True to form, I’m a bit slow on these notices, but there’s still a little time left for both, so please consider participating in the following:

My buddy Tony Esteves, creator of the much fun Legendary Woodsman, is offering a print of a special Bean and Bobert comic strip to support the charity Steps for Life. Sales of the print go to the charity, which supports and advocates for victims of workplace tragedy. Having worked in an office that was once evacuated under threat of a gunman on-site, not to mention just understanding the importance of keeping your day job from burning you out, I can certainly get behind this drive. In addition, Tony will be walking in the Steps for Life walk event tomorrow, Saturday, May 5th, and is also taking traditional donations for that. If you’d like to help him, please make your purchases or donations soon! (click here)

Second order of business: Last week (I think… time evades me…) I learned that Spike from Julie’s Gems is running a raffle leading up to World Book Night 2012. If you pop over to his site here, you can get the email address to make your entry, which puts you in the running for a copy of Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (!), as well as a copy of The Time-Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger. The deadline for entries is this Sunday, May 6th, so get on the stick if you like free good books!

A quick and much-appreciated thank you to Spike Matthews, writer of the Julie’s Gems blog, for his kind treatment of Odori Park in a post last month. It’s always a thrill when I find out a strip I’ve done has tickled someone right in the sweet spot. Thanks for the nod, Spike!

Last week, I recorded myself drawing Friday’s comic, and thought I’d put the video up online for folks who might enjoy a peek at my cartooning process. Here it is, and please let me know if you’d like to see more of this sort of thing!