Whatever you want to call them, dad jokes, terrible puns, to me, they’re the height of comedic enjoyment—all the more so if the teller is 100% aware of the awfulness (yet implicit cleverness) of the joke. What do we call that, verbal irony? Don’t tell my freshman English teacher that I’m a little unsure here.

An appreciation for horrible, overdone jokes is a trait I’ve long since decided will be prominent in a character if I ever do get around to writing anything of substance. I’m pretty sure it will be difficult to pull off well, but that makes it all the more of a desirable challenge.

However, I digress. For all you literature, grammar and language nerds out there, I want to share this super dumb, super amazing list of puns that will have your eyes rolling so hard they’ll fall out of your head.

A Friday treat, if you will. Here’s a particular favorite:

If anyone can point me in the direction of similar literature and grammar-related jokes, I’ll be forever grateful. Happy weekend!

*PS I clearly saw this (hilarious) joke on Buzzfeed via Instagram, but I can’t find the original artist–I’d love to credit if anyone knows the answer!

But the real reason I’m heading down is to appear on the Ask an Agent! panel on Friday with several other great agents: Brandy Rivers (a book-to-film agent), Barry Goldblatt, Sara Megibow, Jane Putch, Kate Schafer Testerman and Pam van Hylckama Vlieg. We’re literally just taking questions, so please do come and interrogate us, otherwise we’re going to be pretty bored. (Though knowing all of us, we could probably entertain ourselves for a lot more than an hour.) It really is your chance to ask whatever you want, and we’re a very direct group. What are publishers looking for? How do agents work? Why does it take so damn long for a book to come out? Whatever you want to know, come ask! Really hoping to see you there.

It wasn’t until I started earning some spending money that I became a regular at the old West Side Comics on 86^th Street—I was there on the day Spider-man debuted his black costume, and for a brief stretch, I could tell you the difference between all the printings of the original Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtles. Needless to say, my parents still thought they were junk, but at least when I was ready to put them away in high school, they didn’t haul them off to the dump. Though it has been a while since I’ve seen the boxes in the attic—next visit, I think I need to do a thorough inventory…

Anyway, all of this came to mind when I was reading an essay by Jeramey Kraatz at Nerdy Book Club. For anyone who has a low opinion of comic books and worries that they rot your brain, it’s worth a read. I love his explanation of the imaginative aspect of comics, and how, contrary to the common opinion that comics put everything on the page, he shows that the panel format actually encourages visualization and makes readers fill in the blanks. And I think he makes a good case for how comics not only spur further reading development but also writing—seems like a great parenting tip to have kids write their own stories while they wait for the next monthly installment of their favorite series.

So, dear readers, did any of you find your creative spark in the land of Marvel and D.C.? Have you developed storytelling techniques based on the panel format? And, for fun, what’s the best comic you’ve got stored in your parents’ basement? For me, it’s either TMNT #2 or some really old Spideys.

The brilliant Jeff Howe (@1book140) realized that the biggest conversation in the world was an amazing opportunity to create the first truly global book club. It’s called 1book140, and although it took some figuring out, they’ve got it down to a science now. It is an amazing conversation to be a part of.  This month, 1book140 is reading graphic novels. We’ve begun with Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud, which we are reading this week. Next week we’ll be reading Art Spiegelman’s The Complete Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. The week after is dedicated to the great V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, and we’ll be closing out the month with none other than Neil Gaiman and The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes.

It’s super easy to follow along on twitter. First, follow Jeff Howe for official updates. Then, use the hashtags to join in:

#1book140 for general discussion

#1book140_1 for Understanding Comics

#1book140_2 for Maus

#1book140_3 for V for Vendetta

#1book140_4 for Sandman

(This also makes it really easy to ignore the schedule.)

I’m in the middle of Understanding Comics right now, and even for a long-time constant comic reader like me, it is very insightful. I haven’t yet read Maus, but I have only heard good things and I am really excited to start it. V for Vendetta and Preludes and Nocturnes are both amazing works, and are arguably two of the greatest graphic novels ever written. So come and join us. You might discover something amazing.

However, I have also noticed some very positive trends in digital comic publishing.

(For those of you who are unaware of how comics are published: Comics are released every Wednesday. Hundreds of comics are released every week, and comic book stores display the new releases on the walls or on magazine racks. As the comic-book-buyer looks at the new releases, he or she grabs what they like – “pulling” it off the wall. New purchases have been lovingly nicknamed “pulls.” Comics are generally published serially, month to month. So Spider-Man Volume 1 will come out first week in January, and Volume 2 first week in February. Meanwhile, X-Men will come out on the second week of the month, and Captain America on the third, etc.)

I have said for the longest time that I refuse to buy an eReader until I get an ebook bundled with the purchase of a physical copy. (I simply prefer paper, and I don’t see myself buying a digital book and not wanting the physical copy on my bookshelf.) Marvel is going to start doing just that in January with their Ultimate line and several Graphic Novels.

Comixology, the leading digital comic retailer and online comic book resource, is utilizing what they call “digital storefronts,” so that the customers can buy digital comics though their local stores, and so continue to support them. The comics cost the same to the consumer, but the retailer is the specific shop – not Comixology.  Comixology also fully supports physical sales by linking your “pull list” – your picks for the week – with your local comic book shop, so that they hold them for you.

The incorporation of digital editions in the comic book world utilizes and embraces the brick-and-mortar, physical side of things.

I, for one, would like to see the traditional publishing world follow suit.

Then, when I first got to New York, I was blown away by places like Shakespeare & Co., Brentano’s, Coliseum Books, Papyrus and that promised land for bibliophiles, The Strand.   A few years later many of my favorite haunts had gone out of business or been taken over by soulless corporate giants (you know who you are) but I never lost my love of browsing aimlessly in book stores.  These days, I still occasionally wander over to the Barnes & Noble on Union Square and spend my lunch hour in the fiction stacks on the fourth floor.

Of course, book stores have also traditionally been a place for authors to do their dog and pony show in support of their work.   Book tours are going the way of the Amazon forests but certain authors are still a huge draw (just try to get anywhere near the third floor at the aforementioned Barnes & Noble when David Sedaris is doing a reading).  Some of these events can make you fall in love with a book or its author, sometimes both.   They’re also the makings of a cheap date for grown-ups and an alternative to a $30 movie outing for young kids.  Except, it seems, no more.

Check out this  Gawker piece about the new trend of book stores charging admission to author events.  I actually understand and support independents in their efforts to get people in the door.  These are trying times for book sellers and if they are to keep their doors open in the face of the online juggernauts (you know who you are, cough, Amazon) they are going to have to figure out a way to make money.  But it does make me sad.   How many times did I walk out of a book store with a title I had no intention of buying when I went in after stumbling upon an author reading from his/her book?  I wonder if the days of the accidental book buyer are numbered as a result of these new pay-for-play tactics.

What do you all think about this new development?

At first, I thought maybe it was April Fools’ Day. I mean, I know we have artisanal everything these days, from foods to furniture to mining, but this one just seemed a little less useful: artisanal pencil sharpening. But it’s quite real. For $15, you too can have your pencil lovingly sharpened by David Rees, creator of the brilliant comic Get Your War On (my favorite being the, “What if our president had been a shoe” panel). Your pencil comes back very well-packaged, along with the shavings, too. As he says, they’re your shavings!

It’s conceptual art, I think, and the whole thing kept me more engaged than I imagined I would be when I first started the Jacket Copy post. As one who loses writing implements on a daily basis, though, I think I’ll pass on the sharpening. Any takers?

I’m not sure what it is with all the great publishing-related comics lately, but there have been some really great ones. Today, Dinosaur Comics had me cracking up.

If you work in publishing, or even just follow it, you’ve got to laugh at vampires. I mean, they’re EVERYWHERE. You can’t get away from them. This comic does a brilliant job of skewering that, but also teaches a great writing lesson at the same time.

There’s an issue I’ve been seeing more and more often: the novel that reads like an outline. I’m not sure it’s an epidemic, but it seems to be a growing problem, at least in the submissions I’m seeing. The novels, instead of being active, engrossing and exciting, are instead passive, overly descriptive and not engaging. It comes back a bit to the old saw, “show, don’t tell,” but it bears repeating. Make sure the action of your novel happens on the page, not in the protagonist’s memories. If it’s important enough for the reader to know, let us experience it.

So when you’re editing your work, think back to this comic. Are you writing an engaging narrative, or are you just describing the experience of reading it?