The commotion is that the flying man who always comes by has returned once again.

#1581; The Longest, Most Fruitless Search

  — January 23rd, 2026

[ Tags: , , , ]       Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/1581/

Continued from Wondermark #024
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The AUTOMATED Fiction Generator Mark-II

Insert one thrupenny bit.

Behold the next step in Fiction-Generating technology! I was frankly astonished at the speed and felicity with which Marksmen wrote me this morning with programmed versions of the Fiction Generator 2000. Many thanks to Dean R., Nicholas N., Dan, Rod V., Terry L., and Jonathan G. who sent me a Python file.

But I must give top honors to Liam Cooke’s version! This is, as copywriters would say a century ago, “An IMPROVED Model—Frees operator from labor and ensures consistent results FAR SUPERIOR to those hand-wrought. (Circulars sent free.)”

Tremendous thanks to all who undertook this of their own volition — and to those who’ve written about posters, watch for an announcement hopefully later this week.

Brass Piranhamoose!

Check this out! Marksman Mike M. sent me this brass etching of everyone’s favorite aquatic forest carnivore. It’s thick, heavy, tremendously attractive and a magnificent kindness on Mike’s part. Thanks very much, Mike! It will occupy a place of honor on my desk. (Click the pictures for a closer look.)

Upcoming convention appearances!

checked this nation right off the list

Time to get the travelin’ shoes on again! I’m hitting three corners of the country in the next few weeks, making what roughly amounts to a continent-wide check-mark. I’ll have books, a few shirts and posters, probably some holiday cards, and definitely smiles. First up:

ess pee ecks

The Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland, on September 26-27! One of my favorite shows of the year, not least because the attendees are so uniformly attractive. YES THAT MEANS YOU

ell bee see see

The brand-new Long Beach Comic Con on October 2-4! This is the first year for this particular show and I’m excited to see how it goes. I’ll be on a panel talking about webcomics, and if I can swing it, also a panel talking about Chilean potato farming, which I know roughly as much about.

uhh, word stock

The Wordstock book festival in Portland, Oregon, on October 10-11! I’m very excited for this show, because, you know, I like books. If you do too, come check it out and maybe say hello!

I’m sorry to say I will not be at the APE show in San Francisco this year due to a prior engagement — but I’ll have representatives there probably with some books and shirts! Maybe my proxies can fill the gaping void in your ribs until Wondercon, next spring, which I will be at? If not, I’ll just see you in April!

now where did I put dem travelin’ shoes

Ways to spend a Friday

Let us say you are idle, this day in September. Let us say that to the cars rushing by outside you are a stationary observer, moving backwards in their memory as they disappear. What use can be made of this time?

The deadline for my comic-coloring contest is this Sunday night; surely you can spend a few hours today in pursuit of this, a task that provides distraction from those things you are not doing anyway.

The television provider DirecTV is offering new customers a promotion; if you were considering their (perfectly adequate, in my experience as a customer for the last seven years) service, you could do worse than saving $100, in the form of ten $10 bill credits. By using my account number — 23334574 — as your referral, not only do you obtain the discount, but I am rewarded somewhat as well. This is no particular urging on my part; simply if you were contemplating the service, on this idle day, regardless.

Finally, if you enjoyed the sight of the ridiculous, entirely un-aerodynamic flying contrivance in Tuesday’s strip, and have twenty-odd minutes to spare on a break from your lack of activity, you may enjoy this remarkable and arresting short film, brought to my attention by kind Marksman Kevin S. It is embedded below; or on YouTube here.


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