The Checker Book Publishing Group has reached an agreement with cartoonist Chris Onstad allowing Checker to collect Onstad's Achewood online comic strip in a series of three trade paperbacks.  The first 180-page collection has a cover price of $19.95 and will collect Achewood strips from its debut in October of 2001 through June of 2002.  The first as yet untitled Achewood collection will be released in November.

Onstad's Achewood strip has a daily readership of over 10,000 and numbers such luminaries as Dave Barry, Tony Millionaire, Jim Woodring and James Kochalka among its fans.  Onstad has been nominated for 2004 Web Cartoonist's Choice Award for Outstanding Writing in a Web comic.