Congratulations to Aron Nels Steinke who correctly guessed our mystery cartoonist! It was in fact MIKE DAWSON, he of Ink Panthers and Troop 142 Fame.

Aron was just the third person to respond with an answer to our contest — and it was the right answer!  I admit, I was pretty stunned.  I thought this would take awhile.  Aron says:

Well, I just do lots of people watching when I do conventions. I for some reason noticed Mike Dawson walking around all over the place and each time I took note of how dark his outfit was and that his bag was black as well. I too wear lots of black and when I saw the photo I thought, that has to be him. I don’t know him and nobody tipped me off. I was just lucky that I noticed him. I’m a creepy observer.

Aron Nels Steinke: He’s watchin’ you. And winnin’ stuff.  Congratulations again, Aron!

Please check out Mike Dawson’s Troop 142 comic online and in print this fall from Secret Acres.  Also subscribe to his wonderful podcast The Ink Panthers Show! which he produces with Alex Robinson.

Check out Aron Nels Steinke’s Neptune (which will be available in French next year) and Balloon Toons: Super Duper Dog Park due out this fall from Blue Apple Books.

- Sarah Morean

I accidentally took this photo at a party that happened around MoCCA Fest last weekend.  It’s a really close-up shot of a cartoonist holding a beer.  Can you guess who it is?  The winner will receive a very special gift direct from the artist!

Each day that goes by without a correct answer, we’ll post a clue. You can guess as much as you want. First person to guess the name of the cartoonist correctly will win the Big Prize: An item from the artist’s studio. Literally, something these hands have touched.

Good luck!

- Sarah Morean

• Phil McAndrew wants you to draw a scene from your favorite movie. It’s for a contest on his blog. The deadline is tomorrow, so start doodling, and you could win fabulous prizes. If you don’t feel like drawing, you can still check out the cool entries other people have submitted.
• Lucy Knisley recently moved her Stop Paying Attention diary comics to a Wordpress.org site. Neat! And so easy to navigate!
• The Punchbuggy Tour (Liz Baillie, MK Reed, and Ken Dahl) is coming to Western Mass! The trio will be performing at Hampshire College tomorrow night at 7:30.
• Minnesota State Senator Al Franken has his own comic.
• The documentary film Dig Comics has been selected by New Filmmakers Los Angeles for a screening at Sunset Gower Studios. Those who attend the screening can also look forward to a Q&A with director Miguel Cima and a sweet after-party. Tickets are $5 and go on sale March 19th. The screening is Thursday, April 8th, at 6 PM.
• Go Home Paddy is a new webcomic by John Walsh. It updates Tuesdays and Thursdays.
• The movie adaptation of Finnish illustrator/writer Tove Jansson’s Moomin And The Comet Chase is moving along in production. The movie’s voice cast was recently announced. Bjork is providing the music. Obviously.
• Minneapolis cartoonists Bud Burgy and Danno Klonowski have posted the last page of their Continuity Guy series. Kevin Cannon provided a cover. The project will be featured in an upcoming show at Altered Esthetics, titled Resident Artist VI: Creative Collaborations.

-Athena Currier

Hey all, it’s time for yet another Daily Cross Hatch contest. To celebrate the holiday season, we’re embracing the spirit of giving—and comics, naturally. If you’ve ever attempted to preach the gospel of sequential art to friends and loved ones, you’ve no doubt encountered your share of people who simply refuse to sit down with a good comic. Now is your opportunity to bring someone close to you over to the dark side.

Send us the name of someone in your life who’ve you’ve thus far unsuccessfully attempted to bring over to comics, along with a brief (2-4 paragraph) story about why you think this he or she is especially deserving of our grand prize. It can be a description, an anecdote, a comic—be creative.

The grand prize winner will receive a custom Daily Cross Hatch tote bag filled with some amazing titles, including Ghost World by Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics), Little Nothings 2: The Prisoner Syndrome by Lewis Trondheim (NBM), Too Cool to Be Forgotten by Alex Robinson (Top Shelf), Robot Dreams by Sara Varon (First Second), Asthma by John Hanckiewicz (Sparkplug), and The West Bank Gang by Jason (Fantagraphics).

Two runners-up will receive custom Cross Hatch totes with assorted minis.

To enter, please send your submission to dailycrosshatch@gmail.com by Friday, December 11th. And please make sure you’ve only sent us material you’re comfortable with us posting up on this here blog.

Special thanks to all of the participating publishers, and may the best future comics fan win!

–BH

Here are the winners of the indie comics costume contest:

Congratulations to you all!

FYI: The polls officially closed at Midnight. However, the quiz is probably still up this morning, since it needs to be closed manually by the polling site sodahead.com. All votes made after Midnight were not counted.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our first costume contest. You rock. To everyone else, start planning your own indie comics costume for next year’s contest!

- Sarah Morean

Did you have a good Halloween costume this year?

It’s time to get in your submission material for the 2009 Indie Comics Costume Contest.  All contestants need to send their photos to me by midnight tonight!

For more information about the contest GO HERE

For prize details GO HERE

- Sarah Morean

I’m back from APE and have collected an impressive batch of minis for you to win!  I hope some of you have good costumes planned for this weekend, because it’s anyone’s game! CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

FIVE LUCKY COSTUME CONTEST WINNERS WILL RECEIVE THE FOLLOWING:

1. Hand-made silk-screened mini pouch
2. L.A. Diary by Gabrielle Bell The limited edition release from Uncivilized Books featuring a rare glimpse into Bell’s own sketch book!
3. Milky Way Shuffle by Elio One to look out for!
4. Sour Leaves #3 by Brendan Monroe The world’s last known copies of Monroe’s beautiful 2006 mini!
5. Covered in Confusion by Will Dinski Winner of the 2009 Isotope Award!
6. Prologue by Kenan The book you unfold to read!
7. One of the following:
   • Disquietville Volume 2 by Daniel Spottswood
   • Manny + Bigfoot by Meghan Hogan
   • The Colorblind Art Teacher #2 by Mark Teel
   • Just So You Know #1 by Joey Alison Sayers
   • Ballad of the Intrepideers #1-2 by Brett Von Schlosser, Kelly Krantz and Tim Sievert

- Sarah Morean

May I have your attention, please!

THE SCOOP:
The Daily Cross Hatch is hosting an indie comics costume contest! This is your chance to win a fabulous prize and impress your friends.

THE PRIZE:
Tom Kaczynski’s publishing label Uncivilized Books has just released a new mini-comic from Gabrielle Bell titled L.A. Diary. The book features diary comics that will go into her next Lucky book, but also includes pages from her real life sketchbook. This glimpse into Bell’s work may never see print again!  Copies of L.A. Diary are limited, but one will find its way into the hands of every contest winner.

But that’s not all! There are five unique prizes to win — all of equal value.

Five screen-printed goodie bags (see above photo) will be completely stuffed with a mystery assortment of mini-comics and distributed to whichever five contestants earn the most votes on November 5th. Each bag is guaranteed to contain one copy of L.A. Diary, but you will also receive a handful of some of today’s best minis — cherry picked from Sarah’s own personal collection — including (but not limited to): Manny + Bigfoot, The Ballad of the Intrepideers 1 +2, Covered in Confusion, Milky Way Shuffle, Prologue, and any new releases I pick up this weekend at APE.  Top of the heap stuff from today’s best independent comics creators and mini-makers.

HOW TO WIN:
Take a picture of yourself wearing a costume that was inspired by an indie comic.  Send that photo to Sarah’s email address: smorean@gmail.com

Include the following information with your submission: name of the image (i.e. meastylerperry.jpg) + your name + name of the character that your costume represents + name the comic from which that character originates. Make “COSTUME CONTEST” the subject heading of your email. Send in your email by Monday, November 2nd, 2009, at 12pm midnight (for whatever region you live in). Basically, get it to me before I wake up on Tuesday, November 3rd.  If you need an extension for some reason (it better be a good reason), then give me a heads up.  We can try to arrange something.

On the first Thursday in November — Thursday, November 5th, 2009 — beginning at 12am midnight through 12am midnight the next day, the readership of The Daily Cross Hatch will have an opportunity to vote for you and your costume! The top five costumes will take home the kitty.

THE DEADLINE:
If you didn’t catch it before, please send in your email submission to Sarah by Monday, November 2nd, 2009, at midnight.

FAQ:
1. Can I submit more than one photo?
Yes. Please do! I don’t care if you compete against yourself.

2. Does the photo have to be of me?
That would be ideal, because we will be judging contestants on their personal costume creations and creativity.

3. Well, what if I made the costume, but gave it to someone else to wear because I’m shy.  Can I submit a photo of my costume on a different model?
Sure!  Truthfully, I wouldn’t know if the model was you anyway.  I just want to avoid a situation where — if someone has a killer photo of an indie costumed person they don’t even know from a convention or whatever — that they submit it falsely as their own.  That would not be cool.  So don’t do it!  But if you’re the generous type to sew indie comics costumes for all your friends, by all means, send those photos in and win something.

4. Can I submit a photo of myself even if I am photographed with another costumed person?
Yes. Just indicate in your email which costume is in the running. If both costumes are in the running, please let me know. I will find a way to distinguish them from each other when our readership votes on November 5th.

5. Can I submit a group photo?
Sure! If you want to submit a group photo (i.e. if you and your pals dress as the squad from Brian Anderson’s So Super Duper), you can run as a team. However, if you win as a collective, you will have to split a single goodie bag amongst you.  Sorry!  Them’s the limitations of screen-printing in small runs.

6. Does it have to be a “new” costume? Or can it be a photo of me from a few years back?
It does not have to be a new costume.

7. I’m not sure if my costume counts as “indie.” Should I submit it anyway?
Sure! If the voters are purists, I’m sure they won’t vote for you anyway.

8. I’m a self-published cartoonist.  If I win, will my prize goodie bag contain one of my own minis?  That would be stupid!
No kidding!  Don’t worry man, I wouldn’t do that to you.  I promise that if you win, you will receive a sack of minis from other excellent creators.

9. How will I know if I won?
Sarah will notify the winners by email on Friday, November 6th, 2009.  Winners will be asked for their mailing addresses at this time.  Prizes will be sent within the week.  There will also be a site-wide announcement.

OTHER QUESTIONS:
If I haven’t preempted your questions already, feel free to write me for more clarification: smorean@gmail.com

May the best nerd win!

- Sarah Morean