Kate Beaton has been one of my favorite writers and artists for a long time. In fact, her webcomic Hark! A Vagrant was the first webcomic I ever read, sparking a passion that eventually led to me writing my weekly column Drawn to Comics. I’m guessing that a lot of you are big Beaton fans as well and would absolutely love to win a prize pack for her brand new picture book The Princess and the Pony!
The Princess and the Pony is Beaton’s first ever picture book, and it tells the story of Princess Pinecone, who wants a noble steed befitting a warrior princess like her for her birthday. What she gets isn’t quite what she expected, but she learns that, in the end, maybe that’s a good thing. Plus, this is one of the few children’s books that stars a mixed-race princess of color. Let me tell you, this book is funny, absolutely adorable and perfect for readers of all ages.
Sounds awesome, right? So, if you’d like to win a free copy of this book, plus a great pony mug and stylish pony t-shirt, all you have to do is enter this contest!
To enter just comment below with a link to your favorite Hark! A Vagrant comic (mine are this one and this one). This giveaway is open to US addresses only. You have from now until Saturday, July 11 at 6pm Eastern to enter, so if you need to start going through the archive to find your favorite comic, here’s your chance! On Saturday we’ll take all the people who have commented with their favorite comic and pick one randomly to send this awesome prize pack. Good luck! Update: The contest is now closed and Quelle has been chosen as our random winner!
Wow wow wow it was so hard to choose just one favorite comic! But I guess this one. Because it makes me laugh every time. http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=176
The velocipede (http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=33) is definitely my favorite Hark! A Vagrant strip.
Fingers crossed for this one; I want it in my library.
That “Small fat and mighty” mug is phenomenal.
Excited about the book too!
I identify with the pony on a spiritual level, especially when he’s eating.
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=339
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=213
This is definitely my favourite of all time–I love the idea of Jules Verne being a fan boy.
Oh man this is a close second for my fave.
We’ve randomly selected a winner, and it’s you! Congratulations! We’ll be getting in contact with you to get you your prize pack!
I love her comic on Wednesday, her cat. My cats do the same thing during the middle of the night, skitter around and crash into things as they please: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=143
This one is sooooo silly, and it never gets old when I go back & read it. http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=134
I think my favorite is still the Nemesis one. It never gets less funny!
HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE SCULLY AS DARCY: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=363
Oh no! I don’t live in the US, but I would pay for shipping if that is a thing. ;_;
Do sketch comics count? My favourite is her sketch comic, Ducks: http://beatonna.tumblr.com/post/81993262830/here-is-a-sketch-comic-i-made-called-ducks-in
Just in case they don’t, as someone who also did Gaelic choir, I also love this one about singing ‘E Mo Leannan”:http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=70
Oh man Katie Beaton is the best!! I really like the comics she makes about her family life!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
HOW CAN I CHOOSE?
omigawd to die for: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=254
honorable mention to Strong Female Characters (even though it’s a team effort) : http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=311
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=121
I NEED THIS
It’s a tie:
Nemesis: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=327
Musashi: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=40
Very few things will take me out of my permanent lurker status, but this certainly will! I even got my parents her book a few years ago for Christmas.
Any time someone makes a joke about Canadians, I immediately bring up the first comic in this set: http://www.harkavagrant.com/?id=250 (and as a Midwesterner I also very much so identify with it).
Omg she’s my favorite. Picking a classics joke:
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=30
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=300
AND THE WINGSPAN OF AN ALBATROSS
I love wingspan of an albatross!
Dude Watchin’ With the Brontës is hands down my favorite. http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=202
This comic has always perfectly represented myself and two of my friends. I’m Anne Brontë in the group.
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=240
Because SCIENCE.
I like the Queen Elizabeth I ones but Wonder Woman is my fav.
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=45
The peasant romance comic always makes me laugh: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=255
Oh man, there are so many excellent ones! It’s hard to pick a favorite.
1980’s Buisinesswoman Comics is a classic
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=297
It is hard to choose my fave… I pretty much adore all of the literature ones, but probably the Gatsby one make me laugh the most: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=259
Another vote for Dude Watchin’ with the Brontes: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=202
And I love the Gatsby ones: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=259
WHAT BABY
kate beaton is the best! I have the Wonder Woman comic as a print (http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=328) but I gotta go with STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS as my favorites:
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=311
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=336
Dude Watchin’ with the Brontes was the first one I fell in love with, but all are brilliant.
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=202
HARDEST DECISION D:
I’m very fond of:
Tiny Hermione (http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=303)
Great Gatsbys (http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=259), sometimes I’ll just look up and go “WHAT *BABY*” in the middle of whatever unrelated thing I’m saying, ’cause I’m cool
All the Nancys Drew (http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=278)
and the whole Mermaid Story! (http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=188)
Yo, Hipsters Ruining Everything Pt 1 has been my favorite for yeaaaars
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=228
Since Strong Female Characters was already mentioned, for me it’s a tie between Sexy Batman (http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=295) and Straw Feminists (http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=341). SO HARD TO CHOOSE!
Kate Beatooooon. Every single Kate Beaton comic is golden & glorious.
I’m going to go with this one, because her book-cover comics have an extra dose of absurd glory, and this one also includes Edward Gorey & maybe-lesbians: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=242
Bonus link: all of her sketch comics on Twitter are amazing as well, e.g. https://twitter.com/beatonna/status/610509241078665218
As a Portlander, I obviously have to choose King of Portland: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=261
But as a huge fan of Wuthering Heights, I also obviously have to choose her Wuthering Heights strips:
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=322
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=323
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=329
(My absolute favorite of them all is WH Part 3, Ellen Keeps Telling the Story)
Mermaids are always a classic: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=188
All the literature ones, and Queen Elizabeth with the wingspan of an albatross are great, but none of them have entered my literal daily lexicon like Great Gatsbys. (http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=259) I say OLD AS BALLS pretty much every chance I get.
I AM SUCH A HUGE FAN I AM FLAILING ABOUT ALL OVER MY WORK DESK. OMG
and obviously all things Austen: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=263
So I didn’t even know I was awaiting this day. I love all her comics, particularly the literature ones and the history ones. Today I’m really feeling this one: http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=152. Marie Curie! Science! I have it on my wall! My other (current) favorite is probably http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=377, but it’s a hard decision, I have so many.
http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=270
“Show Some Respect” is perhaps the greatest gift to humanity. THIS MAN IS AN ARTIST. <3
Wu Zetian! http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=65
Oh, but also this insane story: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=364
Of COURSE Emperor Norton: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=43
oh! UM. i know this is just one of her sketches, but i love it so dearly.
hands down my favorite comics of Beaton’s: ROOM FULL OF MULDERS, ALL DAY. because who doesn’t like it when “haberdashery” is used?…in context?
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=363
“whoops I’m a lady on the internet.” no other situation has been more closely replicated on paper. now, all the creepers say heyo!
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=103
Aaaa Kate Beaton! It’s gotta be Ida B. Wells: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=356
Oh yes most definitely this one: http://www.harkavagrant.com/?id=341
I find I link to it the most often out of all of them
Baby? Ooh… Right.
http://www.harkavagrant.com/?id=259
I love Straw Feminists, but the one Poe and Verne are reluctant friends is hanging in my office:
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=213
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=377
This one is mine! Thanks for the giveaway :)
There are so many good ones, don’t make me choose! Probably my favorite is Javert though (http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=288), with Great Gatsbys as a close second (http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=259).
Tesla the Ladies Man is probably my favorite, though I do also love fat pony.
http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=61
OMG. I LOVE KATE BEATON.
Also…
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=316
T’was a difficult choice… http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=375
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=317
Nancy Drew is just the best.
Oh man, how have I never seen this artist before?
Tesla, the studmuffin: http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=61
and Radioactive love: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=152 (although the t-shirt design is better)
It’s so hard to pick just one… but Chopin and Liszt is pretty awesome.
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=302
CLEARLY the 1980s businesswoman is my aesthetic. “BEVERLY!”
http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=297
i liked this one here http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=258
this is forever my favorite
I love this book! Here’s my favorite comic: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=246
These are my favorite ones
http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=297
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=255
I don’t know if it’s actually my favorite or not – so much goodness to choose from! – but David Hume Takes a Walk is the one I own the original art for, so it gets my pick!
My favorite Hark! a Vagrant comic…ooh, its so hard to choose but I think one of my favorites is the Janet Jackson one: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=347
I love them all and have been a long time fan, but I really especially love all the feminist figures she does! Ida B. Wells is one of my favorites – http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=356, I also like Mary Shelley – http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=56, oh there’s just so many. Don’t make me choose!
Courtly Love is one of my favorites: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=282
Probably the Great Gatsby comics, because for some reason I find “what baby” VERY quotable:
http://www.harkavagrant.com/?id=259
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=32
This. ;)
What an awesome giveaway! This is my favorite, hands down:
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=327
Since the Wuthering Heights comics have already gotten shout-outs, I’m gonna have to go with her take on the Shelley’s. All about that romanticism http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=56
I didn’t even have to think about what my favorite might be because when I finally moved into my for-real desk at my new job I actually bought the print of this one to put up and shock my coworkers – http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=164
I just have a lot of love for Age of Sail; what can I say? Kiss me, Hardy!
Because Nancy Drew was my first crush – http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=293
So hard to choose! Besides Bess at Tilbury and Straw Feminists, my other favorites would be:
Sexy Vampire Ladies: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=285
Kennedys: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=214
Watsons: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=264
…Wait is this a ‘three wishes’ thing and I just ruined it for myself nooooooooooo
I am super excited about this book!! I love me some Kate Beaton, and I love me some mystery solving teens.
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=199
Love Kate Beaton!
Too hard to choose…so here’s a random one that made me laugh.
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=56
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=278
Nancy Drew, forever and always.
I am a simple woman with simple tastes. The hug and the duck just get me every time.
http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=125
My favorite “Hark! A Vagrant” comic is by far Pony Meets A Ghost 339. I LOVE ponies and it’s just like them to eat everything in site, ghost included. Super excited to read the book as well! Thanks!
I know many people find it hard to choose, but I knew IMMEDIATELY that I was picking Ida B. Wells as my favorite: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=356
http://harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=262 Specifically the one where lady m says she’d get a boner. I love kate beaton!!
Definitely:
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=373
Or
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=280
Or the one where Typhoid Mary licks people’s heads clean, or the president quells Canadian rioters with manners. Or… All of them.
As soon as I posted this, I remembered the “conversations with my younger self” strips. As a relatively small, potato shaped adult, I love Kate’s tiny, potato shapes younger self. This is a gem: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=74
I’m gonna have to go with http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=372 because I’m a sucker for 1776 references
Choosing is so hard!
On the history side, the one about Lindisfarne monastery holds a soft spot for me because I took a class on medieval manuscripts (and showed this comic to my professors, who loved it too!).
More recently, Femme Fatale always makes me giggle.
Put me down as another one for the Straw Feminists comic!
http://www.harkavagrant.com/?id=341
Awesome!!
a classic
Reading through the comments, there are so many great faves out there. All of her comics are charming gems. Woo!
I LOVE KATE BEATON. I especially love . Specifically The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion, the very last strip. I also really adore her strips about her family, which I think are only .
Because Anne’s face in the last panel: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=202
My favorite has always been Peasant Romance!! http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=255
YES. Kate Beaton is my everything. Her non-Hark! A Vagrant comics about her time spent with family in Canada are always so funny and really great slice-of-life pieces. I couldn’t choose just one so here are my top three:
1. Sexy Tudors; my college friends and I do the “finger on tongue” look and the “sexy Cecil” pose to each other often.
2. All three of the Wuthering Heights comics, but especially Wuthering Heights Part Two; “it’s not what you asked for at all!” and “a large angry squirrel” are things I say constantly.
3. Dude Watchin’ With the Brontes, which has never not made me laugh out loud embarrassingly in public.
I’m really excited to see what everyone’s favorite is! Mine is this work of pure genius: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=347
St. Jude’s Home for the Nasty, based on an already brilliant Janet Jackson song. Everything that you could ever want in a comic.
My second favorite is a sketch she did about how she doesn’t understand hockey that I can’t find anywhere that’s just an image of a lonely goalie saying, “Puck?” and another hockey player answering “Puck Puck” like they are pokemons.
I feel like everyone’s favorite strip is like a tiny window into their lives…
I like Kate’s sense of history. The Ida B Wells set is my favorite right now:
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=356
We bought the book from Powell’s already. Hope I win one to give away! Not giving away the mug, though. Need that.
Because I am a bit of a religious-history geek, “St. Cecilia, Dying” (http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=377) tickled me especially.
Also, my stupid autocorrect just tried to get me to give my a-tag an attribute named “Greg.”
I love Kate Beaton! I’ve been following her stuff for years and I’m so happy for all the success she’s had and continues to have! For my favorite comic, it’s not possible to pick, but I’ll go with a classic: Dude Watchin’ with the Brontes! Poor Anne…
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=202
Darn this 49th parallel! I guess I’ll just link to my favourite Canadian strip: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=271
It’s really hard to pick one, but I really like the Nancy Drew comics: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=278
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=279
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=293
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=317
Oh man oh man I love Kate Beaton.
Founding Fathers in a Mall FTW http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=372
“america was born of blood for this.”
Ah yes, it’s comic time!! This has to be one of my favorites just because of the horse – http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=339 If a horse wants to eat something, they certainly will. Especially if it’s a wild pony. ….I’m not a nerdy horse girl or anything >_> Okay, yes I am :)
Oh no. OH NO. I HAVE SEVERAL FAVORITES THAT STILL MAKE ME LAUGH HYSTERICALLY.
Let’s go with Chopin and Liszt.
Impossible to decide. But Lady Macbeth’s (dang, that’s manly) moment is one of my faves, for reasons I cannot explain: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=262 and of course, straw feminists, which need no introduction.
Since other people already mentioned Jules-Verne-fanboy and making fun of Canadians, I’ll go with this one which always makes me giggle helplessly for no reason: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=247
KIERKEGAARD
This one cracked me up! http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=97
Very difficult to decide.
Wu Zetian
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=65
Katherine Sui Fun Cheung
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=374
and Cinderella working out :
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=346
http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=20
This is my fav from all I read so far
Death of James Cook is brilliant!!
My favorite is http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=298
Mostly because the Lady Lovelace is a personal hero and I squeed for like days when this one went back.