I think everyone can realize why this Joyce x Mike art is amazing.  No? Well, okay, the thing is, it makes me laugh whenever I see it.  Like, for five minutes straight.  And if you can do that, you need to win something.  On the cruise, without my Internet, sometimes I’d just leave the image open for days, turning on my tablet whenever I needed to remember why art exists. I mean, c’mon, look at it.  Look at those eyes.  Look at that waggling tongue tube.  I want to frame it and put it on my face, so it’s the last thing I see when I fall asleep. (It’s by Rob Kellett, by the way.  He gets a poster.)

Okay.  This was a dumb thing to do to myself, the having people sending me buttloads of great art and then having to choose the best.  Not smart!  Not smart! But to make things easier, I decided to make a first, second, and third place instead of just a first place.  I’ll be sending out three posters instead of just one!  (I’ll probably send something extra with the first place prize.)  So tonight you’re going to see third place, tomorrow second, Wednesday will be our grand prize winner, Thursday will be two honorable mentions, and then in subsequent days all the rest in no particular order.  There were twenty-one entries in all. Without further ado: THIRD PLACE Third place was hotly contested.  I was pretty sure what first and second place had to be, but in the end, this won out for third after much deliberation.  It’s by Megan Archer, and it’s, of course, Amber x Danny, with a pony thrown in for good measure.  I have to admit, the pony helped its chances, with its blood-stained hooves and … Okay, it’s really because Danny is in a dress and tiara. You’re getting a poster, Megan!

It was Valentine’s Day, and Maggie drew me this art of Billie and Sal making out, ‘cuz my wife is awesome like that. Now, the two of us are going to be gone all next week on the JoCo Cruise Crazy (with Joel Watson and his wife), but I am certainly not leaving you folks empty-handed.  I do currently have a five-week buffer, after all.  Even if I get lost at sea, this strip is updating through near the end of March. But I have something else to keep you folks busy.  A contest, if you will.  Of sorts. The criteria:  You have to draw two of the characters from Dumbing of Age making out.  It can be anybody in the cast.  It can be guy/girl, girl/girl, or guy/guy.  And it can only be making out.  No actual banging!  And only mouth to mouth!   Clothes please.  Just smooching or frenching,  your call.  And it has to be two real, human members of the cast.  No Ultra Car.  No Amazi-Stool.  No giraffe you’ve labeled “Walky.”

I will (hopefully) accumulate these illicit images while I am on my boat for a week, and when I return, I will choose the one I like the best.  And the one who gets their art chosen as best will receive a free “Touchdown” poster in the mail!  It’ll be numbered and signed, same as the others.  (If you already have that poster, I will send one of the other two.)  I will display my favorites or possibly all of them on this website.  Simple, yes? So if you draw up some sweet makings-outs, mail your image to wiigii at gmail, with “SLASH CONTEST” in the subject header.  Include your name and mailing address in case you win, plus the name you wish to be credited as on the site.  Please make the art no wider than 800 pixels across, please, in either JPG or PNG format.  I don’t need to print these out.  Unless they’re super hot. May the slashing begin. In other news, while on the boat, myself, Joel Watson, and Rob DenBleyker are scheduled to be on Paul and Storm’s awesome podcast because we’re fancy webcomics people.  So look for that later!  And sometime that afternoon will be a “Drawing for Drinks” event where these selfsame fancy webcomics people draw for people so long as our booze glasses aren’t empty.  Which is the best thing I’ve heard in my entire frigging life.  It totally removes that “create a webcomic” and “get a bank account” middleman and just straight-up lets me draw for booze. I swear Billie is not autobiographical.  Much.

Dina’s not going to die, thus Dina must be immortal.  And you know what that means!  Dan Shive knew, and so he drew this art.  Check out his webcomic El Goonish Shive and his DeviantArt!

The big box landed on our porch early this morning. These “Touchdown” posters are super pretty. Look at the image on the left and check out how thick the paper is! You can see the damn edge. I put ten of them in the mail today. Look for a big thick envelope in your postbox soon, if you’re a lucky orderer. And those of you who opted to upgrade for the additional sketch, you’ll find that in there, too!  I created them with pencil, brush marker, and love.

There are some “Touchdown” posters remaining (they are limited to 50 pieces), so get to the store before they’re gone! Not only do you get some sweet art, but you help me and my wife afford a nice trip together.  I will be forever grateful.  She’ll be forever gratefuller. (And if  you don’t want a physical piece of art, there’s also a cheaper desktop wallpaper option available.)

According to Zabjex!

Some art originally from my Tumblr!  I will now share with you all here.

UPDATE: I’ve also included a pricepoint where you also receive a character sketch along with your poster.  If you’ve already purchased a poster and want to upgrade, let me know (wiigii at gmail) and we’ll get it figured out.

Newwwww product!

My wife and I don’t get to vacation a lot.  Sure, I’m on the road all the time for conventions, but usually by myself and to always to make a living, since this webcomic is my job.  So I figgered, you know what, I will make an awesome poster and put the proceeds into the Willis Vacation Fund.  Best case scenario, we’d raise enough quick enough to put in for a room for the second JoCo Cruise Crazy, which Joel Watson of Hijinks Ensue would reaaally like because he and his wife are going and he needs me around to help introduce him to famous people like Wil Wheaton, but rooms are dwindling, time is short, and, really, Maggie and I just need to get out there anywhere this coming spring. If we don’t JoCo, that’s regrettable, but the Getting Away is what’s really important. Actually I have just been alerted by Joel that if I don’t go to JoCo with him, I will be murdered.  All right.  Well, folks, that’s on you, apparently. And so we have this awesome artwork of the denizens of Dumbing of Age cheering at one of their university’s football games!  Most of everyone’s favorites are there, plus a few I wanted to make sure appeared in a poster who hadn’t yet managed, like Danny, Amber, Mike, and Ethan.  (I’m not sure who my favorite character in this particular artwork is, since I have to choose between Mike’s interesting spirit-wear choice, Walky’s toplessness, and Dina’s giant foam pointer.)  You can see progress shots of the artwork on my Tumblr, and the original suggestion for the theme was offered here by crazymusician320.

You can get the poster mailed to you for the fund-raising price of $20, which includes shipping within the United States, or for half that you can choose to be mailed a URL where you can download the art at desktop wallpaper size.  (I’m thinking 1280px across, but if I’m wrong in that estimation, let me know.  Easiest thing to accommodate.)  These are signed and numbered 1 through 100!  The poster will be mailed after Christmas. Thank you for your consideration!  If you want to contribute to our vacation fund, that is great.  And if you don’t want to or you can’t, that is also great.  I’m just happy you’re on my site reading my stuff. (Oh, and since when I asked for poster ideas, folks kept on suggesting “beach” or “swimsuits,” I should probably mention the “Monroe Lake” poster which has been around for a while.) (Oh oh oh, and apparently I can’t shut off postage fees for the wallpaper option, so if you’re from outside the United States, I’ll have to manually refund you that $3.  Grargh.)

Thank goodness Spiffster13 toned down the blood barf a bit on this one.  (Man, what is with those Red Lanterns?)

Hopping on a plane to Austin in just a few hours!  I’ll be there, along with some of my best webcomic buddies.  It’s gonna be crazy awesome.  Get more information on Dragon’s Lair’s website! I will have a bunch of Shortpacked! Book 4s with me and… three Dumbing of Age Dina hats.  Just three.  Perhaps their owners will be determined by brutal gladiator sport.