Eisner Nomination! VanCAF! Great Books!

Dear Readers,

I am pleased to inform you that PRACTICAL DEFENCE AGAINST PIRACY has been nominated for a Will Eisner award, in the category of "Best Webcomic!"

This is very exciting. The judging sounds like a difficult, exhausting process, and it feels like a huge relief that PDAP was able to shine through in such a situation. I am wildly grateful to the judges for selecting PDAP to be part of the Eisner award tradition. Teenage me — who spent so much time poring over Wizard magazine — would lose his tiny mind. Congratulations, as well, to my fellow nominees!

Voting is open to comics-industry professionals which might include you. If you're able, please consider voting for PRACTICAL DEFENCE.

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VanCAF 2023!

[ ^ These postcards turned out pretty well, no thanks to my local printer who was literally no help when my PDF export settings were a bit off. Thanks to Haley Boros for responding to my anxious email and helping me trouble-shoot it. ]

I'll be at VanCAF this year (May 20th and 21st at the Yaletown Roundhouse), my first convention since 2019! If you're in the area and able to attend, please do so. I'm at table E-10 or, more usefully, just look for the stacks of Delilah Dirk books and/or the "Tony Cliff" banner.

On VanCAF Sunday, I'll also be moderating a panel on "Parenting and Creativity," featuring Kyle Vingoe-Cram, Natalie Pendergast, Aisha Franz, and Meredith Gran. I'm hoping to transition seamlessly from "which nickname did you give your kids' grandparents and how did you decide" to "tell us how you fend off the gnawing spectre of mortality."

Last night I tidied up my beard in preparation to emerge from my hermit cave, only to remember that I will absolutely be wearing a mask the entire time. Oh well.

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Ben Hatke's REYNARD'S TALE

Speaking of parenting and the spectre of mortality, Ben sent me a copy of his most recent book. No one quite makes books like Ben (in a good way). As all his books are, this one is a gem, but one that feels more personal than ever.

Read a little more about it here, go get yourself a copy, or keep an eye out for a Ben Event near you!

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Ryan North's HOW TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD and DANGER AND OTHER UNKNOWN RISKS

Speaking of "no one quite make books like," I had the pleasure of meeting up with Ryan North last week. Were you aware that he put out a book last year called HOW TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD? Apparently the release was… rocky… at least in part because it happened in such close proximity to the real-world invasion of The Ukraine by Russia. I am here to remind you about this book.

I have not yet read it myself, so how do I feel so confident recommending it? Because it's Ryan North. I have absolutely enjoyed his HOW TO INVENT EVERYTHING, I've long been a fan of his DINOSAUR COMICS — which celebrated its twenty year anniversary this year — and if I enumerated all the other works of Ryan's which I have loved and/or contributed to, this post would be too long.

Additionally, if you have enjoyed his work on Squirrel Girl, be warned that he's just released DANGER AND OTHER UNKNOWN RISKS, also with Erica Henderson. I am especially looking forward to picking this up.

Find out more about HOW TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD here, more about all his books here, and if nothing else, consider joining Ryan's Secret Pals Club.

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I love being able to recommend good books to you, Dear Reader. It makes me feel like all is right with the world.

Back to flatting — Chapter Three is almost done! I was worried things were going too slow, but it turns out that ballroom scenes are just more time-consuming than most, which is a real "no duh" lesson you'd think I'd have learned by now.

I remain,
as ever,
the gnawing spectre of mortality,

TC