Greetings from a very chilly London!
I’m visiting my parents, and the jet lag hit hard this trip, or I’d have had today’s strip up for my amazing Patreon backers on Friday.
It’s a very merry Guest Week from Chris Eliopoulis, and “Roll for entitlement, Karen” may have become my new favorite line ever.
I can’t thank Chris enough for these strips. My recovery from surgery still goes very well, but I didn’t get as much work done during it as I thought I could. Having Chris and Randy Milholland stepping in to help was enormous.
I’m feeling pretty excited this morning – I think this will be my first full week of work since the surgery itself, seven weeks ago. The huge backlog of strips I built up beforehand is almost gone, but I’m looking forward to getting at it again.
In the meantime, I can’t even begin to express how delightful Chris’ latest guest strips are, and I urge you to check out his other creations, on the off-chance that you’re unfamiliar with his many wonderful works: chriseliopoulis.com.
Speaking of the Dork Tower Patreon, I thought you might like to see what some backers will soon be getting.
With Fulfillment Guru David’s help, I managed to get all the holiday cards off for Matt- and Gilly- level backers before I flew to London, along with the latest Collector Cards and some other holiday goodies. The January 2024 Collector Card is even in the mix – I’m not sure how long it’s been since I’ve been able to get one of these off early!
That’s a LOT of cards that needed signing!
This may be my favorite Holiday card yet!
Every time goodies get sent out, David randomly selects 15 other backers at the other levels to receive the swag as well! So if you’ve ever wondered what Dork Tower Patreon backers get, along with early comics and bonus content, now you know!
It feels good, being ahead of the game again! I’m already working on the February and March Collector Cards, and something entirely new and exciting that I’m hoping backers will enjoy in 2024 – Dork Tower mini-comics!
The Dork Tower Patreon is literally what keeps the strip going. If we reach 700 backers, the comic will start running four times a week. If we can reach 900 backers, that will mean I can run five Dork Towers a week which – not gonna lie – would be thrilling!
Join the Army of Darkness today! We have cookies Igor Bars!
A Wintertime Funtime postcard replaced the Summertime Funtime ((c) John Hodgman) this year.
And Carson stickers, too!
Swag for Matt- and Gilly-level backers should go out at far more regular intervals in 2024, now that I’m ahead of the game again! This will make things easier on my signing hand, for sure.
I’d just like to take a moment, though, to publicly thank David Michael enormously for all the hard work he puts in to getting this stuff printed, and out to you. I literally could not do this without him, and I’m eternally grateful for everything he does! He’s had an enormous workload this month, particularly because these two mailings coincided with the Insane Charity Bike Ride 2023 swag mailings!
I hope all your holidays are going well, I wish a Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate (particularly in these very troubled times), and I also hope David gets a bit of rest, now!*
– John
* Along with my signing hand!