Interlude time! So far, “Grillo Parlante” has been a tremendous lesson in working with, and seeing my own scripts in the hands of, various cartoonists across an entire spectrum of experience. Let’s mix it up again! For just one week, six days and a Sunday, we are putting the strip–scripting and drawing and everything–in the hands of novice cartoonist and “Skin Horse” fan Artaban, who brings us this distressingly charming tale of the fate of the now-nonexistent millipedes in the Annex One basement ecosystem. Can you handle this much fan labor? Yes you can. Give Artaban a warm welcome, and as ever, if you want to check out a higher-resolution version of this strip, you may check out the GoComics mirror.

In other news, I am excited to report that Shaenon returns to full active writing and drawing duty on September 15. I suggest you get hype.