But what’s the real best gift?

This was last week’s Medium chart. Of course, this week’s chart is up now.

Or this:

As you can imagine after yesterday’s largely successful collaborative comic/chart, it’s been crazy over here. Something about having the chart posted yesterday show up everywhere on the internet has made me a bit busy, so I’m sorry for the delay posting this comic.

When so many people come to your website for one comic, and then you have to do the next comic, it can be tough to know where to start. Sorry this isn’t a chart. Or can haz cats. Or be about artist attribution. But it’s still instructional, so I guess there’s that.

Behind the scenes, expect more going on around here as I try to desperately keep all you new lovely people around on the site, and thanks so much for reading! And you regular Systemics? You know I love you.

Ah, the Hipster Union. Came up at my local-owned, all-cute-girl-barista coffee shop this morning. As I sat there in my trendy glasses, with my iPhone and MacBook Pro out, wearing my flannel shirt, thinking about what to do a comic about today. For those proud members, here’s your badge. Wear it with pride.

I think this belongs on a v-neck American Apparel shirt, don’t you?

When I had this idea, I put lots of thought into what jobs hipsters had. I put it out on Twitter and got lots of responses. Here’s a few, but add more in the comments!

• @spkr4thedead51: Bike Messenger
• @lindsaytron: unemployed, musician, scarf model, printmaker
• @mikkelmarius: Bike messenger? Social media consultant?
• @prindiville: bookstore owner/employee, librarian, art (or design) teacher
• @martyfnday: record shop, graphic designer (heh heh).
• @leecherolis: Bookstore clerk, artist…
• @sekelsky: Running a college radio station, working at American Apparel, venue promoter.
• @Ria_: Busker. Professional criticizer. Professional concertgoer (only if nobody else is there). Etc. Etc. Etc.
• @DanielleOBrien: Biggest hipster I ever knew was a journalist.
• @passive_mission: they sell trendy tragically good bad hipster used clothes. (consignment stores)
• @kevinengelkamp: actor, model, graphic design, writers, custom jewlrey maker, bookstore
• @ghostfreehood: they don’t believe in jobs
• @mylaundrystinks: Record store/music store employee, art supply store employee, receptionist at the EPA–wait, that’s a hippie.
• @lorig: knitter/crafter, owner of specialty restaurant/food store/food truck
• @sammooney: art gallerist!
• @davidknauer: I’d tell you, but you prob haven’t heard of it. It’s pretty obscure/ironic/mustachioed.
• @designvalkyrie: librarian.
• @boogiestace: um, how bout designer?
• @aidensdame: Holmes was hipster before being a hipster was not-cool. Careful,might get caught in the circular logic trap there.
• @strickATX: Working at Wal-Mart, but only ironically.
• @wombatina: Bicycle repairman, itinerant photographer, performance artist, bookseller, baker.  Oh god.  too many.
• @rothjen: Vintage clothing store worker
• @radiusman: The mecca of hipster jobs is working an Apple store.  You should know.
• @rebeccaames: Dude. Keytarist in a community band. Recycled glass artist. Vegan restaurant waitstaff.
• @peticanoe: the only person I know who works at an apple store also has gigantic holes in his ears & wears argyle cardigans #hipsterwatch2010
• @alanzilberman: Actually, I think a spy might be the ultimate hipster job. It’s so cool you can’t even talk about it
• @wombatina: Jesus=hipster.Wore sandals and walked everywhere, bearded. Into this cool ‘love everyone’ thing that you probably havent heard of.
• @katieobrienSF: bike messenger, cashier at Urban Outfitters, designer…
• @rynVR: Campus bookstore, apparently. At least that’s where they all hang out in my town. It’s like a hoodie convention.

Welcome to comic #400, and the 2-year anniversary of The System! I know what you’re saying, comic #1 was posted July 1st. True, but it went live somewhere around July 8th and y’know what? Close enough.

Since then we’ve seen lots of changes to the site, from some recurring characters to comics that have been across the internet and back (with varying amounts of credit thrown my way). I could not have made it this far if not for the help of my many friends (both those with websites and without) and fans who have encouraged and supported this project along the way.

Over the next few weeks you will start seeing some improvements around here, as some new personal opportunities have come up that will allow for some more time and effort to be put on the comic and its various accoutrement. If you’re a fan of the site and would like to do your part, check out the online store and consider supporting the comic and taking something home while you’re at it. If you don’t see something you like don’t worry, preorder for BOOK 1 of The System will be going up soon along with other pieces of amazingness.

For those of you less monetarily inclined but with plenty of free time, it always helps when you share comics on StumbleUpon, Reddit, forums, blogs, BoingBoing or any other sites you frequent. Or for that matter just participating around here by commenting on posts and talking back as I use this site (and Twitter, and Tumblr) to talk at you. I know RossMom always appreciates it, and at this point I think we can pretty much call her a moderator. And yeah, that’s my mom.

Also upcoming, I’m going to start posting a bit of a retrospective on how The System is doing in an effort to show you guys what goes on behind the scenes and also get some thoughts out. Posts about how I’ve gotten this far (if you call this far) and what I’ve learned along the way. For those who like that kind of inside baseball I think you’ll appreciate them. For those that don’t, well, there’s always the comic.

Speaking of the comic, can you pick out where all the panels are from? The art is all from previous comics starting between comic #304 and #399. See what you can do and post it in the comments!

Remember about, oh, a month and a bit ago, when I stumbled upon a little thing called the CUPCAKE SANDWICH? At the time I announced a rather fun contest that more than a few people opted to enter. Entries poured in. Roger Ebert was intrigued (and RTed this post). Even Hurley from LOST got in on the action. And then, silence.

Behind the scenes, it was a harsh battle. A truly difficult decision rife with conflict and dissention. But finally, I am proud to announce that MY MOTHER HAS JUDGED THE CUPCAKE SANDWICH CONTEST.

RossMom, shown here not knowing how to turn on her camera.

After the jump and without further ado, I present to you RossMom’s deliberations and the results of the Cupcake Sandwich Contest.

↓ Read the rest of this entry…

It’s now totally too late to enter into the CUPCAKE SANDWICH contest. A whopping TWELVE amazing and totally valid entries have crossed the inbox!  While we are figuring out how to best tally the votes (some special ideas have been planned) here are a few errata that have come up on the topic of cupcakes and sandwiches that can hold you over as we produce some final judgments:

First up is Systemic Rachel “ROFLcon” Mercer’s link to the Cupcake Hamburger Sandwich. It looks amazing and if she’d sent me some of these little goodies, I’d be hers forever she totally would’ve been in the running for the grand prize. LINK »

Next comes a link from Systemic Kate, an article on Jezebel titled Bakery Backlash: It’s A Cupcake, Not A Puppy. Clearly some people haven’t tried THE SANDWICH yet.  LINK »

Finally, via Systemic Cledwyn via Soon-to-be-Systemic Andrew Sullivan (once SOMEONE can find me his address and I mail him a BEARDS shirt) comes a blog called Dudes with Beards Eating Cupcakes. Combines my love for the CUPCAKE SANDWICH with my love of BEARDS. LINK »

Howdy, Systemics! Wow, some of you guys are going all out with the CUPCAKE SANDWICH contest! As well you should, because we’ve gotten some awesome entries! I’ll save the full size photos for the results, but here is a sneak peak at some thumbnails. Remember, there’s still another day to enter the contest!

This is my gift to the world. A way of fully indulging in the joys of the cupcake without any of the drawbacks. A way that balances every bite with frosting, cake, and the joy of knowing you have truly proven yourself to be an enlightened and practical individual. I know what you’re thinking, there must be some drawbacks! Here are some common questions about THE CUPCAKE SANDWICH:

Won’t the frosting get everywhere?
While some frosting does leak out the sides at times, this is a perfect opportunity to have a bit of frosting by itself without having to have globs of it all at once. Don’t consider this a drawback, but an opportunity.

How is this any shorter than it was before? Won’t getting it in your mouth still be a problem? And your math sucks, cupcakes are not 2x the height of my mouth.
First of all, you are probably the same detractors that found flaws in the Full Gadget Ratio. Nertz to you. Second, no this will not be a problem. The cakey bottom, once placed on top, creates a “safe zone” for your hands with which you can compress the size of the cupcake at will, without getting your hands covered in frosting. As for the height of the cupcake vs mouth, it may not be perfect but sometimes the best things in life aren’t.

How have I never thought of this before?
This is why I’m an internet humorist and you’re a reader. We all have our roles to play.

UPDATE: Systemic Brownpau sends word that others have come up with the same idea…

Time for a contest, Systemics!

You have ONE WEEK (until the end of 4/1/2010 EST) to send me a photo of you and your friends enjoying a CUPCAKE SANDWICH. These must be emailed to systemcomic at gmail. Points will be given based on:

• Amazingness of the cupcake
• Composition of the photo
• Number of people eating CUPCAKE SANDWICHES in the photo
• Originality

What’s on the line?

• A print of the CUPCAKE SANDWICH comic you see above from HilariAwesome.com
• A shirt of your choosing from HilariAwesome.com, including the fresh new “Beards Turn Laziness Into Awesomeness” shirt (which is still on preorder sale through tomorrow!)
• A post on the site all about you and your CUPCAKE SANDWICH experience