My friend and colleague Liz Baillie does a fantastic, weekly updating webcomic called Freewheel. It's about a girl who strikes out on her own as a modern hobo on an important mission. I've read more of the comic than Liz has posted, and I can tell you that as good as it is now, it gets better.

A page from Freewheel:


For those of you who don't like reading comics online, Liz is raising the cash to print Freewheel, and she's put together a hobo-themed fundraiser with various levels of giving, with names like "can opener," "matches," and the best and highest level, "mayor of Hobotown". Each level comes with it's own special benefits, just like a PBS fundraiser.

Won't you head on over and make her hobo dreams come true?

Comic Tools readers assemble!

Comic Tools reader Anton sent me this email (edited slightly) :

"Hi Matt,

I've got a question that I thought I might throw out to you and perhaps the good readers of the blog: I've got the Ackerman Pump Pen, but I find that after about an hour the flow starts getting erratic, and it needs to be rinsed - which is a messy affair. I really love the smoothness and fast action of the fountain pen for sketching. I'm considering getting a Pilot Namiki Falcon with a Binder/Mottishaw modified nib for more flex (in Fine I think). I've done a bit of research, and this seems like the best option for an affordable modern fountain pen. Apparently you still don't get the full flex you do of vintage FP's or dip pens, but I want an easy pen to chuck in the pocket - no fuss.
Have you or any of the readers had experience with this pen? "

I've never heard of or used the thing, and as much as I'd love to buy one and tell him what I think of it myself, money's tight and they retail for over a hundred bucks, so that's not an option. Anybody ever used one of these? Here's a photo of the thing:

Reader question:

B2-kun asks:

For the other Pitt pen nib sizes, my problem is that I tend to wear them down and damage them before I can use up the original ink load. Has anybody verified if the brush nib flipping trick also works with the Big Pitt brush pens yet?

B2-kun's question refers to how on Pitt pens you can pull out the fiber tip nib, turn it around, and shove it back in, and voila'!, you have a brand new tip.

I don't know the answer because I hate Pitt pens like poison myself, though not as much as I hate microns. Any Pitt pen folks who can help him out?

Is there an inkwasher in the house?

I just got this question as part of a very nice email:

A request for you -- have you considered doing an entry on ink washes? I've started experimenting with them lately, and it's not as intuitive as I would have thought. Is it better to lay a darker wash over a lighter wash or vice versa? How does watered down ink work versus watercolor? How does one get the pseudo-ink wash effect of someone like Toby Cypress? Etc, etc.

I know absolutely nothing about inkwashing. At all. I think I MAY have done it, ONCE, when I was ten. I'd ask an artist I know personally, but I don't know any who do inkwashes.

So I now call upon all the readers of comic tools: Can anybody help this man?