It was five years ago on July 31, 2004 that Sarah and I officially launched MegaGear, an online store offering all sorts of Megatokyo related swag run by Seraphim and myself. The basic idea behind the store was that we wanted to be able to serve our readers directly, producing and managing the products we offer as well as shipped them to you ourselves. It's been a crazy five years with more than it's share of challenges and changes. Just in the past year or so there have been at least three big changes: we started printing our own shirts using Direct To Garment printing technology (and a big printer), we moved our warehouse to a perfectly sized space closer to home and our Jack joined us and is now in training to take over all the printing and shipping tasks from his mom and dad... as soon as he's tall enough to reach the printer deck. ^^;;

In celebration and recognition of having the privilege of serving our fine readers (that's you) for five years, we're running a 5 years of Megagear sale and special promotion, as well as several new products to choose from.

For starters, Get a set of 5 MegaTokyo stickers FREE with any order over $15. Three of these stickers are brand new, with the fourth a revamped and re-sized the L337 by Largo sticker. Any order over $15 (not including shipping) gets a free set of stickers (for a limited time only).

We've also introduced some new products. First is a new and revamped OV3RCL0CK3D t-shirt design, which is also available on a ceramic mug and mousepad. I'll have to be sure to give Ping one of the updated shirts at some time in the future. Second is a new and frankly pretty awesome BeastCake mug design. Erika has one, and usually takes her morning coffee in it, as can be seen in these comics. Adding a "GAOOOO!!" (roar) sound to it just made it full of much win - I am at this very moment drinking coffee from my own BeastCake mug. :)

Another thing i've done is updated the alternate Megatokyo logo design. I haven't been happy with my alternate MT logos of late, until i came up with this one. For some reason, i like the simpler, easier to read nature of it. T-shirt, Ladies T and Hoodie versions available.

Also new with this update, you can now get many of the existing T-shirt designs on Hoodies! Be sure to check out the selection. And don't forget about the CoffinRose Miho shirt and Fine Art Print, which is also a fairly recent addition to the MegaGear store.

In addition to the free stickers and the new stuff, we're also running a sale! All T-Shirts are 15% off (not including clearance or already marked down items) Hoodies are also on sale - SM to XL Hoodies are $34, 2XL Hoodies are $37 and 3XL Hoodies are $40. Signed Fine Art Prints are also on sale - 2 for $35 (save $5), Button Sets are also on sale - 2 for $10. You will also find that there are sale prices on other selected swag and posters.

As usual, it's been WAY too long since i've updated my rantspace here, both Dom and I have been bad (at least Dom has had good excuse, given the work he's been putting into the S-words podcast and stuff). A few things i should note quickly, which i should also cover in a little more depth in a near-future rant:

Technically, i'm SUPPOSED to be on a Tuesday-Friday comic schedule, but i've been having difficulty hitting even that for a variety of reasons. Doesn't mean it's not going to stabilize out at some point, but it's been way off recently. There have been two things that have changed in comic production though:

One, i've gone back to my original approach to hatching (which i usually do as i do the drawings) which is resulting in actually finished artwork for the comics (except for that last panel in 1216 which i need to get back to). I've been pretty happy with the artwork lately. Yes, i do consider SOME of the drawings in the recent arcs to be a tad self indulgent...

Two, rather than making people wait until everything is done, i've been letting people watch the drawing process as it happens. After seeing Gabe's live streamcasting of him drawing Penny Arcade i experimented with doing the same thing. At first i was broadcasting with UStream but recently switched over to Justin.tv because i can broadcast at a MUCH higher resolution and quality (it has to do with being on a Mac, i can use QuickTime Broadcaster with Justin.tv). The live broadcasts suffer from the same scheduling issues that effect the comic production in general, but i always announce when i'm drawing to my fredrin twitter. The 'Fredarting' link at the top of the page has the Justin.tv embed.

Anyways, a good sale, a good promotion, some shameless product pimping, and a little information. Hey, the MegaGear store is what keeps MegaTokyo online, so your purchases are welcome and appreciated. Nine years for MT, Five years for the MegaGear store... hard to believe so much time has passed...

Actually, i should probably not bring that subject up. ^^;;; I should get back to work on today's comic, which you are welcome to come by and watch Live as i draw this afternoon. There's a FAQ for the stream, and I should also note that there are obviously a lot of spoilers involved in watching me do the comic, but it's not as bad as you might think. I always draw the panels in order, and i never show the dialogue, which can (and usually does) give a different reading of what i've drawn than the drawings alone show. I also tend to goof around sometimes, and some people seem to find the whole thing somewhat entertaining.

Either way, i better get back to it. Go buy stuff, then come watch me draw, and ... don't think about the fact that that friday comic isn't up yet. Yeah. :)