While simultaneously putting me in violation of other rules for not doing my job.