Old News and Updates
"Wal-Mart, Part 2" Posted and SF Chronicle Comics
April 24, 2008 - Thursday
Since Garry Trudeau is currently taking a three-month break from Doonesbury, the San Francisco Chronicle has decided to use this opportunity to try out another comic: Candorville. While I think this is a pretty good comic myself, what really struck me was the debate it has sparked about the comics page. It's no secret that syndicated comics are not doing as well as they used to be. There's a big split between people who want to continue seeing the same strips that have been running the last 50 years, and those that want to see something more fresh and contemporary. It's a difficult decision to figure out how to mend this and keep the comics page alive. That's why I found the discussion and opinions highlighted in this recent article from the SF Chronicle especially interesting, and I figured some of you might be interested as well.
"Wal-Mart, Part 1" Posted
April 21, 2008 - Monday
Today marks the beginning of a storyline centering on everyone's favourite (notice sophisticated British spelling) punching bag: Wal-Mart. And before you say, "Oh no! Another long story from this guy! I'm finally recovering from the previous ones!" I want you to know that I've learned a lot from the feedback you guys have given me. This story will be very different from the Hot Dog and Hairy Chest epics in that (1) it's shorter at merely 4 pages, and (2) each page will have it's own punchline that can be read independently from the rest of the series. I realize that it was frustrating at times for readers to wait between 3 to 7 days per update on a storyline, so hopefully these two changes will make everything run smoother.
Calamities on Twitter!
April 17, 2008 - Thursday
That's right, I've just started a Twitter account for Calamities of Nature. Feel free to follow my feed (pretty good alliteration, huh?) and see what's new with me or this website.
"Monkey Business" Posted
April 17, 2008 - Thursday
Today's comic is a little shorter than what you usually see from Calamities. I've been busy with work and all the other challenges life presents, so I've been getting behind on my artwork. In addition, some of the upcoming comics took a little more work than usual to color (that's a teaser for next week, just in case I was being too subtle!). I figured that instead of skipping an update entirely, it would be a better compromise to at least post a shorter strip. I hope you agree. Strips like this also give me a chance to draw some of the shorter gags that I have wriiten, but which had previously been sitting around without a place to go. I'll try to not fall back on this crutch too often. Although I have to admit it was pretty exhilarating to finish an update in almost half the usual time!
"Beautiful or Horrifying" Posted and Rare Bill Watterson Art
April 14, 2008 - Monday
Over the last 20 years, Bill Watterson has surely been one of the most influential artists in the field of cartooning. But frustratingly, besides his amazing run on Calvin & Hobbes, there is little artwork from him available for the public. That's why I was surprised to find a link displaying rare artwork by Bill Watterson. Maybe some of you have already seen this, but I was so excited when I found it, I had to share. It features comics (much of them political) from his days before Calvin & Hobbes, as well as some his single panel strips that ran in the Comics Journal. One thing that I was really impressed with was his command of line quality, even in his earliest comics. He was clearly a master (and genius) in every sense of the word.
"Juggling" Posted and It Wasn't My Fault!
April 10, 2008 - Thursday
Back on March 24th I posted this comic. Then over the last couple of days a number of readers notified me that this occured last Saturday. All I can say is that it's just a coincidence, really! Sometimes life can be pretty weird.
For my first (and maybe last) link of the week, I wanted to point your attention to a recent postcast by the fine people at Art & Story. They interview Dave Kellett, creator of Sheldon Comics. What I really liked is that instead of asking all the stock questions that are usually asked to comic creators, they talked about a lot of nuts and bolts stuff. For example, how does Dave prepare each strip, what kinds of pens he uses, and so on. If you make comics yourself, or are just a lover of the craft, you'll probably enjoy this interview too.
"Looking Over a Ledge" Posted
April 7, 2008 - Monday
One thing that I try to be conscience of for this comic is keeping my options open for what I can do with it. I'm always worried that I might get into a rut where I have ideas or stories that I want to present, but the comic is too narrow to be appropriate. For example, the skateboarding comic last week was an attempt to do something more action oriented in contrast to the very dialogue-centric strips I usually do. The two longer stories I've done (A Hairy Situation and Hot Dog!) were used to flesh out the character's personalities better so that a reader would feel more connected with them for the shorter strips. Today's strip is an attempt to deal with a serious subject matter, albeit with some of the light-heartedness you would expect from a comic strip. I hope this will create opportunities to deal with a wider range of issues in the future. Many webcomics try to deal with serious issues, but with the aim of using shock-value as a means to humor. This is often effective for enciting a (oftentimes nervous) laugh. I hope you see my appoach as being a little more sincere, which will hopefully connect with those of you reading this more than just providing a quick laugh. I'll be interested in hearing what you guys think about this comic, and whether you think this is an appropriate handling of the subject matter.
New Donation Link Plus Fancy Pancy Wallpaper Incentives
April 4, 2008 - Friday
If you're a regular reader you probably noticed that during the course of Thursday I added a new donation link below the comics. And as a way to say thanks, you can get one of the three desktop wallpapers shown below for a donation of any size. That's right, I said any size. I was impressed when Radiohead recently went a similar route for their last album. Of course I realize that the product they were providing is way more valuable than what I'm offering here. Nevertheless, I think there is a lot to be said for having respect and trust in your fans.
I should have it set up so that at the end of the donation process you will be provided with a link to your selected wallpaper. That way you don't have to wait for me to e-mail one or anything. But if you don't get your wallpaper please complain to me, because that means I need to work out some bugs!
"Breaking Boundaries" Posted and GRB Picture
April 3, 2008 - Thursday
One of the things I really need to work on with this comic is utilizing it's large canvas. The full-page format should allow me to be more creative with layouts than I have been. This comic was an attempt in that direction. I hope you like it.
On Monday I was out of town for work to give a short talk at an astrophysics conference. My talk was on gamma-ray bursts (or GRBs), which are intense pulses of gamma-rays that are seen from space and last anywhere from a few milliseconds to a few hundred seconds. The shorter variety is thought to originate from the merger of a black hole and a neutron star, while the longer is an extremely energetic supernovae (the death of a massive star that gives birth to a neutron star or black hole). I thought you guys might enjoy a picture I made for my talk. It shows a disk of material funneling down onto a central black hole. This gives rise to powerful jets that shoot from the poles at speeds close to that of light, which are seen as the gamma-ray burst. Click the picture below for a larger version. Incidentally, on March 19th a GRB had an optical afterglow that was so bright it could be seen without a telescope. This was the brightest GRB ever with a luminosity one hundred million billion times that of the sun. That's pretty damn bright!
New Vote Incentive Bonus Comic
April 2, 2008 - Wednesday
Do you like to vote? Well, if you're an American, maybe not. But for everyone else, please click the link above or the little picture below. You'll get to vote and see the new incentive comic.
"Almost Famous" Posted and the Big (Great?) Debate
March 31, 2008 - Monday
I almost titled this comic "Fame," but when it conjured up thoughts of that horrible mid-1980s television show, I change my mind. I don't know why I have childhood memories of the oddest things. My mind must like to screw with me.
If you haven't been paying attention to the webcomic message boards, there has been an interesting debate brewing. It basically centers on whether webcomics as a business model is the future of comics as a whole (instead of traditional newspaper and magazine outlets). This debate was sparked by comments made by Ted Rall who implied that webcomics weren't viable, and that traditional outlets are and will be the way to go. He also posted this cartoon. This lead to a subsequent discussion on Fleen. Then on Saturday a Webcomics Weekly podcast was posted featuring Rall, along with a number of prominent webcomic creators, debating these same issues. In the end I was disappointed that Rall wasn't able to argue his point better. He kept making claims without backing them up with evidence. It would have been better if he stated his point of view at the beginning, so that the argument was clearly defined. Nevertheless, I think a lot of interesting points were brought up over the course of the discussion. I would say this is required listening for anyone currently making webcomics (or even thinking about doing so in the future). Please note that the podcast does have some explicit language.
"More Stupid Stickers" Posted and Book Review
March 27, 2008 - Thursday
This isn't exactly a continuation from the last strip, but it is of a similar theme, so I figured I'd group them together by title. Hope you enjoy it.
I checked out the new book "How to Make Webcomics," by Brad Guigar, Dave Kellet, Scott Kurtz, and Kris Straub, so I figured I'd give a little review here to help those of you who may be on the fence about buying it. To start, if you have been listening to their podcast, and if you aren't you should because it's really good, then you'll be happy to know the book has much the same feel. This book is really a labor of love. There are a lot of howto books out there, and most are filled with pretty generic tips. These guys went the extra mile to provide useful material for the reader. For example, each chapter is written by one of the four authors. But throughout the other authors chime in with little word balloons, providing their own thoughts, sometimes even disagreeing with one another. In this way you get a better balanced view of things. Another neat feature are the "spotlight" sections where one author presents his strips and the others give constructive criticism. This provides a unique window into each authors' thought process.
So should you buy this book? It really depends on where you are as a webcomic artist, and what your goals are for your art. My main criticism is that all of the authors' strips have very similar formats (B&W, four panels), which is unfortunate given the huge range of webcomic styles that exist. It would have been nice for them to get someone else with a different perspective. The main strength of the book is that they mainly stick to nut and bolts stuff. This includes, just to name a few: where to find comic fonts, how to prepare images for print and the web, how to do halftones, good website design, finding a webhost, using archival scripts, building a community around your comic, POD and self-publishing, and attending conventions. These are all things you can find by looking around online or by asking people in forums, but it's nice to have it all in one place. If I had got this book six months ago, it would have saved me a lot of headaches. On the other hand, there is something to be said for learning the hard way. I hope this is helpful. If anyone has anything to add, feel free to share it in the chatbox.
Finally, I've updated the gallery with some sketches and pencils that show the behind-the-scenes to how Calamities is made, so please check it out. All of these appeared on this website before the last redesign, but I just recently had the time to complete this section. Also, you can read my B&W strips here, if you haven't before. For whatever reason, the gallery is rarely read by anyone, but when people find it I usually get a lot of positive comments about the strips here.
"Stupid Stickers" Posted
March 24, 2008 - Monday
What can I say? I hate those stickers! And if you feel that way too, come back Thursday for more stickier goodness.
Alltop Comics Page
March 21, 2008 - Friday
KimonoStereo of the webcomic Nemu-Nemu has been working on an Alltop comic page. This looks like a great resource! It collects the RSS feeds from a number of prominent webcomics to one convenient place. This way you can visit just one site to know whether any of your favorite webcomics have updates. And best of all, this includes Calamities. This should be a useful page to bookmark!
"Stirring Up Trouble" Posted
March 20, 2008 - Thursday
My second comic this week. Nice. It feels good to get back to a Monday/Thursday schedule. As a bonus, this is my first comic to use smoke effects that were done with the spray paint brush in photoshop. ILM will probably be calling me any minute.
"Nursery Rhymes" Posted
March 17, 2008 - Monday
I'm back from New Mexico and it's nice to be back home. I got to spend some time in a small American town. Not only is it a great learning experience to see how the rest (i.e., majority) of America lives, but it is also a fantastic source for strip material. So look forward to many new strips in the coming weeks inspired by these experiences.
π Day
March 14, 2008 - Friday
I almost forgot to remind everyone that today is π Day! It has already passed on the east coast, but there is still time to celebrate on the west coast at 3/14, 1:59:26 pm. For more about π Day, visit www.piday.org. I guess I can be somewhat of a geek sometimes, so sue me.
"Watch Your Language" Posted and Chatbox Added
March 13, 2008 - Thursday
I know I can be wordy at times, but in this case, one page still wasn't even to cover a topic I think is very perplexing. And I still have more questions I wish someone would answer for me. Like at what age do children start thinking with language? When dogs dream of people talking, are the people saying real words? I can go on and on.
Also, you'll notice that I've added a chatbox on the sidebar on the front page. Let's see how it goes, but I was hoping that some nice conversations could be started this way. For example, if anyone has answers to the questions I posed above, I would love to hear from you!
New Comic on Thursday
March 10, 2008 - Monday
Right now I'm in New Mexico visiting my grandparents. So I won't have time to post an update today. Come back Thursday, and I should have a new comic by then.
WCCA Online Ceremony Comic
March 9, 2008 - Sunday
You can read my contribution by clicking the comic below and scrolling to the bottom of the page.
Calamities of Nature Search Engine
March 7, 2008 - Friday
If you look at the top of the right hand sidebar, you'll see that there is now a search box available for Calamities of Nature. This is a free service from OhNoRobot.com that allows readers to search, for example, for all the comics that Alp appears in.
The one complication is that a comic in my archive must be transcribed before the search engine can see it. I'm going to start working on this when I have free time, but you the reader can help out as well! Each comic that has a box below it that says "transcribe this comic" means that it hasn't been transcribed yet. Feel free to click that box, and summarize the dialogue from that comic or even just type out what that particular comic is about. If it says "improve transcription" then that comic has a transcription, but you can still help by clicking that button and adding more relevant information. If I were to transcribe every comic I have, it would take me quite a long time. But if everyone helps out by doing JUST ONE comic, the entire archive should be finished in no time. Another cool bonus feature is that once enough comics have been transcribed, I can add a random comic button to this site as well. So please help out, and I will be forever grateful!
New Vote Incentive Bonus Comic
March 6, 2008 - Thursday
I felt bad about my slow update schedule lately, so I posted a new bonus comic. Click the link above or the little picture below to view it.
Site Redesign!
March 5, 2008 - Wednesday
If you're a regular visitor, you'll notice that the Calamities of Nature website has been redesigned. And let me tell you, after the weeks of work it took, it sure feels good to have this done! When I first made my old site, I was basically just learning web programming for the first time. And as I kept adding new features, the code kept getting more and more messy. On top of this, updating a new comic was a pain-in-the-butt process because nothing was automated. Everything was done by hand. I recently started reading about php, and realized that by converting my site to this I would save A LOT of time in the long run. I thought about installing the Wordpress/Comicpress combo that so many other webcomic artists use. But in the end I decided I didn't need all the extra features this offers. Hopefully this was the right decision.
So please click around and explore my new site. I'm sure there are still bugs here or there that I have missed, and it would be really helpful if you guys contact me if you find anything not working. This is especialy true if you are using Internet Explorer, because it seems like IE always has it's own unique issues. Also, if you have any suggestions for how to make this site better, I would be happy to hear from you.
"Getting a Little Too Friendly" Posted
March 3, 2008 - Monday
I hope you enjoy my new comic today. I also wanted to let you know that I'm currently working on updating the site. Hopefully, this will be done this week because I'm really excited to share my new design, but we'll see if I can get it all together in time. If you have any suggestions on what you think may be a useful addition to the new site, please tell me and I'll see if I can work it in. Also, you'll see that I'm testing out some ads along the left column of this page, so please excuse this while I get ready to launch the new site design.
Schedule for Next Few Weeks
February 28, 2008 - Thursday
Sorry there is no update today. I've been swamped with work, plus I have a bunch of work-related travel coming up. So for the next few weeks I will be limiting myself to just posting new comics on Mondays. I feel a little guilty about this. Over the last month this website has started to build some following, and I really appreciate the support that I have been receiving. It means a lot to me, and I thank everyone. But coloring each of these full-page comics takes me a LONG time, and it is a lot of work for me to finish two of these pages every week. So slowing down the pace for a little while is really my only option if I want to keep the level of quality up. Fortunately my WCCA nomination presentation comic will be posted on March 8th, so actually there will still be two new comics next week.
"Skiing" Posted
February 25, 2008 - Monday
This is one of those comics I like to refer to as a "George Lucas comic." This has nothing to do with the topic, but how the comic was constructed. I drew it on five different pieces of paper, and then scanned and put it together in photoshop. Word balloons were moved around, and in some cases completely redrawn. Backgrounds were put in separate from the characters. Parts of the characters clothing was redrawn in photoshop. The final comic basically has little resemblance to the art I originally drew. I imagine that the more recent Star Wars movies came together much the same way.
"Fashion Accessory" Posted
February 21, 2008 - Thursday
I thought of this comic during Jeopardy the other day, when one of the contestants was wearing an especially annoying bow tie (if you haven't guessed already, Jeoardy is basically the only television I watch). What's ironic is that the two groups most likely to wear bow ties these days are elitist New England types, and conservative good ol' boys from the south. Two groups who probably won't be voting together in the coming election this fall. Throw in the fact that the bow tie is standard issue for clowns, and you have a fashion accessory that should just be retired!
3rd Place in the ToonsUp Comic Competition
February 19, 2008 - Tuesday
I'm happy to report that Calamities of Nature has won 3rd place in the ToonsUp comic competition that recently ended. ToonsUp is comic and illustration posting site, and they gave out rewards to the users with the highest rated postings. What is especially gratifying (and surprising) for me is that this is a German website. So to have an English comic in the top three is pretty sweet. This comes with a cash prize of 50 euros, which, given the current exchange rate, is like $300, right? Anyways, check out ToonsUp for some great artwork, and hopefully we can look forward to more contests from them in the future.
"Yaaaahh!" Posted
February 18, 2008 - Monday
The astute reader will notice that I added an extra "h" to "Yaaaahh" for emphasis. What can I say, this is subtle stuff.
WCCA Online Presentation
February 15, 2008 - Friday
Well, the Web Cartoonist' Choice Awards (WCCAs) announced their nominees. Not surprisingly, Calamities of Nature was nowhere to be found. No biggie really, I wasn't expecting anything. The news that I wanted to let you guys all know was that Calamities of Nature was chosen as one of the comics to help with the online presentation of the awards. And not for just any category, but for one of the main four categories: Outstanding Writer. This means that I will be working on a full page comic that introduces the nominees, and will be seen the day the awards are announced. Cool, huh? (Hopefully I'm allowed to divulge this info!) Now the hard part--I have to think of a comic! Doh! So make sure you get your votes in by February 22nd, and tune in on March 8th to see if I was able to think of something funny for the comic...or not.
"Valentine's Day" Posted
February 14, 2008 - Thursday
The problem with doing a Valentine's Day comic is that it makes it impossible to use the "I didn't know it was Valentine's Day" excuse when you forget to get your significant other a present. I have to remember this for next year!
The last 2 days have been pretty hard on our family. All three of us, me, my wife, and our 15 month old daughter, had the stomach flu. Not good times! Needless to say, I haven't got much done lately in the way of comics. So far I have been able to stay on schedule with the update today, but we'll see whether I fall behind over the next week.
New Facebook Application
February 12, 2008 - Tuesday
With the help of Mike Phillips, artist of Apathetic Rant, I have written a Calamities of Nature Facebook application. It's pretty cool! It will automatically post a preview of the newest Calamities of Nature comic in your profile. Click here to get it installed, and if you like it give the app a review and tell your friends! Once it has 5 users I will be able to submit it to the Facebook Application Directory.
In addition, I have joined facebook. If you want to send me a message, you can find my profile page here.
"Burning Ears" Posted
February 11, 2008 - Monday
This is the perfect comic to e-mail to your Christian friends. Preferably from an anonymous e-mail address.
By the way, this appears to be my 50th page. Halfway to 100! As I get closer to 100+ pages, I'm going to start thinking about collecting these strips into a book. This will of course depend on what kind of interest my readers show (as well as how many readers I actually have at that point), so we'll see what happens.
"Wacko Jacko" Posted
February 7, 2008 - Thursday
This comic is in no way autobiographical. Really.
Sell Out in Style!
February 5, 2008 - Tuesday
In response to the fantastic reaction I have received from my comic "Branded" I have added a new product to my store: the Branded T-shirt. Click the picture below if you're interested. It's the perfect gift for that friend or family member who is a little too brand conscious.
"Holy Guacamole" Posted
February 4, 2008 - Monday
After making this strip, I realize that maybe it really shows my California bias. People who live in other places may not share my love affair with guacamole. Nowhere was this clearer to me than a few weeks ago on Jeopardy (an American trivia show). One of the categories was Mexican cuisine, and I watched in shock as the three contestants could not answer even one of the five clues correctly ("Chile rellenos!" I yelled at the screen). Not surprisingly, the contestants were either from the midwest or the east coast. So if today's strip doesn't do it for you because you don't like guacamole, feel free to substitute all instances of the word "guacamole" with a favorite food of your choice. Or even better, maybe this strip will inspire someone out there to try guacamole for the first time. THAT would make this all worth while. Unless that person goes to Taco Bell...
Also, I can't help making another plug for my collaboration with the webcomic t-n-t. I really think Keong outdid himself with the coloring, as you can see from the small sample I have below. Click on it to see how the final project came out.
Review in the Webcomics Beacon Podcast
February 2, 2008 - Saturday
In the weekly Webcomic Beacon Podcast, Aarin Edwards was nice enough to do a "Webcomic Impression" of Calamities of Nature. The shocking part was that Aarin shed his usual sarcastic tone and actually gave a very generous review. Check it out here.
New Vote Incentive and t-n-t Collaboration
February 1, 2008 - Friday
Wow, a posting for each day this week! I need to get out more.
Today I have posted a new, old comic as a vote incentive, so check it out here.
In other news, Keong, creator of the webcomic t-n-t, is running a fun promotion this week. He has invited 8 different webcomic artists to write dialogue for his strips. The results have been pretty funny so far. I was invited to do the Sunday comic. You can see the sketch I was given below. Be sure to check out his site this Sunday to see if I came up with anything good.
"Groundhog's Day" Posted
January 31, 2008 - Thursday
I hope this strip is the start of a tradition of an annual Groundhog's Day strip at Calamities of Nature. Groundhog's Day has always had a special place in my heart. And this may have something to do with it being my birthday. For this reason I have historically often made my comic characters to be groundhogs, even when the resemblance is not so great (see Ferd, for example). So just play along with me on this one, okay? Thanks.
Super Tuesday is Coming
January 30, 2008 - Wednesday
Super Tuesday is around the corner. That means more and more people are voicing their opinions on who to vote for. And of course the webcomic community is also weighing in. Most of this is the standard political fare. But I did see a particularly interesting post recently by Randall Munroe of XKCD. It feels especially genuine because Munroe usually doesn't include politics in his strip.
Gallery Update
January 29, 2008 - Tuesday
I've updated the gallery with some spiffy stuff. Most of it was used as vote incentives over the last couple months. So just in case you missed a previous vote incentive (heaven forbid), or if you wanted to read one of your favorite strips again, check out the gallery.
"Creationists, Page 2" Posted
January 28, 2008 - Monday
I'm just glad I got this posted while Huckabee is still in the running for the Republican nomination. If I would have waited until super Tuesday (should "super" be capitalized?), this might not have been the case. It will be a sad day for comedy writers everywhere when (or maybe I should say "if") Huckabee bows out of the race. There's just so much comedic potential.
"Creationists, Page 1" Posted
January 24, 2008 - Thursday
I tried and tried, but I couldn't think of a spiffy title for today's comic. If you have any suggestions, send me an e-mail. Check back Monday for page 2.
"Wax Eloquent" Posted
January 21, 2008 - Monday
Sometimes I spend a bunch of time writing, drawing, and coloring a comic, and then when I look at the finished product I think, "why the hell did I just do that?!" This is one of those instances.
"World Domination" Posted
January 17, 2008 - Thursday
Starbucks, please don't sue me. I mean this in the nicest way possible. Really.
WCCAs
January 16, 2008 - Wednesday
I guess it's that time of year. The Golden Globe Awards, the Oscars, and...the Web Cartoonist' Choice Awards...?! Yup, even webcomics are getting into a self-congratulatory mood. If you are unfamiliar with the awards, each existing webcomic gets one vote. That means, for example, if a certain webcomic has a writer and artist, they share only one vote. This makes these awards unique in that they are a nice tribute from your cartoonist peers, instead of just being a popularity contest like most other things on the web (well, it's still a little of a popularity context, of course).
Nominations are due January 23rd and voting takes place between February 8-22, so if you are interested get cracking. You can find out more by listening to the recent podcast from the Webcomic Beacon or clicking the icon below. If nothing else, this is a nice chance to learn about some great webcomics that you might have otherwise missed.
"Very Remote Control" Posted
January 15, 2008 - Tuesday
Ahhh, it feels so nice to get this comic posted. I've been excited to show my new comics. I was actually going to post Monday, but I was waiting to see whether TheWebcomicList.com would start checking my site for updates again. It's been broken since the last time I updated this website.
At least in the near future, I hope to have regular updates every Monday and Thursday. This is basically the maximum output I can muster right now for full-color comics. We'll see how I do. The fact that this comic was already a day late is probably not confidence inspiring! But in my defense, there was some new content yesterday (albeit a vote incentive).
New Vote Incentive Comic
January 14, 2008 - Monday
A new vote incentive comic has been posted, and you can view it by voting here or using the links to the left. It's short and sweet, perfect for a Monday morning. And be sure to check back tomorrow for the first comic A. H. D. (after the "Hot Dog!" storyline).
Working on the Website
January 11, 2008 - Friday
I had an epiphany the other day. I am the only person in the observable universe who has a smaller version of their newest comic on the front page. Plus now that I have more than 40 comics, why do I need the entire archive on the front page? This was not the good kind of epiphany. It was more like a, "Why the hell did I think this would be a good idea?" epiphany. So I have been reworking the site a little. Is this new version better? Any feedback, suggestions, belittling are welcomed. Keep in mind that my html skills are pathetic at best.
Page 13 of "Hot Dog!"
January 10, 2008 - Thursday
With the thirteenth page of the "Hot Dog!" storyline, it FINALLY ends. I'll just be happy if I never have to draw another hot dog again. I should go back and see how many hot dogs I drew. Probably a lot. That should be a contest: how many hot dogs were shown in the "Hot Dog!" storyline? Whoever e-mails me first gets a prize, like, um, a high five from me. Unless you live too far away. Then maybe I'll send a congratulatory e-mail. Ooooh! Notice I said "maybe," so don't get too excited.
Drawing a long story like this gives you a lot of time to write new material, and I'm excited to get back to doing shorter, one page strips. It will probably be a breath of fresh air for all you readers as well. I know reading a story one page at a time for over two months can test one's patience. So check back next week, because I think it will be fun.
New Vote Incentive Pencils
January 8, 2008 - Tuesday
Click here to view the artwork used for page 12 of "Hot Dog!" You'll notice there is something distinctly different between how Ferdinand looks in these pencils versus the final artwork.
I guess it's primary season right now. I'm so out of it since we had our daughter; I can't remember the last time I watched the evening news (not that there was any useful information presented there). In previous years I would have been all over the primaries, but this year it totally snuck up on me. Just to show how clueless I am, when I first saw that the Iowa results were in, I wondered, "why isn't Giuliani near the top?" This is clearly evidence why parents shouldn't vote. I need to start paying attention. There may be some good opportunities for humor.
Page 12 of "Hot Dog!"
January 7, 2008 - Monday
I hope you enjoy the twelfth page of the "Hot Dog!" storyline. Two updates in 5 days? Intense, huh? Just wait until I post the next update on thursday; your head will explode.
New Vote Incentive and More
January 3, 2008 - Thursday
I received a good response last time, so I have again posted some of my penciling artwork as a vote incentive. Click here to view the artwork used for the bottom panel of page 11 of "Hot Dog!"
In addition, I have posted a scan from my notebook showing some of my sketches for this same page. You can find this in the gallery (no vote required). It provides a nice compliment to the vote incentive, as well as the finished artwork.
Page 11 of "Hot Dog!"
January 2, 2008 - Wednesday
Happy new year! I hope everyone had a good holiday.
Today I have posted the eleventh page of the "Hot Dog!" storyline. Just like hammer pants and Crystal Pepsi, all good things must come to an end, and likewise this storyline has two more pages to go. Since I am itching to get it finished, there will be two updates next week. Also, I have a lot of bonus comics and pencils from recent pages that I will be posting as vote incentives. So be sure to check back often this and next week!
Read Amulet!
December 28, 2007 - Friday
The other night I read Amulet, the new graphic novel by Kazu Kibuishi. It was terrific! The art is spectacular, and the action is non-stop. I highly recommend it. Perhaps my only complaint is that it is a fast read, but this is clearly due to the action packed, cinematic nature of the storytelling.
During my freshman year at UCSB, Kazu was the art director for the school newspaper and drew the comic Clive and Cabbage. It was during this time that I worked on some of the strips that you can find in my gallery, but for whatever reason I was too shy to submit them for publication. Who knows if they would have been accepted, but I kick myself for missing the chance to meet Kazu.
