this is what concerns me

Dylan Williams of Sparkplug Comics gave Notes on Conflict and Remainders a pretty stellar and thoughtful review over at his blog Further Examination.

I’m down to my last 25 copies or so of This is What Concerns Me, Remainders and Favorites and I’m still on the fence about whether or not I will reprint them any time soon. So if you haven’t already, you might want to get on that.

In other news, I would tell you about my Census employment but I’d face five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine! So you’ll just have to wait for the comics after my tour of duty is officially over.

For those of you who might be interested in keeping abreast of the more personal topics I sometimes cover on this blog, I suggest you check out this new ridiculous thing I am doing, wherein I don’t eat any goddamn food for a month. I’ve undertaken a 30-day juice fast “cleanse” to coincide with the natural hibernation, pre-spring fat burn that I guess is about as “natural” as using a terrifying device to strip all the stomach-filling fiber from delicious, delicious produce. Recipes, photos, and generally TMI. Seriously, you guys, I am learning so much about colons.

Another victory for peer pressure and the internet time-suck: I joined Formspring over here, where you ask questions of people and they answer them. I don’t know if there’s any information you’re really looking to extract from me, but if so, fire away.

My story is finally finished! You can check it out at Spot.Us. 4,000 words!? In its hugeness, it looks like the graphic might be breaking their site though — if you can’t get it to work, try this mirror. And let me know what you think! The project is finished, but we’re still looking for the last $70 in funding if we can get it — donations will be open through Friday.

Indie comics favorite John Isaacson and Henry Chamberlain at Newsarama both listed Nine Gallons on their Tops of 2009 lists. Chamberlain even called it “brilliant”! Whaaaat!?

a very washed-out scan of an ink and gouache sketch drawn for the Cartoon Art Museum fundraiser

I think that image about sums it up! Meanwhile I’ve been working to get some new comics in the can and finally redesign this site. Expect big changes come Monday/Tuesday, and I guess some comics that play into my own narcissistic shame and your voyeuristic tendencies and pre-disposed expectations of autobio comics storytelling. I think I’ll call this “the vulnerability index.” Maybe I will draw about my new haircut you guys!!

So until then, thank you for your patience, eight daily readers — I really appreciate it. In the meantime you can always buy a copy of the first chapter of my new book Nine Gallons; only seven of its 32 juicy pages are available online.

I’ve finished the first chapter of a new book of short vignettes recounting my experience with Food Not Bombs — the good, the bad, the characters, the salt… I’m working on the next two chapters for a Xeric Grant application in September, but for the next few months this space will primarily be devoted to weekly installments of This is What Concerns Me. (Don’t worry, though, I’ll spare you from the ongoing And Now They Are Dead series until MJ is well-buried and the bad cartoon curse has been lifted.)

So stay tuned! And check out more Nine Gallons on my Flickr page. And please, give me some tips for how to sound less stiff when promoting myself.

I’ve really been dropping the ball lately on responding to sales requests for minicomics, so I decided to set up a PayPal store situation available to you over there in the sidebar. It’s pretty bare bones right now, but expect more cool purchaseable stuff in the near future. Please note, though, that for now, I am way behind on reprinting these comics, and will probably run out soon.

In related news, I won’t be at MoCCA this year after all since I’ve been a bad cartoonist and haven’t yet finished this new comic I’m working on. But it will be printed and ready for purchase by the end of the month.

There are also some preview shots of my (gulp) “book” on Flickr. I’ve been drawing a lot of baggy pants, unkempt hair and unhappy faces instead of blogging lately. It’s easier on the hands.

Vegan ice cream, that is — made with coconut milk and agave instead of dairy/soy and sugar! That’s right, kids, I’m a slave to the prepackaged goodness. So I’ve made my valiant SuperVegan return — the free samples, they beckoned.

Now if only we had an actual summertime in this good-for-nothing foggery…