sept 19-oct 10 2005

guest strips

sept.20.05

uuuuuggggghhhhh

Quick one today: I feel like crap. Went to bed before midnight last night (which, if you know me, is NOT normal!) and I'm going to try to sleep this cold off for the rest of the day.

I'm still going to try to hack out a GWS strip, but no promises; check back later! I'll do my best to have one up Thursday, though. Rain or shine.

sept.21.05

uuuuuggggghhhhh part 2

Alright, sorry boys & girls. I know you've been patient, but I got nothin' more than a few sketches from Baltimore for you right now.

The strip will be in later tonight (or, at least, before I leave for SPX on Friday). Thanks for all the well wishes - I've downed more orange juice in the past few days than I have in the past month, so I'm hoping I'll be back to normal as of tomorrow sometime.

In the meantime, enjoy some sketches from last weekend's show :) OH, and guess who came to visit....

Not... that that really answers the question. That's my folks there in front of my booth. They were kind/crazy enough to come by and support their comic nerd daughter on Saturday. Thanks, Mom and Dad :D

Here's another one; thank Dermot for this shot of me with Allan Gross and Joanna Estep of the Insight Studios Group...

Alright. That's all I got for now. Please visit back later tonight for some pricklay goodness (I promise!) and if you're in the area, don't forget to come to the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD this weekend! I'll be sitting with Rafer Roberts of Plastic Farm for most of the show, where we'll be selling my first published (uhhh, published and PAID, that is) comic book work in Plastic Farm #11. Come say "hi!"

sept.22.05

SPX and next week's BIG SURPRISE... !! (ATTENTION CREATORS!)

More quick notes!

I'm still feeling kinda sick, but I'm pushing through it and working on the GWS strip for you patient readers. Check back later tonight/early tomorrow for what I hope will make up for the past two update days' delays :)

The past week went GREAT for me (despite the fever!), from the Baltimore Comic Con to hosting/chauffeuring Michael Lark at Shepherd University and Beyond Comics. And now that the convention is over and the comic pro is safe and sound back at home (the Lark one, not me!), I'm trying to pick up where I left off last week, business-wise. Printing out more business cards for SPX this weekend, and pulling plans together for my BIG SURPRISE next week.

Speaking of SPX, I think I'll be skipping out of the first day tomorrow. If I do go tomorrow, it'll be much later in the day - say 3:00 or later. But I WILL be attending on Saturday. I just need a full day to recouperate after the craziness of the past week.

Now wait. Did you just say "big surprise," danielle? And just what kind of surprise would THIS be?? Why...

THE GREAT VAL AND DANIELLE CROSS-COUNTRY TRIP,

of course! That's right, Val (of Ramblers fame) and I will be taking a week to drive her stuff to her new place in Arizona starting next Monday. Travelogue, ho!!! ("HO" in that "ahoy" kind of way, not the "biznitches" kind of way.)

Unfortunately, I didn't think very far ahead; this trip will be overlapping the GWS one-year anniversary on October 1, 2, and 3. So the moment I get home GWS will be featuring several guest strips in celebration of the first year of GWS!

Originally I was going to have someone update it while I was gone, but I think it'd be more sensible to have them start around the actual one-year dates. Thus, if you're a creator and you'd like to contribute fan art or a guest strip, please click here for the specs and directions and I'll feature your strip right here on the site the week that I get home, complete with links to your site!

And I think that's it on the new notices. If I think of anything else, I'll add it after I get the strip up tonight. If you're going to be at SPX, once again, please stop by Rafer Roberts' Plastic Farm table, where you'll find my first paid gig right there in front of your very eyes. Pick one up!! Then pinch Rafer's butt and ask him what his real name is.

Later, beloved readers!

sept.23.05

just when I thought... !

Just when I finished the strip and I thought I was going to get it in at midnight, my FTP program bugged up. ARGH!

Thanks for sticking around for this, guys. And thanks, Allan, for the brilliant FTP backup plan!

sept.25.05

QUICKIE!

Just a quick note to say good-bye to you fine folks, and to remind you that next week I'll be off touring the country! I'll be back home Tuesday, October 4, just in time to start the one-year GWS anniversary celebration! We've got some STELLAR guest strips coming in already, and I'm getting psyched.

So please have a safe and relaxing week, remember to eat your veggies, spay and nueter your pets and all that jazz.

Talk to you in a week!!

oct.03.05

..::*HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GWS!*::..

Another quick one here, 'cause I'm EXHAUSTED!

Well, I'm home safe after a successful trip from the beginning of Route 70 to the end of Route 70, and a little further. Val and I visited a total of 12 states: Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and finally Arizona, and we traveled well over 3000 miles! I have 300 pictures on my little digital camera and bought two extra disposable cameras, and made footnotes of the entire trip so I can give you guys a solid recount of the trip in about a week.

On the way we hit Baltimore, Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Topeka, Kansas City, Denver, Vail, Salt Lake City, Vegas, and Phoenix.

Anyway, I have nothing to show you guys yet, so let's get onto more important topics, shall we?

First things first, this is guest week for GWS because it's now officially been a year since the strip debuted at SPX last year on the weekend of October 1, 2, and 3! I've gotta tell you guys, you're in for a real treat. The art I received was beyond spectacular, especially on such short notice for the artists. The guest strips will be updated daily from today until I hit the end of the strips, which should be next Tuesday or Thursday.

Our first strip is by the talented Bill Ellis, a good friend and my tablemate at Baltimore this year. Bill is among my "Jersey Crew" friends, although he's still in school down in Savannah, perfecting his mad cartoonin' skills. Bill and writer James Hatton just recently started a new webcomic called The Silver Rage - go check it out!

Bill whipped up this kick-ass intro to the guest strips right in front of my eyes at the Baltimore show - I was blown away! No better way to start the week off. Thanks so much, Bill!

Alright, kiddies, be sure to check back tomorrow for more!

oct.04.05

guest week con'td!

Sorry for the late update, boys & gals - had a bit of an emergency to tend to last night and was out until noon today.

Today's strip is brought to us by the letter 3, number Q and artist Bryan Prindiville, who does a far less risque strip called Bassetville. I met Bry at the Baltimore convention (and he was kind enough to introduce me to dim sum, something I'd never tried before). He's a super nice guy and hard-workin' artist. And I have a feeling he really likes dogs.

More guestness tomorrow!

oct.05.05

guest week con'td!

Today's strip marks the beginning of some of my favorite Shepherdstown cartoonists. Jesse Gunne does a strip called Elky Dori and is among the few of us who did strips for the Picket, Shepherd College's student newspaper. Support local artists! Check out his stuff! Even if you're not remotely local!

And no, "The Homewrecker" will not be a recurring character.

oct.07.05

guest week con'td!

We've got another Shepherdstown artist for today's guest strip!

This is the work of Malia Deshotel, the Shepherd gal I like to call my protege (though it's more or less just me being delusional - I never get to see her these days, let alone share my infinite comic strip wisdom with her). Malia does a strip called Campus Critters and, like Jesse, publishes her goods in the Picket, ye olde school newspaper. This gal's going places, so keep an eye out for Ms. Deshotel's name!

On a side note, furries will never grace this site again, unless Malia contributes to guest week next year. Yes, that's how much I like Malia. I let her turn my characters into "furries."

oct.07.05

two quick, important notes

First quick note!

I received so many great guest strips that we're going to continue having them daily all the way through Wednesday of next week, including two on Sunday. Therefore, to make up for no new GWS on Tuesday, you'll get a big colorful Sunday strip on next Thursday, which will begin revealing the answer to a question I get a lot about the strip: "Why is it called Girls With Slingshots??"

I re-read all of the GWS strips the other day and realized that I'd wanted to be MUCH further in the plot by now. There are some fun developments that I've wanted to toss into the story and they still haven't poked their heads up yet. So be ready for some new surprises and treats in the coming months!

Important note number two!

My mom forwards me sooooooo much stuff that I rarely read (sorry, Mom!). But I'm glad I read this one. Not because I have to worry about it myself, but because I really want to share it.

It has to do with one major cause of breast cancer. Here's a hint: hippie girls are less likely to develop cancer in their breasts.

Curious? Read on!

oct.08.05

next up...

Today's *technicolor!* strip is brought to us by Cottage Three creator Matt Rawson. He's the last of the Shepherd College artists to do a guest strip for us (although we're gonna get Russ to do one for us next year... right Russ??!) and I was blown away by his version of "what happens to Hazel and Jamie when Danielle's on vacation." Matt graduated Shepherd a year or two before me, and hopefully you'll see him at more conventions in the coming year - cue virtual nudge to Matt ;)

Come back tomorrow for two more guest strips!

oct.09.05

PUT 'EM UP!!

Sorry 'bout the delay, folks - I have a much better excuse this time... !

I was doing a late gig in Baltimore last night, and when I walked out of the reception building to start walking to my car (two or three blocks away), I was informed that someone had been mugged at gunpoint right around where my car was parked. I shrugged, decided getting the guest strips up on time wasn't quite as important as NOT DYING, and headed to the bars with the bridal party instead.

Thus, I did NOT drive back home last night, instead mooching off some pals for a little space in their hotel room.

This was the earliest I could get back - thanks for being patient!

oct.10.05

zzzzz...

Steve Ince, my talented friend from the Motherland and creator of such comics as Mr. Smoozles, sent me a colorful surprise guest strip for today!

Congratulations on Mr. Smoozles' 100th strip, Steve!!!

Danielle need sleeeeeeeeeep...

oct.10.05

breast cancer part duex

Two people have contacted me about the smidge I posted on breast cancer, both claiming that the report may have been incorrect.

I'm of the school of that you should listen to your body first but always consider the words of a doctor (actually, I don't know if there's much of a "school of thought" for that, so... it's just the way I think!). I have no idea about the breast cancer thing, but I DO have a hard time believing that a natural function such as sweating should be stopped by a product we've only added to our lives for the sake of our image.

Or maybe I just want an excuse to continue being my sweaty self. ;)

Just thought I should post the other side of the story!

More info (thanks, Jessica!):

www.breastcancer.org
www.cancer.org
www.webmd.com