I’m sure there’s a scifi short story that deals with this, but I’ve been thinking, lately, about how Earth’s First Contact is kind of like an dating site. Our broadcasts are like a Match.com or eHarmony listing.
People: There is a REASON we haven’t had an interstellar date yet.
Rounding out our guest strip week is my good friend David Malki !, purveyor of fine jokeries over at Wondermark. Dave’s famous for his unique incorporation of Victorian-era etchings into re-worked, re-imagined strips with an awesome, modern writing style. Which makes his guest strip all the more awesome: Dave’s a great artist, and it’s fun to see him try a different approach.
A huge thank you to Dave…and to Dylan, William, and Kris for guesting this week. It was awesome having you!
And I’m back to it on Monday!
Today’s guest strip was kindly drawn by my friend Dylan Meconis, a 2012 Eisner nominee with a “ligne claire” style that I just love.
Dylan’s best known perhaps, for her long-form comic Family Man, which artfully blends 18th C. academic theologians with…lycanthropes. But I’d also highly recommend her short story Outfoxed, of which I can not say enough nice things.
Plus, as you can see for yourself, she draws really cute dog bellies.
Wednesday’s guest strip might just be the cutest version of Arthur I’ve ever seen. I seriously mean that: I find this version super endearing. And so both a thank you and a shaken, clenched fist goes out to Senor Tallman for today’s guest strip. Be sure to check out his work at Reptilis Rex!
I’ve asked four friends to fill in for me on a particularly busy week, and I can’t wait for you to sees ’em. First up is the the most Kristofer of Kristofers I know: Kris Straub. For those of you that know his work: This is a cool step away from his normal style, isn’t it? I really dig it. And for those of you who don’t know his work: Check out his strip Chainsawsuit, and his recently completed sci-fi epic, Starslip
Sheldonista Mallory Eagles sent me in this awesome shot: “…I have found a lovely spot to put our brand-new Arthur statue now that he’s home. The thing I love the most about
this is that they match.”
That’s awesome, Mallory: Thanks!
I think we’ve buttoned up the last remaining bugs for the new site, but it’s worth askin’: Any remaining bugs you know about that I’m missing?
Drop me an e-mail, or post below — and thanks for the help!
I’ve done a strip on this topic before, but David A. Bell’s wonderfully written article, “The Bookless Libary,” has me thinking about the impact of eBooks on the way our culture reads, so forgive me if I revisit it.
The idea that eBook readers, once they are truly cheap and dominant, will kill either the traditional local library or traditional publishers’ business model is one that I find endlessly fascinating. It’s an interesting and not implausible mind game, to imagine scenarios for both…although truthfully, I imagine publishers maintain the upper hand. They are the ones who control the “supply” of new books, as well as hundreds of thousands of existing copyrighted works. They can choose to limit supply, delay supply (as is done with movies, after theatrical runs), limit user-counts on any digital copy, or refuse to sell eBooks to libraries at all.
And yet I find myself more drawn to the flip-side idea: The scenario where publicly held and publicly lent books in a digital public library system could slowly bring down publishing as we know it.
We all know why people tended to buy a paper book when the same book was available from the library. You got a fresh book that was yours, forever yours, to display in and complete your shelves of books. It had no library “stains,” no torn-out pages nor dog-eared, hand-noted chapters. You didn’t have to wait on another librarian patron to return the book so you could check it out. And it never had to be given back. No, a store-bought book was yours,in the way that only a physical object can be yours.
But those impulses change dramatically when it comes to digital goods.
Think of it from the average consumer’s angle: What, aside from the altruism of supporting new art or their favorite artists, is the impetus for a mass audience to buy an eBook… when the identical zeroes and ones can be borrowed for free? Sitting on their couch at home, would the average person choose to instantly buy a book, or instantly borrow that book, when both require picking up a tablet and 10 seconds of downloading?
Libraries were born out of scarcity, after all. A book was expensive to produce, expensive to keep safe, and (generally speaking) rare. What happens when a book is neither expensive to produce, distribute, maintain, or copy? What happens when your local library has the computing power to give everyone in their community a free copy of every book ever written?
The internet has shown, again and again, that the average consumer always tends toward the cheaper, faster solution. And all things being equal between delivery systems, there’s no debate which one is more advantageous for the individual: The borrowed copy.
But I wanna hear your thoughts on the matter. I’m fascinated to hear other people’s thoughts on it. And by all means: Link to any relevant articles by librarians or publishers. I’m curious to see where the existing decision-makers come down on the topic.
I’m sure you remember that I’m working on a feature-length documentary on comics, called STRIPPED, with my good friend and co-creator, Fred Schroeder. Well this week, we have some fun news:
Bill Watterson of Calvin & Hobbes is involved in the film! Read more about it, here.
I just wanted to take a second to thank everyone who came by at San Diego Comic-Con to say hi. Everyone was so kind with their words for Sheldon, Drive and Stripped — it absolutely made my year. Working throughout the year, there are mostly quiet moments alone, drawing. So to have these concentrated five days where all these kind folks tell your superlative things about your work….it’s just lovely.
I’ll hold onto your kind words throughout the rest of the year. It’s sustaining…I kid you not.
Thank you thank you for all being so awesome!
