XKCD: The book

Three cheers for Randall "XKCD" Munroe! Not only has he just announced his first book of collected toons, he got a fabulous write up in the NYT about it as well. Randall's one of the most consistently funny — and sweet — geeks on the web, and every day he tops himself in finding new ways to be made of awesome.


The print xkcd book is not being published through a traditional company but rather by breadpig — which was created by Alexis Ohanian, one of the founders of the social-news Web site reddit. The site has sold high-concept merchandise like refrigerator magnets or T-shirts, but never a book. (Its profits go to the charity Room to Read.)

"We never made any projection — 10,000 seems like a good run," Mr. Ohanian said, adding that this lack of research "is laughable from the perspective of anyone who knows the book industry. It's what makes sense."

The book — with the working title "xkcd," though Mr. Ohanian says it may carry a subtitle like "a book of romance, sarcasm, math and language" — will not initially be sold in bookstores, and probably never in the big chains. Instead, it will be sold through the xkcd Web site.

When Pixels Find New Life on Real Paper

(Thanks, Dave!)