I can't thank you guys enough for reading the strip, these past eleven years. Thank you for the e-mails and the kind words; the high-fives and hugs at conventions; and all the support you've shown through the Sheldon Store. It's never lost on me what a blessing my job is -- that I get to make people laugh for a living. So thank you! Thank you for making this strip possible!

AAAAAND IT'S CONTEST TIME!
Want to win a free piece of Sheldon Original Art from the archives? Be the first one to *correctly name or identify* all the characters in the 3,000th strip, and you'll get your pick of any strip in the archive! Here's what you do:

1.) Download the entry form, either as a Word document or as a Rich Text Format file.
2.) Type out the correct name of each character next to the appropriate number (as seen in the outlined comic image, below). If you're entry form lists "33" characters, just disregard that, with apologies. It should be "32". (I'm on the road in SD, and can't fix it.)
3.) Get super stumped at the random characters that appeared in only one strip, and curse my name a little bit.
4.) E-mail me the completed entry form. Make sure your e-mail has the subject heading "3000th Strip Contest!".
5.) Be the first e-mail submitted with all the characters correctly named/identified....and WIN!

EDITED TO NOTE: We have a winner! Congrats to Aaron Smith, who nailed it in record time of 1:45 after the strip posted.

So I s'pose I can just list the names, now:

1.) Ed McMammoth
2.) Master Control Program
3.) Mr. T
4.) Tom Bombadil
5.) Baby Admiral Ackbar
6.) The Duck
7.) Dilly Duck (a la Krazy Kat)
8.) Comic Sans
9.) Adam the A-Bomb (from the Crotchley Labs strips)
10.) Larry the Idiot Bird)
11.) Einstein
12.) Coco the Mime, member of the crime-fighting team, Academie Francaise
13.) Tron
14.) Torvak: Vulcan Party Planner
15.) Alfred Lord Tennyson
16.) George Lucas
17.) Dante
18.) Jeannie the Girl Scout
19.) Mr. Flahco (a la Krazy Kat)
20.) Arthur, from the future, with hair plants
21.) Li'l Baby Duck
22.) The Troubler
23.) Chuck Norris
24.) Gramp
25.) JRR Tolkien (drunk)
26.) Flaco
27.) The Living Embodiment of Wikipedia
28.) Dave Kellett
29.) Zod
30.) The Laughing Buddha
31.) The "Hush" lady from "Goodnight Moon"
32.) Oso

ORIGINAL ART FOR THE 3,000th STRIP
If you're interested, the original art for the 3,000th strip is up for grabs.

The artwork for this comic was, to put it mildly a tad more labor intensive than the usual. It was a maaaaaarathon, drawing this puppy. It ended up being the biggest inked piece I've ever done, coming in at 13"x10". Most amazingly, there is not a single blemish or mistake on the entire piece...despite there being a ga-jillion different characters on it.

So! Rather than let it go to the Sheldonista who got to the site first at 12:05 in the morning...I thought I'd put the original art up on eBay. You can check it out HERE.

I'm starting the bidding at $0.01, because I'd rather leave it up to you guys to decide what it's worth.