#for printing are a bit higher. hopefully it isn't too bad!

[kayleerowena]

I would literally kill for one of our barbie shirts on a print! Is there any possibility of that in the future or would you run into copyright issues? (or if you just didn't want to- no pressure either way!)

thanks so much! i added them to my bonfire shirt shop — same disclaimer as the inprnt prints applies here, which is that if i get contacted by m*ttel i'll be taking these down because i definitely don't want to get sued — but for the time being, here's the links!

[catoi-calamari]

I’m dying out here, the gradual enshittification of all products is killing me. Could you please share your knowledge of brands that actually make good, durable clothing items? Tsym!!!

The Big One v3.0:More Boots!

>Blundstone

>Thursday Boot Co

This version is focused mainly on work/masc clothing . If anyone has recommendations for more decorative/femme clothing, please share them with me so I can update the post :)

Make sure to check the version number if you see this in the wild, it may have updated!

Recommendations marked with an asterisk (*) means I have no personal experience with them, but I've heard enough good things that I added them to the list.

1. Shirts/Tops

First of all, I'm a huge whore for 100% cotton, but in theory polyester will last longer. On the other hand, polyester will last forever, seeping into fish and local blood streams for millenia to come. Second of all, if you want cool graphics then I'd highly recommend doing it yourself. I'd say the easiest options for getting reliable, long lasting graphic tees are screen printing, tie dye and vinyl decals, but this depends on what resources you have access to. Keep in mind this is for shirts that you'll (hopefully) be able to wear for over a decade since really any decent cotton tee will last a decent amount of time.

Recommendations

-ASCOLOR

These are the best blank t shirts I've found, period. Stitching is great, the fabric is thick, and from what I can tell they're slightly more inclined to ethical production than your average mass produced T-shirts. They also sell nice jackets and coats as well!

I might try out a couple of pairs of pants from them to see what's up.

Band Tees

For some reason these tend to be really solid, depending on how big the artist in question is. Usually printed on Gildan, which ain't bad. They are expensive though, which means they may not be as great of a deal

This would be the section where I talked about stuff that isn't just t shirts but idk any brands that make consistently durable examples for a good price.

2. Pants

I would recommend a maximum of 1-2% elastane if you're getting skinny jeans, otherwise it's 100% cotton denim baby. Durability decrease exponentially the higher percentage of non-denim there is.

Also, I highly recommend selvage jeans if you can afford them. They use a tighter knit and are made to be worn in.

For cargo pants, get something that's thick and has ripstip material.

Recommendations

-Levi's

The lowest in price I would go tbh. I recommend the 502s since they're 100% cotton but 511s have been a staple of the street fashion world for a while. They're skinnier jeans ain't bad either, but I feel like they're starting to hit the edge of being too thin.

-The Unbranded Brand

Focused solely on getting the price of selvage jeans down to affordable levels. Fair warning, I bought a pair of black jeans (with 1% elastane) and the formaldehyde smell still hasn't gone away. I have an indigo pair that smell fine though, and besides that they're my favorite pairs of jeans.

5.11

Now most """Tactical Apparel""" stores tend to be a bit...off, but since this is a post about durable clothing, I gotta mention the probably undiagnosed autistic guys with a special interest in manly man pants. I have a pair of 5.11 Canvas Cargo Pants and I've taken these things camping, through outdoor airsoft fields, and underground deathcore moshpits. The bastards still looked mint when I finally handed them off to my partner because my ass got too juicy to wear them and gave me a blister when I spent all morning working for a landscaper. (That job was the final straw in my anti-lawn radicalization arc btw.)

To reiterate, I would look for anything that's ripstip and not paper thin. Nylon also works but the texture sucks.

Duluth Trading Co.*

Carhartt if they didn't sell out, from what I've heard

Insert Mid Level Selvage Jean brand that's about $150-$250 a pair*

3. Shoes

Always invest in whatever goes between you and the ground. This goes for mattresses and chairs as well. And for fucks sake get something that can be resoled, and find a cobbler near you. Also look up the Sam Vines Boot Theory of Economics.

Recommendations

Vans

Unlike converse, I've only ever bought one pair. The problem with Vans is the lack of impact absorption, something that can be fixed with aftermarket inserts in theory. Old-Skools take insoles fairly well. Their ComfyCush line is aimed at fixing this problem but I haven't tried any of them. I did get a pair of Ultraranges recently and they seem decently durable, but I've yet to really start wearing into them.

Any skate shoes in general*

Theyre made to be dragged across concrete at relatively high speeds. Try to go for suede.

Solovair*

Now, I have beef with Doc Martens since they sold out, but they're still cheap, comfortable, and made out of leather, which is all you need. Anything lower and I would argue that it's too cheap. However, they can't be resoled, they're leather is kind of thin, and they definitely have a fast fashion mindset.

Solovair is a company that uses the original factories in England to make their own line of lookalikes, for a slightly higher price and slightly higher quality. I've heard their customer service is shit.

Redwing*

I have heard nothing but praise for these. I'm going to buy a pair of Supersole 2.0s once my current pair (which didn't make the list since they kinda went downhill) finally bite it.

Danner*

Another popular recommendation for leather boots.

There is a queer owned boot brand that has canvas and leather boots that are relatively cheap and have cool art but I forgot the name

3. Socks

Blundstones*

Chelsea boots but austrialian

Basically either get Darn Tough* or Point6 some decent socks from whatever brand works for you. I highly recommend merino wool hiking socks, and I just wear cotton socks during the summer.

4. Underwear

You do wear underwear, right?

Recommendations

TomboyX

Queer-owned business catered towards gnc people. Their stuff is dope, high quality, and made in the US with livable wages for their employees. Highly recommend.

5. Specialty

From cold weather gear to military surplus, this section covers everything else.

Recommendations

Patagonia*

I'm still amazed they're this popular and have this much of a focus on sustainability and longevity. Their sibling, North Face, definitely fell into the consumerism pit years ago but Patagonia has still been chugging along.

Military Surplus

I feel a bit guilty for gatekeeping the specific companies I like, but if you go to the right places (eBay) you can get durable clothing for SUPER cheap. It's usually not the highest quality, but it's better than the same thing from an outlet mall.

Chrome

Mainly a bicycling brand, their bags are the kind of things that last a stupidly long time. The internals of them aren't amazing, mainly just an empty main cavity with a laptop sleeve and a smaller separate pocket, but all of their stuff is rock solid. They also have a solid warranty as well.

Swiss Army

Yes, the knife guys. They haven't changed their looks since the late 90s but their backpacks are designed amazingly well. They also have a limited lifetime warranty. I've noticed some cosmetic wear on mine after a few months of using it pretty roughly, thankfully it's just skin-deep stuff but it's also different to older examples I've seen. Definitely more suited towards carrying books and folders.

[davidmariottecomics]

The Winter Slump

Hello! 

Today, we're taking a peek inside the editorial side of things and talking about what I affectionately refer to as the "winter slump."

What is the Winter Slump?

The winter slump is the period between the week of American Thanksgiving and the first week of January when things get slow in the world of comics publishing. Something I talk about a lot on this blog is just how many people go into making every single comic. I work on a lot of licensed comics, so in addition to the writer, the artist/art team (pencillers, inkers, colorists, etc), letterers, designers, and any other editors I might be working with for creation of the comic, I'm also working with accounting folks and licensors who review the material and sales and marketing folks and printers and distributors and whoever else--all before it gets to the shop who gets it to you. A copy of Sonic the Hedgehog or Batman or whatever passes though a lot of hands.

But that also means that when we reach the extended holiday season in the U.S., there are more opportunities for one or more of the people in the chain to not be around. People take vacations, offices close, etc. Combined with the inherent nature of how long it takes for comics to be printed and distributed, it means any comics that are still in production this time of year are actually for release in the following year. So, editors like me find ourselves looking at a desk with no more books for this calendar year, various people we work with taking off, and hopefully, a tight hold on what's left to do as the clock on 2022 runs out. Work slows down a bit. What that opens up is more time for things that've been delayed and future planning, and that's why this time should matter to you, even if you aren't in editorial. 

How does it help you? 

Now is a good time to touch base with someone you've been wanting to work with editorially. They might not have anything at the exact moment, but they might be planning for late '23-2024 and know that in January or February they're going to be looking for folks and this is a chance to get back on their radar early. If you're hoping to hear back on a portfolio, now might be a good time to bump it back up their inbox. For example, I made my plans for the next work week at the end of this week and the majority of what I'm doing is getting back to people who have been very patiently waiting for a longer response and getting my future planning done. It's not a bad thing to touch base at a time when you expect editors and other hiring folks might have more flexibility than usual. 

The caveat to all of that is editors are people too. They may be out of office for whatever reason around this time period. And if something's on fire, because they may be suffering from reduced support along the chain, they might have even less time than usual. There's the risk that you might still not get what you're hoping for, but the risk isn't any worse than at any other time you're emailing an editor, but the chances of a faster and more thorough response are higher. 

What should you say? 

So, editors might have more time because things are slower on their end. You wanna take advantage of that. What do you say to them? There are three main tactics.

1. The holiday check-in! Simple and easy, if you're just looking to touch base briefly, you can always drop them a line saying you hope they have a good holiday season. Maybe you can include a digital holiday card you drew, which usually goes over well.

2. The helping hand! If you genuinely have time in your schedule, reaching out to an editor and saying "hey, I'm still around and free through the end of the year if you need help on X" might be the solution to a problem they have. Since remaining deadlines tend to be tight this time of year, you might manage to offer your assistance at just the right time to get something done, which the editor will remember. 

3. The portfolio follow-up! It doesn't necessarily have to be for your portfolio, but if you emailed an editor previously and haven't heard back yet, sending a follow-up specific to whatever you had originally contacted them about is not a bad idea. If it is related to a portfolio--including a writing portfolio--sending an "end-of-year" update can be really nice. Take it as a chance to brag about what you've done in 2022. 

Whatever you do, just remember to be polite and understanding as it's a hope this editor's actually got a winter slump.

And just to get ahead of things: I'm only sending out two more updates this year! Not sure what next week's will be, but 12/17 I've got some goodbyes to say to something important to me. We'll be off the last two weeks of the year and back in January after that!  

Things I've been enjoying this week: Getting the first gifts wrapped and under the tree. The Tick (TV show). Candy canes. Honkai Impact (Video game). Sonic Frontiers (Video game). Chainsaw Man (Anime & Manga). Spy x Family (Anime). My Hero Academia (Anime). Uzaki-Chan Wants to Hang-Out (Anime). My Lovey-Dovey Wife is a Stone Cold Killer (Manga). A couple of WIPs I've got going. Our Pokemon card advent calendar. My friend Zac Boone who I got to see yesterday for a bit. The Simpsons (TV show). According to Spotify and adding in my non-Spotify listening, I listened to Lizzo for over 24 hours this year! That's pretty good! And the Rise of the Beasts trailer looked alright, as did the new Indiana Jones one! 

New Releases this week (11/30/2022): Godzilla Rivals: Vs. Gigan (I didn't actually work on this, but the team that did is awesome and you should check it out)

New releases next week (12/7/2022): Sonic the Hedgehog #55 (Editor) Transformers: Best of Windblade (Editor--our penultimate TF book) Godzilla Monsters & Protectors: All Hail the King #3 (Editor! My first Godzilla book!) 

Final Order Cutoff--Last chance for your store to guarantee release day copies for you (12/5/2022): Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island #4

Pic of the Week: I got new glasses and I think they look pretty sharp. I like the frames on my face.

Also, speaking of Rise of the Beasts, just a reminder that Beast Wars Vol. 3 is available in my shop now!