§ In a virus free world, we’d all be jumping on a plane to fly to Seattle today, but instead we’re sitting in front of a computer learning how to make hand sanitizer at home. There are a lot of #ECCCOnline activities going on, and we’ll try to spotlight as many as we can. Check the hashtag on Twitter and in user names to find people who have cool things that they would have sold you in person. But you can still buy them!

§ BTW, you can probably get a voucher for your flight, if you haven’t already. Contact your airline ASAP!

§ Stephanie Cooke, Andrea Demonakos, Rowan Rowden, Jazzlyn Stone and Jen Vaughn, have set up an “ECCC Online: A Guide to the Unofficial Back-up Con”

§ Steenz is doing portraits for $40. BARGAIN. Hurray before the poor woman is exhausted. I ordered mine!

 

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§ Here’s a tumblr of online shops of artists who would have been at ECCC. This is like our own special etsy!

§ Steve Lieber’s thread of advice he would have given at portfolio review is good any time of year.

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§ Keezy Young! 

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§ Valentine Barker! 

§…we’ll have more stuff throughout the day.

§ Ithacon has also been cancelled.

§ Seattle resident Rob Salkowitz has a must read on how these events being cancelled is affecting the business, (spoiler: shaken to its foundations) and an analysis of how the ECCC postponement came about:

On Wednesday, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan told BBC World News “We don’t [want to spread panic… And that’s actually — King County officials will be making the final determination on that particular public event.  We have advised for everyone in the city to really look at whether there’s a necessary requirement to have meetings that we have in the city.  And if not, we’re not having those meetings.  And so I think that all of us officials are relying on our public health people to tell us when it is the time to say ‘No more public events.’  And we’ll be working very closely with public health officers, as well as the county officials and the state officials so that we can stay unified on those decisions.”

… 

That put ReedPOP in a tough position.  Some event industry experts have suggested that, absent a public order to cancel the show, it is difficult to collect on any kind of insurance covering commitments to the venue and to others under contract, as those claims typically need to be triggered by a “force majeure” such as an emergency declaration.  Without formal action by the city, Reed was left with the decision of whether to pull the plug and be on the hook for millions of dollars to the venue and other stakeholders, or move forward with the event with the whole local government looking on in classic Seattle-style passive-aggressive disapproval.

§ David Harper is back with Comic Creators, Telling Stories and the Power of New Media looking at podcasts and newsletters from the likes of Jason Latour, Jim Rugg and more:

It’s a fascinating trend, and one that makes sense. If you can activate your fans and grow your reach, why wouldn’t you want to take it? But it’s also one that only seems to be growing, thriving as more creators dive in and strive to expand their skills. To better understand why this is happening, I reached out to some of the most successful and notable comic creators pulling double (or triple duty) to see what led them down this path, how their efforts have evolved, and what kind of value it brings to them in the process, exploring comic creators and the power of new media in this week’s longform.

 

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§ Polygon took a look at the death of Jason Todd and included some of the art on what might have been: a hospital bed is involved. But we’d be remiss not to mention Joe Grunenwald’s near definitive The Lives and Death of Jason Todd: An Oral History of A DEATH IN THE FAMILY

 

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