Radio Comix

Cartoonist Rusty Haller has passed away today, as reported by his roommate on his FurAffinity journal. Rusty suffered from diabetes for many years, though it was undiagnosed for some time. He was 45 years old. (I have not confirmed this death announcement with any outside sources yet.)

Rusty had a long and varied career in comics, starting in the mid-1980′s, with work-for-hire on Deputy Dawg comics. He did a lot of contract work for Marvel on their licensed comics line in the early and mid 1990′s, including titles like Alf, Danger Mouse, and Count Duckula. In the last few years, Rusty had been working on his creator owned series, Ace & Queenie, a charming funny animal send-up of Sixties spy films. The series ran in Furrlough on an irregular schedule, starting in issue #146. He also regularly contributed to Hit the Beach and did regular commission work for his fans.

I just talked to Rusty on the phone a few days ago, and we were full of plans to put Ace & Queenie up on the Radio Comix site with an eye towards a future collected print version. We also chatted about some other ideas he’d had kicking around for a few years- comics that could now come to light, with the advent of web publishing. I’m deeply saddened that all those great ideas will come to naught, and that Rusty’s dreams can’t be realized now.

Rusty was one of the nicest people we’ve had the pleasure of working with. He was always upbeat and positive, and he was a solid worker when it came to his pages. A consummate professional, he always welcomed honest criticism and constantly strove to improve his work.

He was a great guy, and I will miss him. His sometimes silly, sometimes serious stories always made me smile.

This past Sunday, we just completed a move of our home office to new digs! Unfortunately, this means we will be delayed in shipping out orders for at least another week while we unpack and set everything up. (Also, while we wait for the internet and phone to get switched over to the new place… they have been off for the past week or so.) We are hoping to complete our unpacking and office set up by next Monday (9/7/09), but please do not panic if it takes a little longer for us to get everything back on track regarding the mail order. (It’s a LOT of boxes of stock to organize after 12 years in business!) We apologize for the delay this will cause to our mail order service and thank you all in advance for your patience!

SPECIAL NOTE: Our mailing address WILL NOT CHANGE. We receive all our mail at a private mail box, since it makes it easier when we are at conventions or in case we need to move. Our emails, web addresses, etc. will also not be changing at all. Once we’re finished setting up, we’ll have more new goodies added to the online store, ready for you to peruse and purchase at your leisure!

Just a quick note for anyone attending Anthrocon- we sadly will not be able to attend this year. We have an office/home move that is going to be going on the same month as the convention, so that takes priority. We’ll definitely be there with bells on next year, but fear not! Our esteemed colleague Fuzzwolf, he of FurPlanet (http://furplanet.com/shop/) fame, will have some of our latest books with him on consignment. So, you’ll still be able to get your Radio Comix fix, just not directly from Elin’s tiny hands. FurPlanet will be at tables A-16 through A-18, so be sure to go check them out at the convention!