We have seen Comrade Steve and Yuri before, have we not? Allow me to direct you to one of my favorite Sheldon strips: featuring our favorite, rarely-appearing astronaut/cosmonaut team.

And, for those following along, here are the 1,2,3,4,5,6 previous installments of our Saturday-only, super-space-extravaganza storyline. The verdict so far? Half of you love it, half of you don’t. I’m enjoyin’ it, so I hope you’ll bear with me.

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Also, congrats to Timothy S. of Buck Creek, IN….you’ve purchased the final Artist’s Edition of the Pugly book. Hopefully the extra-cool sketch you’ll receive inside will make up for the fact that your town sounds uncomfortably like “Butt Crack”.

I joke! I joke! I lived in Indiana for four years! I love the place!

And for everyone else: free U.S. shipping ends Sunday night at Midnight, pacific-standard time! (Make sure you click the option with free shipping when you order.)

Tania from Alaska sent in word of this weird pug story. Make sure you click the “More Photos” link on the right…poor little guy doesn’t know what hit him. Which, in this case, is a playful, 120-pound black wolf….

Sidenote: are Pugs OK with living in Alaska? Everyone I know that owns a pug is terrified of them getting “cold” (which, in California, means 68 degrees F). Are Californians just wussies with their pugs?

Just checked the store inventory, and there are only 5 copies left of the Pugly Artist’s Editions. If you were hoping to get one, this is just fair warning.

Also: I’ve been fascinated for a long time with the “haunted” Winchester Mansion, which relates to today’s strip. It’s just a fascinating tale of money mixing with madness. (There are a few modern-day pop stars for whom this correlates, probably.)

Anyway, read more about it. It’s fascinating.

To celebrate the big move to creating Sheldon full-time, I wanted to do something that says thank you for supporting the strip. So starting today, and continuing through Sunday, all store orders come with free shipping within the U.S.! Order anything you like…your favorite original artwork, a Pure Ducky Goodness book, or one of the last remaining Artist’s Editions of The Good, The Bad & The Pugly…and get free shipping on the house!

(Sorry, international readers…it’s too ‘spensive to offer free shipping around the globe! I still love you, though!)

Also:
Since they’re almost gone…I’d like to offer up something fun. The person that orders the very last copy (#250) of the limited, Artist’s Edition of The Good, The Bad & The Pugly will get an AWESOME sketch. I’ll be spending some solid drawing time on that bad boy…so you won’t be disappointed!

My friends, I have a personal note to share.

After 8 awesome years, Friday was my last day working at Mattel Toys. I gave my notice about five or six weeks ago, and have been in preparations ever since to leave my corporate dream job.

I should probably emphasize those last two words…dream job. Mattel was, by any metric you’d like to use, a dream job. It was fun, it was creative, it was energizing, it was filled with talented people from every field imaginable, it spanned the world in scope and travel, and it tapped into abilities and skillsets I didn’t even know I had. And at the end of the day…what you made…were toys! For kids! To make them happy!

Not too shabby, all things considered.

Eight years ago, I started with the company as a fresh-faced writer, naming toys and creating background stories to help light up kids’ imaginative play. Then I became involved with Mattel’s blue-sky creativity initiative, Project Platypus – eventually helping to run the weeks-long brainstorming programs. And in my last stage at the company, I dove into the pure joy of toy design, working on some truly amazing stuff.

I won’t discuss the details of the work itself (not only because of NDAs, but because I still genuinely love the company and want to see its ideas succeed). But I will tell you the one thing that truly matters: I will miss that place, and those incredibly creative people, very much. For 8 years, it was everything you could ask for in a job.

But now, I’m on to a new job that I have been dreaming about for literally decades: Cartooning. Full-time.

So! Tomorrow: less of me waxing nostalgic for my old rad job…and more of me talking about my new rad job.

For those following along, here are the 1,2,3,4,5 previous installments of our Saturday-only storyline.

I should mention that there are only a few dozen Artist Editions left for “The Good, The Bad & The Pugly”.

You can never predict how fast these things sell out, but since the final copies of “A Well Balanced Meal” went in about a day, I’ve learned to give folks a fair warning.

Just a reminder: these are the limited edition books, and once they’re gone, no further Pugly Artist Editions will ever be sold. After that, the only way to get a unique, awesome drawing in your book will be to corral me in person. But I’ll demand that you buy me curly fries in trade.

So if you’re interested, and don’t want to have to buy me curly fries, pick up your copy before they’re all gone.

Three bits of news today:

1.) Sheldon was nominated for the “Outstanding Comedic Comic” Award over at the WCCA’s, which is always fun. I stumbled on this strip, this morning, using the random button, and realized 2006 was a pretty solid year for Sheldon.

Sheldon is up against some pretty funny strips, but it’s nice to get the shout-out, regardless. Also nice: Blank Label picked up nine total nominations!

Outstanding B&W Comic: Starslip Crisis by Kristofer Straub

Outstanding Character Rendering: Ugly hill By Paul Southworth

Outstanding Use of the Medium: Halfpixel by Kristofer Straub

Outstanding Web Design: Starslip Crisis by Kristofer Straub

Outstanding Comedic Comic: Sheldon by Dave Kellett and Shortpacked! by David Willis

Outstanding Sci Fi Comic: Schlock Mercenary by Howard Tayler and Starslip Crisis by Kristofer Straub

Outstanding Superhero/Action Comic: Evil Inc by Brad Guigar

2.) The server seems to have had an electron jump where it should not, as the 1/31/07 strip does not seem to want to post. Let me assure you that it is a life-altering, hilarious strip, and that you should definitely keep your eyes peeled for it when it finally appears, as it may help you with any weight-loss problems, relationship insecurities, work difficulties, or vericose veins. It’s that good. (Dang shame the server picked today to lock up.)

3.) Also! My buddies Kris Straub and Scott Kurtz are launching their big project PVP: The Series Feb. 1st. If you’re a PVP fan — you should definitely check this out!

We’ve seen, of course, that Gramp likes coffee in all it’s permutations.

But in looking for the original Folgers lyrics online (couldn’t find ’em), I did stumble upon this little gem from the Folgers vaults.

My friends, this is not a coffee commercial. This is a relationship that needs an intervention. That guy is a monster.

Every time I drive by a “Linens ‘n Things”, it makes me laugh. What a ridiculous name. It’s like the naming committee got off to a good start…but then suddenly realized that lunch had arrived, and just quickly voted for Linens ‘n Things.

I believe the general mood, as they took the vote, was “Meh.”

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And as for Subaru? Ahhh, gentle Subaru. Your cars shall always remain among the pantheon of Citroens and Pontiac Azteks and early-90s Saabs…cars that allowed their owners to broadcast to the world: “I don’t like to look attractive in any way. Please, stop flirting with me and inviting me to parties and fun summer BBQs. Perhaps you didn’t notice, but I drive a Subaru.”