Machine of Death contributor Camille Alexa very kindly sent us this in the mail. It appears to be some sort of nozzle-bearing device that will predict your death.

I am afraid we have no recourse but to lay down our arms and cede victory to its garish packaging and compact form factor. It is cheaper than our Machine and likely just as accurate.

We have looked over this device and examined it from every angle. No explanation, no text, no illustration provides any answers whatsoever — simply more questions. Thanks, Camille. We will sleep uneasily tonight.

p.s. Only the ingredients listed on the back (SDA 38B Peppermint 190-Proof, Deionized Water, Cinnamic Fragrance, Glycerin USP 99.5%, Sodium Saccharin, FD&C Red #40) give any sort of hint whatsoever as to this thing’s true nature, and even then — now that we’ve learned that this is a substance to be ingested — it seems more sinister even than before.

Full transcription of the text is after the cut.

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After a long year of excitement, disappointment, renewed excitement, continued disappointment, thickheadedness, obstinacy and relief, we are pleased to announce that Machine of Death will be officially released this October by Bearstache Books, the boutique printing arm of Wondermark Enterprises.

We have also added illustrator Ramón Pérez to the list of contributors! And we have a smashing cover by Justin Van Genderen:

The book will be released in trade paperback and ebook formats, with an audiobook to follow.

More updates soon!

We’ve received several inquiries as to the status of the project, and we’re now at a point where we can confidently present a list of contributing illustrators (below). Though our manuscript is complete, we feel we owe it to the project to follow up every lead with the publishers who have expressed interest, which as many of you know can be an extremely protracted process.

We are also in receipt of many of your requests for feedback on your stories, which is a thing we shall still do in the months to come. We thank you for your patience, and hope it will arrive like a sparkling surprise long after you have forgotten all about us.

Rest assured that this project is very much alive and will one day soon groan its way into life with a sound not heard since the gods rent Day from Night in days forgotten by all but the tortoise-folk.

The illustrators who will be featured in the book are:

John Allison
Kate Beaton
Brandon Bolt
Vera Brosgol
Jeffrey Brown
Scott Campbell
Mitch Clem
Danielle Corsetto
Aaron Diaz
Rene Engström
Jess Fink
Dorothy Gambrell
KC Green
Matt Haley
Christopher Hastings
Paul Horn
John Keogh
Karl Kerschl
Kazu Kibuishi
Adam Koford
Roger Langridge
Les McClaine
Brian McLachlan
Kevin McShane
Dylan Meconis
Carly Monardo
Jesse Reklaw
Katie Sekelsky
Cameron Stewart
Kris Straub
Kean Soo
Kelly Tindall
Marcus Thiele
Dean Trippe
Shannon Wheeler

I know! We are excited too.

In our conversations with agents and publishers regarding the Machine of Death manuscript, we’ve learned a lot about different ways to make our anthology unique in the marketplace. To that end, we’ve talked with many of our friends and colleagues in the world of comics (mostly webcomics, to be specific) and are currently commissioning full-page illustrations to accompany many of the stories in the book.

We’re in talks with about 25 artists right now — and, if you follow comics, you know who these people are — and are in the process of finalizing contracts and assigning stories to be illustrated. This will make Machine of Death a real jewel in the crowded field of prose (and specifically sci-fi) anthologies.

Once all the arrangements are finalized — hopefully within a week or two — we’ll post the full list of artists here. This is a big step forward for Machine of Death, and we hope you’ll be as excited as we are about this new development!

The Machine of Death story “Flaming Marshmallow and Other Deaths”, by Camille Alexa, has been published in audio by the science fiction podcast Escape Pod. Congratulations, Camille!

Hopefully listening to the podcast will give you a sense of the high quality of stories we’ve selected for Machine of Death. We are still working behind the scenes towards publication, and will make announcements here as updates warrant. Be sure you’re subscribed to the RSS feed or email list to learn the latest!