IT’S INSANE CHARITY BIKE RIDE 2026 TIME! Please consider helping an amazing local charity bring arm-fresh foods to low-income households! And yes, even though I’m still concussed, I’ll be there! SAFELY (promise).

IT’S INSANE CHARITY BIKE RIDE 2026 TIME! Please consider helping an amazing local charity bring arm-fresh foods to low-income households! And yes, even though I’m still concussed, I’ll be there! SAFELY (promise).

When I launched this year’s Insane Charity Bike Ride campaign two days ago, I was unsure how it might turn out. Unable to cycle due my concussion, I vowed still to fundraise, and tried to come up with some fun ideas and stretch-goals.

With only a few weeks to raise money for this incredible local charity, I doubted $10,000 was realistic (usually the campaign raises at least twice that much).

However, two days in from the launch, you incredible people have already smashed the first two stretch-goals, and are just a few hundred dollars away from $10,000 – wherein I will get on my bike for the first time since the concussion, and cycle (SAFELY) around the Bike the Barns parking area once or twice!

I’m blown away, to be honest. And as a thank-you to everyone, I’ve re-arranged the stretch-goals!

Now, at $14,000 (as opposed to $20,000), I will wear the duck as I (SAFELY) peddle around the parking lot. (In fact, I’ll keep the duck on my head as I pass around Duck buttons to other riders, allowing them to cycle with a duck!)

And as another incentive, should we near $20,000, I will again wear BOTH ducks on my head.

THE NEW STRETCH GOALS

More goodies/swag/bribes will be added as we (hopefully) pass certain markers:

PASSED $5,000 – A sticker commemorating the weird-ass “Safety First” Insane Charity Bike Ride 2026 campaign will be included with all physical orders.

PASSED $7,500 – A new Duck Button will be included with all physical orders. You too may now cycle with a duck!

Passing $10,000 – I’ll take to my bike for the first time since my fall!

Passing $12,000 – A second sticker commemorating the weird-ass “Safety First” Insane Charity Bike Ride 2026 campaign will be included with all physical pledges.

PASSING $14,000 THE DUCK! THE DUCK! THE DUCK! I’ll cycle for the first time concussion with the Steve Jackson Games Duck of Doom on my helmet again!

Passing $16,000 – A unique Munchkin card commemorating the weird-ass “Safety First” Insane Charity Bike Ride 2026 campaign will be included with all physical orders..

Passing $18,000 – Sticker and buttons for ALL riders participating in Bike the Barns 2026, so the entire ride gets a duck on their head (should they so wish)!

Passing $20,000 – THE SECOND DUCK! I’ll ear both the Duck of Doom AND the Duck of Gloom on my helmet (The Duck of Gloom add-on is dedicated to my late friend Andrew Hackard, who first suggested two ducks years ago.)

You folks are the BEST!

• John

2026 marks my 14th year of fundraising for the Fair Share CSA Coalition through Bike the Barns, to raise money to help local farmers get fresh-food to local low-income and elderly households.

Over those 14 years, Dork Tower readers (YOU!) and Munchkin players (YOU AGAIN!!) have raised more than a quarter of a million dollars for a wonderful local charity providing a critical important service in the fight against food insecurity.

This year will be VERY different, however:

In July, I fell, smashing my head on the pavement, blacking out, concussed.

Under Doctor’s orders (and my wife’s stern-but-loving supervision), I won’t be able to join the 2026 ride.

HOWEVER, if we hit the $10,000 goal, I am allowed to get on my bike for the first time since the concussion! I’ll cycle around the parking lot once or twice – POSSIBLY WITH A DUCK ON MY HEAD -but for me, this will represent as major an achievement as if I’d biked 60 miles in previous years.

Another big change: timeliness! In 2025, backer swag went out ridiculously late. This was entirely on me. But to make sure this does not happen again, all the swag will be drawn and completed and ready to go to press as soon at the ride is completed!

And the swag will be AWESOME: The original Munchkin card art at the $400 and above levels will be from the Munchkin 2nd Edition core set (as opposed to “corset.”) This will be your chance to own a classic Munchkin card that will define the game for decades to come!

I’ve added Sponsorship levels, so companies can pick up advertising at DorkTower.com that is 100% a charitable deduction, tax-wise. These may be added onto any level.

Finally, one of the stretch-goals is to provide Duck stickers and badges for all the other riders, so that EVERYONE in the event, should they wish, can ride with a Duck on their head (or possibly pinned to their saddle bag).

This has been a VERY weird time for me, to be sure, but with your support, we can continue to support local CSA farmers (who have already been hard-hit) and low-income a (even harder hit).

SUPPORT LEVELS AND REWARDS

ANY donation – The 2025 Coloring Book PDF. Donate, and you will get a PDF of the brand-new coloring book (celebrating the $250,000 landmark).

$35 – The 2026 Munchkin Charity Postcard, signed, plus the 2025 Coloring Book

$75 – The 2026 Army of Dorkness Button, maybe it will be a sergeant again, maybe not, we’ll see….plus the 2026 Postcard and the 2025 Coloring Book PDF.

$125 – The Dork Web! You will get a PDF of the next Dork Tower collection as soon as it’s ready, before publication! This is the volume one of a new series, collecting the Dork Tower web strips for the first time! Plus the 2026 Button, the 2026 Postcard and the 2025 Coloring Book PDF.

$200 – All 13 prior Insane Charity Bike Ride Postcards, signed, The Dork Web, the 2026 Button, 2026 Postcard, and the 2025 Coloring Book PDF. (10 of 10 remaining)

$300 – The 2026 Gamehole Con plushie, Betty the Beholder, The Dork Web PDF, the 2026 Button, 2026 Postcard, and the 2025 Coloring Book PDF (20 of 20 remaining)

$400– Original Art from the Munchkin 2nd Edition Core Set!!! I don’t sell original Munchkin art. This is the only way you can obtain a piece, and this year the pieces come from one of the most important releases in Munchkin history! Plus, you get the Beholder plushie, The Dork Web PDF, the 2026 Button, 2026 Postcard, and the 2025 Coloring Book PDF (20 of 20 remaining)

$500 – The Dork Web physical book, which is scheduled to be published Spring 2027! Plus, you get the Original Munchkin Second Edition Art, the Beholder plushie, The Dork Web PDF, the 2026 Button, 2026 Postcard, and the 2025 Coloring Book PDF (20 of 20 remaining) (Please note that the book itself will be sent later, upon publication, and will be numbered, signed, and sketched in)

$750 – Appear in a Dork Tower Comic! You, a friend, your family, or even a pet will appear in a Dork Tower strip! We can talk about how best to fit you or your loved one into a strip. You also get the Dork Web physical copy (upon publication), the Original Munchkin Second Edition Art, the Beholder plushie, The Dork Web PDF, the 2026 Button, 2026 Postcard, and the 2025 Coloring Book PDF (4 of 4 remaining)

$2,000 – Become an Official Munchkin Card! You, a friend, your family, or even a pet will become an official Munchkin card! You also get 100 printed cards and the card’s original art, along with the Dork Web physical copy (upon publication), the Original Munchkin Second Edition Art, the Beholder plushie, The Dork Web PDF, the 2026 Button, 2026 Postcard, and the 2025 Coloring Book PDF (4 of 4 remaining)

SPONSORSHIP LEVEL 1 – Add $1,250 to any level for six months of ads on DorkTower.com. The ads may be changed up to four times and may include Dork Tower characters. Your company will be listed as a sponsor on all materials, and will be included in an upcoming Dork Tower comic strip or series, which I will write after working with you on the topic or game you’d like covered. (2 of 2 remaining)

SPONSORSHIP LEVEL 2 – Add $2,000 to any level for a full year of ads on DorkTower.com. The ads may be changed up to eight times and may include Dork Tower characters. Your company will be listed as a sponsor on all materials, and will be included in an upcoming Dork Tower comic strip or series, which I will write after working with you on the topic or game you’d like covered. (2 of 2 remaining)

PLEASE NOTE, there may be an added cost for shipping the physical rewards outside of the United States, depending on the whims of the current US administration. We apologize deeply for this, and will contact supporters as the time approaches.

STRETCH GOALS (updated 9/9)

PASSED $5,000 – A sticker commemorating the weird-ass “Safety First” Insane Charity Bike Ride 2026 campaign will be included with all physical orders.

PASSED $7,500 – A new Duck Button will be included with all physical orders. You too may now cycle with a duck!

Passing $10,000 – I’ll take to my bike for the first time since my fall!

Passing $12,000 – A second sticker commemorating the weird-ass “Safety First” Insane Charity Bike Ride 2026 campaign will be included with all physical pledges.

PASSING $14,000 THE DUCK! THE DUCK! THE DUCK! I’ll cycle for the first time concussion with the Steve Jackson Games Duck of Doom on my helmet again!

Passing $16,000 – A unique Munchkin card commemorating the weird-ass “Safety First” Insane Charity Bike Ride 2026 campaign will be included with all physical orders..

Passing $18,000 – Sticker and buttons for ALL riders participating in Bike the Barns 2026, so the entire ride gets a duck on their head (should they so wish)!

Passing $20,000 – THE SECOND DUCK! I’ll ear both the Duck of Doom AND the Duck of Gloom on my helmet (The Duck of Gloom add-on is dedicated to my late friend Andrew Hackard, who first suggested two ducks years ago.)

I don’t do well with the concept of mortality.

Tuesday’s strip was an idea I’ve been sitting on for a while. Originally, the setup was going to be Steve and Maree, his wife, with Steve talking about a friend who passed away.

The Steve and Maree strips are usually based pretty directly on Judith and myself. However, a good friend recently revealed he has terminal cancer, with about five months to live. And though he has a wonderful gallows sense of humor, and is living life to the fullest as best he can, I didn’t want anybody to think the gag was written because of his diagnosis.

Mortality has been on my mind much, this year. It started when I saw a Janean Garofolo show in the spring – her stand-up sets in the 90s would often revolve around Starbucks and other Gen X fare. Now, it was mostly AARP gags.

Then, in the summer, I caught the Damned’s 50th anniversary show at Wembley Arena. While the gig was incredible (you can watch it here), being one of the youngest members of an audience that consisted mainly of septuagenarians and octogenarians was an odd feeling. (The lines for the restrooms were longer than the queues for alcohol – a first for any concert I’ve been to.)

Then come the tumble and the broken hand.

Then came the tumble and the concussion.

Then came my friend Tim’s news (hot on the heels of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, but far more personal to me).

I don’t do well with the concept of mortality.

My parents are now 93 and 91, and in fine fettle for their respective ages, so theoretically I have some solid genetics stuffed inside me. IF all goes well. IF I can stay on my feet.

I’m devastated by my friend Tim’s news, though.

We’d talked about working on a Minneapolis fringe show together, with the Dork Tower puppets, tentatively titled “Avenue D&D,” and I was looking forward to jumping into the project, later in the fall, once Munchkin: Discworld was done. He’s a comic genius, and oh lordy do I admire his ability to commit to a bit.

But mostly he’s just a fabulous human being.

I don’t do well with the concept of mortality.

I don’t see why I should.

• John

Obviously, Medical Expenses are on the way! Want to help? Please consider joining the DORK TOWER Patreon and ENLIST IN THE ARMY OF DORKNESS TODAY! It’s what keeps the strip going (but it’s also a fun community)!

Obviously, Medical Expenses are on the way! Want to help? Please consider joining the DORK TOWER Patreon and ENLIST IN THE ARMY OF DORKNESS TODAY! It’s what keeps the strip going (but it’s also a fun community)!

I exaggerated Steve’s concussion symptoms in the strips just a tad. I don’t actually need meds to help with the shoulder and neck pain…but I did, not that long ago.

The dizziness and lightheadedness still pop back, but are no longer debilitating. At a regularly scheduled concussion PT appointment last week, I was deemed still to have symptoms, but safe to travel.

I can recite the months backwards like a TOTALL BOSS! Go, me!

Top priority right now is Munchkin Discworld, and I am having SO much fun with it. The trip to England is a working one, and I’ll be drawing at the Royal Society for the Arts, a fabulous space just off the Strand, near Aldwych (which, disappointingly, means “Old Port,” and not “Old Witch.”)

I also have to kick 2026 Bike the Barns fundraising into high gear. I’m hoping to launch the campaign Monday. 2025’s swag was VERY late this time – much of it going out now! But it is VERY NICE swag!

Though I didn’t promise it at the time (because it had yet to be announced) the backers who ponied up for original art will be getting…classic Munchkin cards from the 2nd Edition!

This is probably the greatest Insane Charity Bike Ride trove since I began supporting the ride, 14 years ago! I’m hella-proud of these drawings, and if nothing else, I hope they make up for the ridiculous delay in getting swag out to backers!

I still don’t know HOW I will do this year’s Insane Charity Bike Ride – how long I might be able to make it, or even IF I’ll be able to ride my bike at all by then (the dizziness – though fading – has kept me from practicing).

So it makes sense that the theme of this year’s campaign will be “SAFETY FIRST!”

Stay safe, you!

• John

Obviously, Medical Expenses are on the way! Want to help? Please consider joining the DORK TOWER Patreon and ENLIST IN THE ARMY OF DORKNESS TODAY! It’s what keeps the strip going (but it’s also a fun community)!

Obviously, Medical Expenses are on the way! Want to help? Please consider joining the DORK TOWER Patreon and ENLIST IN THE ARMY OF DORKNESS TODAY! It’s what keeps the strip going (but it’s also a fun community)!

Obviously, Medical Expenses are on the way! Want to help? Then consider joining the DORK TOWER Patreon and ENLIST IN THE ARMY OF DORKNESS TODAY! It’s what keeps the strip going!

Hi!

Hello there!

TLDR, I’m fine.

Mostly.

And the part of me that isn’t fine is, in fact, getting better.

Remember a while back, when I fell and broke my hand?

Well…

A few weeks ago, in Southern California, I tripped again.

Badly, apparently.

I don’t remember falling. I only remember waking up in an ambulance before blacking out again.

…and then waking up once more in the recovery area of Long Beach Memorial Hospital’s Trauma Center, with bunch of EKG monitors wired to me. A couple of leftover patches on my arms marked doohickies had been plugged into my body (plasma on the right anesthetic on the left, I’m guessing), and a bright red band was loudly proclaiming “TRAUMA” on my wrist.

My friend Steve didn’t see me fall, so I’m not sure what had caused it, and as I said, I (thankfully) remember nothing of it. Steve stayed at the hospital, driving me back to his place when I was finally released at 4 am, bruised, bandaged, and none the wiser to what had transpired.

Eight hours later, I boarded the first of two flights that would take me home.

My right arm was in a sling, and I had giant lidocaine patches over my forehead and shoulder.

I also had a concussion.

I didn’t realize this until three days later, when I got in to see my GP.

Never having had a concussion before, I didn’t realize I probably shouldn’t have flown the very next day.

I had fine seats for both flights home – even an upgrade to first class between Phoenix and Madison. I was in pain, yes, but not terribly concerned: I just wanted to get home. (I even had an American Airlines club pass at Pheonix, which helped with a four-hour delay.)

I also texted my sister (the Surgeon) in London, sending her some pics of my messed-up face. She didn’t tell me then, but she couldn’t get back to sleep knowing I was traveling on my own in that condition.

The subsequent weekend was a bit of a blur, literally and figuratively. Monday morning, I decided it would be sensible for me to skip Gen Con. Sadly, this also meant missing all the events celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Munchkin and the release of Munchkin 2nd Edition.

Tuesday, once I was diagnosed as actually HAVING an honest-to-goodness concussion, skipping the show became a no-brainer.

Pun intended.

All this happened on the heels of three incredibly fun yet busy weeks: LibertyCon in Chattanooga; CONvergeance in Minneapolis; and five days taping <redacted> in Hollywood.

I suspect sheer exhaustion may have been a contributing factor to the tumble.

Last week, on Doctor’s orders, I literally did nothing but binge “Taskmaster” and immerse myself in Discworld novels (OK, the doc didn’t specify “Taskmaster” and Discworld, but I’d highly recommend them.)

On an intellectual level, I find having a concussion fascinating. Every day, I believe I feel like myself. Yet the very next day, I invariably feel more like myself, meaning I’ve been terribly incorrect all previous days.

I am feeling less dizzy, less foggy and far less light-headed than I was last week, and I jokingly reply to friends that “Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.” And truly, I am.

I’m in Concussion Physical Therapy, which even my sister the Surgeon did not know was a thing. I’d love to say I aced the cognitive tests my first time there, but really, I did not. And that was sobering.

I’ve had so many medical checkups these last fourteen days, I sort of feel like that cartoon dude on the “Operation” gameboard.

The good news is, I’m in fabulous health were it not for the knock to the noggin (“Apart from that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?”) My bloodwork has come back with straight “A”s, and I’m shocked that I have the liver of a man half my age (I should probably return it to him). My eyesight, now less blurry, is also expected to rebound well. Across the board, there’s no permanent damage expected.

Even my hideous black eye has receded far enough to resemble nothing more than a dashing pseudo-scar:

I’m still concussed. To be sure, I wasn’t certain if the occasional brain-fog I still experience was due to the fall, or just my normal baseline spam-headedness. But following a Concussion Physical Therapy appointment yesterday, I’m…glad?…to say it’s still head-bash-based.

I’m feeling a million times better than I was a month ago, though. So THAT is definitely progress.

I continue experiencing lingering dizziness and minor headaches a few times per day. Mainly, my right shoulder continues to ache, though nothing is broken or torn, and the back of my neck remains stiff. But things feel a little better every day. My therapist has asked I don’t return to taekwondo until October at the earliest.

The goal at the moment is to post two Dork Towers per week at the Mothership from now through the end of September, then reverting to three a week from October onward. (This isn’t including the Maple Monthly comics, which you’ll still get to see months before anyone else.)

I’m hoping to rebuild the old Dork Tower Mothership buffer at that point, and schedule a couple of guest artists for a few weeks backup next year – something VERY SENSIBLE that I just never got around to this year or last.

Right now, other goals include getting the Collector Cards back on track (many are finished or near-finished), and getting Insane Charity Bike Ride 2025 goodies out the door. Particularly as the 2026 ride is coming up!

But I’ll have more on this very soon.

I am enormously grateful to the Dork Tower Patreon supporters, who’ve stuck by me through these last few weeks. If you’d like to help, please do check out the Dork Tower Patreon Page – it’s what keeps the strips going, and I could use all the support I can get right now!

Thanks for sticking with me!

• John

PS: HUGE thanks to my great friend Lar for the above image!

Most DORK TOWER strips are now available as signed, high-quality prints, from just $25!  CLICK HERE to find out more!

Dork Tower is kept going by a delightful Patreon community! Want to help? Then consider joining the DORK TOWER Patreon and ENLIST IN THE ARMY OF DORKNESS TODAY! (We have COOKIES!) (And SWAG!) (And GRATITUDE!)