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

(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.

I’m not going to lie to you – Right now I hate this comic with an icy cold fury that makes me need to count to ten. Hate. Hate. I had to redraw the second and fouth panels after nearly finishing penciling – which made me late, and forced me to ink over rougher pencils than I have in a long, long time. I’m sure I’ll look at this in six months and be all like, “Hey, that looks pretty darn good. Blah blah blah learned something blah blah.” I just can’t be objective right now.

The writing’s decent, though.

Billy the Dunce strip #68 Playlist:

Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo Ponyo.

This makes me happy.

Later,

J

These things are getting inkier and inkier all the time. Maybe I should buy a bigger brush.

Congrats to Darryl, Gregory and Linda! If you haven’t gotten your buttons yet, they’re in the mail – blame Uncle Sam. Lookout for another giveaway sometime in April. It’s gonna be sweet.

Keepin’ it short this time around, because it’s later than I want to be awake, and I’d like to get a little bit more work done before calling it a night. But if you just can’t get enough – Here’s my latest rarebits post. It features the single most amazing music video in the history of the world. No, really.

Later,

J

I actually timed myself on this one. I’m hoping that knowing exactly how long a strip takes me to make, I can manage my time better. Well, we’re at 12:39:20 and counting. Holy crap. Granted, this one is bit more involved than the average strip…although it seems to be becoming the norm. Eh, whatcha’ gonna do? I want the strip to look like this, so if it takes some time, so be it.

Hey, guess what? I got a button maker!

I’m going to sell sets on the site eventually – probably some time after MoCCA in early April – but for now, who wants a free set? The first three people to email me with their address gets all five of the first Billy set, plus two buttons using illustrations from my Rarebits posts!

Hope you enjoyed the strip!

J.

So, this is the second time I’ve had to write this because I am an idiot, and tried to publish this entry without actually adding the comic. Not a good idea, it turns out.

Anyway, sorry the comic is a bit on the late side. I’ve had a bunch of side projects lately, and excuses aside — I really need to get a comic or two ahead. Especially by this summer when I’ll be moving 1200 miles back to the midwest. That kind of thing tends to cut into the free time a little bit.

Speaking of side projects — have you checked out the RareBits blog yet? It just happens to be the neatest little thing this side of a Jace and the Wheeled Warriors remake (best obscure cartoon and toyline ever). It also happens to be the online home of the comics collective I belong to. I’ve been having tons of fun lately writing articles (with illustrations) for the blog, not the least of which is the one I wrote today. I won’t ruin it for you, but let’s just say it involves Roseanne’s short lived Saturday morning cartoon and and Aliens VS. Predator Babies drawing – among other things.

Alright! I’m off to a meeting of the minds with my compadres.

Later,

J.

Nonetheless, to fill the void of a comic delayed by the sad necessity of making copies for a living, I give you this:

It should cover my face better. No one wants to see that.

A giant copy of a panel I drew! Fabulous!

See, it's really big.

Estimated E.T.A. on the new strip – LATE tomorrow night. Working hard, wish I was hardly working. Whatcha gonna do?

Hey, Look! Another comic in a scant two days. This is what happens when I work my regular schedule.

Glad to be able to start the strip for real, now that the first storyline is done. More introductions are coming, but they won’t be needing lengthy storylines.

Enjoy!