I've got answers.

I just want to answer a few questions I’ve received about my forthcoming book:

Yes, I’ll let you know when pre-orders are available.

No, this deal is not part of a syndication deal.

I do intend to include some extra material of some sort to give people who have read the website a reason to be interested in the book.

The book will contain the 4-panel weekly strips, although I might throw in a couple of the dailies I’m particularly fond of.

No, sadly, Hellboy will not be in my book. I might try to squeeze in an homage to “The Man with the Screaming Brain.” We’ll see.


One non-book answer, my wife’s glasses were deleted from the character design due to feedback from the readers on the Adams blog. There was a feeling that I wasn’t drawing her in a feminine enough style. I tried a few new ideas, and she and I settled on one we both think is an improvement.

This qualifies as news

I've not said anything about this for fear of "queering the deal," but it's now official. The first Basic Instructions book is on the way.

The really exciting part is that it's being published by Dark Horse Comics, which is so awesome that I still can't wrap my brain around it. Seriously, I can't think of another company I'd rather be in business with.

There's no publishing date set, and there are many details to work out, but the contract is signed, and I intend to hold them to it!!

I'll keep you posted.

These Things Happen

I pulled parade duty today. (I work at Walt Disney World, as you may know.) There was a little boy who just seemed endlessly delighted by every character who capered past him. Toward the end of the parade Chip (or maybe it was Dale, I can never tell) came up to him and tried to shake his hand. His face became a mask of anguish and he started screaming with tears squirting out of his eyes. His mother picked him up to comfort him.

I walked over to see if I could be of any assistance. I said, “It can be a little intense for the kids when they walk right up to them like that.”

Then I notice that she’s on the verge of laughing. She says, “Yesterday, at the hotel, he was attacked by a chipmunk.”

Crass Commercialism

There are new items available from the Basic Instructions store. I have had to go with a different supplier than I use for my shirts, meaning that I now have two stores. We’ll see how that works out for me.

You can see the new products here.

The Luckiest Man on Earth

I am the luckiest man on Earth, if only because I get to receive e-mail like the following.

"My grandmother past away last night and I wanted to let you know that the phrase "ROFG" from your last comic has been making me laugh even at my saddest moments. Now if only I could find a tactful way to share it with everyone. Thank you for bringing some levity to my life."

Geekery of the worst kind!

Every now and then I come up with an idea that’s funny to me, but I’m not sure will work for any other human being on the planet. Occasionally I get as far as drawing the image before pulling back from the abyss. Below you’ll find just such an image.


Yes, it is a child trick-or-treating dressed as Diabolik.

Why is this funny to me? Watch the first 30 seconds of the first You Tube video below. If that doesn’t answer your question, watch the second video (from the final episode of MST3K) in its entirety. Failing that, look up the video for the Beastie Boys’ Body Movin’.







Thanx.

Oh the shame! The hilariously ironic shame!

So, I posted my first Thursday strip this morning. Here are a few interesting facts about it.

Fun fact #1: The strip is about people correcting me because I tend to make the kind of mistakes that cause people to wonder if I've suffered brain damage.

Fun fact #2: The strip was accidentally posted out of order. It's not supposed to run for another month, and has not yet (and now can never) run in the Seattle Weekly.

Fun fact #3: The strip featured 3 typos in the second panel.

They have been corrected. If you catch any more, please let me know. Just don't take it personally when I explode in a torrent of expletives. It's not you I'm mad at.