Some exciting things have developed this spring! It turns out I will be embracing the summer by moving to Portland, Oregon! I’ve become enamored with the town, and can’t wait to begin my adventure there.

To celebrate my move, I am temporarily discounting ALL books, book packs and prints by $3. That’s $1 for every 1,000 miles I’ll be driving!

What’s MORE exciting is there’s a new print for sale! This one is called “Finite Summer” and pays tribute to the urban grilling culture. I’ll be selling it for $16, but this week only you can get it for $13! And yes, I will sign it.

Please note: Volume 1 is not included in this deal, since I only have enough copies for MoCCA left. I’m hoping to reprint it soon, but such a thing is costly and it might be a while yet.

To get in on this discount, make your orders between now and June 10th. Head to the store now!

It’s about time to announce the shows I’m planning to attend in 2009. I hope I’ll see many of you this year! Let’s run through ‘em:

-The New England Webcomics Weekend - Easthampton, MA - March 20-22nd
Not really a convention, but a free event that’s snowballed into a full-scale webcomics gala. Expected, some suggest, “to rock”.

-The UK Web & Mini Comix Thing - March 28
My second time at the London show! It was a blast last year and it’ll be a blast this year, so help me.

-Emerald City ComiCon - Seattle, WA - April 4-5
This is my first year at ECCC, but I’ve been told only to expect good.

-Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF) - Toronto, Ontario - May 9-10
TCAF is only second to MoCCA on my list of favorite shows because it doesn’t happen every year. OP was brand new in ‘07, but I still met so many lovely people. I can’t wait to see who shows up this year!

-MoCCA Festival - New York, NY - June 6-7
My absolute favorite indie show! Good weather, great location, and the most friendly crowd in underground comics. MoCCA is always a treat.

-San Diego Comic Con - San Diego, CA - July 23-26
The biggest show ever. An exhausting but always strangely gratifying assault on the senses. Statistically, I expect to see many of you there.

-Small Press Expo (SPX) - Bethesda, MD - September 26-27
SPX always feels more like a party than a formal convention, but that’s okay!

-Alternative Press Expo - San Francisco, CA - October 17-18
APE has recently become a fixture in my convention programming. In spite of a mix-up with airline luggage last year, I had a lovely time meeting Bay Area creators and fans, and would not miss it again! (But this time I am carrying on.)

My schedule is looking pretty full this year, but if there are any shows in your town you’d like to suggest for this year or next, feel free to do so in the comments below.

For a long time I’ve been wanting to offer a “premium” subscription service on this site for diehard fans. It’s one of those projects I’ve put off for a long time, due to the daunting nature of managing subscriptions and reaching fans properly.

Fortunately, there is now a neat service called Assetbar, which allows me to set up such a thing! For just $1.99 a month, you can join the Octopus Pie Underground, support the comic and get all kinds of exclusive goodies, including (but not limited to) art and sketches, pencil layers for each page, exclusive videos and convention reports, discounts and limited edition/one-of-a-kind items from the store, wallpaper requests, and anything else the Underground can collectively devise. I want it to be as fun as possible, and cost as little as possible for all involved. And I want the members - you guys - to shape its direction.

So yes, please check it out. And let me know what you’d like to see!