Pictures For Sad Children is a dark-humored web comic written and drawn by John Campbell. You either love it or hate it, but it always rates highly at the Is It Funny? website. I think it’s hysterical - it’ll never run side-by-side with Blondie and Beetle Bailey, and that makes me love it even more.

Now, creator Campbell has joined the thankfully increasing ranks of cartoonists who are self-publishing and hand-selling their own book collections. And it makes sound financial sense: his established website gives him the perfect marketing tool to spread the word. His website can sell the books, and he can haul them around to places like MOCCA and SPX and APE. Plus, with no traditional publisher as the middleman, the cash flows back to the creator much faster so it’s easier - never easy, just easier - to turn a profit. Self-publishing is a lot of work - and a lot of paperwork and phone calls - and I applaud any cartoonist who goes that route.

The just-published Pictures For Sad Children book has 200 pages (and a total of 200 PFSC cartoons), in a nice, softcover, squarebound package in black and white. The print run was 1000 copies, and while John debuted them at SPX last month, he’s still got some for his internet pals.

Take advantage of that and get a couple of copies - one for you and one for your upcoming Secret Santa at the office.

[Artwork: Photo lifted from the Pictures For Sad Children website, ©John Campbell]