The little decal in Sunday’s strip keeps makin’ me laugh…no matter how many times I look at it. So much so, that I’m actually at the point where I want to make this puppy to put on the back of my car. Am I lame for admitting that? You can be honest with me…I can take it.

Would anyone else want one of these, if I made them up? If you would, drop me a line. That will help me decide if I should indulge my dorkiness.

Today’s strip is not the first foray Sheldon has had into the German language.

In fact, two of my favorite Sheldon strips involve German:

1.) The best Batman strip I’ve ever done, and…

2.) A wonderfully odd take on English-speakers’ mis-pronunciation/mis-translation of “fünf” (…which eventually turned into a runner here, and
here).

While on the subject of Germany, I should mention my favorite Germany-related memory:

About three years ago, when I was still working for Mattel, I was in Germany for the Nürnberg Toy Fair. While on a break, I stumbled on a *fantastic*, three-story comic book shop in the city center. I had about 3 hours to burn for sightseeing, and ended up spending them all reading German comics at
Ultra Comix.

But! The greatest moment of all, the moment that still gets me excited, is this: I walked into the “American Comics” section, and saw two (TWO!) copies of “Pure Ducky Goodness”! It…was…awesome.

But it gets better: the good folks at Ultra Comix, when they found out I was the author, made me an endless series of espressos at their in-store coffee stand, and we talked shop and laughed for an hour or so.

So! If you live in or around Nürnberg, head over to Ultra Comix, and tell ’em Dave sent ya!

Oh! Also! Here’s the only dopey picture I could find from that day…

Friday’s strip is a callback to this gem from the archives.

Before we head into the weekend, it’s worth sendin’ out a reminder: get FREE U.S. shipping on Sheldon book three-packs…but only until Sunday!

The free shipping is offered on both the three-pack of awesomeness, and the extra-special three-pack with an Artist Edition!

For new readers lookin’ to dive into the collections — or for folks hopin’ to give a book or two as a gift — this is a great way to save money. So head on over to the Sheldon Store, click the “free shipping” option, and get ’em while the gettin’s good! The free shippin’ ends Sunday night!

News from the Head Office! Fellow Blank Label Comics cartoonist Howard Tayler is proud to announce the new book for “Schlock Mercenary”, Tub of Happiness. At long last, the first five-hundred and seven days of Schlock Mercenary are coming to a dead-tree near you.

Pre-orders for Schlock Mercenary: The Tub of Happiness are now open. This 240-page volume features every strip and footnote from June 12th of 2000 through November 11th of 2001, and includes a never-before-published “prequel” bonus story covering Schlock’s last twenty-four hours before enlisting with Tagon’s Toughs.

For a limited time, you can order your Tub of Happiness as a Customer-Choice Numbered Sketch Edition. That’s right, for just $10 more, your book is not just signed on the front, but drawn in, and you get to pick which character Howard draws.

All customers will recieve immediate access to a page full of desktop backgrounds based on the cover art, and all pre-orders are automatically discounted $5.00 off the cover-price of $25.00.

If you want to have a look inside, here is a 17-page screen-resolution PDF preview (6MB download), which includes the front and back covers, inside and out, the first page of the bonus, the end of the “Big Haunted Battleship” storyline, and an unsketched sketch page.

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As you can probably tell from this strip, I have a lot of friends who are graphic designers. And no matter how old or young, rich or poor…all graphic designers seem to share one attribute: they all own a USB Flash Drive that looks like it escaped a nuclear winter.

The cap is gone, the outer casing has slowly been yanked off with use…and now, all that’s left is the USB port connected to a barely-hangin-on circuit board. They’re storing all their work on a device purchased from Sanford & Son.

But that’s the nature of the beast, I suppose. These things are put together as cheaply as possible, using butterfly wings, scraps of paper, and the dreams of a child. Even casual use makes them fall apart.

On a related note…Sheldonista Jose C. has alredy e-mailed me suggesting
this little baby, and I have to say it looks pretty neat.

Lots of colleges across the U.S. and Canada have been signin’ up to have Sheldon in their school paper for free…but today we got our first “overseas” addition.

That’s fun in-and-of itself…but I mention it in the blog only because the school’s location will make my mom happy: it’s Trinity College, Dublin.

Now, “Kellett”, as you can well tell, is not an Irish name — but my mom’s side of the family is from County Kerry…so this’ll go down well on that side of the clan.

Aaaaand, this is a great opportunity for me to take that Guiness Brewery Tasting Tour from eight years ago as a write-off, right IRS? That’s legit, right? Even though that sweet old lady gave me her extra drink tickets? Right?

In related news, we’re still signing up colleges that are starting back late, or who just voted in their editorial staff, so you’re not too late to join up (…and Univ. of California system, I’m looking squarely at you…I know you started back this week. So UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UC Davis, or my grad-school alum, UCSD….I expect to hear from one of you!)

And remember, if you’re a student or an editor who’s interested in having Sheldon in your school paper, it’s as easy as an e-mail! We can have you set up and runnin’ Sheldon by tomorrow!

Sheldonista Dave S. sent me what might possibly be the coolest contest I’ve never heard of: The World Beard & Mustache Championships.

If there is a bigger, dopier style of mustache than the “Imperial”, then I’d like to see it.

But here’s my question: at what point in your life do you go “You know what? I’m tired of dating or of being attractive in any way. I’m past that. Instead, I’m gonna grow me an Imperial.”

Bargain time!

From now until Sunday, September 23, U.S. readers get free shipping on any three-pack of Sheldon books!

This includes the standard three-pack of awesomeness, and the special edition three-pack ,including an Artist Edition!

If you haven’t yet taken the plunge on Sheldon collections, this is a great way to do it. I’m immensely proud of how high-quality the books have come out, and I know you’ll dig yours. So head on over to the Sheldon Store, click the “free shipping” option, and get ’em while the gettin’s good!

(Reminder: to qualify for free shipping, your order must be headin’ to a U.S. address.)

Today’s oblique reference to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is completely random, I know. But it did generate one funny e-mail from a Sheldonista:

“Today I want to thank you for some cool synchronicity. My fiancee just started her bachelors classes…and one of her first assignments is to research the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Since I work in the reference department of a library, I thought I’d help her a bit, but I’d forgotten to ask her to write it down this morning. I had, in fact, just about forgotten the whole thing, when I read today’s comic and recognized the name. 😀

I thank you, sir, for a very timely reference.”

Sheldon: helping couples remember their “honey-do” lists since 1998.