Small Traffic Spike

I noticed that my first collaboration with Grug, Bring Your Daughter to Work Day, has been getting a noticeable spike in traffic over the past few weeks, but couldn't figure out why. It didn't seem to be getting any prominent links or anything like that. Then I saw a news posting, that pointed out what I should have realized in the first place--the actual Bring Your Daughter to Work Day (now called "Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day") just passed! Duh!

So...Happy Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day everyone!

Finding New Comics

Busy as I am these days, I don't often have time to go hunting for new comics. But I do always check the linked sites for people looking to buy adspace on my site, to make sure they're not linking to anything I find terribly offensive or objectionable. And every now and then, I find a great new comic as a result.

The first one I found this way, probably a couple of years ago now, was Buttersafe,by Alex Culang and Raynato Castro, a strange comic with a darkly random sense of humor somewhat in the vein of The Perry Bible Fellowship. I don't read many straight-up humor strips, but this one often delights me.

Today I found another strip that seems promising--Amelia Altavena's Sketchfervor, a journal comic that occasionally reminds me of Erika Moen's Dar, interspersed with some lovely flights of fancy, such as today's strip, wherein Amelia vomits up a Miyazaki-esque canine companion.

Further Site Changes Coming

At some point in the next couple of days (or maybe even today, if I get ambitious enough), I plan to make another major change to this site. Right now, the primary content appearing on TwentySevenLetters.com is my blog, which isn't really the most important content I publish online. So, may plan is to reorganize to put the comics front and center. The end result will probably look a lot like the front page of my WebcomicsNation site--a portal to my various projects. The blog will continue to appear at the bottom of every page, and will retain the same RSS feed location. But new visitors to this site will be presented with a better set of options for introducing themselves to my work. And I suspect most people are reading the blog through RSS rather than direct off the website these days anyway.

So, don't be surprised if next time you stop by, things look considerably different.

Good News!

No details yet, but Frank Frishna posted an update regarding his missing niece earlier today:

WE FOUND HER!!!!! SHE IS OK!!! I JUST BROUGHT HER HOME!!!! WILL POST DETAILS SOON ON LIFESABLUFF.COM - thank you everyone!!!!

Cartoonist's 14 Year Old Niece Missing

Cartoonist Frank Frishna (Life's a Bluff) posted on his blog today that his 14 year-old niece went missing this past Saturday. There are no indications that she ran away. Frishna lives in Colorado, so if you are anywhere in that part of the country, please take a look at the photos on Frishna's blog and keep an eye out for her. Frishna is offering a reward for information leading to her safe return--not that any reward should be necessary.

Found on The Internet

The Patriotic Adventures of Star-Spangled Danner.

Bill Duncan's Monstrous Figurines

BIll Duncan opened up an Etsy shop this week, where he's selling kitschy figurines that he has repainted in his own adorably monstrous style. Go see!

Misc. Update

• I've decided to put together a print edition of my play, Parens., which I hope to have available at the new comics convention starting up in Portland, Maine next month. I'm making good progress, but laying out a book is a lot of work! Especially when you're dealing with script formatting. I'll likely be getting it printed through Lulu.com.



• I still need to finish the revisions to Trouble Is. I had hoped to be further along on this than I am now, but I keep getting distracted by other things, such as fixing my website and laying out a book for print. Still, this is okay--it's always good to step away for a few weeks before diving back into revisions. And I'm confident the process will move very quickly once I get started again.



• Of course, the biggest holdup is that I'm still in session at school, and I'm way behind on grading papers. Not as far behind as I was, and I'm making progress, but until I get out from under this backlog of grading, I'm not really going to be able to put my full attention on anything else. Fortunately, the end of the semester is just two weeks off. Unfortunately, the final day of class will bring a whole new stack of papers to grade.



• Bill Duncan, Leah Fitzgerald, & family are visiting this weekend! I haven't seen them in much too long.

Inbound 3 On Sale Now

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Boston Comics are for Lovers – Inbound #3, a Boston Comics Anthology

BOSTON, MA (April 6, 2009) – Ah, spring is in the air. To celebrate the season of romance, the hard-working comics artists of the Boston Comics Roundtable have released Inbound #3, a Boston Comics Anthology. The theme of this tri-yearly publication... love and relationships.

Yes, nobody knows perfectly-requited love and totally un-awkward dating like an indie comics artist. Pick up a copy of Inbound #3 and you'll have more than just an evening's entertainment; the book practically doubles as a 72-page how-to guide for all you Mister and Misses Lonelyhearts out there. All for the low price of $7.95.

It's our biggest issue ever! Included in this volume:

* Franklin Einspruch
* "First Kiss" - Robert Sergel
* "Puppy Love Eternal" - Aya Rothwell
* "Fear" - Chris O'Neill
* "Just an Old Fashioned Zombie Love Song" - Eric Boeker
* "Wish Me Luck" - Donna Martinez and Joesph Peters
* "Colossa" - Braden Lamb
* "An Afternoon Session" - Hyun Supul
* "A Winter's Prelude" - Roho
* "The Prince" - Carl Tsui
* "From Afar" - Dan Mazur
* "A Gothic Romance" - James Mobius

Inbound #3 is on sale at your favorite stores. In the Boston area, check out Million Year Picnic, Hub Comics, New England Comics, Comicazi, Harvard Book Store, Comicopia, and more. You can also visit the BCR Online Store (www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com/comics.html). We ship tenderly packaged comics anywhere in the world.

The Boston Comics Roundtable was created in 2006 to unite Boston-based comics creators in the spirit of camaraderie and professional development. Our ever-growing membership roll and prodigious publishing schedule reaffirm that Boston is the hot new town for comics!

To contact the Boston Comics Roundtable for images, interview, or to learn more about our organization, contact Dave Kender (dave/@/bostoncomicsroundtable.com) or visit www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com/contact.html.

PRESS IMAGES: www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com/Inbound_3_photos.html

About Us
The Boston Comics Roundtable is an independent organization of comics creators in the Greater Boston area. The group meets weekly for workshopping, teaching, and social gathering. Meetings are open to the public. Information regarding publications, artist galleries, and meetings can be found at www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com.

AFA Targets PepsiCo

The ironically named "American Family Association" has decided to target PepsiCo in retaliation for PepsiCo's generous support of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). So, now would be a good time to call or e-mail each of those companies to let them know you support their respect for diversity and equality. You can get more info about that, including phone numbers here.

I've already sent e-mails to each of the companies (PepsiCo, Frito-Lay, Quaker, and Tropicana) and received responses from each. It's interesting to note the differences in the responses. Pepsi and Quaker sent me identical replies, form responses stressing that PepsiCo's grants are based on expanding workplace diversity only, and don't extend to social issues beyond that. Frito-Lays response was a truncated version of the same message.

Tropicana, however, sent a much warmer personal reply:

Alexander:

Thanks for your wonderful comments. We have ways of measuring success, but nothing compares to receiving emails like yours. We'll share your comments with the director of the PepsiCo Foundation as well.

Thanks again for your kind words, Alexander. We'll always strive to produce high quality juice for you to enjoy. Please know that we'll always make charitable contributions to organizations we believe in.

Meredith

There's still some normal PR speak in there (They're making juice! FOR ME!!), but at the same time, this letter sounds genuinely happy that the program has supporters. It may still be a form letter, but if it is, at least it's a form letter that was heartfelt at its original writing. And it made me happy, so I thought I'd share.