Jon sez
In science fiction, I'll be a guest at the annual Philcon science fiction convention. I'm scheduled to be on four panels:
Fri 9:00 PM in Plaza III (1 hour)That last one will be amusing, since we've never really set out to make money off the comics we do. I'll presumably speak about "how to accidentally make almost enough money to afford a dinner out by selling books." Well, actually, I've done a lot of research on print-on-demand and related things, so I would have something reasonable to contribute. But it's more amusing to say I'm useless.
Survivability of Electronically Published Material
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Sat 11:00 PM in Plaza I (1 hour)
Bad Anime, Bad!
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Sun 10:00 AM in Crystal Ballroom Three (1 hour)
World Conquest and Then What?
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Sun 3:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Three (1 hour)
Making Money Off of Your Webcomic
In science, a new paper has shown that planetesimals that formed within three million years of the formation of the solar system had magnetic fields 20 to 40 percent the strength of Earth's current field. This is a big change from the previously held theory (the one I learned in college) that asteroids didn't have molten cores for long after their formation. (The presence of a magnetic field in a planet requires a dynamo, which usually means a molten, metallic core.) And speaking of Earth's magnetic field, it interacts with the Sun's field in a very interesting way...
Mark sez
For the first several years of A Miracle of Science we made precisely $0 off the comic. But because all the materials were free (it was drawn on copier paper I borrowed from the office, using pencils and pens I already had, and uploaded to a webspace that was paid for years in advance) our expenses were also $0. The result is that we broke even, which is markedly better than most large comic companies do. If only we'd thought of some way to sell insurance on that performance, then perhaps divide the insurance contracts up into tranches... Oh well, maybe next bubble.
Anyway, right, as to the elephant in the room. I'd like to say that the only possible reason for the recent delay in the comic is because I was lying, bleeding out, in a snow-covered ditch for three days before diligent emergency crews rescued me, and I am even now bringing you this latest page through immense pain and a haze of medication because I am that damn dedicated. I would, indeed, like to say that. However, the actual truth of the matter is that the delay in the comic is because I was obsessively playing Fallout 3, and the only thing bleeding out is my credibility. I will try to do better in future.
Next time: neat things in the fan art section! Maybe!