Why I Like The Black Keys

Obligatory Linkage: The Black Keys (.com version)

yeah, so?

Not that it's keeping me up nights...

Your Guide to Finer Living: How to Be A Webcartoonist

I posted something here every day this week.

I need to get a life.

five more minutes...

Wednesday Sketchdump!

I haven't done a lot of sketch dumps here, but since I'm ahead of schedule on the comics this week, I thought I'd let you take a peek in my little mini-sketchbook where I've been playing around with the ballpoint pens.



Here's the family. Sophie running around with no pants on next to an awfully poor sketch of my wife...



Sophie doesn't yet notice when I'm drawing her. Rachelle is a little harder to pin down unawares...



Here's the only member of the family who sat still long enough for a proper life drawing session:



That's Tico




A nonsense comic. Nothing to do with anything. That's my mom and dad up in the front seats. You can see the crayon where My daughter Sophie improved these drawings somewhat. Nothing like a splash of color to brighten a sketch.

And for those of who who have ever wondered as to my process for these blog strips (yes, there is some process) here's the page in my little sketchbook where I worked out the layout and dialogue for yesterday's strip:

Sometimes I Have a Lousy Sense of Humor...

I went back and forth as to whether to post this strip.

My reaction to the events at Virginia Tech here touches on a bit of insensitivity that I'm not entirely comfortable with revealing. Obviously I can't even begin to imagine the heartbreak that family and friends of the victims are feeling right now. I feel a great sympathy to these survivors of what can only be called a completely senseless massacre. I have no wish to insult their pain with anything that could be construed as any type levity regarding their loss. My reaction is that of a selfish nature; thinking first of my family, and a sense of the helplessness toward protecting my own children that an event such as this can evoke. Perhaps the whole thing reveals the same selfish nature that compels me to pen an autobiographical strip in the first place.

If I erred in posting this strip, I did so in the sake of honesty.

Weak-end

You'll have to bear with me on this ballpoint pen thing...

Last one for these. I promise.

Before I scribbled all over this one, I scanned in just the panels and dialogue. I was a little surprised at how well it worked like that (at least to me)



(sorry about that stray hair there)

And now, real quick - just for fun.
(Everybody's read Matt Madden's 99 Ways to Tell A Story, right?)





_________
An aside: as I was readying this post for publishing Sophie got onto the book shelf and picked out a Love And Rockets collection to read. All by herself. She's engrossed...

Not even two years old yet and reading Jaime Hernandez...

...and it's suddenly Thursday

...and it's suddenly Wednesday

I've been playing around with doing these strips in ballpoint pen.

The science of Mostly Banal

bad week for comics

I tried to save it, but I'm calling today's comic another dead buffalo. Man, am I having a bad run lately...

Jeremy, contemplative

I wasn't happy with the way that todays comic was turning out so to calm my nerves I drew up a sketch of Jon Morris' Jeremy (youngest son of Frankenstein)
Jon has that great bold line that the kiddies love so much. I'm not so bold with my brush but I'm getting more comfortable...



Comic tomorrow?
we'll see...