Harmless Free Radicals: It's not an in-joke. It's a joke you're in. -- Fenmere, the Worm's epic comic about life in a growing border town dominated by coffee, local music, the Order of Bearded Men and a cancerous college campus.

Submit a Script! Earn a T-Shirt!

If you have a script that you'd really like to see printed in an issue of the Whatcom Independent, to be part of the Quad Shots collection, you can submit it here! If I end up using it, I will credit you and send you a one of a kind, signed T-Shirt.

Form a Chapter!

I would be pleasantly surprised if anyone felt so inspired as to contribute to Harmless Free Radicals in the way I'm about to suggest, let alone form a fan club. But I am working toward the possibility, and it is now time to set up the structure for it.

Please! If you've been itching to create something under the name "Harmless Free Radicals," read on!

The following under the heading "Form a Chapter!" is the wording of a proposed license. It is not the license itself. For a copy of the actual license please write to Fenmere, the Worm, P.O. Box 2363, Bellingham, WA 98227.

To operate under the name Harmless Free Radicals, or to be a Harmless Free Radical, you must strive to do the following, and faithfully acknowledge when you have failed to do so and strive to correct yourself:

1. Never, under any circumstances, for any reason other than to save a person from bodily harm, discourage anyone from a creative endeavor, be it music, comics, writing, dancing, programming, etc.

2. Recognize that the name "Harmless Free Radicals" is made up of meaningful words that indicate a particular behavior and basic code of conduct, and to strive to represent that name well. To strive as best you can to cause no harm. To defend freedom, particularly free speech, as well as to act free. And to work for some sort of positive change in the world.

Note: The reason that this is so broad is to give room for your vision for your work, as well as that of others. The primary mission of a Harmless Free Radical is to be a good example of a responsible artist.

3. Do not operate under the unmodified name "Harmless Free Radicals." You must identify your chapter of the Harmless Free Radicals by appending your city's name to the end of the title (i.e. Harmless Free Radicals, Fairport, WA).

4. Provide your contact information and chapter title to Fenmere, the Worm, P.O. Box 2363, Bellingham, WA 98227, theworm [at] grassdogstudio [dot] com so that he may include it on the Harmless Free Radicals main website:

http://www.harmlessfreeradicals.com

5. Include with any of your own promotional material the following link information:

A Chapter of the Harmless Free Radicals www.HarmlessFreeRadicals.com

6. Finally, and most importantly, understand that nothing in my comic, Harmless Free Radicals, is public domain. It is not free to use. This license does not give anyone permission to use the characters or places contained on this website, or their likenesses. You may not write about my characters or the place in which they live without first obtaining my express written permission to do so. However, please don't hestitate to ask!

Create Your Own Comics: Get Published

Here's a wacky idea.

If you have at least six pages of comic done, and you'd like to get the word out, consider this crazy thing called the Radical Catcher.

It's a micro comic format with a Trade Name that you can use.

Visit http://radicalcatcher.com and download the blank pages, then fill them with your comics. Then you can make copies and hand them out to your friends, or leave them in random places around town... If you send me a copy, I regularly put asside a little money to make copies of your work and I'll do the same in my home town (which has a substantial state University in it)... And I'll also upload it to the website for others to download!

It's basic guerilla marketting, but with the power of networking!

Send your Radical Catcher to Fenmere, the Worm @ P.O. Box 2363, Bellingham, WA 98227-2363

Join the Bellingham School of Comics: Meet Other Cartoonists

In may of 2004, a small group of fellow cartoonists and I posted a flier announcing a weekly meeting of cartoonists. By June, there were 24 of us! We shrink, and grow, and evolve, and we keep producing comics. Come on down and say "hi" some time! You're already a member, after all. http://www.bsofcomics.com

This Comic is proudly published in the Whatcom Independent