It's Friday. It's almost the weekend (and for those of us who are self-employed, it's difficult to shake off the inclination to slack off, because we know we're going to be working on the weekend anyway). Therefore, for your pleasure, I'm going to post here some links to things that I enjoy, and therefore I hope you will too.

• Sinfest by Tatsuya Ishida. This comic strip is by turns sexy, insightful, gangsta, poetic, and downright hysterical. Today's post features the female lead doing a poetry slam about the war, a perfect example of why I love this comic.


• Scary-Go-Round by John Allison. Another comic, this one hailing from Jolly Old England and featuring some of the hippest, near-absurdist dialogue I've ever seen. I love this strip, and its only drawback is that it only posts four days a week (Tuesdays through Fridays). Be sure to check out his most recently-completed storylines, "Meddling" and "Inevitable," which are almost Buffyesque in their handling of love, necromancy and what being a 21st-century zombie is really all about.


• The Weblog of Tina Bell Vance, Artist. Inkblots readers will already be familiar with the artwork of my friend Tina Bell Vance. She has recently opened up a weblog over on her personal site, and has already demonstrated the possession of mad ranting skizzills. Go to, go to -- and when you're finished there, don't forget to swing by her portfolio.


• The Weblog of Talon Beeson, Player. One of my oldest, best friends now has a weblog, The Player's Journal. Like so many of us, he has largely been ranting about the war lately, but doing so with vim and vigor and wisdom. Go to, go to, and then harass him to keep going.


• The Weblog of Caterina Fake, lovely lady of letters. Brilliant artist-writer-woman Caterina Fake, married to the lucky Stewart Butterfield, keeps a weblog filled with insights and recommendations. One of my favorite daily clicks.


• The Weblog of Todd Dominey, Designer. One of my favorite panels at SXSW this year was put on by Jeffrey Zeldman, Adam Greenfield and this man, one of my longtime favorite online writers (and Inkblots alum), Todd Dominey. Hailing from Georgia, Todd's posts are always interesting and well-written. Highly recommended, although one wonders where the hell he's been this week.


• The Weblog of Kevin Smokler, Writer. One of my other favorite panels at SXSW included the illustrious Ben Brown, the beautiful, brilliant and bookish Carrie Bickner (Zeldman, you lucky bastard) and my good friend Kevin Smokler. Kevin is one of my friends that I really respect and admire, and consider myself honored to know. He's just landed a deal with a fancypants New York agent, further proof that he is officially Going Places. His weblog is the place to follow his progress.


• Artbomb.net. Finally, to come full circle to the comics thing, is this old favorite: artbomb.net was cofounded by Peter Siegel and Warren Ellis to serve as an online review of graphic novels. According to their about section, "rtbomb's mission is to promote diverse and sophisticated graphic novels. A more impressive array of graphic novels has never before been available for English reading audiences. We want to get them into your hands." Perfect for those of us looking for some fun reading for overcast Friday afternoons (which is what seems to be descending upon D.C. right about now).

Right, so there's just a handful to keep you all busy and entertained while I start the housecleaning -- I have friends coming in for the weekend, and the house is a disaster. Have fun with the links, and I'll catch up with all y'all tomorrow.