Happy almost Valentine’s Day, everyone! I actually saw something that was exactly this: a man made out of chocolate claiming to be “the perfect man.” It was wrapped in a colorful box with a special 1950s flair, and it was so incredibly stupid that Reya’s dialogue here was almost exactly what was going through my head.

Let this be a lesson to all of you: If you ever have a sore that you can’t quite identify, call a medical professional before you start poking at it. You never know what that sore could turn into.

I never make resolutions for a new year unless they’re really vague, so usually I tell the world that I plan to read more, write more, and draw more. Those are all pretty straightforward, and my success or failure can’t be easily measured unless I put forth way more effort than I want. But Winslow? This guy’s unstoppable. No one has a resolution success rate like this. Ben has every right to be jealous.

Hello again, folks! Looks like Winslow’s been roused, so I can start posting Ben & Winslow comics again. Going on hiatus is nice and all, but, like Winslow, if I don’t find ways to be productive I waste a lot of time. Thankfully I took a whole week off from work after Christmas, so I had lots of time to draw fresh comics. My stockpile’s pretty good now. Here’s hoping to a great 2016!

Welcome to another issue of Defenestration, and the last issue until next year. And what a year it’s been. Defenestration has been around for 12 years now, and I can honestly say that this year saw a major shift in the number and the quality of the work we’ve received. Our slush pile has never before been filled with so many experienced writers, comedians, magazine editors, actors… the list was really staggering, and on more than one occasion I felt overwhelmed by it all. Eileen and I have had the opportunity to read a lot of really good fiction, nonfiction, and poetry this year, and while not everyone made it onto the site this year, I really hope everyone comes back and tries us again. We do this because we enjoy it, and you make our self-imposed tasks a lot easier by sending us such great material.