David Malki !

Celebrating Beardsgiving with new shirts, aprons & cards!

As we know from our canonical List of New 2012 Holidays, November 30 is Beardsgiving: the holiday where you surprise your loved ones with luxurious new beards as they sleep. I hope it’s going well for you! Everybody loves awakening to a bushy new beard — and if they don’t, perhaps reconsider why you consider this person a loved one.

Here is something new for the beard-lover (or beard aspirant) in your life. The Beard Measuring Shirt:

Like all the best metrics, it is a threshold basis. Either your beard is long enough, or it’s not. If not, you know what to do. GET TO WORK.

Hey look, a hoodie! I BELIEVE IN PIRANHAMOOSE:

I’ve wanted to do a hoodie for a long time, but couldn’t land on a design I liked. But I love this one! On the front breast it says “i believe” in tiny letters. And the ink GLOWS

IN

THE

DARK

So if you’re ever lost in the woods, you’ll make an easily-spotted meal be able to signal rescuers!

Now for what’s possibly the most amazing thing ever. The Cooking Wizard Kit:

Based, of course, on this comic. You can get the apron alone, or the full kit which includes a WIZARD HAT and the “Magic Wand of Gastrostir” (which grants +5 Deliciousness).

Come on. WIZARD HAT.

Finally, I’ve been told there are a final two sets of Wondermark Artist Edition 5-Packs left — I drew these extras just in case any of the prior orders got lost in transit, but it looks like the Postal Service’s lack of failure has become YOUR GAIN. UPDATE: These are gone!

These and many other fine things are available this very instant at my TopatoCo store.

IMPORTANT NOTE! TopatoCo has posted their list of Christmas shipping deadlines. It takes them time to pack and fill orders, so please carefully study this chart to see when you should place your order (and what speed of shipping you need to use) to guarantee a pre-Christmas delivery.

New Wondermark Holiday Cards

I’m also pleased to announce that my in-house store is all stocked up and ready to ship holiday cards! Here are two BRAND NEW designs for this year (click the images for a closer look):

“Mistletoe”:

And “Negotiator” (based on this comic):

All of my cards can be purchased in mix-n-match packs, with quantity discounts available. Here is the full list of cards! Order soon, so you receive them in time to send them back out. We’ll be packing and shipping here as quickly as we can. Thanks so much for all your support!

Check out “Save the Date”, an indie movie on VOD today

Here’s a teaser trailer (posted above; here’s the longer theatrical trailer) for the new movie Save the Date. (I’ve mentioned it before.) My friend Michael Mohan directed and co-wrote the movie, which is based on the graphic novels of Jeffrey Brown (author of the recent bestseller Darth Vader and Son.) It stars Lizzy Caplan and Alison Brie, and it’s very good!

The movie has just premiered on Amazon and iTunes for instant streaming! It’ll be in select theaters in December, as well. More info on the movie’s Facebook page.

Mike talks about the making of the movie on the screenwriter John August’s blog:

…A blessing in disguise: that August I was laid off (apparently people download music illegally off the internet?), so I grabbed my team and made a short film. Yes, I had already made a feature film that had played festivals, but I really wanted to take this new process and apply it to narrative. We shot it for next to nothing, and worked in the spirit of the music videos: quickly and intuitively. We filmed it over the course of a weekend, by that Friday it was done. It was the most creatively fulfilling experience of my life.

I still had the feature script to finish, but no job to clock in to. I had earned a free flight, so I went to my parents’ house in rural Massachusetts. They don’t have wi-fi, and therefore it was one of the most productive periods of my entire life. Finally I was able to focus, energized from the experience of making the short. Jeffrey and Egan were on speed dial, should I need them. And the instant I had a decent enough draft of Save the Date, I booked my return ticket back to Los Angeles…

(Read full post)

Another interview with Mike:

I just want to sell the movie for what it is, you know? The thing that’s kind of tricky about the film is that it’s not like these crazy things happen. It’s not the most extreme relationship movie, it’s not the Community/Party Down laugh-a-thon riot. I think that the risks that the film takes are by having these characters just be real. They aren’t extreme. For me, I just want to make sure that when people see the film, they know, “This is a film that I made for you. This is a film about you. This is about real people.” We’re avoiding the stereotypes, but we’re not like “Screw Hollywood!” It’s just a real film…

(Read full post)

And here’s a review from a random guy who just turned it on to check it out:

…Based solely off the cast, I had expected a typical romantic-comedy with actors I enjoyed and something that would leave me with a smile at the end. And, though I did not get that, I got something else — something better — out of it. I felt the disparity, the heartbreak, the joy, and the fear that every character felt. I was watching a movie with actors acting a role, yes. But, at the same time, I felt as if I had begun to take an honest look at every experience I might have ever had, acted out by famous people. I saw the heartbreak in Kevin, the stress in Beth, the fear in Sarah; and I realized that “Save the Date” was something a little more…[it’s] a smart, blunt, adorable, and tender movie that reminds us all of the realities we have to deal with. Rent it for $10 dollars or see it in a month from now. I fell in love with it. Maybe you will too.

(Read full post)

I graduated from film school with Mike in 2002. Ten years later, he has a feature film coming to theaters nationwide. I couldn’t be more proud of this guy. I hope you enjoy his movie!

BONUS LINK: The soundtrack to the movie is by Hrishikesh Hirway, AKA The One AM Radio. If you haven’t heard The One AM Radio, I totally recommend checking him out; I love his music.