The need to type things below the comic stymies me all the time – especially since I’ve been doing these regular Thursday updates. I blame the fact that it’s 12:50, I’ve been working since 8am, and all I want to do is curl up in bed and play Dragon Quest IX (pretty good so far, by the way). Yeah, I need a buffer and all that – I know. But every time I get faster, I pour that extra time into getting better at something I currently suck at, like drawing feet, or the way my lines connect, or…well…many, many things. There will always be more things that I suck at drawing than I’m good at drawing. There’s just too much out there.

So, because I’ve got nothing of value to convey to you this particular time around, I give you:

Billy the Dunce Strip # 87 Playlist:

The Sound Opinions Podcast – Lovin the episodes they use to make thematic playlists.

Murder By Death – Who will survive and what will be left of them? – Makes me want to draw comics about the devil.

Ziggy Stardust. You know it – you love it. No link necessary.

(the aforementioned) Dragon Quest IX – What I do when I’m avoiding drawing. Good, old fashioned JRPG. I cut my teeth on the original, and it’s the reason I’m a hardcore grinder when it comes to any game that levels me up or gives me gold drops. Lovin it.

That’s all I got.

Later,

J

Y’know, I’m never really happy with these things when I’m all done with them. I was actually loving this strip while I was inking (which is generally pretty rare as well), but the second I scanned it, I couldn’t look at it anymore. I guess it’s just part of the whole artist thing. What are you gonna do? Fact of life.

But, as much as I don’t like looking at my work after I’m done with it, I do like hearing from all of you – meaning, don’t be afraid to leave comments. There is the usual (and very much appreciated) cast of characters around here, but please don’t be afraid to let your voice be heard if you happen to be new, or just shy. I always feel intimidated by leaving comments on the blogs I hang out on. I shouldn’t, I’m sure, but I just get this feeling of being outside of things, like I don’t get it. But whether or not that happens to be true elsewhere, it’s not true here. You get it. Trust me.

Hey you guys! I’m going to be at the Wizard World Chicago comics convention this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. If you happen to come on down, stop by and say hi. Apparently I’ll be at booth #3124 – which puts it right up front. Seriously though, come see me and Seamus of Oh Goodie fame. I hate these damn things, so I’ll need as many distractions as possible.

Oh, and before I forget — if you like this comics, why not become a fan of Billy the Dunce on facebook? I know it’s not cool, but I does give you insight into…ummm…nothing. I just like to see the number of go up. It validates me. Twitter, too.

What can I say, I’m shallow.

Cheers,

J.

Hey all – sorry it’s late this week, but all the moving is cutting into my drawing time. As of next Thursday, I’ll be an official resident of the midwest again. Getting back, however, is the hard part. A lot of packing, followed by a 17 or 18 hour drive. Good times. Hopefully the cat doesn’t pee in her carrier along the way.

Billy the Dunce Strip #80 Playlist:

Janelle Monae – The ArchAndroid. Finally, a prog rock-ish hip-hop/soul/r&b/indie-rock concept album about a robot who falls in love with a man. Did I mention this is the second album in the story? BUY THIS ALBUM.

See you later!

J

Well, there you have. The end of this storyline, and the end of the first year of Billy the Dunce.

Next week, the beginning of a new format. I hope to high hell I don’t screw it up.

Later,

J

Well, my internet connection is finally back up and I’m just under the wire for a Thursday comic deadline, too. It’s nice that my luck finally did me a solid – instead of the other way around (solid me a did? That’s not right…) I’m not going to get into it, because as much of a sad-sack as I’ve been lately, it’s not as comedic as you’d think. Not like my usual tripping and head-hitting-into-things kind of sad-sackery at all.

Let’s just say it’s been a craptastical week or two.

Thankfully, the Nintendo corporation was kind enough to release Super Mario Galaxy 2 just as the proverbial poo hit the metaphorical fan. I’ll go into more detail about the game soon (I’ve been doing some Mario doodlin’ to help keep my head straight. You’d be surprised how relaxing it can be to draw something you have no personal investment in.) but suffice it to say that without the  sweet candy glow of a new Mario game coupled with some brutally rewarding gameplay, I’d be a damn sight less put together right now. Also, alcohol. Alcohol is also a particularly effective balm. Not a healthy one, mind you – but effective, yes.

Sad sack dead cat blah blah BLAH. Moving on, because who really cares about all that junk – we’re nearly at the one year mark for this iteration of Billy and Co., which will rather happily coincide with the end of this storyline. After that, look for bigger and better things – namely, I think I’m going to expand the strip a bit. Since I’m going to a once a week update structure, I’m going to try and implement a third tier – expanding the potential for slightly larger stories every week. I only wish the internet was better suited to a wider format, like quarter page Sunday strips. I love how those things look.

What do you guys think? I’ll certainly enjoy being able to get a bit more out of each strip.

Later,

J

Hi Everybody! New strip, new day, and a new forum. What? Forum?

This is what I look like every time I speak. No joke.

Yeah, a while back I was invited to join the Rampage Network by the supremely motivated John Hernandez. It’s a pretty sweetheart deal, not the least of which being they host a section on the rampage forums for my little comic. Thank god, because I used to have a forum on the old version of this site, and it is a NIGHTMARE dealing with all the spammers. Nile had to eventually find me a custom greasemonkey script just so I could delete them fast enough to keep up.

Starting now I’m going to post some of the thumbnails and pencils for the strip there, with the earlier draft of the strip and everything. So, check it out! And feel free to start new topics or whatever. I’m sure it’s going to be a slow burn on this thing – but it’s good to have a place to hang out other than the comments, you know?

And don’t be scared to check out some of the other Rampage strips as well. I’m particularly enamored of a few…

Wow. That’s a lot of links.

J.

Oh geez, I’m sorry this one is so late, guys. Once again my ambitions rise up out of the river and  bite me square in the ass. On this one I really wanted to show the environment around the dorm–including the school (which the kids never go to) and the barn where Gibble does most of his work. Unfortunately, this lead to me having to draw and ink a whole lot of things I’ve got limited experience with. So, let’s just say it was a challenge. And my right hand hurts from punching my drawing board. At least I have the good sense to use my useless hand to vent my artistic frustrations.

In all honesty, I’m not worried about late comics as long as they’re in the service of artistic growth. The faster I get better, the better the strip will be in the long run. And this is still the first year the comic has been around. Talk to me in six months, and hopefully things will be a bit more streamlined. Or not. My style can be a bit labor intensive at times.

Anyway, school starts up again this week – the last semester before graduation! I don’t think it’s going to cut into the time I have for the strip, in fact, I should have quite a bit more time than first semester.

Stay tuned for the next comic. Hopefully it won’t be something that nearly gives me a nervous breakdown. So I’m thinking robots. Or demons. Maybe a whole panoramic view of a robot-demon dimension…

Later,

J

Wow. It’s really nice not having to put that link to the beginning of the Raindrops storyline up here anymore. And it’s really, really nice having enough time to easily finish the strip. Heck, I’m probably gonna start the next one tonight. What a bizarre world winter break is.

You probably guessed by now that this is more or less the epilogue to Raindrops Are Not Teardrops, what with the referential title and the participation in the aforementioned Cocoa.

Anyway, back to business–keepin’ it pithy with this one. I got more work in me today, and I want to make sure it gets put to good use. Namely, more comics.

Later,

J

This storyline begins here.

Well, it’s finally over. This is the last comic in the Raindrops storyline. I know there are a few hanging plot threads, but don’t worry – this storyline is over, but not the story of Spritzer. And Gibble.

But for now, I’m excited to tackle some smaller bits for a while, and maybe try and figure out how to tell one of these ridiculously long storylines in a more…organic way, maybe? Is that the right word? I’d like to be able to release bits and pieces of a storyline among stand alone comics, build it up over time without having to give over the whole strip. I don’t know if it can be done, but it’d be fun to experiment and see what happens.

Also, I’m ditching the idea of putting out another strip this week. I’m pretty sure I could–the next one I have planned isn’t very labor intensive–but that would be giving to little time for this one to be on the main page of the site. It is the last strip in this beastly long storyline, and thus, important. So, be here on Tuesday for the next new strip, and in the meantime maybe I’ll make a blog post (you know, the bits that appear below the most recent comic post) on Sunday or something. We’ll see. I have been trying to use the holidays as an excuse to spend a little more time with the wife.

Billy the Dunce Strip #48 playlist:

Black Books, Black Books, Black Books! Great show – it’s all on Hulu right now, so you got no excuse
for missing out.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Stupid name, great game. (By the way, all you gamers out there–follow that link to Gamespite, one of the absolute best gaming blogs out there. No joke.)

Well, that’s all she wrote. Later.

J

This storyline begins here.

Keeping it short tonight – my gosh darned damnable brushes made me hate inking tonight, but the comic still turned out pretty okay. But because of this, I am drained. So, instead of sparkling commentary you get:

Billy the Dunce #46 Playlist:

Gremlins
Hot Rod (again, I think)
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (whatever the three or so most recent episodes are)
Pitchfork’s top 100 tracks of 2009 (I think I got up to #80 or so)