The Daily Telegraph, the fourth-largest (fifth-largest?) newspaper in the UK, recommended Sheldon in their “pick of the webcomics”.
They listed out 9 webcomics you should check out, and there sits Sheldon.
Thanks, Daily Telegraph! I now apologize for never having read you when I lived in the UK! Except for those times when I would totally forget to buy a paper on my morning Tube-ride …and would then have to read you over some guy’s shoulder! Let’s totally be friends now!
Flaco’s done some pretty rad stuff in his short life.
Gone to space?
Was head writer for “CSI: Cleveland Nights”?
Check.
Went skydiving?
Check.
But even I was surprised to see the little guy makin’ his way in the world financially.
But check it out! He’s got his first New York Pizzeria, based on photo evidence supplied by Sheldonista Jacob K.:
Cartoonists are *never* spotted in public, so this story is a rare and wonderful tale to tell.
On Tuesday, for the first time, I was recognized in public by Sheldon readers.
It’s one of the quirks of being a cartoonist: you can be Gary Trudeau or Jim Davis or Bill Amend — and have millions and millions of readers — and no one knows who the heck you are. (Point-of-fact: tons of folks think Brooke McEldowney, the cartoonist behind “9 Chickweed Lane”, is a woman.)
Anyway, my wife and I were in Las Vegas these past few days on business for her work, and one afternoon I ducked away from the noisier parts of town looking for a quiet place to draw. (She and I aren’t particularly huge “Vegas” fans. I find it to be a pretty depressing place — which I’m sure is not the intended goal!) Anyway, I ducked out and found a big, quiet Barnes & Noble, ordered a giganto coffee, and got to work cartoonin’.
About 45 minutes in, I heard that very surreal phrase, “Excuse me, are you Dave Kellett?” …and looked up to find two very kind Sheldon readers staring down at me. Once I got over the initial shock of A.) being spotted, B.) being spotted in a Barnes & Noble, and C.) being spotted in a Barnes & Noble in Las Vegas…I invited them both to sit down and chat.
Turns out they’re brother and sister, are both Sheldon readers, and Gerhard is a cartoonist himself! He creates the wonderfully-drawn adventure The Far Reaches. So we ended up not only talking about Sheldon, but about comics in general, which was great fun.
So the moral of the story is this: if you want meaningful vacation moments in Vegas, you’ve got to leave The Strip, drive about 8 miles to the single bookstore in the city, and meet new people over a nice cuppa joe.
“Vegas: Come for the Endless Shrimp Cocktail, Stay for the Good Conversations.”
All Hail Glornak the Ridiculous!
Wow! I have to say: I am VERY impressed to see how many folks responded to the Glornak decal idea.
At current count, I have 317 e-mails from folks saying they share my dorkiness, and want one for their car. Which is rad.
Lots of folks asked me if I could do a Glornak-only decal, or a decal customized with *their* family names…but alas, I’m not set up for that level of customization. And the templated family is half the fun, for me. But! Simple solution! Using the magic of scissors, I’m thinking you should be able to just slice off the templated family, and add Glornak to your existing decals. Huzzah for simple solutions!
I’ll take the next few days to research ways to do a white-printed, clear-vinyl decal, and hopefully we’ll have Glornak decals before I head out to Maryland’s SPX (“Small Press Expo”) on Oct. 12-13!
And for everyone who asked: I’ll consider doing a Glornak t-shirt. Like you, my wife thought that would be a great idea.
…thanks again to everyone who e-mailed!
As a cartoonist, I read a lot of comic strips.
But among the dozens and dozens that I read daily, there are precious few strips which truly shine. Strips which bring me genuine laughter, which show me cartooning tricks I never would’ve thought of on my own, and which I absolutely love to share with other folks.
And on that short, short list…the biggie is Scott Kurtz’ PvP.
Scott is one of the best cartoonists going, and has been recognized by the industry with an Eisner Award for sheer awesomeness (…or “Most Awesome in the Category of Awesomeness”, if I recall).
Anywho, I just noticed this morning that Scott put up a four-pack of his PvP books in one big bundle, which is great for fans like me. And my guess is… if you’re a Sheldon reader, you’ll dig these books just as much as I do.
So if you’re new to PvP — especially if you’re new to PvP — treat yourself to this discounted combo pack, and dive into one of the funniest strips goin’.
The little decal in Sunday’s strip keeps makin’ me laugh…no matter how many times I look at it. So much so, that I’m actually at the point where I want to make this puppy to put on the back of my car. Am I lame for admitting that? You can be honest with me…I can take it.
Would anyone else want one of these, if I made them up? If you would, drop me a line. That will help me decide if I should indulge my dorkiness.
Today’s strip is not the first foray Sheldon has had into the German language.
In fact, two of my favorite Sheldon strips involve German:
1.) The best Batman strip I’ve ever done, and…
2.) A wonderfully odd take on English-speakers’ mis-pronunciation/mis-translation of “fünf” (…which eventually turned into a runner here, and
here).
While on the subject of Germany, I should mention my favorite Germany-related memory:
About three years ago, when I was still working for Mattel, I was in Germany for the Nürnberg Toy Fair. While on a break, I stumbled on a *fantastic*, three-story comic book shop in the city center. I had about 3 hours to burn for sightseeing, and ended up spending them all reading German comics at
Ultra Comix.
But! The greatest moment of all, the moment that still gets me excited, is this: I walked into the “American Comics” section, and saw two (TWO!) copies of “Pure Ducky Goodness”! It…was…awesome.
But it gets better: the good folks at Ultra Comix, when they found out I was the author, made me an endless series of espressos at their in-store coffee stand, and we talked shop and laughed for an hour or so.
So! If you live in or around Nürnberg, head over to Ultra Comix, and tell ’em Dave sent ya!
Oh! Also! Here’s the only dopey picture I could find from that day…
Friday’s strip is a callback to this gem from the archives.
Before we head into the weekend, it’s worth sendin’ out a reminder: get FREE U.S. shipping on Sheldon book three-packs…but only until Sunday!
The free shipping is offered on both the three-pack of awesomeness, and the extra-special three-pack with an Artist Edition!
For new readers lookin’ to dive into the collections — or for folks hopin’ to give a book or two as a gift — this is a great way to save money. So head on over to the Sheldon Store, click the “free shipping” option, and get ’em while the gettin’s good! The free shippin’ ends Sunday night!
News from the Head Office! Fellow Blank Label Comics cartoonist Howard Tayler is proud to announce the new book for “Schlock Mercenary”, Tub of Happiness. At long last, the first five-hundred and seven days of Schlock Mercenary are coming to a dead-tree near you.
Pre-orders for Schlock Mercenary: The Tub of Happiness are now open. This 240-page volume features every strip and footnote from June 12th of 2000 through November 11th of 2001, and includes a never-before-published “prequel” bonus story covering Schlock’s last twenty-four hours before enlisting with Tagon’s Toughs.
For a limited time, you can order your Tub of Happiness as a Customer-Choice Numbered Sketch Edition. That’s right, for just $10 more, your book is not just signed on the front, but drawn in, and you get to pick which character Howard draws.
All customers will recieve immediate access to a page full of desktop backgrounds based on the cover art, and all pre-orders are automatically discounted $5.00 off the cover-price of $25.00.
If you want to have a look inside, here is a 17-page screen-resolution PDF preview (6MB download), which includes the front and back covers, inside and out, the first page of the bonus, the end of the “Big Haunted Battleship” storyline, and an unsketched sketch page.
.
