Squishables: I love them

Thursday August 21, 2008 • Howard Tayler

So I'm minding the Blank Label Comics booth at Comic-Con, and this nice young man walks up to me with an octopus... It was a Squishable octopus - a plushie the size of a beach-ball. I immediately recognized him as one of our most generous sponsors. It turns out they've been very successful, too. The ad campaign that Squishable runs from time to time with Blank Label Comics and Schlock Mercenary has really boosted their business. He stopped by to say "thank you," we put names to faces, and we all had fun for a few minutes passing the octopus around and cuddling it. Then Aaron offered me a free squishable. He gave me his card, told me to email him, and said they'd ship me one of whatever I wanted. That was one of the very first emails I sent after returning from Comic-Con last month. I selected the tortoise, and it arrived on our doorstep while I was at WorldCon in Denver. I emailed Aaron the following:

Sandra and I have been at home for two days, and can't stop hugging the tortoise. If we're in the room where it's last been tossed, it gets picked up and hugged on our way someplace else. This thing is like crack for physical contact junkies. No nutritious value, but it sure hits the craving.