After three printings of the book “A Well Balanced Meal”, I’m surprised to report that there are just 37 copies left. Which is significant, because after three print-runs of this book, these are the last of the last. This book will never again be reprinted.

The book collection is the “best of” my college strip “Four Food Groups of the Apocalypse”, and features the first appearance of Sheldon as a ten-year old genius.

In any case, I thought it would be best to announce the limited quantities, in case you were interested in picking one up.

This never used to happen in my old neighborhood…but when my wife and I moved house about three years ago, we unknowingly moved into the KINDEST NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE WORLD.

And now, every Christmas, we are deluged with home-baked snacks and Christmas pies. To an unbelievable degree, though: it’s like they’re busing in people from other neighborhoods, miles away, just to give us Christmas sugar cookies. I don’t know where they all come from.

And after a while, our pre-prepared plates of goodies are gone, and I’m left with this sample dialogue:

Suzette (a “neighbor” from ten blocks down): HI! Just wanted to give you a little something and say Merry Christmas!

Me: Wow. That looks amazing. What is that?

Suzette: Well, there are some cookies on there, some rum cakes, and a pan-seared Bolivian Christmas souffle made with ostrich eggs.

Me: Um, wow. Have we even met before?

Suzette: Not that I’m aware. Merry Christmas!

Me: Hold on….let me…um…get your gift.

[Uncomfortably long rustling behind a half-closed door]

Me: Here you go! Nutter-Butters! Now they’re, um, made with real peanut butter! Apparently.

Suzette (not mad at all): Wow! Merry Christmas!

…so to Suzette, and the 47 other neighbors I disappointed today, let me say a genuine “Merry Christmas”!

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a Bolivian souffle to eat.

If you’ve signed up for the e-mail delivery of Sheldon, and the system still isn’t sending you the daily strip, please drop me a line and I can get things workin’ for ya. There seems to be somewhere between a few dozen and a few hundred folks who are still having troubles…but the good news is, I can fix it lickety split.

Just drop me a line.

You may have heard me talk about my friend Brad Guigar’s strip, “Evil, Inc.” I’m a big fan of the strip, and love Brad’s hilarious take on the superhero/supervillain genre.

Well good news has come to the strip: Diamond will begin offering the Evil, Inc. books to comics book stores in the US and around the world.

Evil Inc Annual Report, Vol 1 is the first offering, appearing in the January issue of Previews, which hits comic shops and bookstores this Friday, Dec. 22. It’s right there on page 281, item code: JAN073651.

But here’s the thing: since the comic book business (like the comic strip business) has taken such a beating in recent years, Diamond now needs to see immediate and sustained success from a new offering, in order to keep carrying it.

So the next time you’re in your comic shop or bookstore, please ask for the Evil Inc Annual Report, Vol 1 by name, and ask that they carry it. You’d be doing a talented cartoonist, and a hilarious strip, a good turn…and you’d be picking up a great read that I highly recommend.

Thanks!

If you haven’t read it, last year’s Christmas storyline was one of my favorites. So if you’re new to the strip, I might humbly suggest you give it a try.

Also: now that the rush of Christmas orders has passed, I’d like to say “thank you” to everyone who voted with their wallets and got Sheldon books and original art for themselves or their loved ones. You’re directly supporting the strip you enjoy — and that support means a lot to me.

I’ve received so many cool e-mails from folks who are enjoying their just-arrived stuff, and let me tell you, there is no greater feeling as a cartoonist. Orders came in from Japan, Sweden, France, Austria, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Germany, Denmark, Spain, 10,000 people in Sussex, England, and a heapin’ helpin’ of Canucks and Americans. All of these different folks from around the world have ensured that Sheldon can continue it’s new life online.

It’s a gift that I don’t take lightly…and I thank you for it.

So much exposition in today’s strip…all to make a joke about flounders not gettin’ any.

If you’ve never caught a flounder before, you must do yourself a favor and do a Google image search. It really is the ugliest fish in the world.

If you were hoping to have your Sheldon books by Christmas, here’s your last chance: you have until Saturday to order your books for Christmas delivery. We’ll still be accepting orders and shipping after that, of course, but Saturday is your last big chance to get one under the tree.

Lots of folks have been praising the new book, especially. In e-mails, forum posts, in the press and in famous encounters.

So please don’t wait until Dec. 24th and wish you had snagged a copy…as that will just bum us both out. Snag yours now.

NOTE: Make sure you order using Priority Mail, as Media Mail won’t make it in time.

Today’s strip is up on the site late: a situation for which I genuinely apologize.

Computer problems, alas, have descended on the Kellett house since my San Fran trip. And like the tasks of Hercules, each of these computer problems seems to be trickier than the last. To even get today’s strip up involved a flash-memory drive, a borrowed laptop, a car, and a friendly neighbor who left their wi-fi network open. Good times!

I’m imagining my next computer task already: it will involve a 1993 Tandy computer with a cracked VGA screen, a dial-up 28K modem, a llama, and six pints of egg nog. I anticipate the challenge!

Re: today’s toon:
I’ve joked about this before…but Amazon’s predictive algorithms never cease to freak me out when I make a purchase there. It almost scares me off, it’s so uncannily accurate.

In other news, I’ll be posting pics and a write-up from this weekend’s museum visits, as soon as I catch up on signing Artist’s Editions ordered while I was gone.

In the meantime, here’s a fun-fact from the trip: The reason why San Francisco has such good sourdough bread? It has it’s own yeast, which exists no where else in the world.

(Source: Greg Dean, cartoonist, chef extraordinaire, and excellent culinary tour guide!)

I can’t believe these museum visits are already here! I’ve been very excited for them….

This Saturday, I’ll be appearing at the Charles “Peanuts” Schulz Museum from 1-3 PM, followed by a Sunday appearance at the
S.F. Cartoon Art Museum from 1-3 PM.

In both locales, I’ll be demonstrating how a cartoon is created, answering questions, and talking a bit about the history of the comic strip.

Both museums make for a really awesome day out, so come on out! It’s fun to see how many cups of coffee I can down drawing just one strip!

(Secret tip: it’s 6)