Month: April 2007

Just a reminder for Sheldon readers in Dallas:

This Saturday, the good folks at CAPE have invited me down for their Dallas-based comics extravaganza. I’ll be signing and selling books, giving out sketches, and handing out high-fives like they were going out of style. It’ll be good times.

The event is 10-6, and I’ll be there all day — so come on out and say hi. Here are the directions.

Original Sheldon comic strip art will be available for $25 off the normal price, as well — so if you’ve had your eye on a particular piece, drop me a line to make sure I bring it along.

See you in Dallas!

It’s been confirmed: you can mail chickens. (Scroll down a bit on that page.)

You know what this means, don’t you? Prepare to receive a live chicken with every order from the
the Sheldon store.

So, I’m standing in line at the post office today, and lo and behold — I start to hear clucking behind me in line.

Clucking.

This being Los Angeles, I ignored it at first. If you’ve ever lived in a large metropolis, you know it’s best to play the deaf card when first hearing odd noises..

But the clucking continued. And more clucking joined it. It was a chorus of clucking.

And I turned around to see not one, not two, but 20 chickens — all, apparently, about to be MAILED.

So let me ask: am I the only one in the world that didn’t know you could mail livestock through the US Postal Service? Because, let me tell you…now that I know that it’s possible…everyone in my life is getting a live Christmas Chicken mailed to them this year.

The next time you get the chance, check out the expression on a small dog’s face when he goes swimming.

Their internal monologue breaks down roughly like this:

“I’m swimming! I’m swimming! I’m having fun! Wait, no, I’m drowning! I’m drowning! Oh God, why me? Why… No, no…I’m staying afloat! I’m swimming! Huzzah! Wait…oh Lord he’p me…I’m drowning…“

New York theatre buffs! I come bearing news!

In mid-May, I take off my cartooning hat and put on my acting hat…travelling to New York for a special one-week run of my wife’s play “Skirts & Flirts” at The Kraine Theatre (85 East 4th St., 10003). If you remember, “Skirts & Flirts” was the 13-person monologue show with the sold-out Los Angeles run. It’s a really enjoyable night o’ comedy — and I get a great turn onstage with a monologue as a beleagured groom. And of course, getting the chance to do it on the New York stage will be especially awesome…so if you can make it out, I hope you’ll come.

Showtimes are: May 16, 17, 18 @ 8PM; and
May 19 @ 2PM & 8PM

The
cast,
as
these
IMDB
links
make
clear,
is
pretty
awesome–
sauce. (In fact, I just now realized that I’m the only cast member WITHOUT an IMDB listing. I should fake one and say I was on “Walker, Texas Ranger”.)

Tickets are available at the door, but the LA shows tended to go pretty quickly — so I’d recommend picking up tickets early.

Also! There’s a good chance of a meet ‘n greet book-signing while I’m in New York — I’ll let you know as the schedule solidifies.

I’m happy to announce two bits of news in the Sheldon Store: a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, and a new Pay-By-Check option.

Since my goal with Sheldon is to bring a little joy into the world, I’m always looking for new ways to make the site more enjoyable overall. So both of these bits of news are nice little additions.

The satisfaction guarantee is simple: it allows you to return any order you’re not satisfied with for a full refund on the purchase price and original shipping. As a small, independent store, this is a hefty pledge to make, but I feel pretty good about it. I’ve seen thousands of folks come away happy with their Sheldon stuff. And your e-mails tell me we’re getting it right with quality and customer service and all that jazz. But in the odd chance that you’re not satisfied, the refund guarantee is there for you. Take a sec to read more about it at the Sheldon Store.

The Pay-By-Check option is another new wrinkle for the store. It lets you pay with a mailed check drawn on any US bank. That means you can now pay by check, e-check, Paypal, or by major credit card — which covers all the bases, I think!

As always, if you have comments or suggestions on the site or on these new tidbits, just drop me a line. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the additions.

Today’s strip is not the first time that Gramp has tried to pass off random, totally untrue facts as gospel. Example A.

Have you ever had that feeling in your personal life — when a family member or a friend finally gets the recognition they deserve — that there is a sense of justice in the world, and that hard work and perservence can win out in the end?

Well, this week, my friend and fellow cartoonist Brad Guigar, who is most well-known for his superhero-spoof comic, Evil, Inc., was nominated for the Will Eisner Awardfor his wonderful strip Phables.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Brad’s clean, beautiful draftsmanship — his ability with a pen far surpasses my own. And with Phables, he really achieves some of his best work.

So please join me in congratulating Brad — and keep your fingers crossed that he gets his rightful nod!

While I was in England, I got the chance to take an audio tour of the Roman ruins in Bath. It was a great tour, and it got me thinking about how handy an audio tour would be for new readers of Sheldon…a sort of quick walk-through of the site and what’s on offer.

So, as an experiment, I put together something along those lines. Check it out, and tell me what you think. If it looks like it works, I’ll add it to the “New Here?” section of the site.

A company that frequently orders Sheldon books always places their order by fax machine.

For you youngins out there, that’s a “fascimilie” machine. It’s a telephone-based reproduction system that was invented in, oh, 1924, and really picked up in popularity in, oh, I don’t know, THE 198O’S.

Anyway, I thought I’d share this phone conversation I had with their ordering department, regarding their use of the fax:

ME: Hi. I currently get your book orders by fax, and was wondering if there was any way to migrate that process to e-mail?

THE COMPANY: Ooo…I’m sorry, sir. We can only do it by fax.

ME: You don’t have e-mail?

THE COMPANY: No, no…I do. We all do. But we can’t physically send out this document by e-mail.

ME: Why? Are the documents produced on a typewriter?

THE COMPANY: I don’t follow.

ME: Well, the document is produced on a computer, yes?

THE COMPANY: Yes.

ME: Well, e-mail is also handled by a computer. You can just attach the document. Most e-mail systems from the last decade or two can do it.

THE COMPANY: Ooo…I really wish we could, but…um…you know…

ME: What?

THE COMPANY: We’re stuck in 1985, and don’t really like to do business in your magical future-world of electronic wizard powers.

OK, that last line didn’t happen, but, c’mon, really? A fax machine? That’s the best we can do? Are we doing business in Uzbekistan?