Watch out for that guy. We haven’t seen the bike sniper in a while, but I thought it was time for a comeback.

In our own way, we all need to be bike snipers. You have to be a little on the offense on your bike, assertive enough to not get run over. This guy is pushing those limits, but there’s an element of that in every cyclist on the road. Some wear it on their sleeve more than others.

Vote!

It’s also the final day to vote for “Best/Worst File Name” on Thursday’s comic. Vote, won’t you?

Like numbers 500, 400, 300, 200 and 100, another recap of what we’ve learned in the last 100 comics. I enjoy putting these together, but they do take quite a while. All the panels are from comics from the last 100 comics. Can you name where all of them are from?

Also, we have something else to celebrate! We also recently passed the four-year anniversary of the comic as well. 400 comics! That’s pretty good, right? That officially makes The System my longest-held job / relationship.

<I’ll insert more words about what it’s like to do 600 comics here soon.>

Anyway, if you want to help me celebrate, there’s a few things you can do:

• Share your favorite comics from the archive with friends.
• Comment on posts.
• Buy prints of any comics you like from HilariAwesome.com, our online store.
• Buy shirts from HilariAwesome.com, our online store.
• GET READY to give me more money, because I’m going to be launching a Kickstarter for The System Book 1 in a few weeks. As soon as the book is mostly built and I have a quote for the number of books, it’ll all come together. Stay tuned!

Aren’t they just THE WORST?

Yes, that is underlined, bolded, and italicized.  I simply can’t emphasize any more than that.

When you’re on a bike, you can weave through traffic (carefully), but you also have to be extra careful of every little crack and bump in the road. Sometimes transitioning to other modes of transportation can be… difficult.

I always thought of this when I saw the curvy road signs.

This occurs to me every morning when I hear the traffic report.

All shirts are $15 this week!

BY THE WAY! If you’re looking for gifts for loved and not-so-loved ones this holiday season, check out the HilariAwesome.com store, won’t you? The shirts are all MARKED DOWN FOR THE WEEK to $15. Yes, until Sunday, you can get all your shirts cheaper than before! And the Coffee and Venn Diagrams shirts are back in stock, as is the 28 Parsecs poster (by popular demand!).*

*Should that period go there? I was always bad with punctuation and parentheses which, interestingly enough, is the name of my School of Rock cover band.

I feel this way all the time. I call it “giving a shit”. Also, this is a pseudo-followup to this comic from Memorial Day a few years ago.

Meanwhile, the other day I made a quick poster and posted an image of it online. People wanted me to make it for sale, so I did! You can now buy it from the HilariAwesome.com store here. Or you can click the image below. If you’re not familiar with the source material, first read this and then watch this (that second one NSFW).

Buy this…

I was walking around London, seeing all the bicycle commuters go by (way to go, UK cyclists!) when this thought occurred to me. Bikes would be really handy for the zombie apocalypse. In movies you always see people with cars that run out of gas or won’t start, or on foot. Bicycles would be a great compromise! You could dodge around all those cars that get left in the road, the trash cans and boxes that wind up in every scene. You’d be quiet (as long as you avoided the bike bell) and with relatively little maintenance. Sure, there’s the thought of the occasional flat or your chain coming loose, but then you wouldn’t be that worse off than being on foot. The bike could even make for a makeshift weapon to give you some distance from a few brain-guzzlers that won’t leave you alone. If not, the U-lock definitely could crack some heads.

Which led me to my next thought: bike messengers would survive the zombie apocalypse. They’re fast, well organized and let’s face it, look like they’ve already survived the apocalypse. I’d love to see a movie about a few bike messengers working to make their way out of the city, all talking on their walkie talkies and using poster tubes to knock some heads. The ones on fixed gear bikes would be the first to go, zombies walk up hills and don’t care if you can “hover” at a red light.

Oh, and I must say! I did a quick bit of research, and I’m not the only one to think of this idea:

• http://onelessindenver.blogspot.com/2010/12/bikes-for-zombie-apocalypse-part-1.html
• http://www.irontowerstudio.com/forum/index.php?topic=1471.0
• http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/05/maker-faire-highlights/?pid=1940

The CARSCADE, also known as the Karssler Effect, has been known to plague most urban and suburban areas, especially around rush hour. The Karssler Effect is (of course) a reference to the Kessler effect, also known as the ablative cascade. If you don’t know what that is, look it up. It’ll scare the bejeez out of you.

Danger: Trap 3 Days to Go

This shirt is still in PREORDER SALE through Wednesday, April 20th. That means it’s only $15 instead of $20, all for a little extra wait time. Also, you help support me and gauge how many shirts I should order. So order now here »