A Parting Gift

It is always here, the gateway into the Hereafter, but no one living ever notices. There is no angel chorus heralding the entrance. It is neither gleaming nor made of pearl. Rather, it is a lonely row of hedges with a modest wooden door just low enough that even the greatest men must enter with heads bowed. Many are they who have entered with nasty bumps on their foreheads.

Here the three travelers stood and pondered what ought to be said. This would normally be when Death wished his companions well and gave them some idea of what to expect on the other side, but his throat felt curiously lumpy now.

Elsie took Death's hand and patted it gently.

"You be all right," she said softly.

Before Death could reply, the gate before them creaked open and swelled to a size just large enough for a humble circus elephant. From within came a hum that only the right sort of person or creature could understand. To Elsie, it was someone calling her name. To Barcas, the distant trumpeting of his kind. To Death, it was nothing but empty air.

"They're waiting for you," he said and then, "Mind your heads!"

But Elsie and Barcas were already passing through. Soon, the gateway was small again. Its little wooden door then closed with an unceremonious thud.

"Oh," said Death.

He sighed and nodded to himself. This was as it should be. It was his job, after all, and now it was time to move on.

Just as he turned around, something light and papery fell from above and landed between his feet. It seemed to the Reaper as if it were intended for him.

It was only a leaf. Just a dried up crinkly thing. But it looked very fine tied to his scythe with a stray bit of thread.

Perhaps, if you are lucky - or if you are not - you will see it yourself one day.

Skary tees are now available in the store! Mister Creazil and the Plague Kid are waiting to be worn by you, but they're currently in limited supply. Get yours while you can! All orders will be fulfilled by the good people of PrintMojo.

In more news, do you know about Auxiliary Magazine? Rena Finkel recently interviewed me for Auxiliary, and that issue is now available for free online and in print in just a few days. There's lots of other good stuff in there too. Check it out!

Also, the Show Your Allegiance Contest was a spectacular show of talent! The judges and I loved all twenty-two of your entries, and we were sad that we had to pick just one. And that winner was Katrina Pomerance with her handmade doll! Katrina has won a Mister Creazil tee for her adorable creation. Congratulations, Katrina!

Katrina's doll

Cynthia Cheng's delightful comic about the process of making her submission was the first runner-up, and we couldn't just let her slip by without notice. She'll be receiving a little something in the mail as well. Yay, Cynthia!

Cynthia's comic

The other entries will be posted to the Skary.net fan art gallery soon. Again, thank you to all of you who entered!

There are fewer than three days left to show your allegiance and win your choice of the new Skary tees. Are you ready? I'll tell you now that you may have to step up your game. The entries we've gotten so far are top-notch. Picking a winner will not be easy! See what you're up against? (And these are only a few of them!)

Katrina's doll

Candace's Music Video:

Anna's Flapbook

And this one from Liz and her sister made me laugh:

There are plenty more where those came from, but yours can only be one of them if you submit it by 11:59 pm Pacific, July 29th! Details here if you need a refresher.

Rory recites "Agony"

Cynthia gives us a making-of comic for her illustration:

Asa's niece is unequivocally Skary:

Countess Soap

What you're winning:

your choice of one Plague Kid tee OR Mister Creazil tee in your specified size.

What you're going to do:

Show us how much you love Childrin R Skary in whatever way your creative brain can invent. Make a video, write a story, paint a picture, compose a song, organize a parade (that one might be a bit over the top)... anything you want! Just so long as no one gets hurt, it's legal, and you can submit some version of it online. Keep in mind that your submissions may be posted to Skary.net, so don't do anything that's going to haunt you when you become a senator in a few decades.

Who will win?

That's to be decided by a panel of judges who will base their decision on your creativity, uniqueness, effort, and overall Skariness. So, don't worry if you don't have any fancy camera equipment, you're not a master ar-teest, or English isn't your first language. If we can tell you really love Skary and worked hard to show it, that's all that counts. But only one person will win! You can get help from family and friends, but you must be the primary participant, and you alone will receive the prize should you win (but do name your helpers if you have any. They at least deserve credit).

Send your entry by July 29th via the form below!

More Rules (we always gotta have 'em):

1. Your entry must be submitted online with the form below. Not in person or by snail mail; sorry. You may post it anywhere you want, so long as there is a version that my judges and I can view, and you have sent me the link or file. The exception to this is Facebook. DO NOT SEND LINKS TO FACEBOOK. I always get submissions from people's Facebook pages, and 99% of the time, I don't have access to them. So, let's just throw that one right out. No Facebook.
2. You may only submit one entry. But if you make a mistake or do a better version, you may resubmit. Only your final effort will be considered, however. This is to make sure you're putting your best effort into it. This is about quality, not quantity. This also means you can't just resubmit fan art or previous contest entries you've sent me before.
3. All participants are welcome, regardless of country. However, my judges and I primarily speak English. So, if your entry depends upon the spoken or written word, we ask that you provide an English translation to accompany it. You may get help with translations.
4. While you may get some help if you absolutely have to, the idea and as much of the execution as possible must be yours. You may parody something else for your entry, but you cannot copy or steal. If it's discovered that you've stolen someone else's work, OH MAN, you will be in so much trouble. Like, banned for life from ever entering anything of mine ever again. Probably a pox on your house, too.
5. Your entries are due no later than 11:59 PM Pacific, July 29th, 2010. No exceptions, even if your entry is really superduperawesome. Winners will be announced August 1st, and shirts go on sale for everyone else August 2nd. That gives you two weeks! Snap to it!

Lastly, please remember that you are wonderful, and so is your entry even if you don't win. There are always a lot of entries, and they can't all win! I sometimes get very sad messages from people who feel like they have failed because they weren't picked. Don't do that. It's just a t-shirt. A really lovely one, if I may say so myself, but not worth sacrificing your well-deserved pride over.

Update 7/30/10: Contest is over! The winner will be announced this Sunday.

And this series of Seven Skary Sins by Ashley from Canada:

And much more over on the fan art page!

I'm in the middle of a new illustration that I can't wait to show you - that should be up by this weekend - and I'm still pondering how the Death and Elsie saga should end. I've also finished a rough sketch of War #3, so expect that soon!