He's fitting in okay but he's only shown a real interest in one of our books. 

Most Seattlelites recognize the cartoons of Steven Weissman since he's been drawing I, Anonymous for the Seattle Stranger for quite awhile. In this weekly letter column, he pens the diatribes of the angry, bitter, self-loathing and oblivious. Last month's was a favorite of mine, a huge fan of the C-word, handled with the utmost care (see above). Weissman's love of duotone, gray shading and dot-matrix-heavy shading makes his drawings perfect for print and they look hella fine on the web too. Weissman was sweet enough to answer some questions about how he approaches the weekly illustrations.

Q: Do the letters appear on your doorstep in a huge sack just steeped in vitriol?

A: [Art Director] Aaron Huffman sends me a letter sometime between Wednesday and Friday each week after Stranger associate editor David Schmader or some shadowy 'they' pick the letters.

Q: What is your process like for a weekly drawing based on someone else's ideas? 

A: I've usually scanned the letter once by Friday. I'll print it out on Sunday night, underline key phrases and make a couple of sketches. By Monday morning, I have a pretty clear idea of what I'm drawing.

Sometimes the Seattle-specific letters can be puzzling (I'm in Los Angeles), but I can only think of one where I was completely stumped, and all I remember about that one is my solution being some guy eating a toaster waffle.

Q: Have you ever been contacted by the people who wrote the letters or the ones who figured out they were the subject?

A: I've sold drawings to people related to the letters before. They make great gifts for friends recovering from messy breakups (35% of I, Anonymous letters are breakups). Original art is also a great way to say "I'm sorry I gave you V.D."

What a Weiss-ass! More of those illustrations are available for sale via Weissman's Pinterest board as are his books, Barack Hussein Obama, Chocolate Cheeks, Chewing Gum in Church.

Fantagraphics' veteran Jeremy Eaton continues to draw his mashup characters or Jumbles since his show last fall in Seattle. Luba and Olive Oyl is one of our favorites, good thing that iconic Luba hammer exists for the sake of Olive Oyl's shoes (created by Gilbert Hernandez and E.C. Segar respectively). Jeremy's posted more than a few of his 'jumbles' online so check it out today! And try to name all the characters jumbled together below. 

Looking for that special something to give to special someone you love? (In my case, that would be me.) Order a commission directly from an artist! Josh Simmons of The Furry Trap, House and Jessica Farm is one of the many artists offering his service to you. Simmons said he is very flexible and can tailor things to peoples' budget, or something like the Witch-King of the Nazgul painting above is the most time-consuming, would go for the highest price. When I asked if the highest price was money, the soul or a bucket of blood, he agreed any of the three would do. Horrifying.

But like most cartoonists, artists, people of note, Simmons can create for children too! So for the parent who wants an original drawing but needs G-rated content, Simmons has a sweet side too. Well, it's still spooky.

 

Cathy Malkasian thinks we're dirty. What else can we expect when she sends us a box of beautifully-crafted soap? We're working so hard on publishing books; its a sweaty business. To be fair, she sent the box to Eric Reynolds but he is nice and clean enough to share with the rest of us. Each soap is a charcter from Malkasian's 2007 hit, Percy Gloom. Look at those perfectly molded soaps, Percy even has his cute hat on!

Due to privacy concerns I'm slightly uneasy about posting photos of other people's babies, but this is too good not to share, so I'll just leave it anonymous and say that it came via Kevin Huizenga, who says "Wanted: more readers like [this]."

Matt Thorn, editor/translator of our manga books, tweeted: "Me with Moto Hagio at tonight's Japan Cartoonist Association award ceremony, where Hagio was a recipient." Hooray! (And love the new hairstyle!)

But here is the pièce de résistance: "A photo I took earlier tonight of Moto Hagio in cat ears. No, seriously. Not Photoshopped." Excuse me while I go DIE FROM CUTENESS.

Here's Nili, deeply engrossed in Steve Brodner's Freedom Fries. Via Steve's blog.

Stephen DeStefano and his wife Siobhan have announced that he will be selling some comics and animation art and other memorabilia from his animation career on eBay in an effort to defray escalating vet bills as his beloved kitty Lola battles what's looking like cancer.

Having had our own experience with kitty cancer over the past couple of years, Janice and I strongly encourage you to send your support Stephen and Siobhan's way.

Meet Princess Kitty

Look what I stumbled on when I went to watch a funny cat video: Johnny Ryan's illustration for the Found Footage Festival has been animated motion-comic style for the intro to the FFF's series of videos for The A.V. Club (see it following the commercial). Neat. Also: you tell 'em, kitty.