posted on February 1st, 2008 in Achewood, Content, Merch, News, Web Comics 

Time: Achewood Is The Best Graphic Novel of 2007

Time Magazine’s Lev Grossman calls webcomic Achewood (which is, perhaps, the best comic strip in American history) the best graphic novel of the year, noting “(i)t’s not a graphic novel in every, or maybe any, traditional sense, since its primary venue is the Web, but Achewood is so profoundly genius it would be a crime to put it anywhere but on this list, and at the top of it.”

I can’t disagree, and judging by the amount of “What We Need More of is Science” shirts I see in the office, I’m not alone. Not only is the content genius, but creator Chris Onstad also offers some of the most innovative merchandise to ever be inspired by a comic strip about cats and teddy bears living in Southern California — shirts are a no-brainer, but you can also buy hot sauce, umbrellas, and pint glasses with the Achewood seal of approval. (Or, in the case of Roast Beef, the Achewood seal of apathy and dysthimia.)

Also, check out the reference to Achewood in a recent Cat and Girl strip. Dorothy Gambrill, the creator of Cat and Girl, is another undependent hero — we’ll talk about her innovative Donation Derby idea in a later post, but for now, take a look at her own original merch, including a t-shirt written in Icelandic, an Ozymandias trophy (score!), and a sticker with perhaps the best observation about the World Wide Web ever: “If television’s a babysitter, the Internet’s a drunk librarian who won’t shut up.” My birthday’s December 27. I’m just sayin’.