My syndicate is refreshing the DeD promo kit and asked me to pick out four of my favorite Sundays. I thought I’d ask the best critics…you, the reader. So, just leave a comment on which ones you like. Much appreciated!

Well they’re finally here…sort of.

Both DeD books are on Amazon for pre-order. But you can order them right through my Amazon store on the site:

Dog eat Doug » Book Store

I finally broke down and decided to splurge on some illy espresso. I grind my own beans for coffee, but as I don’t have a heavy duty burr grinder, I buy my espresso pre-ground. Shying away from spending the money on the always expensive but beautifully packaged illy, I’ve stuck with the cheaper Italian brands. Really, could it taste that much better? We all know we’re paying for the slick packaging and marketing.

Well, it does taste better. Much better. There’s a bit of work that goes into making good espresso, and doing it at home with a little rinky dink home espresso machine is a severe handicap, but if you put a little love into the parts you can control (water and the coffee) you can still come out okay. And using the illy espresso certainly helps. And really, it’s still cheaper than buying a shot at the local Starbucks.

illy Coffee & Espresso Machine Shop : illy caffè North America, Inc.

Bit of good news. The LA times will be sampling DeD during Doonesbury’s vacation. Here’s the note from my editor:

Doonesbury is taking a few months off, and the LA Times will be
sampling DeD from 4/21-5/17, Dailies only.

I’m hoping it’ll get a good response from readers. We shall see.

Los Angeles Times – News from Los Angeles, California and the World

Are you reading this? I’m really in love with this strip. AT first it was just to see new drawings by Chris, but it’s completely grown on me. Maybe Chris will be on the Gigcast sometime? (Yes, JT, that’s a subtle hint).

Chris Sanders Blog

Just found this wonderful Dog related blog. It’s tagline is:

A dog’s eye view on the latest and greatest doggy doo-dads on the market. Want honest opinions? Ruff Ruff’s got ‘em.

And you can check out the very cool contest they’re running here:

The Ruff Ruff Review: Who wants free food?

I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned this strip before. Just the way the art has improved blows me away. And on top of that it’s hysterical (so long as you’re a techy type or web geek):

The PC Weenies. V2.0: Tech ‘Toons for Tech Enthusiasts. Squared.

I’m actually writing this in Scribefire but it’s promoting Windows Live Writer. Both are top notch tools for blogging. Scribefire sits in your browser and makes it so simple to blog as you surf, even letting you drag and drop images into your post. It’s really my workhorse for blogging.

However I wanted a full featured desktop writer for more advanced post composition. I test drove a bunch and Windows Live is by far my favorite. Plus it’s free (and better than some of the pay for writers). I’m managing three blogs (technically four since the comics page is actually another WP install). So these tools make life a lot easier.

And on the managing blogs note, I’ve revamped my oldest site, absenceoflight. Check it out!

Writer ZoneWindows Liveâ„¢

Mouse Guard has been on my “to read” list since it came out. Now that the first collection is on shelves, I’ll probably pick it up. The illustrations are just beautiful. Even with it’s old timey feel, it’s a breath of fresh air in the comic racks. So in case you hadn’t heard about this title, I thought I’d pass it along.

Mouse Guard Official Site

For those interested in my art outside of DeD (and I mean waaaaay outside of DeD), I’ve re-launched my Absence of Light website. That was the title of my first comic book series. Now it’s my shadowlands to post my dark art and also blab about non-comic strip related projects.

Absence of Light