Oh no! We were so busy getting ready for Emerald City Comic-Con this weekend that we forgot to tell you about it! Are you going? If not it’s too late now! If you are, this is for you! 
We are there and we are there with friends! Here are all the friends who will be there with us: Bird, Brandon Comeau, Joey Death, Machine Of Diaz, Aaron Gran, Meredith Hesse, Tyson Horne, Emily Jacques, Jeph KittenTeeth, Tiny Logan, Sam Malki !, David North, Ryan Rosenberg, Jon Vasquez, Jhonen Yates, Chris Did I miss anybody? Let me know! What Pumpkin will also be there with Andrew Hussie! And all kinds of other people, take it away Gary. Jeffrey Rowland will not be there because he has to fill up a hole in the front yard. It is amazing how terrible tumblr sucks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRINT BOOKS REACH APEX; EVERYONE CAN STOP NOW
TopatoCo Announces Release of Hyper-Extravagant Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff Hardcover Book
An ostentatiously presented tome dedicated to the worst comic strip ever denotes the end of publishing and the climax of human achievement. EASTHAMPTON, MA, January 20, 2013 – With its embossed, gold foil-stamped cover, top-quality glossy paper, and impeccable attention to detail, it’s clear that no expense was spared in making Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff. It feels good in your hands: a true work of art, a collector’s dream. 
But then you notice something wrong. There’s a stain on the cover. And it is there on purpose. It’s a coffee ring printed onto the cover with gloss laminate.
“I’m really not sure what you call this,” says TopatoCo founder and CEO Jeffrey Rowland. “There’s probably a German word for it, but I’m afraid to look it up.”
This book, the debut effort by cult cartoonist Dave Strider, was realized with the help of a dedicated team of experienced artists. KC Green (gunshowcomic.com), John Keogh (lucid-tv.com), and David Malki ! (wondermark.com) served as designers. Homestuck creator Andrew Hussie (mspaintadventures.com) served as consultant.
“This book means so much to me because it means that no more books have to be made after this,” says Hussie. “There can just stop being books forever. Now writers and artists everywhere can get on with their lives.”
Since the days of Gutenberg, publishers have tried to marry form with content in pleasing and impressive ways. And while there have been fancy books, and there have been bad books, never before in the history of the codex have the two been mismatched in so dramatic and pointless a fashion. Like a wrench torquing a bolt too hard and shearing off its head, so too does Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff completely and irrevocably break the notion of the printed book.
The online comic strip “Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff” follows a handful of friends who get up to nonsensical hijinks. This is in the rare cases when it makes any sense at all. It is universally acknowledged as the worst comic strip ever created. The book Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff lavishly presents the comic’s entire run in a treatment worthy of the highest masters of the form. It contains a completely gratuitous 4-page centerfold reading simply “centaurfold” in bright pink type.
“The printing company we used was utterly convinced that we, as designers, didn’t know what in the world we were doing,” says Malki. “The proof sheet listing supposed ‘errors’ in the book’s layout ran five pages long. I had to initial each one saying, ‘Yes, that’s OK. Yes, that’s OK. Yes, that’s OK, trust us.’”
Scattered throughout the book are perforated business-reply cards taking the form of irredeemable Subway coupons (a first for comic strip collections). Each copy of the book also comes with a “travel version” (a removable poster of all the book’s pages in grid format); a custom commemorative coin (randomly chosen from 4 designs struck); an oversized plastic paperclip imprinted with the word “paperclop”; and an animated lenticular bookmark. Bound into the spine is a red ribbon approximately three feet long, and if you scratch the nacho chip sticker on the back cover, it smells faintly of pizza. (The hologram sticker of Tony Hawk smells only of chemicals.)
“That decisions such as how best to misspell the book’s title and how often should the reader need to destroy parts of the book have been made with utmost seriousness, backed up with significant financial investment, is potent evidence for humanity having finally reached the end of its long journey,” says Keogh.
Clearly bothered, Rowland mumbled nervously “If people don’t buy this thing, we’re finished. I’ll be filling out the Subway employment application that this book also comes with.”
Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff author Dave Strider, however, does not share the same concerns: “You’d have to be a f*ckin’ idiot to buy this book.”
TopatoCo is the United States’ third-largest publisher of independent comics products. Based in Easthampton, Massachusetts, TopatoCo creates books, apparel, gift items, and novelties for over fifty of the world’s most popular web-based creators.
Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff is on sale exclusively through TopatoCo.com. The deluxe hardcover edition is limited to one print run only.
10.25” x 6.625” Prestige Format hardcover. 184 pages. $44.00.
ISBN-13: 978-1-936561-03-2
For a gallery of pictures of the book that ended publishing, visit: topatoco.com/sweetbro
FUN STUFF FOR SALE!!! Your support is appreciated, as I make no money doing web comics.
1. Don’t rye for me, I’m already bread ……the shirt!
2. Glasses Paradox shirt! (perfect for any glasses wearer suffering from this paradox)
3. STICKERS for every occasion! (very excited about these!!)
Thank you for your support & please share. If you can’t help, don’t worry…. keep enjoying the comics, you are a shining star in my universe!
Thank you Mr. Brunetto for bending over so far backward for us lately.
MSPA: Aradia, Karkat (more already on the way), Have the Car, Sleuth, Black Squiddle
Nedroid: My Own Worst Anime, Beartato
Octopus Pie: Cat Lady Pride shirts and bags
A Softer World: Be The Trouble; Dresden Codak: Cyborg Hoods; Pictures for Sad Children: Grapathy; QC: YOLO; Dinosaur Comics: T-Rex Stompin’ shirts and onesies; Little Gamers: Softrooper; Sam & Fuzzy: Rewrite History
Also we are working on a new inter-active system for you to submit your cyberpictures for fun and prizes! It’s gonna be good, we’re actually spending money on it!
We actually got these in yesterday but it’s my Birthday week so BACK OFF JACK. 
MSPA: Gamzee, Sollux, Nepeta, Terezi, Vriska, Kanaya
Dinosaur Comics: Octo, Panel2, Person, Whale
Raptor Bandit: Delicious Aprons, Unicorn Aprons, Bandito, Dolphin
Gunnerkrigg Court: Courtsymbol, Cityface
Scary Go Round: CCCP, Bears
Tiny Kitten Teeth: Giraffe, Pabst Blue Kitten
Three Panel Soul: Angler; A Softer World: Blow Up Moon; Fumboo: Bought; Dresden Codak: Preenactment; ExplodingDog: Listen to Music; Goats/Multiverse: Voldemort; MAXFUN: Peepums QC: Bearmonster; Gunshow: Hugs; Wigu/OC: Not a Doctor; White Ninja: WizardPunch
ALSO for a limited time all of our clearance shirts are on sale for TWELVE DOLLARS EACH!
I do believe we have neglected to mention here the welcome of our newest friend, Kate or Die! Go look at her stuff, it’s real good y’all.
Not to brag, but wee got some new stuff.
MSPA: Eridan, Aradia, Karkat, Nepeta, Feferi, Equius
QC: Baking tees and aprons, Nom, Think Positive
Dino Comics: Cheatsheet, Professor Science
Raptor Bandit: Fire, Ninjakick
Wondermark: Everything, Engineering
Dresden Codak: Biscuit; NEDROID: Brain Problems; OGLAF: Sprite; Gunshow: Goast; Sam & Fuzzy: Conscience Cat; JhonenV: Meatghost
Thanks Dave for driving this time! Don’t forget TCAF this weekend, and we’re launching some new books this weekend and early next week!
Aw yeah, this weekend is TCAF! May 5 and 6, at the Toronto Reference Library at 789 Yonge Street. The TopatoCo presence there will be mighty. Will there be anyone mightier? HIGHLY UNLIKELY, but we have been practicing our impromptu street fight-dancing just in case. The full list of attending, certified cartooning people appears below.
On Friday Night we are having a party! A combination TCAF kickoff/book launch party for the new books we are going to be launching at TCAF! A Softer World Volume 3, Dinosaur Comics Volume Three, Homestuck Volume 2, Three Panel Soul Volume One, and Three Word Phrase Volume One! More about those books here! This will happen at The Pilot, just down the street from the Toronto Reference Library where TCAF is! Which of our friends will be there? These of our friends will be there (and you too, hopefully)!
Aaron Diaz • Andrew Hussie • Anthony Clark • Chris Baldwin • Christopher Hastings • David Malki ! • Emily Horne • Jeffrey Rowland • Jeph Jacques • Joey Comeau • Jon Rosenberg • Kate Beaton (with Drawn and Quarterly) • Meredith Gran • Ryan North • Ryan Pequin • Sam Logan…
And a lot more friends, hundreds of friends but those are the ones who also count as Professional Friends.
And Saturday and Sunday us at TCAF on the 2nd floor of the Library, megabooth 222-230! We will have books and posters and smiles and mischievous grins (but no t-shirts, sorry). You can learn about ALL the TCAF programming here! One of the best parts about TCAF: Admission is free for everyone!
Just a light load this week, there’ll be a bunch more early next week! 
MSPA: Broken Record (ladies), Nepeta Leijon, Kanaya Maryam, Ghost (Black) Axe Cop: Freeze, Octobear (Also we got Volume Three) 
QC: Verb, Rushmo NEW! Sam and Fuzzy: Hedgehog, Rewrite History Raptor Bandit: WWBD; Scary Go Round: Ukes; Gaslamp: Hate; Wondermark: Arabic We’ll be announcing details about our prescence at Calgary Expo and TCAF very soon!
