...Not for me.

But I came awfully close.

Two weeks before Christmas, I was called into a meeting and told that management was planning more lay-offs, and I was on the list despite my ten years with the company.

Now, I want to be absolutely clear about this, because I don't want this to be a pity party on my behalf. Thanks to your support, my comic is generating more income than ever before. 2008 was the best year yet for my comic. But it's not yet at the point that it can solely support a family of four. It will be soon, but not yet. And the severance package from my day job was more than fair. It would have been scary, but I think I could have weathered it.

With two kids in school and bills to pay, I sure as heck wasn't eager to find out, mind you...

The rules for departure were very clear. If someone else in the company took a voluntary lay-off, the person with the most seniority on the lay-off list would be removed from the list -- and I had the most seniority on the list by a good two or three years.

It just so happened that a co-worker had been planning to move to California in January. So, a buy-out was actually beneficial to her. But nonetheless, her action meant I didn't have to stress-out over finding a new job. More importantly, it meant I wouldn't have to tell my wife about it until after Christmas -- about a week after it had been confirmed to me that I would be staying.

So, here's where I need a Few Good Henchpeople. She's looking for employment in the West Hollywood, Calif., area. She was a receptionist here, and would be qualified to take such a job there (or a similar role, such as personal assistant, etc.)

She was a favorite here. Her work ethic is solid, and she's an absolute joy to be around. I can't recommend her strongly enough.

She mentioned a job opening at a DC Comics office in San Diego, as a matter of fact. I know I have readers at DC...

Obviously, I'm not going to release her e-mail here. Please contact me with any leads or offers and I will put you in touch with her. You can respond in the Comments section to this post, or you can click "E-mail" at the upper, right-hand corner of this page.

She's good people. I'm counting on you guys to help me pay back something that helped my family out in a big way.

It's hard to believe that we're careening headlong into the new convention season already. For example, I'll be promoting my booth in the Small Press Area of the New York Comic Con next month.

But before that, I'm going to kick this season off in style, appearing at Katsucon in Arlington, Va, on Feb 13-15. Better still, I'll be hanging out with two of my Halfpixel pals, Dave and Kris.

If you life on the Right Coast, and if have a copy of our blockbuster book, How To Make Webcomics, this is your chance to get three out of the four authors' signatures and maybe even buy a sketch. (Don't worry, we're gonna drag Scott out here yet...)

We're really looking forward to this appearance, and we're hoping to see you there!

	5% (14)	I'M GONNA BE THERE WITH BELLS ON!
	5% (14)	I'll be there. No bells.
	9% (25)	Not coming. I enjoy being bored and lonely.
	79% (203)	Not my geography, but I'll try to catch you when you're in my neighborhood.