When in the course of forming a company two cartoonists discover that the trademark on their comic strip name isn't quite as airtight as they had supposed, it becomes necessary to choose a new one. But our bad fortune can be your good luck if you are the one who chooses that new name. That's right, we're having a contest to rename "Overdue"!

What's in it for you? Well, if you are the first to suggest the winning name we''ll send you a custom drawing of you, hanging out with the staff of the Mallville Public Library. Suitable for framing! The first runner up gets a free copy of our upcoming book.

Here's how it works:

• Send suggestions to newname@barnacle.org
• You can suggest as many names as you want, as often as you want.
• You can suggest more than one in an email. And please do.
• Please don't explain or justify your suggestions - if we don't get it at first glance it's probably not a contender
• Names that suggest libraries, books, and/or reading are a plus, but we're open minded
• Names that convey the spirit of the strip are also a plus
• Names cannot include the word "Overdue" :-(
• Don't skip a suggestion because it seems obvious. It might not be.
• Bill and Gene choose the winner. If we don't pick yours you're not allowed to hate us.
• Please let us know if we may use your name when announcing the winner
• Contest ends midnight PST on Tuesday, March 25, 2003. The winner will be announced soon thereafter.
• All suggestions become the property of Overdue Media LLC
• Thank you in advance for your suggestions. And now, let the brainstorming begin!

Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
http://www.overduemedia.com

Postscript 3/20/03

Here are a few hints, based on the first 500 or so submissions:

• "Check it out" has already been suggested. A lot.
• We suspect the winning name won't include the word "Library"
• Any name the understanding of which relies on knowing library buzzwords, acronyms, or trivia will be a bad name. This strip is aimed at a general audience.
• We can't use anything that sounds or looks like "Overdue" either.

Postscript 4/2/03

We have a winner!