Check out the Tugboat Press page to see where you can go to snag this fantastic FREE COMIC BOOK. Celebrate Free Comic Book Day with the rest of us comics patriots and enjoy what is quite possibly the best free comic book of the bunch. Although it is not GOOD Comic Book Day, this anthology happens to be quite good. Bonus!

Cocteau said a cat is the visible soul of your home, and we agree. And when we are homesick, we are really Po-sick.

Some of you simply do not understand cat lovers. It’s true. But you have been reading a comic strip about manatees, so chances are some people do not understand you either.

This anthology makes many bold claims about greatest things by other talented cartoonists like Dorothy Gambrell and Braden Lamb. You should give it a read, perhaps while drinking the greatest coffee of all time or sitting on the greatest toilet of all time. You won’t be disappointed.

Of course, if you are, it will be – guaranteed – the greatest disappointment of all time.

“Hello!” Cara squealed, clutching its face. The dog was a burst of black and brown hair. A few terriers mixed with some larger dogs, perhaps.

“Her name is Raisin,” the lean man on the other side of the table said.

“Hi Raisin!” Cara squealed again.

The man saw an opportunity where Cara saw a new friend. We agreed to watch Raisin while he explored the rest of the fair. Feeding the leash under the table, he told us his name was Smatt. “Like Stephen and Matthew,” he said.

Raisin lay between our chairs, nuzzling my feet. I scratched her ear as she turned to her side and silently lifted her right legs in the air. This surprised me. I’ve owned a cat for fourteen years, and I know it takes some time and trust for him to start exposing his most vulnerable side to someone. But here I was, such a stranger that she would not remember me past Tuesday, and I was rubbing her belly like we were besties.

I kneeled on the floor and she licked my cheek. She planted her head between my knees, then lowered her eyes. This was the most serene affection I had ever received from a dog. Normally, any time I am introduced a new dog, its owner has to start shouting something like, “Scruffles! Get down! Down!” But Raisin expressed no interest in jumping. It was as if she learned long ago that jumping is not as great as everyone says it is. We watched her explore the area around us as she regarded the scents of the other exhibitors curiously. When she returned to lie beneath our table, we returned to rubbing her belly and scratching her ears.

This little beast had the kind of energy you get from some animals that makes you feel they have a special understanding of the world. They are in lives that do not share your anxieties and political opinions. They are at peace with themselves, and when they look at you, you feel – for a moment – better about yourself. Or maybe that was just me and Raisin.

She saw Smatt return to the table before we did. With ears perked up, she was eager to join him on the other side. Smatt bought some of our books and thanked us. We gushed about how sweet Raisin was. “Where did you find her?” I asked.

“In the desert,” he said. “I was walking in the Texas desert two years ago, and I found her behind a bush.”

We said goodbye, and Smatt told Raisin to Sit and Speak. Raisin released a powerful crack of dog lightening, startling everyone in the room. They exited into the crowd, walking side by side.

Read more about Raisin.

I will be there with my traveling comics partner, Cara Bean! Although I guess we aren’t travelling really, because it’s pretty close to us this time. But no less exciting; MICE has always been a fun time and it seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

Come if you can – the event is FREE and the comics are UNRESTRICTED.

Thanks for everyone who had kind things to say about the last Herman strip, and about the series in general. That last one has been made into a print that I have been giving out with the purchase of all five minicomics (you may indeed receive one on Saturday if you are so inclined). The fifth book in the series, Herman the Manatee Has Had Enough, was reviewed by The Comics Journal’s Rob Clough. And the first book was just discovered by National Geographic! It was featured in their new “Wild Misery” series.

The sixth month has finally arrived. I’m sad to say goodbye to Herman but relieved as well – he has always made it difficult when I want to work on new things. I have more stories I’m excited to tell and I’m looking forward to having the time and space to draw them.

I am so grateful for all of you. Thank you for  reading, for laughing at Herman’s misfortune, and for loving the poor guy. Thank you for supporting my efforts and challenging me to continue. I have met so many kind and interesting people and made some very good friends. I’ve grown as a cartoonist and as a person and I couldn’t have done it without you.

I’ll be at SPX in Bethesda, MD Sept 16 & 17, tabling with Cara Bean, Sally Carson, and Corinne Mucha. And in a couple weeks I’ll be at MICE at home in Boston. If I don’t see you, I hope you’ll stay with me for future comics! Follow my Twitter or Tumblr – the best is yet to come. Really!

UPDATE: I will get this strip drawn in a couple weeks! Sorry – I am in the middle of moving… this will be my last apology for a late update (I think).

We are wrapping up! Next week we will see where Herman will spend his days without us.