Hiatus and Contest
I'm sure this will come as no surprise as I haven't updated here since late June, but I'm going to take extended time away from posting reviews on SIZE MATTERS.

Between work, exploring the city, and spending quality time with Kate, my life is embarrassingly full right now. Last year was one of those years, and I've been seriously re-evaluating things and what's important to me. I'm working on my own comic and spending a lot of time reading books and writing.

I will keep SIZE MATTERS up as a resource. Maybe I'll revisit reviewing when winter hits and I'm not out running the streets. In the meantime, I'll probably post pages of my own stuff here when I feel like sharing.

For all of you who are waiting on reviews, I'm sorry if I haven't got to your work. Luckily, there's a bunch of other reviewers who are much more dedicated to showing your stuff to the world. I started SIZE MATTERS on July 20th, 2005 when I noticed there wasn't sufficient coverage of minis. I'm so happy that has changed.

For now, it's time to move on. I've got too many other things rattling around in my head to concentrate. I'll see most of you around. I'll keep abreast of what people are doing on Facebook and I'll still check out local shows and events.

I'd like to thank everyone who has read the blog over the years. Thank you, thank you. I'm really glad I was able to share some of these amazing mini-comics with you. And thank you to everyone who sent in minis for review. I've always been impressed with the creativity and energy that I've discovered in your work. You guys and gals are awesome.

Before I turn out the lights, here's a very quick look at some interesting stuff that I was hoping to review before I shut down. Please visit the links provided to find out more.

City Under Sand and Casual Sex by David Beyer Nine Gallons by Susie Cagle Big Un Visits the City by Brian Leonard Nurse Nurse 3 and 4 by Katie Skelley Candy or Medicine Volume Six by Josh Blair, et al Here's Blobby by Patrick Morgan Sunward by Jason Viola The Moth or the Flame by Joshua Ray Stephens This is a gorgeous hardcover book. Sam and Dan by Jeff Lok Exploding Head Man by Jason Overby Look at this beautiful envelope from Jason. I'm gonna miss that kind of shit. And one last thing - I have a huge box of mini-comics sitting in a sub 500 square foot apartment. I need to get rid of these beautiful little things. So, if you want a big box full of mini-comics (probably about 100 minis I would guess), drop me an email titled "I want that box of mini-comics!"

I'll have Kate pick a random number between 1 and the number of emails received between now and August 31st. The corresponding email response that matches the random number will win the comics and I'll ship them out to you.

I'll see you around.
Shawn

SIZE MATTERS updates, pruning, etc.
Hey Folks, just wanted to point out some updates here at SIZE MATTERS. First of all, and probably most shocking, is that there have been actual reviews and new content more than once this month.

The lack of updates has certainly not been due to a lack of material, just a lack of time and energy. In the last couple of weeks, I have finally carved out some dedicated time each week to devote to reading and reviewing mini-comics. I also picked up up a new Macbook Pro that makes hopping on the laptop a lot more fun.

As I started spending some more time on here this week, I realized that the blogroll over there on the right was woefully outdated. After checking every link, I got rid of the broken links, added dozens of new ones, and updated the ones that needed updating. If you notice something that I’ve missed, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Specifically, I added several new shops to the Where to Buy Mini-Comics section. I’m always looking for more places, so let me know if I’ve missed something. What used to be Comics Blogs is now Blogs and Stuff I Enjoy. I also added dozens of new comic creator links under Mini-Comic Creators and pruned a few links that had died – all the Fort Thunder links, for example.

Most importantly, I added labels to all the posts. You can find this feature right after Blogs and Stuff I Enjoy. I chose to go by artist name in almost all cases, rather than title, and I added shows, online stores, and other labels where appropriate. I think this feature makes the blog much more reader friendly and I hope you enjoy.

That’s about it, except for the robin’s egg blue background, changing the font to Trebuchet, and updating the template to the new Blogger style. Doesn't sound like much, but it's a lot of work!

Welcome to the SIZE MATTERS blog.

If you're migrating here from the SIZE MATTERS column at Comic Book Galaxy, you may be wondering why there's a SIZE MATTERS blog. Well, to be honest with you, I wasn't completely happy with the format of a weekly column on mini-comics, even though Alan and the gang are wonderful hosts. Over the span of a handful of columns, I found that I couldn't give enough attention to the mini-comics that I wanted to cover. It was also difficult to include all of the image samples that I wanted to show you, the curious mini-comic reader. Anyway, just across the street at Comic Book Galaxy, Alan and new editor Chris Hunter will continue to link to my posts here. I'd like to thank Alan for his understanding and support during this SIZE MATTERS format change.

A blog will give me the flexibility to load new reviews and features when I want and include as many images as I want. I'm a firm believer that you need more than a cover image to get someone's attention when it comes to mini-comics. I'm hoping that a review, a link, a cover image, and an interior shot or two will be enough to convince people to give these tiny masterpieces a shot. Here at the SIZE MATTERS blog I'll have the flexibility and space to do whatever it takes to turn your attention to the latest and greatest in the world of mini-comics.

If you're familiar with the column at Comic Book Galaxy, then you know the drill. I'll be covering mini-comics, but I'll be covering them at my own pace and put up new content on a more frequent basis. I won't stuff a handful of mini-comic reviews into a weekly post, but rather I'll load a review or two each day or every other day as the mini-comics roll in. We'll discover the best in mini-comics and sometimes the worst. We'll have reviews, features, interviews, and anything else fit to discuss.

If you're new to this blog or new to mini-comics, I want to give you something unexpected when you click on the link that brings you here. I want to share the sense of wonder that I and many others find in this tiny corner of the comics medium. I hope you'll come back, because I'll be here regardless.