Today, it came. Well, the first part, anyways.

Let me back up a bit. Last July (2021), I backed a Kickstarter by Shelly Bond called Filth & Grammar: The Comic Book Editor’s Secret Handbook.

Today I got an update. The books have been printed, but have not been shipped yet. In the meantime, the promised digital copy was made available (early!) to backers.

I was flipping through it on my phone at lunch at work. And even in those few minutes, I found three things that help with my children’s book projects, as well as with characters I am developing for other projects!

Now I am going through it and realizing there is so much more to learn… and my next projects will benefit enormously from the organization of the production process that this book teaches.

This book will have pride of place on my comics-creation shelf next to works like Kevin Tinsley’s “Digital Prepress for Comic Books”, Scott McCloud’s “Understanding Comics” series, the Etherington brothers’ “How to Think When You Draw” series, and Duc’s “L’Art de la BD”… not to mention all the books about actual drawing and writing.

I am so excited by this!

Filth & Grammar is by Shelly Bond
with Imogen Mangle, Laura Hole & Sofie Dodgson
edited by William Potter & Heather Goldberg
proofread by Arlene Lo
cover by Philip Bond

Off Register Press, Los Angeles, 2022

ISBN 979-8-9855622-0-0 (hardcover)
ISBN 979-8-9855622-1-7 (softcover)