Latest Episode, #486
April 22nd, 2006 | Strip Archive
Jeez, I finished this almost two weeks ago, and forgot to post it. I’m used to washing my hands of a strip once I’ve emailed it off to the newspapers, so it’s hard to remember that now I still have to put it online. Here’s the large print version for people without bionic eyesight. Episode 487 will go up on May 3.
Okay, what do people think of this possible revenue scenario: for a modest subscription fee, I email you the strips as soon as they’re done. That means you’d see them when they’re still fresh, and the current events they touch on are not yet yesterday’s news. Then I’d delay posting them online for a month or so–that way people who can’t afford to pay could still read them eventually, and people who pay could have steaming hot episodes delivered right to their in-box. What do you think of that? What about a dollar an episode? Is that reasonable? It’s a biweekly strip. so that’s two bucks a month.
Hey, and what about this? The email version could be like HBO. I could leave all the swear words in, and perhaps even have occasional frontal nudity. Instead of the #@&*’s and artful drapery that I employ in the newspaper version.
120 Responses to “Latest Episode, #486”
April 22nd, 2006 at 4:19 pm
What a superb idea~capitalism at its best! Everyone has access eventually. I’d gladly pay $1/episode and would be glad to pay for a whole year in advance. I think the market would bear at least double that price, so make sure you’re charging enough in the beginning to make it worth your while. People get cranky when prices are raised~and if you wind up rolling in cash, you could always lower the price of subscription.
April 22nd, 2006 at 4:19 pm
alison,
i would totally pay $24 a year for naked swearing cartoon lesbians, your work is fabulous!
xoxo,
mo
nyc
April 22nd, 2006 at 4:37 pm
Excellent.l Fine. I’m in.
April 22nd, 2006 at 5:14 pm
Count me in!
jf
April 22nd, 2006 at 5:25 pm
I’d pay for less artful draping & actual swearing!
- a longtime fan
April 22nd, 2006 at 5:26 pm
Of *course* I’m a big fan, etc etc, but that’s a bit high for me in light of the fact that I always buy the books when they come out.
I’m not complaining — I’ll read on the web later — just giving another perspective.
I hope you don’t expurgate too much for the web version; everybody needs a little full-frontal in her life!
April 22nd, 2006 at 6:48 pm
As part of our continuing public service…
If you are one of the unfortunate folks whose browser won’t let you
properly view the large image, try clicking:
HERE
(This should work on any browser.)
N
April 22nd, 2006 at 8:16 pm
I’m all about supporting the arts/artists! Count me in!
April 22nd, 2006 at 8:16 pm
definitely would be willing to pay…i buy the books anyway too, but $24 a year is only US 46c a week, which as far as i’m concerned is definitely worth it, and certainly not an exorbitant amount of money.
is it possible to have an option where you pay it in one go in advance? because i (and i presume other international peoples) get charged a fee by paypal/credit-card each time we convert money into u.s. dollars. so its better to do it all at once and only get charged once….
April 22nd, 2006 at 8:20 pm
Great idea. What a bargain! Let me know where to send the check.
April 22nd, 2006 at 8:23 pm
Add me to the “happy to pony up $24 a year” club! Especially for unexpurgated-ness.
(I’ll just have to force myself not to read it at work, if it arrives during the day…)
April 22nd, 2006 at 8:24 pm
$24 dollars for a year’s worth of DTWOF? Absolutely. Considering the years and years of enjoyment I’ve received from reading your strip it seems like it’s not quite enough.
April 22nd, 2006 at 8:32 pm
Just another vote for “hell yeah, I’d pay for that.”
April 22nd, 2006 at 8:39 pm
Woohoo! Nudity and expletives!! Can’t wait. DO you take PayPal only, or can we mail you checks??
Elizabeth A.
April 22nd, 2006 at 9:21 pm
I’m in - but I am in total agreement with Tre’s aunt - the market would bear double. Think about this. Women are notorious for undervaluing themselves and their work. DTWOF is worth way more than $1/episode. How about a sliding scale STARTING at $1/episode? Can I be a sustaining contributor?
PS
I thought your video ‘ode to spring and the thrush was lovely. A mini meditation for my urban-bound soul.
XO MBC
April 22nd, 2006 at 9:55 pm
we would totally pay $24/yr (or a bit more), as long as the ink was fresh on the email.
- a. and m. in brooklyn
April 22nd, 2006 at 10:01 pm
I’ll pay $24! gladly! but I am too dumb to figure out how to do it… Do I click on the paypal thingy?
Jessica
April 22nd, 2006 at 10:08 pm
I’d gladly pay!
April 22nd, 2006 at 10:33 pm
$24, such a deal! Count me in.
April 22nd, 2006 at 11:10 pm
I agree $24, would be a great deal. Count me in too. How do we pay?
April 22nd, 2006 at 11:56 pm
Count me in.. I think it’s a wonderful idea, and I’d gladly fork over the $24 for a subscription.
(As others have posted, I’d definitely make sure you’re not selling yourself short at $1 a strip, though.)
April 23rd, 2006 at 12:51 am
Set up the mass list and give me the email address to send my Paypal payment.
April 23rd, 2006 at 1:11 am
Yes to the subscription for me as well. Great idea
April 23rd, 2006 at 8:22 am
oh my lord - full frontal nudity and cussing delivered fresh and hot to my inbox? for $24 a year? that sounds like heaven….
corey jo
April 23rd, 2006 at 10:56 am
I think this is a great solution - my partner and I would both subscribe…we’ll keep watching for news.
Thanks!
April 23rd, 2006 at 12:47 pm
$1/strip sounds high to me. $24/year sounds great, on the other hand. (Yeah, I’m talking psychology, not abstract actual value.
But I do note that most of the commenters seem to have excitedly jumped on the $24 number, not on the $1 one. 
)
And the e-mail first, post later sounds great to me.
Count me in, as long as I can pay by Paypal.
(And thanks for my favorite comic strip, btw!)
April 23rd, 2006 at 1:15 pm
Yes! I’d pay! And may I add that I think this is one of the funniest strips you’ve posted recently? I love how the expressions on Ginger’s and the college girl’s faces match up when asked for commitments.
April 23rd, 2006 at 2:57 pm
Count me in… I do think $24 seems really cheap for all the amazing work and time you put into your art. But count me in!
April 23rd, 2006 at 3:35 pm
$1 a strip ? Absolutely!
April 23rd, 2006 at 5:14 pm
I would happily pay, and also sign, in whatever fluid required, an agreement to to forward it on to non-subscribers.
This from someone who usually resists the cries of NPR.
April 23rd, 2006 at 5:15 pm
I mean, NOT to forward it..
April 23rd, 2006 at 5:38 pm
Not to be complicated, but I’d rather have some kind of (secure?) web access than email — I’d be less tempted to forward them to everyone I know
.
There is a potential do-it-yourself sliding scale here too, since obviously undergraduates & artists could band together & share access to the comics between a few people while people with good jobs can pay the whole thing.
I don’t know about the going rate suggestion above either — Salon is only $30 a year & they’ve done a lot of research on what they can charge / how not to go bankrupt.
I agree it should be easy to renew rather than a bi-weekly charge chore, though on the other hand pay pal won’t let me pay anything significant anymore because I haven’t trusted them enough to give them all my bank details so I’m not seen as “verified” or something, even though they have my damned credit card numbers.
April 23rd, 2006 at 6:28 pm
Great idea! Just tell me how to sign up.
P.S. Thank you for the “large print” version.
April 23rd, 2006 at 6:40 pm
I’d pay $24/year in a heartbeat. Just tell me where to sign up…
April 23rd, 2006 at 7:24 pm
I agree that this is a great way to support an artist and to keep the strip available to all. Three cheers for lesbian inventiveness! And as soon as you have the system up and running, you can count on my check.
April 23rd, 2006 at 7:41 pm
i can’t believe a few people are saying they find a dollar steep for a dtwof episode. what would that buy you in the world? 1 candy bar? 2 local phone calls? a coffee? (actually only the middle one where i live).
think how much more joy you get from (and how much more work goes into) a dtwof episode than any of those things. alison is kind enough to be trying to get a solution so those of us who don’t get the newspapers they’re printed in can get the strip…she doesn’t have to do that, it could have just ceased to be avialable online…
you saw her little video of the number of digital pictures it takes to produce each strip…imagine how long it takes her to produce one?
value this amazing feminist artist. and raise your fees alison if it doesn’t at least cover the $300 you are loosing per strip from planetout (which was a paltry amount for them to be paying you anyway…)!!
April 23rd, 2006 at 7:52 pm
I’m in for sure, and anxiously await the post in which you tell us how to sign up and fork over some cash.
April 23rd, 2006 at 10:12 pm
i’m totally in…but have you run this by your characters yet? i’m sure mo would have plenty of valuable input to offer….
thanks,
aeriewest
April 23rd, 2006 at 10:58 pm
even a poor college student like me will pay $24 a year for DTWOF. does it feel weird to know that i grew up reading your strip? i’d be glad to pay because i’ve always read library copies of your books, and i always feel a bit torn between my desire to support your work and the fact that that’s what libraries are for. anyway, count me in.
April 24th, 2006 at 1:00 am
Me too, me too! I want to give you money.
I have spent years reading and enjoying DTWOF, and would gladly pony up for fresh, uncensored strips in my inbox. Yay!
April 24th, 2006 at 1:07 am
I would prefer $1.50 a month. I pay James Kochalka $1.95 a month, but that’s for 30 strips of four panels each… hmm… that’s 120 panels a month… your strips have around 10 panels… that’s 20 panels a month… so he costs 1.6 cents per panel, while yours would cost a dime each… a Kochalka panel costs less… But there are about 122 words in #486, and 195 words in the last week of Kochalka, so that’s… .8 cents per word for you, and one cent per word for Kochalka, so your words are a better bargain… He has three real regular characters, at 65 cents each per month, and you have, what, 11 or 12, so at 16 cents a month you’re way ahead… He has mostly two genders and one sexuality, while I count five genders and four sexualities for your strip… you’re ahead again… well I think your business plan is sound.
When I go to the bookstore buy books, I get to thoughtfully put off my purchases, but I’m way too compulsive to put off seeing your strips till the books come out, so you’ll get more money out of me this way. And we’ll get the strips more promptly than we ever have, and no more compulsively looking to see if a new strip has arrived!
April 24th, 2006 at 2:24 am
DTWOF is the only consistent depiction of authentic lesbian life that I know of. Definitely worth $24 a year.
Those who don’t want to or can’t pay that much can read it online later or in Lesbian Connection. Those who think $1 is too little can send more.
I was taken with how young and fresh-faced Cynthia and Ashley look.
Ellen
April 24th, 2006 at 2:29 am
Sure. Even upfront.
April 24th, 2006 at 3:25 am
Been a fan for years. I’d be pleased to pay the fee.
April 24th, 2006 at 5:08 am
Yes I love your work and think it well worth paying for. If you go ahead with this please could you make some arrangement for those of us whose dosh isn’t dollars?
Sam, England
April 24th, 2006 at 7:02 am
I would pay 24- gladly in one shot on Paypal. I really enjoy the Republican as real character in Cynthia.
April 24th, 2006 at 7:46 am
Count me in. I will definitely subscribe.
mark
April 24th, 2006 at 8:04 am
i’ll pay gladly!
April 24th, 2006 at 8:37 am
The work and care that has always been put into DTWOF make it something I have no problem paying for. Sign me up.
April 24th, 2006 at 9:19 am
I would totally pay for the newest strip!
April 24th, 2006 at 11:10 am
…coming over from the DTWOF livejurnal community — i’d gladly pay to support more DTWOF. direct email would just be a bonus
April 24th, 2006 at 11:43 am
Two questions about details in the current strip (#486)
1] Can anyone tell exactly what is on the cover of
“The New Yorker” that Samia is reading?
Is this an allusion to a real cover?
2] In the first panel where Cynthia and Ashley
are seen out in the woods, a tower is seen
in the background.
Is this a picture of something specific?
(It sure looks familiar.)
April 24th, 2006 at 12:43 pm
Yes, I would subscribe.
April 24th, 2006 at 1:33 pm
I would absolutely buy your strips — i was wondering when you’d move to paid content, and I think the compromise you’ve worked out is excellent. I’ve been reading your stuff since before I came out, and I’m glad to have the chance to give something back (in addition to buying the books, of course).
On a related topic: if you decide to bring back the mugs, i can promise to buy several. My lois mug disappeared in a move four years ago, and I still miss her.
April 24th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
I would pay and want to add to some others’ suggestions:
Make it a secure site so that people can’t forward the email. Otherwise, you lose the point of the subscription/delay.
I would pay $24. But I would suggest that you have space for people to make additional donations ($50, $100 and fill in the blank) and also list a low-income/student rate of $15 a year. Most people would still go for the $24 but you would also get more people paying, period.
Yay for full frontal and full disclosure!
April 24th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
I would pay and want to add to some others’ suggestions:
Make it a secure site so that people can’t forward the email. Otherwise, you lose the point of the subscription/delay.
I would pay $24. But I would suggest that you have space for people to make additional donations ($50, $100 and fill in the blank) and also list a low-income/student rate of $15 a year. Most people would still go for the $24 but you would also get more people paying, period.
Yay for full frontal and full disclosure!
April 24th, 2006 at 3:55 pm
Like everyone else, I would love to pay $24 a year. And if you decide it’s worth your while to get back into merchandise, I’d buy that too. My “Does Anal Retentive have a hyphen?” t-shirt is getting to be pretty ragged.
April 24th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
The New Yorker recently (17 April, p. 30-37) had an article about the administration’s approach to Iran, the clandestine things they are doing or probably going on in Iran right now, calling it preparatory to military action, not intelligence-gathering. Scary article, scary quotes from officials. It’s also currently online.
The cover of the New Yorker seemed to me to involve a nuclear cloud and the magazine’s mascot.
I’m unemployed. It’ll be interesting to see if I buy a subscription, considering I can just wait. But then again, those uncensored panels call to me..
Don’t forget that this all causes more work for the artist, especially if the subscriptions are not automated, having to expire them manually.
An Anonymous Suzanne
April 24th, 2006 at 9:03 pm
STEAMING HOT STEAMING HOT! YES YES YES! Sign me up!! Let us know where and when!
Not so anonymous Lauren Zito
April 24th, 2006 at 9:46 pm
I’d gladly pay $2 a month
for DTWOF.
April 24th, 2006 at 9:49 pm
Hell fuzzy yes! Sign me up! And I’d like to cough up some extra gelt for the other end of the sliding scale (spent too much time there, myself.)
All I ask is that you accept a check, or M.O. (sorry), or plastic, or anything but PayPal (– well, in addition to PayPal….)
Let no expletive be undeleted! Let no strip be expurgated! Let Thomas Bowdler spin in his grave!
Cheers ~ ~
ladiesbane at yahoo
April 24th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
I would ABSOLUTELY pay for fresh strips delivered to my mailbox!
And I vote for the shop to open back up too! I’d love a anal retentive tshirt!!!
I’ve been reading your strip since before I came out and it gave me something to cling to until I could be honest with myself. Now it’s wonderful in a different, but no less fabulous, way!
April 25th, 2006 at 12:52 am
I would pay whatever you need to make the subscription happen. I’ve red DTWOF since the day I came out and don’t plan to stop now!
PS - Anytime your fire up the DTWOF Store again I would LOVE to purchase plenty o’ stuff. I nearly bought out the store in a panic when it went out of business, and miss my Soltice Greetings cards and mugs!
April 25th, 2006 at 12:52 am
Oh, Alison, I am so there!! I would be happy to pay for a year upfront of DTWOF in my email inbox biweekly. It would be the first time in my life that I don’t read your comics a year later or so. Do let us know if it is going to be happening. And hey, you are an inspiration to all of us. I have been putting liliane up daily and now oops, once every two or three days, and getting NO revenue out of it. You could start a trend of people actually PAYING to read comics!!
anyways, just dropping by to say hi! Sorry I didn’t see ya (ie APE) this year. And glad to see you are in that Italian anthology too! cheers! Leanne
April 25th, 2006 at 8:48 am
So, for $24 a year, I can have unexpurgated DTWOF in my email? A bargain at twice the price. I LOVE IT.
April 25th, 2006 at 10:53 am
Anonymous Suzanne, thanks for pointing that out: the cover of the NYer is a little drawing of Eustace Tilly peering through his monacle at a mushroom cloud.
Can I send a check to get the subscription? Or will you take barter — what if I baked a sponge cake in the shape of Mo? That’d be good for a couple episodes, yes?
–MC
April 25th, 2006 at 2:15 pm
Me too! $24 a year would be a bargain!
April 25th, 2006 at 5:44 pm
I’m definitely for it! I’ll gladly subscribe!
April 25th, 2006 at 6:04 pm
while my loyalty to DTWOF is solid, I can’t match the exuberance of most ab fans. I’m w/anon who suggested a student subscription and options for paying MORE. it’s in keeping w/your original idea of a sliding scale AND provides a practical outlet for the devotion that’s so lavish on the blog.
I was kinda put out by the thought that the e-mailed version will be more explicit than the published . . . but I guess you’ve been censoring the strip just to get it published. are you doing 2 strips already? if not, is that a task you want to take on?
I’m feeling kinda Mo-ish here. will sign off now and let the bubbles resume.
mlk
April 25th, 2006 at 6:18 pm
I totally would pay to read your strip! I’ve been a fan for over a decade!
April 25th, 2006 at 8:53 pm
Look, you’re an artist and you really shouldn’t undervalue what you do but you also want to look at your market. You can always do what Netflix did (after a year or so, they lowered their prices all around).
I still cannot get over that you were only getting $300/strip–it’s good you are done with them–that was highway robbery for what you do.
April 26th, 2006 at 12:09 am
Count me in, and a buck a strip is exactly the nice round number I would have suggested. (Though the sliding-scale going up sounds like a smart idea — I’d stick with $25, being a grad student, but you don’t want to make it difficult for people to pay more!)
April 26th, 2006 at 12:22 am
Count me in too. $2/month is a modest sum for biweekly sustenance. Thank you for being here over all these years–PMD, Amherst MA
April 26th, 2006 at 11:34 am
totally would pay $25, count me in. and do keep publishing the books too!
April 26th, 2006 at 1:07 pm
I agree with the idea of an online subscription — also with Anon’s suggestion of a low-income/student rate.
In addition, I’m wondering if it’s possible to offer a small discount (for online subscribers only) on the books when they come out? That would make it feel a bit less like paying twice for each strip.
Not meaning to begrudge payment — your work is AMAZING — just writing as a poor grad student…
April 26th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
I’d absolutely pay $24 / year for DTWOF. I also agree with above posters who request the opportunity to pay/contribute more. 10 years ago when I had less resources $24 would have been a good limit for me, It might have replaced a few movie night, but it would have been totally worth it and reasonable. Now that I’ve got a bit more I really want to support your work, and it is worth far more to me than $1 per strip.
Also, I would like to thank poster number 7, who gave a link to a larger size format that works on my browser (Mozilla). I hope you will consider e-mailing the strips in whatever format that is, rather than the ones they are now posted on. I’d love to be more helpful by specifying what kind of format I’m requesting, but I’m not to technical and have no idea
Lastly, with all the cries for DTWOF swag (yes! yes!) have you considered the Cafe Press route? It’s actually incredibly easy to use, even for a techno-schlub like me, and it’s free or cheap, depending. Also, you never have to order giant batches of stuff and pay for them in advance. The t-shirts just get made as ordered, and you never have do a thing. You just sit back and let the cash roll in. I hate to be so capitalistic, but I highly recommend it. Also, I want DTWOF stuff!
- Jen from CA
April 26th, 2006 at 4:23 pm
Jen from CA, and anyone else with this issue in Mozilla, in the blog entry itself, AB put a text link “large print version“. That should work in Mozilla. At least it did for me.
I usually use Firefox and it works there, too. I just have to click the image — the cursor even shows a plus sign indicating that the image can be enlarged. That click brings instantaneous results.
In fact, clicking the comic also works, in both Mozilla and Firefox. But you have to log into flickr to get at the larger size. Once logged in, click “all sizes,” and wait a bit.
In flickr alone, the image has been viewed 1119 times so far! I am greatly impressed! I hope they all subscribe (cynical chuckle).. :-/
An Anonymous Suzanne
April 26th, 2006 at 7:17 pm
thank you, Jen (from CA) for offering practical ideas about marketing DTWOF fun stuff. I understand reluctance to take on something cumbersome to keep the fans happy . . . but would love DTWOF merchandise. hadn’t found the strip when ab was marketing her wares.
mlk
April 26th, 2006 at 7:21 pm
a stray thought here . . .
I like the use of #@&*’s in comic strips and wish there were a spoken equivalent. I guess saying “BAD WORD” or something like that isn’t as satisfying as saying the bad word itself, but it might make the world a more peaceful place.
mlk
April 26th, 2006 at 7:41 pm
Sign me up, but 24 bucks might be too low — you don’t have to be Mo, just draw her.
April 26th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
Alison,
You are too, too funny and therefore, yes, of course, I like the $24. a year idea and the sliding fee suggestions that others made. The thought of fresh hot unedited dtwof arriving twice a month in my very own mailbox makes me swoon!!
I’m in.
Susan
April 26th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
For all of you having issues with the size of the strip, I think it stems from whether or not you have a flickr account. When I’m logged in to flickr, I see the buttons with different sizes above the strip, but when I’m not logged in the options just aren’t there. It’s a free account if you want the options…
BTW, I’d probably pay $24/yr. That’s about what a magazine would run me. I wouldn’t pay $48 or $2/strip ’cause I’m one of the many grad students out here.
April 27th, 2006 at 10:31 am
I would also very happily pay $1/strip (although I’d prefer to pay in yearly installments).
And have you considered Cafe Press for selling stuff? I haven’t used it myself, but it looks like it would be way easy to upload your stuff, and then they handle the rest, and you get the money. I don’t know if it’s worth it, but I’ve got very fond memories of the years I had a Dykes to Watch Out for Calendar, and I still remember my former housemate’s DTWOF poster (”Where’s Mo?”) So it’s worth thinking about–you’ve definitely got a market.
April 27th, 2006 at 12:54 pm
Cafepress is OK — I have bought some items there, and while I can only vouch for the quality of the notebooks and coffee mugs, and can’t tell you if the thongs and baby Ts are any good, they seem pretty straightforward. I have a DTWO4 mousepad that I got at a yard sale. It’s cool.
–MC
April 27th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
I’m in…extemely fair.
April 27th, 2006 at 5:05 pm
Two bucks a month? Geez Alison, your work is worth more than that, especially with full frontal and swear words.
So, yeah, in a heartbeat. I think you’re selling yourself short. Are there any other great artists/social commentators that do that? Yup, I guess there are….
April 27th, 2006 at 6:14 pm
Absolutely, I’d love to get it sent to me or get a notification as soon as it is available, and I’d pay way more than $24 per year–I think I currently pay around $24 per year for Scientific American, but I’d pay $50 per year for DTWOF to ensure you have a good retirement.
April 27th, 2006 at 9:40 pm
I’m a college student who eats out of cans nightly, and I’m considering paying for this. It sounds like a winner.
Brighid
April 28th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
I’m in. Add me to your mailing list.
farah dot sf at gmail dot com
April 28th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
This post has been removed by the author.
April 28th, 2006 at 3:31 pm
$24 a year? Way too expensive! What a rip-off!!
Just kidding. I think this plan sounds gr8; thanks for asking us what we think.
Looking forward to yr new book, too.
April 28th, 2006 at 5:36 pm
$24 a year? $#&@ yes!! Gladly!
Just tell me where to send the first year’s check.
And thank you, thank you, thank you for DTWOF!
April 28th, 2006 at 5:58 pm
Done. Sign me up!
April 29th, 2006 at 4:08 am
I’d be happy to shell out $24 pa for the security of getting regualr fixes of DTWOF. Bring it on, with all the optional extras!
April 29th, 2006 at 10:55 am
It’s like a dream come true! For $24 a year I can have my naked swearing DTWOF back! I’m in!
April 29th, 2006 at 1:05 pm
I’d be happy to shell out $24 (or more) for a year of DTWOF.
I think that pay-now, free-later is good — casual readers can get sucked in, and subscribers don’t have to keep the comics around to have back-issues.
April 29th, 2006 at 2:42 pm
I echo everyone who would pay $24 (or more) a year. That sounds fantastic.
And if the swag ever comes back… I would love a Lois coffee mug.
Signed, college student with part-time minimum wage job.
April 29th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
$1 a strip is too inexpensive it is less than a coffee, we think you should charge $2 per strip and an annual in advance subscription of $45. you deserve it!!
Anne
April 29th, 2006 at 5:04 pm
oh hell yes. I’d pay for no more checking, checking, checking to see if a new strip has been posted… I like the idea of an honor-system sliding-scale fee. I’m not rich, but I can definitely afford & am willing to pay more than $24/year.
April 29th, 2006 at 11:49 pm
Well, Alison, I see a lot of support for the CafePress mugs shirts and assorted swag. I’ll bet you have plenty of work that you could upload to their store and let us all get down to the business of ordering it.
$24 a year sounds reasonable, especially if you leave the door open for additional contributions. And especially if we get nudity and vulgarity, what could be more of a value than that?
After all, anyone who doesn’t want to subscribe can catch the strip on your site with some time delay. The subscription option is just a way to open up a channel for us to flow money to you.
April 30th, 2006 at 12:05 am
Yes, I’m so in on this! Yay.
April 30th, 2006 at 1:09 am
well, i hope a free version is stil available SOME time- i DO buy yr books when they come out, and the only reason i use the internet is because it’s FREE. . . . otherwise i’d just go find it in one of the local bostonian papers. . . . . please at least keep putting up the one for free at the end of month, might you? we’re relatively impoverished, and even buyign books is a big deal. . . . how much would it really not be very fun or cool- it’d be pretty GROTESQUE actualy- if EVERYONE started charging money? what about if myspace did it, or hotmail? i like the “hbo” idea, though, as long as it goes up online eventually for us to read. . . . . .(and we DO buy yr books. . . . cause we like yr strip so much, cause in addition to its being very excellent, we get to look at it for free, so we KNOW about it!)
thanks!
April 30th, 2006 at 12:18 pm
Yep! US$24.00 once a year for DTWOF is a hell of a bargain!
Not having to put up with the crappy version on PlanetOut, or the smugness that drips from the pages of Bay Windows is so worth it.
Oh, and Miriam. no offense intended, but…
I’m getting by, in Boston, on SSI. Not quite US$720 a month.
If I can afford US$24.00 a year, it does kind of grate to hear someone griping about US$2.00 a month.
May 1st, 2006 at 12:40 pm
Wouldn’t it be great if one of the character’s in dtwof was on SSI? I, too, am on it (spinal cord injury) and only get $650 per month. (Still think $24. is a bargain for my favorite cartoon! The Dykes have gotten me through some tough times — they’re my best imaginary friends/community, except Alison has a better imagination.) Anyway, what happened to Thea — most people with disabilities can’t find jobs easily. The poor in this country are getting VERY poor as the price of everything goes up and into Cheney’s account. I know none of the dykes are rolling in money, but an really impoverished character might make for some great twists and turns. Anyway, the strip keeps getting better and better.
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:33 pm
Just another “Heck Yes!!” vote…for subscription concept and for swag.
May 2nd, 2006 at 11:01 pm
It’s well worth $24 a year to save myself the trouble of hitting REFRESH like an obsessive, as I was wont to do when Planet Out was sluggish about posting your strips (as they were also wont to do).
May 3rd, 2006 at 12:45 pm
Check strip #423 what happened with Thea’s career. (not sure if that’s the most current, I doubt it.)
An Anonymous Suzanne
May 3rd, 2006 at 3:51 pm
I’m in.
May 7th, 2006 at 11:48 pm
money well spent!
May 8th, 2006 at 6:51 pm
Hey Alison,
I’ve been a fan since I was in high school and your first book came out and I snuck-bought it at the women’s bookstore in New Haven called the Golden something. Now I read it in the Philly Gay News, but I’d much rather have it online.
I would definitely pay whatever you charged for the subscription. You should make gift subscriptions available too.
Sincerely,
Andrea Lawlor
May 9th, 2006 at 1:27 am
Hey, I hope it would be $26 per year and not $24!!! Meaning bi-weekly and not twice a month!!!
May 15th, 2006 at 7:44 am
Hi Alison,
I live in a small, culture-starved town in regional Queensland, Australia. I order all your books through my local bookstore, and read the strip online, haunting the pages until it arrives. I’d gladly pay US$1/strip to receive it by email. And I’d still buy the books!
Cheers,
Mittsy
May 15th, 2006 at 4:08 pm
I’m in - love to read them when they’re out, instead of waiting, and waiting for them in other sources!
May 18th, 2006 at 9:36 am
Great idea! Count me in! I’ve been a fan for years - even when I was still deeply in denial - and I’d happily pay $1 a strip (or even more) to have them right away. Where do I send the check?
May 19th, 2006 at 7:15 pm
Coming in late (this strip only just hit LJ in syndication, so I just noticed the thread), but I’ll chime in another Yes, Absolutely. $24/year seems entirely reasonable…
June 4th, 2006 at 7:55 pm
absolutely. just name when you want the payment!
June 13th, 2006 at 5:25 am
Only 24/year? You’re worth more, Alison. I’d pay double, triple, ten times that (but then I do have a little money to throw around). Yes, a comic-cast of my favorite strip, so I can stop fruitlessly checking the website where I used to find it.
July 30th, 2006 at 2:42 am
Yes! Yes! I want to pay! Ooooh! Where do I sign up?????????
April 16th, 2007 at 2:10 am
cool blog!
August 22nd, 2007 at 5:10 pm
enter text? test, sorry
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