Another one done! Aaaand we’re getting close to the finish line on this story – right in time for the almost one year anniversery of the comic. Auspicious days, indeed. Well, sort of. Getting this comic done was a small miracle of my own bullheadedness, after the week I’ve had. Missing MeCAF because of the car, repairs on said car sucking up more income than we would like, and then our silly little bastard of a cat, Ole, finally passed away on Tuesday night.

But, shit happens. It’s been a quintessentially mixed bag this whole month. Some bad stuff happened, but I also finished my thesis, got to meet and have multiple conversations with one of my heroes, and I graduated from cartooning college – acquiring my first college degree.

Life goes on and what you love changes and fades and gets replaced over and over again.

J

(This was Ole. He was a ridiculously photogenic cat, so I’ve gotta dump a few photos of him on this post for remembrance.)

Looks like the boys have finally found where the sidewalk ends. Not pretty, either. I have to say I feel that I’ve handled this rather better than the Dr. Who episode I watched while inking this strip; wherein the doctor meets Satan, who likes just like you’d expect Satan to look. Lame. The devil is not overt, especially in Science Fiction (which Dr. Who purports to be), and it certainly isn’t a damn balrog.

Anyway, mad props to Flyky because today is our 4 year wedding anniversery. Without her kind and patient understanding (and I do mean understanding. She’s a better artist than I’ll ever be, so she gets this compulsion of mine) no one would be reading this comic strip. In fact, without this comic strip, I may not have wooed her in the first place. I’ll tell you the whole story some other time. Needless to say, she’s awesome to a degree that can’t be sketched out in mere words.

Also, I’m awesome because I just acquired my very first college degree (at the age of 30 – sad) in Cartooning. It was a bitchin’ weekend and I’ll drop some pics on you guys when I get a spare minute or two.

Alright, what else? Oh yeah — MeCAF is this Sunday! Any and all fans of the strip (all seven of you) should hop on a plane, train, or automobile to get to Portland, Maine. It’s going to be a hoot and holler and I will be there. I promise that if you ask me to sign a comic, I’ll knock a solid buck off the cover price (if I remember). Cuz’ you know you want to buy what you can get here for free. Also, buttons!

Well, it’s late (as usual) so I really ought to try and sleep a little bit.

Later,

J

Oh, hey dere you guys …uurrgh… sorry — slipping into my midwestern roots there. Happens when I’m tired. Tired because I’ll be graduating soon! That certainly is cause for excitement, but right now it’s after 3am and I’m just shot. spent. done.

I was going to put something in her, but now I forget what…maybe I’ll edit in the morning.

Anyway, you should all watch Monty Python: Almost the Truth. This whole comic was inked under it’s lovely six-episode glow.

Later,

J

Well that’s finally done. I have so much stuff on my plate with graduation and thesis coming up that it feels like finishing a strip takes forever. Really, it’s just that I don’t have the big blocks of time I usually do to bite off sizable chunks of work. I felt so lazy last week until I realized that not only had I just come off of MoCCA, but I’d also put together my first portfolio, survived editor’s day, and both started and finished my internship paperwork. All through the worst back pain I’ve had in my life, thanks to the massive duffel bag we carried all over New York during MoCCA. So now I don’t feel so lazy.

Sorry to say it, but the once a week updates are likely to continue until I get my thesis done. But once it is, MAN, is it going to be a party around here. I have delusions of time gained that’ll let me get some work done on the website, and one of the first big plans is finally putting together a page selling some junk to you guys so you can love this thing in the most human way possible: the accumulation of stuff.

Which is a beautiful segue to this:

Made by the lovely FlyKy. Otherwise known as the wife.

Would you buy a hand-made stuffed Spritzer head? Not this one – it’s part of my stuff now.

Later,

J

I’m soooo happy to finally have a new strip done. MoCCA was amazing, New York was fun, and editor’s day was great. But making comics is how I want to spend my time.

It’s going to be a rough few weeks while I try and get my thesis put together and deal with some gigs that need to be finished up – but hang in there. I promise good things.

Oh, and if you didn’t see it in the blog section, The freakin’ New York Daily News picked Billy the Dunce as one of the best comics of MoCCA! I’m super happy to see the kids getting a little bit of press, and positive press to boot. Hooray!

Well, I’m hoping for a new one by Sunday so keep your eyes peeled and enjoy the rest of the week!

Later,

J.

(Edit: Where’s the new comic? This one’s been up for like a week? See the blog post below this one…)

Oh, that’s so much better. This one really cleansed the bad time I had making the last strip work properly. Not that the previous comic was a bad one — it’s just that when you have to live with these things day in and day out, you’re bound to have a few that just leave you feeling cold.

Oh hey – you know what I haven’t done in a while? A stupid reference photo:

If anybody can figure out what panel that comes from, I’ll send you some free buttons,  or something else if you happened to have won some buttons in the last giveaway. It’s not super hard or anything…

By the way, did you see my post about twilight on the rarebits site? Did you know Vampires fly under the power of their own flatulence? Tis true…

And hey – New fan art if you missed it…

Anywho, see y’all next week.

J.

Without a doubt, bar none, the best looking strip on this site right now. I don’t know what kicked in this week, but I think I just got a little sick of leaving all that white space alone for the last month or two. It doesn’t hurt that I’ve been making floor plans of the kid’s dorm, as well as a 3D model in Google SketchUp. It makes building believable environments that much easier.

Well, I didn't say it was finished.

Oh, I also love basements. I probably spent way too much time in them as a youth. I know, weird — right?

Not much else to say, really. Just, if you like the strip you can become a fan of it on facebook. Or if you enjoy inane and sparse chatter, follow me on twitter. And if you really like this webcomic, maybe tell a friend? Get a few more regulars in here? Oh, yeah – RAREBITSRAREBITSRAREBITSRAREBITS. Anyway, pimpin’ time is over.

Later,

J.

Hey, it’s friday! I was going to wait to post this until the morning – you know, don’t want to get these out too quickly – but it IS morning. Whaddaya know?

I bought some really good brushes last week, and I think it shows. I’m marginally happy with this comic. Hope you are too.