Bummer x2

Yesterday wasn't the best day of my life.

First, I got this:

Dear Gabe,
My apologies for my tardy response. Thanks for giving Image Comics the opportunity to review your proposal. It's obvious that you've put a great deal of time and effort into this book - but I don't feel that it's quite strong enough to make it in this competitive market. I wish I could go on at length and give you a number of pointers to help you improve your book but I can't. We simply get too many proposals for me to be able to critique them all. The bottom line is that, unfortunately, your book isn't one that we're interested in publishing.
Thanks for your interest in Image Comics.

-Erik Larsen
Publisher
Image Comics, Inc.

Bummer, huh?

I had just gotten done reading that, when I was called into a special meeting at work. I didn't feel too special when I left it because the end result was the end of my employment with them.

I'm still dealing with how I feel about that. Currently, it's a mix of disappointment and a strange sense of relief. If you feel like lending a hand as I float between jobs, feel free to start your holiday shopping with one of my books, shirts, or new calendar.

Thanks, and keep reading.

Ugly Hill Guest Strip

As I download the awesomeness that is the new Alter Bridge album, I wanted to mention the guest strip that got posted today.

I can only really call a handful of webcomics "favorites", but Paul Southworth's Ugly Hill definitely ranks on that list. It shares a lot of the same traits that I like about Brinkerhoff. It's clean, sharp, and snarky, with just enough cruelty thrown in to tickle my twisted funny bone. When I saw that Paul and his wife welcomed their new offspring into the world, I knew he'd probably need a hand with the comic, so I took the opportunity to send him an unsolicited guest strip. I figured he'd probably lean on his Blank Label mates to help him out, but I sent it off, anyway, even if was a thank-you/congratulations gift from one staunchly hetero-cartoonist to another.

Here's what I got from him a day later:
"Thanks! I could use a few more guest strips to round out the next couple of weeks, and yours is SO GREAT. They look like little Ugly Hill figures! I really appreciate you taking the time to do one for me, and will run it with pride!
Paul"

No, Paul. Thank YOU. And congratulations, again.