May 12, 2008
An open letter to the U.S. House Subcommittee on the Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property

The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) and The National Cartoonists Society (NCS) are profoundly concerned with the current Orphan Works legislation now being considered by both houses of Congress. Our two groups are comprised of the creators of nearly every major newspaper comic strip and editorial cartoon, as well as many of the nation's magazine, book, greeting card and comic book illustrators.

The legislation imposes new and onerous burdens on the current holders of copyrights to protect their work, while severely curtailing their ability to collect damages. It devalues their work in the marketplace and will open up a Pandora's box of potential infringement scenarios, all while placing the burden for policing the marketplace on artists and authors.

We support the narrow goal of making truly orphaned works (that is, ones by deceased authors) available for use by museums and archivists. But proposed legislation is written so broadly that it will almost certainly unleash a torrent of mischief by unscrupulous infringers, with little to fear in the way of legal consequences.

Both the AAEC and NCS hope your committee will reconsider this dramatic erosion of current copyright protections.

Sincerely,

Nick Anderson
President
The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists

and

Jeff Keane
President
The National Cartoonists Society

Today's Dork Tower



Click Here, there or anywhere to see it.

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Spent much of yesterday doing some unique cards for various European Munchkin sets.

Here are some from the German set of Munchkin 6:

Nationalelf and Zerschmetterling.


Meisterliche Truhe and Teleskopsandalen.


And my favorites (well, because they're Cthulhu, duh), from the Dutch version of Munchkin Cthulhu 2:

Verwilderd and Afbeelding.




****

The rest of the day was spent at the gym, hurting myself very much. I mean, "getting into shape."

Today's cartoon got up late, but click Here, there or anywhereto see it.



I'm pretty chuffed with it. Just wish I'd had it more together to post earlier in the morning.

****

Late night, last night.

Flight of the Conchords were brilliant, but the sold-out audience had its fair share of douchewits, the sort of people who shout out random bits of nothingness because they apparently believe a thousand people came to hear them, not the performers.

Best surprise: second-row balcony seats are actually very, very good at Milwaukee's Much-Larger-Than-I-Thought-It-Would-Be Riverside Theater.Second-best surprise? The opening act was Arj Barker (Dave from the HBO series), doing a quite good stand-up routine.

Worst mistake: hitting George Webb's for a burger after the gig (simply because I'd never had a George Webb burger). I know they're kind of a Milwaukee institution. They're cheap, but just not very good.

Still, the Conchords show was long, hilarious, and some of the new material was inspired - even if Jemaine and Brett seemed to have a bit of difficulty figuring either the new songs or the new instruments out from time to time.

Would it be churlish to express disappointment that some fan favorite songs were missing ("Beautiful Girl," "She's So Hot, Boom," and "Foux De Fa Fa" being the obvious ones)? Possibly. But "Jenny," "Think About It, Think Think About It," "A Kiss Is Not A Contract," "Albi" and "Hiphopapotamus v Rhymenocerous" (amongst many, many others) all made for an enormously satisfying - if generously late - evening.

Very, very best part of the evening? Seeing Judith enjoy the show so enormously, from start to finish.

Anybody have a Secret Power that could get me in a position to have a picture taken with Jemaine at Sunday's Flight of the Conchords show in Milwaukee? There's be much Dork Tower goodness in it for you, if you can help Make This Happen.

It's be a hoot.



Separated at birth. Well, birth plus ten years...

The Army of Dorkness has accomplished many amazing things over the years. This would be a rare feat, indeed.

***

It was a week of repeats on DorkTower.com, due in no small part to lots of large things going on, both in Real Life and Work Life.


Here's today's strip:



Happy Anniversary, honey!

And here's Monday's strip.

And Wednesday's strip.

Things have been quiet on the Casa De Muskrat Interwebs, for some good reasons (and a few less good, but there you go).

Judith and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary this past weekend, with a short trip to Kohler, WI. It's an odd little holiday town, and pleasant as all get-out. Few cities in the world can claim to be top-flight resorts, built with the riches only the bathroom plumbing supply industry can accumulate.

Yes, Kohler is the home of Kohler Kicthen and Bath, But Mostly Bath, Inc. Judith uncovered a bargain stay at the usually exclusive American Club, and -- for a short time, anyway -- we lived like kings. Or at least Toilet Magnates. Which is better than Refrigerator Magnates any day.

Anyway, upon returning to Muskrat Central, I leapt right into a full-day Out of the Box meeting. It was exhausting, but as always somewhat exhilarating. It looks like OTB will be producing another game I designed: a party game that's been playtesting shockingly well. I'll run it by a few more local groups before seeking outside playtesters. But, fingers crossed, I think this has the potential to go really well. The concept is simple, the rules are straightforward, and I'm not sure anything like it has quite been done before.

In the mean time, after two brilliant weekend concerts in a row (Kids in the Hall and Jonathan Coulton (who's just a terrific guy, by the way, on top of being embarasingly talented)), we've got a third show, this Sunday.

I utterly surprised the Lovely and Talented Judith on our anniversary, getting her Flight of the Conchords tickets for their Milwaukee show. She had no idea they were on tour, let alone they would be so close to home.

Actually scoring the tickets meant getting on a special mailing list that then gave you a secret password to let you bribe your way onto a web site that let you press buttons frantically at noon the day before tickets went on sale to the general public. Get yourself a ticket, go through the gate. At seven forty-five precisely, don't be late If anybody follows don't hesitate: Keep on walking.

The show sold out in some insanely short period of time, so although our seats aren't the best in the house, I'm just glad we'll be there. And Judith is over the moon.

Now to see how many Conchords fans think I'm somehow related to Jemaine, come Sunday.

Guess where I'm off to, tonight?



Yup. I'm so pleased that I got tickets at the last minute that I'm not even hiding this cartoon behind a Peek-Link.

Every now and then, an idea for a cartoon will come along that maybe one out of ten readers will get. I think/hope I made this one at least partially humorous to the more mainstream side of the readership. But it made me happy, so in the end, I'm just glad I did it, regardless.

However, since the week's been busy, I forgot to Peek-Link Monday and Wednesday's toons. So here they are:

Posting quickly...quickly...before the thinderstorm fries my computer...

Monday's Dork Tower:



Click here, there, or anywhere to see it.

Posting quickly...quickly...before the thinderstorm fries my computer...

Tuesday's Dork Tower:



Click here, there, or anywhere to see it.

This week has been so full of win, I just haven't had time to do any updating.

So, briefly:

Saw Kids in the Hall in Madison last Friday: frakkin' brilliant. Had front-row seats for a Rick Bayless demo at Chicago's Fancy Food Show Monday, and got his "Everyday Mexican" cookbook autographed: inspirational. Missed Alton Brown signing in LaCrosse on Tuesday (just toooo tired). And seeing Jonathan Coulton tonight.

Details to follow at some point where I can take a breather from work.

EDIT: if you're in Madison, and are interested in comin' to tonight's Jonathan Coulton show, tickets still seem to be available, as of 4:30 pm

Posting quickly...quickly...before the thinderstorm fries my computer...

Today's Dork Tower is up.



Click here, there, or anywhere to see it.

(And yes, this is a true story. And no, I don't feel bad about it at all. As soon as it happened, I knew I'd get a cartoon out of it.)

****

Last week's strips, for those who never click through:







****

Hey! Massive thunderstorms!

Hey! Had I gone to Vegas, I'd be flying through them on a very small plane right now!

Hey! I'm not.

Coolio.

Since I'm not at Vegas (whine whine whine), I decided to use my time to accomplish something productive.

Like, organizing my office.

BIG mistake. I'm now buried beneath tons of comics, papers, contracts, and other accumulated filth from the past ten years. It's so bad, I even discovered a check for $1,750 that I never realized I had. It was issued last October. It became void last January. Damn. Time to ring up an accounting department. Once I find my phone, that is.

So, no time to be Posty Mc Postperson on the blog.

Still, some more kudos for Party Pooper just came in...this time from Major Fun (very kind words despite a Joycean stream-of-consciousness first 'graph).

Party Pooper

In the latest Out-of-the-Box card-(432 cards)-reading, personality-predicting, finger-pointing fun.

There's a die (the Party Cube). You roll the die. That tells you whether you are looking for the most or least likely person in the group who, for example, would join a bow-hunting safari. It says "Party Pooper," so you're looking for the person you think would be least likely to want to join that old bow-hunting safari. At the count of three, everybody points. Since it's you're turn to be the prime pointer (the "host"), you point to the person you think is the Pooper, while at the same time everyone points to the person they think would be the person you would point at. Get it? Not necessarily the "real" person. Just the person they think you would point at. Then everyone who pointed at the same person you pointed to gets points (chip) and gets to give you points (also a chip) ("gets" as in "has to"). Everybody else, the nay-pointers, as it were, gets nothing. And that's the game. And someone else gets to be the host. And the die is rolled. And a card is picked. And people point. And then they laugh.

And that's it, in brief. In sum, Party Pooper, the many-carded game with chips and pointing and laughing, is Major FUN. In a little more depth, I think you should know why this makers suggest that the game be played, yes, by as many as 8 players, in party-like fashion, as long as everyone's at least 12. Physically and emotionally. Because getting pointed at or not, as fun as it can be, is easy to take a little too personally. In fact, there might be people who have been categorized as adults, and yet might actually be prone to taking such playful pointings personally.


And there is an alternate set of rules, actually, that don't involve finger pointing, but rather thumbs-upping or -downing.

But you happen to be the kind of person who plays for fun. And regular-old Party Pooper happens to be just that kind of game, especially with all the pointing. A genuinely fun game. And the people you want to play with are also of that emotional age we consider to be at least 12. And it will be something definitely, deliciously fun, this game of Party Pooper. I promise, or my name is not Major Fun.

Today's Dork Tower is up.



Click here, there, or anywhere to see it.

I was actually surprised how many folks didn't know what "Rainbow Six Vegas 2" referred to in Monday's cartoon. Never mind. I was happy with both it and today's 'toons. (Minor note: I went with the British "Maths" instead of the American "Math." That'll appear in the Director's Cut, one day.)

Now, if I could just get out of the Pyranees, and in to Vegas in the #@%&!! game itself...

****

Another reason I'm bummed about missing Vegas.

Cool stuff like this being shown:



According to Steve Jackson games' Daily Illuminator (or, indeed, its LJ feed...)

Plush Evil

Frankly, I don't really know what to say about this photo. Those are exactly what they look like -- plush versions of Chibithulhu from Munchkin Cthulhu.

We're toting these fuzzy bundles of cute chaos around GTS, to test their sanity-blasting abilities . . . er, to judge retailer interest. We'll be doing at the very least a short run for all of you who immediately reached for your wallets; hopefully we can get them into wider distribution.

Because the world needs more cute. It has nothing to do with Plans for World Domination. Nothing at all . . .

More info on When, Where and How Much when I find it.

The pink Chibi, by the way, will be a Limited Edition.

****

On the Out of the Box Games front, there are a ton of new releases coming out, or on the horizon.



Party Pooper, one of the cool new games that's actually on the shelves now, just got a rave review from Scrye Magazine. This is great, obviously. But it's also nice when a reviewer sees exactly the same thing in a game that you do.



( full review behind the cutski. Oh, my god. Did I just say 'Cutski'? )

Today's Dork Tower is up.



Click here, there, or anywhere to see it.

****

Good heavens, it's quiet on teh Intertubes, today. Let's talk about something.

I'm playing Rainbow Six Vegas 2 at the moment. mostly on the theory that, if I can't go to Las Vegas for GTS, I might as well blow it up.

Who else is missing GTS? Who's all there and having a great time?

****

Having just read Harry Pearson's "Achtung, Schweinhund: A Boy's Own Story of Imaginary Combat" however, what I'm really jonesing for is to start painting up some miniatures again.

I literally found "Acthung Schweinhund" just sitting at the Last Square last Saturday, and was hooked as soon as I started thumbing through it. In the great British tradition of Gerald Durrel-esque comic memoirs, this is a sort of "My Family and other AFVs" tale of a boy, his toys (Commando comics, boardgames like "Escape from Colditz", "Action Man" figures and - most importantly - miniature historical wargaming figures), and holding on to them tightly.

Pearson's wit occasionally becomes a bit repetitive (he falls back on a '"Historical Person A" makes "Very Bad Historical Person B" seem like "Soft and Cuddly Historical Person C"' formula a tad often), but really, that's a quibble when a thoroughly enjoyable book essentially tells the story of your life from out of the blue. Born a year earlier than me, much of Pearson's experiences in the 60's and 70's apparently mirrored those of many an English schoolboy, from Airfix 1/72 Desert Rats all the way through attending the miniatures conventions that dot the British landscape seemingly every weekend.

Best of all, the book is insidiously educational, devoting chapter after chapter to the history of such diversions as tin soldiers, plastic models, boardgames and war comics. Although it must be said, stumbling across a howler like calling Gary Gygax a Canadian does make one want to double-check some of the other historical facts presented. So, too, did the author's disdain for fantasy gaming cause the occasional bump in the road for this Geek-Of-All-Trades.

Still, "Achtung Schweinhund!" has been passed from gamer to gamer at the Last Square, to the enjoyment of all. Not for sale, the copy I found belongs to owner Karl Krieger, and he's apparently loaned it to every other gamer who's walked through the store's doors. The verdicts are unanimous thumbs-ups: I might have thought some of the veddy, veddy British references may have been a tad esoteric for those not brought up in England in the 70s, but apparently not so.

An enjoyable, quick read, "Actung Schweinhund!" is well worth seeking out. Easier to come across in Britain and Canada than the US, though, it still may take some finding.

On the other hand, I've been looking for 15 mm Testudo formation Trajanic Romans for more than 20 years now, so finding my own copy of this should be a snap...

****

Anyone know how to remove the "Funwall" application from Facebook?

It seems to be Spam-happy anymore, and I can't figure out how to get rid of it.

EDIT: Thus, removed. Thanks for the tips.

Today's Dork Tower is up.



Click here, there, or anywhere to see it.

****

I'm down to the last few Munchkin Booty cards. It's a position in any project that I have mixed feelings about.

On the one hand, it clears up a lot of time, over the next few weeks, for other projects. It's a similar feeling to when I'm almost done painting a new gaming army: I'll be close to the end, for example, of my Flames of War 15mm Desert Rats British 8th Army armored division, and find myself daydreaming about a 28mm Steampunk skirmish game with a British armored column (gatling-armed steam-driven Automatons coming from the Great Rail Wars) in Afghanistan, with native tribes supported by the French Foreign Legion causing trouble (yay for G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T rules). I have several armies I've never actually fielded, because I've wanted to move on to other projects as soon as they're done. I'm a sad man, actually.

On the other hand, Munchkin Booty has been a joy to work on. I'll miss drawing it. Even though I've drawn to the point where my hands hurt at the end of the day, I love it. I think it's going to be a spiffy-looking stand-alone game, and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. I seem to have more and more fun with every new set. I'm tremendously fortunate to be associated with Munchkin, but even luckier to have a job that I truly love. The best days are those when I can take my work down to the lake, and just sit and draw, draw, draw.

Especially when Steve comes up with card ideas like these:

"Piano Tuna" (yes, you may groan now):


I gave the Brits very bad teeth for this set, as one of their visual identifiers. But that's OK, being British m'self, I have no problem making 'em goofy. Of the races, the Spanish are actually sternest and least silly. I had a fun time drawing the giant French wigs, too. But here's a Brit - "Sir Francis Drake" (I knew that having the Golden Hinde so close to my sister's place in London would come in useful, one day):


One of the simplest drawings in the set, but one of my favorites. "Prince of Whales":


It amused me to think of a shark in a rowboat on a "Wandering Monster" card. Why would a shark need a rowboat to get from place to place on the ocean, for heaven's sake? I just loved this. I'm easily amused.


Why do I enjoy Munchkin so, especially when I've lost every game I've ever played of it? because I get to draw "Viking Kittens" cards!
Wheeeee!


And yes, I should have KNOW this one was coming. "Poop Deck":


****

The Dane County Farmers Market returns to the Capitol Square tomorrow morning! Huzzah, huzzah!

****

As stated before, I can't make it to GTS this year. Far too much stuff to do here in Madison.

Have fun, everyone. And play Flip Flop Deluxe (aka, "Froggy Machine") for me, if you find one.

Today's Dork Tower is up.



Click here, there, or anywhere to see it.

****

Several entries, to be filed under "Coolest Thing EVAR!" today.

Thing the First:



Oh, sweet mercy HOLY CRUD!

What does Steve Jackson Games have to say about them?

No, these aren't currently available; what you see here are prototypes from a very skilled manufacturer. We're quite happy with them, because no matter how cool they look in this photo, they're cooler to hold, and to whack the table with. The noise from the hammer is loud enough to get heads poking into the room from halfway across the building.

"If they WERE available, what would they cost?", you ask. The best answer we can give is "not cheap." Google for stores that sell foam weapons for LARP and cosplay, and you'll see what we mean.

Nevertheless, we anticipate a certain amount of "Must Have!" from you, our loyal readers. We will have these at GTS next week, and will get a feel for the demand in the retail sector there. If your FLGS is sending a representative, encourage them to stop by our booth (#506) and check them out.

If you'd like to voice your desire, nay, your demand for weapons carved from mighty foam, designed by the legendary forge of Jackson and Kovalic, let us know on the forums

THEY MUST BE MINE!

Who's with me on this one? Comment below, if they must be yours, too.

(As an aside, I do like the sound of "Jackson and Kovalic," although, when shortened to Jackson/Kovalic, it's got that sweet, sweet "Jackson Pollock" ring to it...)

(Contract it further, as yeuvald noted, and it becomes "Jackolic," which sounds like something related to the Jackalope...

...which would just be silly.)

****

Thing the Second:

From Livejournal user wardenda, over at the LJ Dork Tower syndication feed (now well over 5,000 subscribers, and counting), concerning this week's strips:

They're pinky and the blue. Pinky and the blue
One is a genius, the other's misconstrued.
They're Igor's gaming dice, but they're not very nice,
They're pinky, they're pinky and the blue blue blue blue blue.

Before the night is done, their plan will take it's toll
Make Igor roll a one, it will be a failure roll.
They're pinky and the blue, yes pinky and the blue
Their gaming night mission is so very true
To prove their dicey worth, they'll remove Igor's mirth
They're dinky, they're pinky and the blue blue blue blue blue blue blue blue NARF!

I'm having a total blast with these strips, by the way. After this series ends, I'll definitely be bringing Pinky and the Blue back...

****

Thing the Third:

Sent by Andy Otto, who writes:

I was at the University of Chicago for an SCA event today. All of the lettering on the doors in this rather gothic-looking hall are in gothic-looking script. Now, you can tell that someone has messed with the lettering, but still...

It's a picture of a Dark Room.



Wait...did I say DARK Room?



Funnily enough, I was just down at the University of Chicago a couple of weeks ago.

****

Thing the Last:

Munchkin Quest is announced, and coming in August!

Steve Jackson Games announces for release in August, 2008:
Munchkin Quest

Kill the monster, grab the treasure, stab your buddy. That's what it's all about. Now, Munchkin comes to the boardgame.

Cooperate with the whole group, adventure with a partner, or strike out on your own. You don't know what's behind a door until you open it . . . then another room is added to the dungeon. Battle monsters for power and treasure, or send them after your friends. Reach Level 10, and then get out alive if you can!

Designed by Steve Jackson, and illustrated by John Kovalic, this boardgame doesn't take itself seriously. Except for the loot - munchkins are always serious about that!

Coming in August to game rooms everywhere . . .

11.75" x 11.75" x 3.5" box, with two dozen 3.5" square heavy cardstock room tiles, dozens of link connectors, 170 full-color cards, over three dozen monster standies, dice, rulesheet, and enough tokens, level counters, and sculpted plastic pawns for four players. Stock #1470, ISBN 978-1-55634-767-2. $49.95.



Plus, it's sunny, 70 degrees, and I'm gonna head outside to finish up some more Munchkin Booty cards!

It's a good day.

Today's Dork Tower is up.



Click here, there, or anywhere to see it.

***

And, for those of you too lazy to click on such silly, silly linkage, here are last week's cartoons in full.

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Only 351 shopping days 'til Alex Robinson Week, 2009!

Today's Dork Tower is up.



Click here, there, or anywhere to see it.

****

Nothing else for today. Too busy with Munchkin Booty.

So...somebody else post something that'll entertain everyone.

Stewart Heinz e-mailed me this, yesterday.

John,
Spotted the attached on Lake Mendota this evening.
Cheers,
Stew



Why...why, LOOK:



It's...it's a MUSKRAT! And it's...rambling.

Coolio.

****

I needed that to cheer me up, because right now, it looks like I'll be missing the GAMA Trade Show, in Las Vegas.

It's almost always a grand time, made even grander by hanging out with friends I see far too infrequently.

****

Speaking of Madison, and conventions, Jae Walker wrote to tell me of Forge Midwest 2008, a celebration of indy roleplaying coolness.

FORGE MIDWEST 2008
Best Western East Towne Suites
4801 Annamark Drive, Madison, WI

Some of the finest roleplaying games I've picked up in recent years have come from the indies. Apparently, this gathering is open to the public, so it should be well worth checking out, and runs Friday, April 11 through Sunday, April 13 (ie this weekend).

Apparently, it's annual - this is the third one. Jae notes "The previous two were in the Chicago area, but this year we moved to Madison. The first one had about 20 people; the second 30 or so, and we're up to 50+ this year."

****

As the three readers of this blog might remember, I'm incredibly excited about the upcoming "Ninja Versus Ninja" game we've been working on at Out of the Box.

Very closely based on the old "Foray" game by Tushar Gheewalla, I've loved this sneaky, stealthy, but thoroughly fun and engrossing game this since we first saw it. Having Tom Meier sculpt my designs was just an added, geeky thrill.

Here are some photos of the prototypes:









We're also publishing Tushar's "Letter Roll" party game. I'm becoming a really big fan of his stuff, and just adore "Letter Roll."

Both should be available soon - by GenCon at the latest, I think.

****

Lastly, another sneak peak at "Munchkin Booty."



You need more Booty. I need more Booty. Who doesn't need more Booty?

That'll never get old...

****

"Radar Love" may indeed be the single greatest "driving" song ever recorded.

Discuss.

Today's Dork Tower is up.



Click here, there, or anywhere to see it.

Lots of other stuff to post about. But lots of deadlines this week. So, back to Munchkin Booty I go...

Today's Dork Tower is up.



Click here, there, or anywhere to see it.

***

Here are the cartoons from two weeks ago, since Alex Robinson week kinda interrupted everything last week.

(Speaking of which, don't you hate it now that Alex Robinson week's become all commercialized and shit. Man, they start selling Alex Robinson week cards earlier and earlier every year, too. And, like, they don't even wait to take down Valentine's Day stuff before the stores are full of Alex Robinson week crap, anymore...)

It was interesting, to me, that many folks over at the Dork Tower LJ feed didn't get the Wednesday cartoon. I suppose I always assumed that most people who read Dork Tower knew that I was a co-founder and co-owner of Out of the Box, or that I had quite a bit to do with Apples to Apples, beyond just the graphics. Ah, well.

(Speaking of Apples to Apples, I just picked up the first Mattel edition, and was happy to see they kept almost all of the content, including some of the more controversial cards, as well as much of the flavor text that I worked on. Plus, they not only kept my basic artwork, but made it larger! Way to go, nameless, faceless corporation!)

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Here it is. The end.

Many of you should now see why I find alexbot3000's comics and graphic novels among the finest, most satisfying I've ever read. "Box Office Poison" and "Tricked" were both superb, and I was flattered when he asked me to write the intro to "BOP", a collection of Box Office Poison short stories. For something completely different, "Alex Robinson's Lower Regions" is an absolute blast.

Anyway, pick something of his up. Seriously.

It's that good.



Wasn't this just a bloody amazing series?

I mean, SERIOUS standing ovation, gang.

AND, yes - he had Matt and Gilly kissing (kinda sorta fading and all)! I've absolutely refused to ever draw that, even for folks at cons who just wanted a sketch of it, non-canon and all though it'd be. So this is a huge first, in the tiny little world of my cartoon.

Buy Alex's stuff if only for that alone.:-)

Alex Robinson week continues.

I'm really just loving this! I think this may be the best thing anyone has done with my characters...including me.

In the meantime, bop (get it? ha ha) over to alexbot3000's website to check out his comics, which are all favorites of mine.



The exciting conclusion tomorrow!

Now with extra added Alex cameo!

The story continues tomorrow, and concludes Friday.