I therefore declare it Merch News Day at Fleen, on account of, uh, I got a lot of news about webcomics merchandise? They can’t all be gems, people.

• Scott Pilgrim trailer! And at several points (cf: 00:49), clearly-visible Diesel Sweeties Pixel Skull t-shirt!
• Although Andy Bell swears that more of his Android figures will be available this summer in wider numbers than the blink-and-they’re-gone fast sells in February, I somehow can’t bring myself to hope that I may someday have one of these guys for my very own. Dramatic sigh. In the meantime, One may content oneself with the first in a series of process descriptions on how idea became vinyl from the master of nightmares himself.
• Moving sale! A Girl And Her Fed creator (and person most statistically-likely to have me whacked; oh, sure, my wife is most likely to actually kill me, that’s basic criminology, here we’re talking Mafia-style farming the job out) Otter (no last names) is moving house, and you get the benefit of the mad rush to not have to pack up t-shirts and cart ’em across the state.

  If you aren’t reading the story of civil rights, secret government conspiracies, the ghost of Ben Franklin, and the evil genius koala, now’s the time to start, since there will be a brief hiatus in the strip at the conclusion of Part One in about two weeks. Part Two, I’m told, will pick up the story some five years later; jump in while the jumping’s good.

• The official Singer-Songwriter to the Greater Internet and Other Nerdly Quarters, Jonathan Coulton, has broadened the portfolio of the official Merchandise Distribution Service of Webcomickstan, TopatoCo. By joining forces in this fashion, TopatoCo appear to be making good on their stated threats plans to expand out of serving the webcomics industry, and into independent artists of all stripes; sure, they picked up the merch-handling for Maximum Fun/The Sound of Young America last autumn, but let’s be real — this is a much bigger deal. One wonders how much longer TopatoCo can occupy only the periphery of American culture before they start pulling mainstream mindshare. I’ll be sure to ask TopatoCo VP of Special Ops Holly Post this weekend.
• This weekend, naturally is PAX East, at which I expect to see a number of webcomics stalwarts. Then there’s this from the official PAX twitter:
  

  All jokes aside, we just heard norovirus is spreading in Bos. Area colleges. Purell ineffective but WASHING HANDS helps-Avoid the salad bar!

  Norovirus is that thing that keeps making cruise ships cut their trips short because so many passengers and crew end up forcefully expelling partially-recycled foodstuffs from both ends of their gastrointestinal tract simultaneously. Like almost all casually-communicable diseases, there’s an easy way to help break the transmission vector: wash your damn hands. Anybody I see waving their fingertips near the water stream after using the bathroom? I will glove up¹ (to keep your filth off me) and beat you senseless. Get the water as hot as you can stand, soap up, and scrub vigorously for at least 30 seconds. No negotiation on this one — you’re either part of the solution or you suck.

  Anyway, tomorrow’s post likely to be short and written in advance as I make my way to Boston. Apologies in advance, I’ll try to make it up to you next week.

_______________
¹ I’m an EMT. I am never without gloves, loose-poo disease outbreak or no.

It’s several official birthdays in Webcomickia, including (but not limited to):

• Hazel Tellington (per the blogpost on today’s strip from Danielle Corsetto):
  

  Happy birthday to Hazel!!

• Webcomics überfan Michael Kinyon, per self-report:
  

  And as my first birthday present, the university is closed for the day due to inclement weather. Woo hoo!

• Despite casual appearances, it’s not the birthday of Ada Lovelace (or even her real-life counterpart), but it’s never a bad day to honor her contributions — no computers, no webcomics.
• My wife; this one is a little more important that the others, as I’m sure you understand.

In other news, I finally heard from the Comic Con travel desk; approximately 2:25pm EDT today (that would be approximately 6 days, two hours, and 20 minutes after I made my reservation), I got an email that said, Don’t forget to put down your deposit by midnight or you lose your reservation!, which was the first I knew I had a reservation.

Twenty minutes on hold got me to a reservations rep who didn’t seem very surprised when I told her I didn’t know the details because I hadn’t been contacted; she sent me an email with no problems, and it turns out I’m set for a room that didn’t appear on my list of 12 preferences (primarily because it’s a mile from the convention center), for two people, one king bed (not the two people, two beds I specified). Fortunately, through other means, I’ve got a shared room that’s very much closer, so I think I’ll be letting this one go.

Okay, open question — is anybody satisfied with how the process went this year? Did anybody get a room within, let’s say, their top 3 listed choices? Does anybody believe that this was an improvement on years past? If so, I’d very much like to hear your reasons and experiences, because I honestly haven’t heard from anybody that liked how this went.

Because it’s apparently Webcomics Book Week; the due to release list for tomorrow in your local comic shop contains a half-dozen items, and I may have missed some. Shall we run down the list?

• Dark Horse is dropping Wondermark‘s third volume (Dapper Caps & Pedal-Copters along with Graham Anable’s The Book of Grickle (I know that page says 7 April, but if Midtown Comics says it’s 24 March, then by Darwin it’s 24 March). Not from Dark Horse, but worth mentioning: Gene Yang‘s got Animal Crackers, a reprint of Gordon Yamamoto and Loyola Chin, with a new story, from Slave Labor.

  Not done yet, Bunky. Tom Siddell’s second Gunnerkrigg Court collection, Research is due, in a much more timely fashion than the first. Zuda brings The Night Owls by the Timonys (again, Midtown says it drops tomorrow), and PvP‘s seventh collection appears to be getting back into release channels.

  People, I am working on a budget here.

• Speaking of PvP, Scott Kurtz would like you to know:
  

  I guess it’s official. I’m MCing the Harvey’s again this year. Also, Harvey Award nominations are now open.

• Still on books, the big-publisher edition of Meredith Gran’s Octopus Pie, There Are No Stars In Brookyn, is up for pre-order. I could put up a link to Amazon or some other big retailer for that book (due 22 June), but let’s let Mer tell you herself:
  

  I’m offering the book for sale on this site. If you want your book signed or personalized, this is the only place to get it. All pre-ordered books are signed by me for FREE! You’ll also get 2 super exclusive 1? mystery buttons with every order. Buying it from me directly ensures a portion of the sale goes to me.

  Many online retailers are offering pre-sale discounts, which may be a good option if you’re strapped for cash or a member at these stores.

  Can I be straight with you for a moment?

  This is a crucial time in the success of Octopus Pie. The sales of this book will do a lot to determine whether or not future books can be made. If you love the comic, but have never ordered OP merch before, this is a fantastic way to show your support. Plus you’ll be getting an awesome signed book out of it! [emphasis original]

  Guys, Meredith is the real deal. Her success with this book (both her own sales, and in the broader market) will probably become a significant data point as publishers try to decide how much it’s worth dealing with independent creators. The groundswell of support that she (and others like Raina Telgemeier, Hope Larson, Kazu Kibuishi, Kean Soo, and others) have built will set the stage for the next couple of decades of corporate decisions. I don’t know about you, but I’d kind of like the next couple of decades to be filled with awesome comics easily available to me, so I’m pre-ordering on that basis, and not because I’m an obsessive completist (although let’s be frank, I am an obsessive completist). Join me, won’t you?

• Still books: Joey Comeau‘s latest prose book, One Bloody Thing After Another, is due for release shortly, and to celebrate he’s release new or missing-from-the-net stories. The first one is here.
• Finally, not books: Blind Ferrett is hiring, both in Montréal and away. Details here.

The world keeps turning, and with it changes cover the face of webcomics like unto a shattering storm across the face of the waters. Or something.

• It’s the End Times for Little Dee, and if you think that sounds overly apocalyptic, keep in mind that this storyline has already seen the most evilly benign character ever get married, and two other characters get same-sex (although cross-species) married. I wonder what the scoop on the remaining weeks of the strip might be:
  

  Here’s the scoop. I Should have book#4 off to the printer by the end of this week. The last strip of Dee will run on Tuesday, April 6th. I will begin taking PRE-SALES starting on April 5th or 6th, at which time I should have an estimate of when the book will be back from the printer.

  That’s it. I’ve been waiting until i had solid information before posting anything. Oh, and my mom already asked for the final strip, so if you wanted it, no luck there. I’ve been considering doing a final print of some sort, maybe as a fundraiser to help pay for the book, I will keep you posted.

  Warm up your browsers, and be ready when that one hits in two weeks.

• The First TopatoCoan Empire (that’s my new faction name in Civ IV) continues its growth apace, with the addition of Sister Claire. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s relentlessly cute and just the right amount of blasphemous, as one might expect from the tagline Pregnant nun, Holy Crap! Welcome to wacky times, Sister Claire creator Yamino! Also, you might want to check out the interview with KC Green at the TopatoCo main page — it’s a good ‘un.
• Speaking of interviews, Hurricane Erika has a fun audio interview with Stumptown Trade Review, hereabouts. And speaking of Stumptown, the non-union British equivalent, the UK Web & Mini Comix Thing, kicks off this weekend in London-Towne; if anybody goes, tell John Allison I said “hi”.
• Speaking of shows, as of this writing my wait for an acknowledgement (not even a room, just an acknowledgement) from the SDCC hotels is … 98 hours! Fearing the worst, I’ve been going through my spam filters, as perhaps it was misdirected (which never happened any previous year, but whatever), only to find the usual inducements for RREAL Rol*x w4tche$, and products to make [my] meat spear causing her moaning all nite. Unless Travel Providers are branching out into the world of black-market Canadian pharmacies, I don’t think I’ve missed their notice.

Okay, let’s review the facts: By 12:06pm EDT yesterday, I was already emailing people about how easy the SDCC hotel registration process was. By 12:06pm EDT today, I have heard exactly squat from them about my room reservation, and I gather I’m not the only person in this situation. Ain’t nothing in my spam folders, the same email address successfully delivered information from Travel Providers in prior years, and I am becoming annoyed. I also note that the hotel page seems to have reverted to the same system used in prior years; make of that what you will. Let’s move on to happier things.

• High volume demand for limited product: check. Actually sending an email acknowledging order: check. History of making good on what the email says you will supply? Check. I look forward to my Fat Pony Figurine from TopatoCo; in an alternate dimension where merchandise is handled by the SDCC hotel people, I will die of old age while still waiting to find out if I get one or not.
• Excellent idea from Jennie Breeden: Oglaf [NSFW] cosplay at Dragon*Con.
• This was possibly an overshare on the part of Danielle Corsetto, but man was it funny. Also: Angela Melick, keeping it polite.
• Hell. Yes.:
  

  Bryan Lee O’Malley’s SCOTT PILGRIM VOL. 6: SCOTT PILGRIM’S FINEST HOUR, is published by Oni Press and features 248 pages of evil-ex butt-kicking in the easily digestible digest format for the low, low price of $11.99. Available at your local comic shop or bookstore Tuesday, July 20th, 2010.

Where to start? How about with a live-action adaptation of the mystery solving teens — en español! Or with the extremely limited-edition fat pony sculptures (lovingly crafted by Nikki Rice Malki, who apparently does not take the honorific exclamation), which go on sale at Topatoco tomorrow at noon EDT, inevitably leading to an even bigger rush and hordes of frustrated, denied, would-be patrons than today’s SDCC hotel wrangle (which, as of this writing, amazingly does not show as sold out yet).

Or maybe the fact that she’s up for a Shuster Award again this year¹, in the category of Webcomics/Bandes Dessinées Web (along with such worthy competition as Attila Adorjany, Andy Belanger, Rene Engström, Karl Kerschl, Gisèle Lagacé and David Lumsdon, Tara Tallan, and Steve Wolfhard, not to mention Cameron Stewart in the Artist/Dessinateur category for his print work).

Long-time readers of this page know that I have a thing for webcomics depictions of squid, and it should be noted that on a day when all the rest of that was happening, Our Kate also drew: squid. Seriously, if I were the sort to believe that God was sending me signs to start a cult, yesterday would have been shouting THE BEATON SHALL SHOW YOU THE WAY.

In non-Beaton-related news (unusual, I know), did everybody see that Rich Stevens‘s inevitable march to conquer all media (via t-shirts) has claimed another milestone? Namely,prime-time network comedy featuring TV’s Wil Wheaton. Now I’m gonna have to explain that I owned the Electric Sheep shirt before it was cool.

_______________
¹ I have to admit, this is the award that leaves me most conflicted every year, since the slate of nominees is always so strong. I think this year I’m pulling for Engström, because the ending of ALM made me sniffle and smile, or Wolfhard because Cat Rackham rocks my face off.

On any other day, the newly-revealed poster for Scott Pilgrim vs The World (“An epic of epic epicness”) would get pride of place up top, but this isn’t any other day. This is the day (well, okay, last night) that John Keogh, after many teasers, has dropped the last Lucid TV on us, and it’s a masterpiece. Last one to leave Jim Belushi Memorial Hospitul, turn out the lights. And may I note that the flashing logo on the side of JBMH will always remind me of one of Chuck Jones’s better sight gags.

• In other news, I’ve been meaning to mention this for a couple days now — Jim Zubkavich has been responsible for a lot of projects with his UDON Entertainment studiomates, and as of a week ago, that includes a new mini-series that is a) licensed from b) a fighting video game series that c) I’ve never played. I still enjoyed the hell out of it, because as Chris Sims rightly notes, You can never have too many ninjas.
• Last up, a philosophical diversion. Anonymous (as you will see in a moment) writes:
  

  Hello Gary,

  So recently I’ve been trying to get under control the large (for me) amount of hits one would get when they google my name, for a couple of reasons, mostly being the fact that they were created during an adolescent time of my life (my adolescence) and would like them to be kind of, well, removed. With the internet being like an infinite attic that everyone can shuffle through I would like my presence to be something more conscious, if you know what I mean. Could you please take a few seconds out of your day and just delete my last name ([redacted] from [redacted]) from the post copied below? I would be most grateful!

  [link redacted]

  Thank you!
  -[redacted]

  This is actually a bit of a dilemma for me — while it would be trivially easy to remove one word from one post, we at Fleen have had a long history of not retroactively de-publishing content. No matter how stupid, abusive, or misinformed the content (and that’s from us; the comment threads can get downright evil), it stays up because it’s a record of what actually took place. Corrections have been logged, of course (very minor things like typos and bad punctuation without notice; more weighty things like rewordings or retractions via strikethrough), but no comment or posting has ever been taken down.

  There is one caveat to that last statement, actually. At the height of the Todd Goldman Shitstorm of Aught-Seven, with lawsuit threats a-flying, one poster contacted me with a request that a comment be deleted because he’d submitted it from work, and was afraid if the lawyerin’ got out of hand, his employer might terminate him. I did so, and he resubmitted the same comment from his home computer, so the net effect was zero (aside from the chill in the air that expressing an opinion can be dealt with so harshly).

  Anonymous’s request reminds me a lolt of the story of “Peter”, who legally changed his identity to get away from Google searches; I take it as a given that the words and works that we craft should be things we are willing to stand behind, but must we be tagged with associations forever? I also take it as a given that everybody — every. body. — was an idiot as a teenage for instance (you really can’t help it, what with the hormones and the brain not being all the way cooked). Anybody with a smidge of self-awareness looks back on those years and slowly shakes their head with a muttered comment thanking [insert thankable entity] that they aren’t like that anymore. Heck, I find the process of growing, changing, and maturing (kicking and screaming all the way) means that any random interval of the past, from last week to third grade, is likely to leave me wondering how I could be such a dick back then and I hope I’m not like that now. So the line about an adolescent time of my life rings true for me.

  Ultimately, the full identity of Anonymous isn’t part of the story — not like a more prominent figure would be. And while the no-depublishing rule was something I set in stone for myself when Fleen started in 2005, if we are to grow, change, and mature, then we must be willing to revisit our ironclad beliefs as situations and circumstances warrant. Request granted, and we’ll take such considerations under advisement in the future.

Several things I noticed (some today, some holdovers looking for the right theme), all of which refreshed my hope in webcomics, humanity, and the universe in general (although understand it’s a sliding scale — we’re not talking Mentos levels of refreshment here).

• First, allow me to draw your attention to the the Young Adult panel at MoCCA in a little less than a month’s time; I didn’t notice it when it first posted, but happened to today when Raina Telgemeier tweeted about it (odd, as it’s even harder to pick out in the tweet). It’s on Sunday, at 4:30:
  

  Young Adult graphic novels are swiftly gaining popularity among librarians, teachers, and most importantly, young readers! Join Hope Larson (Chiggers, Mercury), Jillian Tamaki (Skim), Raina Telgemeier (Smile, Baby-sitters Club), and Tracy White (How I Made it to Eighteen) for a discussion about their work, their influences, and their audience. Moderated by The Beat’s Heidi MacDonald.

  Everybody on that panel is allowed into this year’s Drink & Draw Like A Lady (Eastern division), and it’s not on the topic of What’s It Like To Be A Comics Creator With A Vagina? I think we just hit the comics panel equivalent of the Bechdel Test.

• Also on the refreshing scale: sharing data to the benefit of all. The most instructive panelist I’ve ever seen talk about the business of webcomics remains Jennie Breeden at SDCC ’06 because she talked about the hard lessons (not quitting the day job, struggling to not lose by going to a convention, how all paths to success involve a million baby steps). She remains that which all aspiring pro cartoons should figure they are going to emulate, one way or another.

  Now steps in another willing to share the tales of what it takes to make comics, and it’s Tyler Page of Nothing Better, and in a pair (so far) of Livejournal posts, he’s pulled open the metaphorical kimono to share all the gory details on self-publishing. Want to know how much you get for US$46,918.60? Read the posts, and consider them carefully.

• You know what’s fascinating in an awful, stomach-churning kind of way? Reading a comment thread on a topic that you care about. So it’s refreshing that a lot (but never all — thanks, Ted!) of the reflexive rancor towards webcomickers and webcomicking has muted over the years, to the point that Ryan Sohmer (an admitted webcomics author) has been accepted as an associate member of the National Cartoonists Society.

  No doubt his success with Least I Could Do and Looking for Group had a lot to do with it, but one cannot deny the love Sohmer has for cartooning in general or the lengths to which he will go to support it (although some will try damndest — thanks, Ted!). Fleen offers congrats to Sohmer, and holds out hope that this rapproachment and blending of cartoonists (regardless of distribution medium) may continue.

I had power when I went to bed (that would be of the electrical variety to my house, not any sort of personal authority or might), but it decided to go away in the night, leading to a screwed-up alarm and a day where I’m running to catch up. Only the prospect of pie left over from yesterday’s nerdery-slash-cooking can buoy me now. Well, that and a few other things:

• Kinokofry (by Rebecca Clements) has been undergoing a redesign of late, and what better day to launch the All! New! Site! than on Clements’ birthday? It’s pretty, and the prospect of new cartoonery (unimpeded by web design work) appeals greatly.
• Big celebrations in Great White North as White Ninja turns 1000 strips young, with tremendous guest art from Becky’n’Frank, Our Kate, Josh L. Ponywrangler, and The Incomparable Kelly. Everybody feel good for Kent and Scott.
• It’s goin’ on a year since I told you about Neil Cohn and his comics research; he’s back with another survey of comics, context, and perception (and remember: it’s FOR SCIENCE). Those interested can follow the link, and if the pursuit of pure knowledge isn’t enough for you, there’s a raffle for a $50 Best Buy gift card.
• Finally, Comics exist on web, film at eleven. Also: Spanish dictator Francisco Franco is still dead, but he seems to be more accepting of that fact. Question: is it satire when your wacky suggestion is, in fact, a recitation of exactly what’s happening? I think it’s actually just getting to the “acceptance” stage.

Well, me and my dog will just have to have fun by ourselves. So there.

• In what’s becoming an annual tradition, Kate Beaton is nominated for a Doug Wright Award, recognizing the best in Canadian comics and graphic novels. Last year, she took the award for Best Emerging Talent, and this year she’s nominated for the Pigskin Peters Award, which recognizes experimental or non-narrative comics, for Never Learn Anything From History. Mark my words, in a few decades they’ll just retire this one and create a new award named after her. The awards will be presented at TCAF, 7pm on Saturday, 8 May.
• Webcomics character (and creator) cameo day over at Shortpacked!, as David Willis ramps up the romance inherent in toy collector circles. In case the storyline isn’t offensive enough to those threatened by THE GAY, allow me to draw your attention to the pre-orders for Shortpacked!’s third book, appropriately titled Shortpacked! Is Totally Gay, with cover art to match. Because honestly, the only thing more homoerotic than GI Joe is Top Gun.
• The finest comic retelling of the Twelve Labors of Herakles since Matt Wagner brushed up against it is now up for pre-order. What, you didn’t realize that Gastro and Phobia were telling stories parallel to the oldest of Greek myths? Even once you knew that Alcides was in the storyline? Yeah, I’m guessing that G&P did all the work, and Big H got all the press.