jun 4 - jul 11 2006

jun.04.06

Hehehe!

Now one of Hazel's dreams has come true. :)

Hehehehehe!! More like Hazel's worst nightmare. (Medium: Found Object Art. Art made by: Danielle. Object found by: Deirdre. Thanks, Deirdre!)

jun.04.06

Heroes Con!

Check out that lineup! They even got that Corsetto chick to come!!

I wanted to make a quick formal announcement that I'll be at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC at the end of the month, June 30 through July 2 at their Indie Island. This is gonna be my first time at Heroes, but I've been told it won't be my last - everyone who goes seems to fall in love with this show!

They really DO have an impressive lineup. The guests in particular that I think you GWS fans will appreciate the most include Jim Mahfood, Terry Moore, Andy Runton, Jennie Breeden (!!), Liz Greenfield (!!), Derrik Fish... actually, you'll probably like EVERYBODY there. There's a huge long list HERE (or click on one of the Indie Island buttons). Check it out there, and then check out the other guest list - the ones I'm listing are just the small-press and indie guests, folks!!

If you come to this show and you see me, please don't hesitate to say hello! I get all mushy inside when I meet people who read my comics. :)

jun.08.06

Oh, honey!

As promised, here's a little update on the local-honey-as-allergy-relief experiment:

First, a few tidbits I left out. The loose rules are:

Buy local honey from somewhere that's LOCAL - somewhere that will have the same pollens you're inhaling at home.

Start in early spring - say, March - for the best effect (yeah, I know, I screwed this one up).

Eat around THREE TEASPOONS of honey a day - not just a sprinkle here or there!

I've read that you shouldn't heat the honey - try generously dipping strawberries into it, or just taking your teaspoons straight.

That said, I've been religiously following these rules for almost two weeks. Although my symptoms haven't GONE AWAY ENTIRELY, they are SIGNIFICANTLY less annoying than they were last year. I still sneeze when I go outside from time to time - sometimes uncontrollably! - and my eyes are a LITTLE itchy, and I blow my nose a LOT.

But, unlike LAST year, my allergies aren't keeping me from work. And that's exactly what I was looking for.

Good luck if you're gonna try this method, too! I hope I'm not just one success story.

jun.12.06

BUSTED!!

So apparently, if you're in the US Air Force, you're far too young and impressionable to read my webcomic. And you WILL be reported if you try!

If for nothing else, you've GOT to read the reason why Girls With Slingshots is not allowed to be viewed by people who fly planes with explosive stuff on 'em.

Thanks to my [unnamed] reader pal for the screen capture!!

jun.14.06

Oh, calm down...

... it's not ALL gonna be half-nude boys.

So don't leave, homophobes! Promise I'll make it worth your while! ;)

jun.16.06

See?

Told ya I'd make it up to you. ;)

I've been waiting to do this storyline FOR-f*ing-EVER! I'd meant to write it last spring (as in, spring 2005). So I'm really psyched to finally bring it around to you guys.

Oh, and thanks for the suggested possibilities for the Air Force banning my strip. So far we're thinking there was a keyword search that caught either Corsetto (which means "corset" in Itallian) or (more probably) the link to The Devil's Panties at the top of the screen.

But I still prefer to think it's because McPedro is naked under his sombrero.

PS. If you'd told me a year ago that researching S&M practices would be part of my job, I sooooo wouldn't have believed you.

jun.19.06

Go to your room!

I JUST got back from spending the day at my parents' house, giving a long-overdue Father's Day/Mother's Day/Christmas gift to my parents: I cleaned my room.

Now, unless you're an old high school or college friend who remembers what "my room" looks like, this does not sound as daunting as it should. My old bedroom has been called many things, mostly containing words such as "bomb testing site," "nuclear explosion," "tornado," and "CLEAN IT NOW or you're f*ing GROUNDED!!"

So I made a dent today - it's about 50% cleaner (and Goodwill just became 50% richer). Oh, the things I found. Naturally, I took some of them home to share with my favorite readers in the whole world (now don't be coy, that's YOU!).

Among my findings were:

One of those things we used to fit no more than two paragraphs of text on.

My student ID, senior year of high school.

A lovely piece of jewelry that was banned from public schools (points if you can tell me why!).

These fancy brooches, which I will wear at my next cocktail party.

A package of superhuman fruit, which I fear are still edible after 8 or 9 years under my bed.

As I unearth more, you'll be sure to hear all about it.

In fact, later today I may just share a find or two that have to do with GWS. As in, comic strips. As in, comic strips that may or may not feature Hazel. From 1998.

See? There's an incentive to bear with me and stick around 'til I update the comic this afternoon. :)

P.S. I'm totally wearing that slap-bracelet every day of my life.

jun.19.06

As promised...

I started Hazelnuts (the precursor to GWS) way way back in 1998, my senior year of high school, for our school newspaper The Hawkeye. The strip stopped for a year after I graduated, and I picked it back up my sophomore year of college - it became my first webcomic.

I should warn you that these will look VERY little like the Hazelnuts/GWS characters you know and love (Reese was a total HOTTIE, for starters - I made him a little more realistic for GWS), but I thought you'd find these interesting anyway.

From left to right, that's Jamie, Reese, Hazel and Hazel's dad.

V-day special; Reese talking to Frank and Jamie (with her ever-charming last comment).

Reese and Frank (Frank is a character I haven't brought back - he was in a ska band).

Frank, Jamie, Reese and of course, Hazel in one of those necessary writer's-block strips.

Alright... new strip in a few!

jun.19.06

Gagged and bound

Speaking of the Nutcracker, I thought this was a pretty funny coincidence.

jun.21.06

WEBCOMIC HOTNESS!

So I have a new announcement to make; one that a few of your own favorite webcomic creators will be making today.

While I was in Pittsburgh, I found myself in a most excellent corner booth... but very, very far away from Jennie, Jamie, and several other webcomic creators. This made it impossible for us to promote one another. The statement "If you like GWS, you'll probably like The Devil's Panties" fell out of my mouth so many times I couldn't count, yet the only way I could point readers in Jennie's direction was by waving vaguely to my left and telling them "She's way the hell over there. Somewhere."

One evening while hanging out with my Jersey crew (including Jamie), the idea of a loose promotional "group" came up. Before I knew it, we had a hoard of webcreators interested in promoting one another at Baltimore this year.

Thus, Webcomic Hotness was born, and we now have a solid group of people who will be in one convenient location at the Baltimore show (several will also be at ConnectiCon in July, as well!).

While this isn't a formal "group" like Blank Label, it's a great way for people to find their favorite webcreators (and discover new ones!) while at Baltimore in September.

If I may, I simply have to gloat about our amazing Christi, the webcreator who put almost EVERYTHING together. The site and all its little odds and ends look AMAZING, thanks to her!

So even if you're not going to be at Baltimore this year, be sure to browse the other artists and writers at the Webcomic Hotness site, and tell your friends!

jun.21.06

Ack! Black-and-white strip!

Sorry for the half-assedness, guys - had to leave at 9:45 for a midnight-to-4:00 am job tonight. UGH!! No more of these late-night caricatures! Anyway, greyscale will be in later, but I figured you'd rather have a black-and-white strip than NO strip, eh?

jun.21.06

Wow!

That's quite a difference from the lineart version!

Thanks for the patience, y'all. I've got a lot on my plate and not much time to do it all in. For those who don't know, I'll be at the Big Apple Con this weekend, leaving tomorrow (Thursday) night for the Jers and coming home Tuesday. Then I spin right back around and head for North Carolina for Charlotte's Heroes Con until July 4th. Quite a bit of traveling going on, eh?

Believe it or not, that's not the end of it! In July I'll be in Spain and Berlin; Spain for a vacation, and Berlin for, well, okay, a vacation too... but mostly to visit Sonja! At first I didn't think everything would work out, but it has, and for the first time since last year's trip to AZ, I'll be taking a real, true vacation.

Unfortunately, this means that GWS is gonna suffer for the next month, y'all. I'm gonna try my damnedest to keep pumping them out, but I know for sure that next Monday (and likely next Wednesday as well) will be GWS-less. I hope you guys will stick around until the updates go back to normal! I'll keep you informed, either way.

jun.22.06

Ugh!

Okay, I really didn't want to have to do this, but for my health, I need to take a break from GWS for just a little bit of time. I'll be back in EARLY JULY (I'm saying July 5-10 or so) to do a few in-between strips, and then I'm off for Europe.

NEXT WEEK: While I'm at the Big Apple show this weekend and Heroes Con next weekend, I'll be putting up photos from the shows and my trips, so drop in every so often next week! I'll always let you know if there's something new down here - it'll be written just underneath the comic above.

JULY 10-26: With any luck, I'll have some kick-ass fillers for you while I'm on vacation. As in, I didn't draw them. As in, some people you know and love did. So stick around!

My biggest fear about taking a break is that I'll lose readers. My biggest fear about NOT taking a break is that I'll DIE AT MY DRAWING BOARD!! Not that I don't wanna pass away in the same manner Toth did, but I'm a little young right now.

I hope you guys can understand. I'm going to send out a mass e-mail once regular updates start again (sometime before August), so if you've ever written me fanmail (or anything to girlswithslingshots@gmail.com), you'll be included. And if you wanna be included? E-mail me at that address with "UPDATES!!" in the subject and you'll be in on that fantastic action, too.

Alright, until the next update... *sniff!* I'll miss you guys!!

jun.28.06

This just in!

So first of all, Jim Dougan of Crazy Papers fame just e-mailed me with this:

"We've been "Certified Cool" in the latest issue of PREVIEWS, which hits the stands tomorrow. I know you're on vacation, but if you get a chance can you post this to your website?"

Diamond Order Code (July PREVIEWS): JUL063013 F CRAZY PAPERS GN
(The solicitation appears on page 246)

Yay! So if you haven't picked up a copy of Crazy Papers yet, here's your chance!

Onto MY life (oh hell yeah, the juicy stuff!)... I just got home from NYC's Big Apple Con, and I'm EXHAUSTED! I've got one day to unpack, repack, do a Bat Boy comic and get ready for Heroes Con.

You wanna see what I did all last weekend, right? Of course you do. Here ya go.

Click on the pretty headless ladies for a free weekend in New York!

By the way, someone was INCREDIBLY nice woman found my phone, so my old cell number DOES WORK now!! I'm back on the horse, y'all.

More updates when I get home from Heroes - and there will probably be three or four times the convention sketches as last weekend! So stick around!

jul.06.06

I'm home!

So I'm back from Heroes, but I'm so exhausted that I'm gonna go straight to bed and give you an update later Thursday. Good? Good. :) Be ready for it!

(See? Told y'all I'd update once in awhile!)

jul.06.06

Eye candy.

Thanks for being all kinds of patient, guys. And I'm proud to announce that I DO have a Heroes Con wrap-up for you and yours!

Complete with happy cacti, cute webcomic creators, lots and lotsa drawings, freestyling artists on tables, harleys, bunnies, goats, bathroom self-portraits (featuring: sobriety!), and even a finale of fireworks! Enjoy.

And YES, there will be more updates all week! Stick around! (And remember, guest strip week is coming up soon!)

jul.06.06

A little extra...

Here are a few of the commissions I did in May:

Everything's updated at the sketches and travelogues pages, by the way!

jul.07.06

*GASP!!*

Two great things!

First of all, from now on you will no longer need to type in "www.girlswithslingshtos.com" to access this site. Just type www.gwscomic.com and you're there! Seriously, try it!! :)

Secondly, my pal Mike, a GWS reader from Spain, made the most KICK-ASS MCPEDRO EVER!!!
And IT DANCES!!! Check it out!!!

If it doesn't work for you, go here!

jul.09.06

Oh no.... not AGAIN!!

Oh, Jesus H. It's another drunken post.

I just spent the evening with my best friend of all time, Adam Cooley. Yes, of COURSE you've heard his name before! He was that extra in The Wedding Crashers! Hell-OOOO!

In other words, no, you probably haven't heard of him, but he IS an actor in New York City, and he WAS an extra on The Wedding Crashers. You have to pause the DVD in order to see him, but he's there.

He's also one of the greatest people I've ever met. We met in 9th grade gym class.

In all honesty, you're terribly unlikely to hear me get POLITICAL when I'm drunk. So, unlike the last drunken post, this one's a bit more "me."

What I'm writing about tonight is the wonderful town I live in. Just about everyone who visits me here tells me it's heaven on earth, and it kinda is. I've sort of become a piece of Shepherdstown, West Virginia. (Which, once again, is a SEPARATE STATE, not the WESTERN part of VIRGINIA.)

Adam only confirmed my love of this town tonight. He's right. Why on earth would I want to leave? While we drank in the backyard of the Meck (which now serves Woodchuck Cider, btw, which makes me want to stay here even MORE... ), we sat at a two-person table lit by tiki torches and talked over the buzz of a horrible local band (necessary for that small-town feel), the sweet whistle and blow of the train chugging by mere blocks from the bar, and church bells chiming every hour.

And on top of it all, we came home to the most cozy apartment I've ever been to.

I realized tonight - as I scarfed down my 1:00 am dinner of pork chops in oregano and basil, jasmine rice, and peas & corn - that I've never shared my apartment with you fine folks. Well, tonight (rather, this morning) that all changes. Here's my incredibly comfortable living room, which is where I often script GWS and Bat Boy. (The night before they're due, of course.)

That's my wonderful roommate Kris's bike next to the wall (he's had it since he was like, 14!) and yes, that's a goldfish in the lower right hand corner. I have yet to share Goldie with you guys, but I'm sure he'll get the spotlight sometime soon.

I'll show you guys my bedroom/studio/office (yeah, I need more space!!) some other day, but for now, I just wanted to show you how great my little apartment is. Obviously, Kris is gone for the weekend, otherwise he would have sapped up my drunken time chatting in said living room, which is what we often do on Saturday nights. But he's at his parents' house, and Adam was my Meck Buddy for this evening.

Okay, that's all I really wanted to say. That, and I'm very blessed to have such wonderful friends. Ad's one in a million, and although I kinda suck for not getting a photo of him while he was here, he's not only gorgeous but ALSO one of the greatest friends a gal could ask for. Oh, and he's the basis for Reese, who (although we don't see him very often in the strip) is supposed to be as adorable as Adam is.

To make up for not having Adam's beautiful mug up here, here's a drunken sketchbook drawing from this evening at the Meck:

Hmm, apparently I didn't know there was a "k" at the end of "Meck." I love me some cider.

jul.10.06

YAY for crossovers!!

Okay, a few notes before I leave. On a jet plane. Don't know when I'll...

First of all, for all those who wisely follow Silver Rage, YES that's Hazel and Jamie cameoing (yes, that's a word!) for the next few strips. Check it out!!

AND we have some official dates for the guest strips while I'm gone! Here they are...

jul.11.06

GONE!!

Alright, y'all - I'm gone! I'll bet I'm on a plane RIGHT NOW, in fact. I already miss you! *sniff* One more hug, for the road...

So the votes are in for GWS's schedule (all one vote, each of which were cast by me): GWS will start back up on Monday, July 31 on its normal MWF schedule.

Until then, please enjoy some FANTASTIC guest strips every weekday starting Monday, July 17!! I can't wait to share these with you guys! Thanks to everyone who contributed, and big thanks to Web Guru Val for updating the website for me while I'm gone!

It's 3:30 am and I haven't packed yet, so I'll keep this short. To all SDCC-goers, enjoy the show for me! One of these days I'll make it there...

One last thing: check the blog entries below if you haven't already! And enjoy your July!