KILL ALL MONSTERS

 

What is Kill All Monsters! you might ask?

Only the  bestest comic book ever, that's what. And it's coming soon to print - if we act now and order it!

Michael May and Jason Copeland bring us a tale of giant monsters taking over our world and humans fighting back. What isn't to love there???

In this month's PREVIEWS, page 244, the print version of the first trade is up for pre-order and we should all jump on it! This is a pretty big deal now days. To get a retailer to actually stock a comic nowdays, especially a trade, retailers have to know that customers are interested. The more that are pre-ordered, the better chance that one ends up on a shelf for a new reader to pick up.

And we want these talented bastards to keep making this comic - it's awesome. Take this random part of a panel - 

 That's me literally choosing a page at random and posting it - that kind of sweetness is all over the place. So call your local comic shop (If you're lucky enough to have one) and pre-order KILL ALL MONSTERS. If you need it, the Previews order number is APR130764.

And follow Michael May's blog too - it's a great read.

Bill Paarlberg Questions Art

Hosmer Garden Cemetary by Bill Paarlberg

Bill Paarlberg is a splendid artist that does paintings and illustrations of the Portsmouth NH area. (And a sweet series of giant monsters attacking things... Two guesses how I first found him...)


In a new blog, he talks a little about the perception of art and what is art, when displayed in a gallery or installment. How far does that piece influence the surroundings? I thought it was interesting. Check it out HERE.

Etsy 101 - Part Two - History II

What Is Etsy?

Following in the grand tradition of craft fairs and flea markets worldwide, Etsy is essentially an online version of an arts and crafts supermall. Every seller on the site opens their own shop, naming it, running it, making, marketing, selling and shipping their wares. For the most part, everything on the site is supposed to either be handmade or vintage, or in some cases, modified sufficiently to create something handmade.

Launched in 2005, Etsy was named after the creator watched Fellini's 8 ½ and, searching for a vaguely nonsense word that would allow him to build the brand with no preconceived notions, noticed the phrase “Etsi” uttered often. In Italian, it means “Oh yes”.

Imagined as a marketplace that values hard work and handmade items, a place where quality over quantity reigns, the site struggled for the first few years, but slowly gained customers and shops. Along the way, they also modified things, staying on top of site improvements and keeping an eye on media trends like Twitter and Facebook.

Today, Etsy has over 22 million registered members and over 850,000 shop fronts. (Though that sounds gigantic, eBay has over 100 million active members) Most Etsy shoppes are considered a side business, a way to make a little extra cash or unload some “Vintage” clothing they found at a yard sale. According to Wikipedia, the bulk of sellers on Etsy are college educated women in their twenties and thirties and range from stay at home moms, to bakers, to artists and craftsmen as well as vintage sellers and fabricators.

Quickly becoming an offbeat and unique way to find a gift and support the independent business world, there is a lot to love about Etsy. Their search engine is quite efficient at finding what you are searching for and the range of products and prices is almost unmatched and they strive to be thorough when it comes to weeding out big businesses that are selling bulk quantities. That said, many people have managed to push the shops boundaries a bit and there are some out there that seem to be outside the realm of handmade products and goods.

Today there are over 18 million items on Etsy and 42 million unique visitors peruse the shops every month.

Peruse us HERE!

Saggy Socks

Being a fan of old-timey clothing and an anti-fan of saggy socks, I find myself intrigued by this product from yesteryear - Sock Garters But I worry they wouldn't go well with my Bean Boots, which is where I experience the most distressing sock saggery.

I also find myself inappropriately intrigued by that man's posing.