sept 30 - oct 29 2006

oct.01.06

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to GWS!!!

Oh, I SO forgot about the Girls' birthday!!! GWS celebrates year 2 today. Happy birthday to us!! (And thanks for all the birthday wishes!)

To celebrate, here's an AWE-SOME!! gif file Madrid Mike put together for me: Disco McPedro!! God, this guy never ceases to amaze me!! THANKS MIKE!!

So, one more thing that hates me (to add to the electronics list): my computer speakers. But it was my own fault. Just after my car wound up in the hospital again, I um... dumped half a mug of hot green tea into my left speaker. RIP, speaker. You were good to me before I refreshed you with herbal goodness.

Luckily, Target sells hella cheap Altec Lansing speakers, which my better half SWEARS by. Thank you Target!! (And better half, for swearing!)

Oh, speaking of swearing, no more F-bomb. My mom seemed pretty disturbed by it last blog entry. So, here's to you, Mom; I'll come up with a more creative way to curse my misfortunes publicly from now on (hey, I get it from Dad!).

Hmm, there's more - I do have some art up at another site: the America Junior pin-up that Livingston waited like, two months for, is finally up! Enjoy.

Hmmmm, what else... one more thing: can anybody reccommend (or not) the Honda CRV and/or the Honda Fit? I'm afraid I'm stuck on Hondas...

oct.01.06

Make your own Dancing McPedro!!

Mike from Madrid hits again! He just sent me this eBay auction for a potential dancing McPedro!! It's the exact same dancing cactus doll he used to make THIS:

So, if you'd like to make your OWN Dancing McPedro Doll, click on the eBay link above!!

Oh, to top it off, Mike's Dancing McPedro is actually VOICE-ACTIVATED, so even if you just TALK, it dances around!! Woohoo!

oct.01.06

Free Caricatures!

For some reason, I keep forgetting to tell you guys when I'm doing this sort of thing.

My primary income is doing caricatures at events. A LOT of the jobs are in the DC/Baltimore area, although I do some Hagerstown and Frederick, MD parties as well.

Recently, I've been making a bit of a name for myself at the Baltimore bars. They hire me to come down and do caricatures to draw a crowd (ha ha... yeah, I know that wasn't very funny). Anyway, the awesome thing about it is THEY pay me a sizeable amount, and YOU get to be drawn for free! So I'm going to start posting info about the bars and events I do caricatures at, so any of you local readers can come get some free art by me.

That said... !

Tonight I'll be at The Hippo on 1 West Eager Street in Baltimore from 7-11. I'm working for Camel Cigarettes... which I would have NEVER approved of (I hate hate hate cigarettes), but it's good money and the way I see it, they're only giving away free packs to people who already smoke anyway. The only drawback is having to wash my clothes the very next day, but that's nothing new.

So anyway, it would be AWESOME to see some GWS readers out there! I know tonight's was late notice, but I'd love to see some readers at future events. Mad River Bar and Grille tends to like me quite a bit, as well (and the long hallway leading to their bathrooms is supposedly lined with 30 caricatures of their employees that I drew a month or so ago).

GWS is almost ready to be posted, so it should be up early tomorrow morning after all! Woohoo!

oct.04.06

GHOSTBUSTERS!

Guess what just came in the mail.

It's a vintage Ghostbusters pillowcase. Thank you, special Ghostbuster-loving fan who brought this to my attention!

Yes, in case you didn't know, I have an OBSESSION with Ghostbusters. My brother and I watched it when we were kids. ALL the time. We played it. ALL the time. We had the toys. We all wanted to be Peter Venkman. Brent was even Slimer for Halloween once.

Granted, he looked a bit more like a piece of pop art on legs. Mom made her own pattern.

Besides, like I'm one to talk.

oct.05.06

Moving Day

Alright, the next week is going to be a bumpy one. Damn, I can't wait until I figure out how to make an RSS feed for you guys - poor things, waiting for random updates!!

Anyway, Kris is moving out this weekend, which is why things are gong slow over at good ol' GWS. The move is affecting both of us - the moment he's out, I want to move my bed into his quiet, slightly larger bedroom. And then I get to start arranging my studio/office into something even slightly more manageable than the mess I've got right now, and really, I don't have many "sick days" to do it in!

So between actually physically moving things, switching our names on all of our accounts, and trying to savor our last few days of being roommates, this week will be kind of rough (as will next week).

Thanks for hanging in there with me, guys! Tomorrow's GWS should be appropriate pay-off for yesterday's missed strip.

oct.06.06

eBaaay-bee!

I'm not gonna pretend the storyline is stellar, but I hope the color "Sunday" strip makes up for the no-show on Wednesday. :)

So between now and the end of November, I'm gonna sell a bunch of stuff on eBay. One is a lovely Fuji Z1 digital camera, the one I accidentally ordered when I was trying to order a Z3 (which I now have, which I love). If anyone you know wants a great little camera (and I do mean little!) with plenty of power and a record 1-second start-up (the reason I got it!!) for $75 less than what I paid, please let them know that I have one!! I believe the final price will be $175. I paid $250. It's good as new.

Also, I'll be selling:

Some awesome clothes I don't wear anymore/don't fit me

A BUNCH of photography (big!! And most of them are already framed/matted)

A couple of phones (heh)... some of which did NOT burn up in my hand

Possibly some books

Possibly some original art - mostly paintings/fine art stuff

Whatever else I can find in my room that looks perfectly eBayable

I need the cash, and I'd REALLY like to get rid of some stuff from my room. I love the photos on my walls, but I'd like to rotate it up a bit, perhaps even stretch some canvasses and start painting a little.

I've got some clothes and bags that are just simply AWESOME, but I never wear anymore (most of them are, honestly, way too cool for me... a sweet black leather knee-length jacket, a hot pink trench coat, a hand-made and painted bag I bought in Cordoba, Spain, vintage orange cordorouy bellbottoms that are a touch too big... ). So all you small-to-medium ladies out there (or any size for the bags!) will be in for a treat soon!

Don't worry, I'll let you all know when I put up the auctions.

Oh, and those of you going to Mid-Ohio con in November... I just sent off my payment for a table, so I'll see you there!!

PS. Oh my god, Liz is awesome.

PPS. Oh my god, this woman is awesome too! (Although certainly not work-safe!)
God bless those Europeans.

oct.06.06

Oh, right!

I guess I should explain the UK question above!

I was prompted to go to the Birmingham International Comics Show because I have a few friends I'd like to see out there, and I've noticed a considerable amount of readers from the UK. I can barely afford it, but y'know what? It's not often you find plane tix to Europe for $450. And I don't want to kick myself when I'm 50 and have kids (or at least dogs, or cats, or something that requires attention at home) knowing that I never took the opportunity to travel all over the place when I was young.

Regardless, before I ask for a table, I want to make sure it'll be worth my while. So let me know if you'll be there to greet me!!

oct.07.06

Heeeeeeey, 24-hour!

AH! I totally forgot about 24 Hour Comics Day!!

Well, needless to say, I'm not prepared for it (besides, I usually do it earlier in the year at Wild Pig Comics in Jersey), but I've decided I want to do a 12-hour comics day instead. While my roommate is moving (and I'm packing my own things, measuring the rooms, planning for my "new" office and studio), I'll be taking photos and sharing them every half hour tomorrow. Thus, 24 pages. Well, 24 photos, at least.

Sorry I didn't let you guys know sooner - I'd completely forgotten about the day, myself! I hope this works...

Meanwhile, check this out! While I was cleaning my bookshelves (the first things that will be moved into my new room), I found the beginnings of a 24-hour event I worked on a year or two ago. I probably never shared them with you. It's unfinished - yes, I DID fall asleep during the last two events! - but still kind of neat. And it's about my roommate and I anyway, so it's a fitting topic.

I think I'd just read Kyle Baker for the first time when I started this.

People tend to think Kris and I are married, so me trying to pick out a suitable mate for him is a typical passtime.

Anyway, you can follow those who are joinging together for this year's event by reading the 24HCD blog. Have fun!

And remember, you don't need a group around you to take the challenge! Just do it at home and test yourself on your own - it's a great exercise (albeit exhausting!).

oct.07.06

Just in case...

While my 12-hour, 24-page "comics" day project is becoming more of a once-in-awhile journaling of my roommate's big move, I did want to give you fair warning that the "project" might stop short. Kris just informed me that he's not certain what will happen to my Internet connection once he unhooks everything (we assume it'll all be OK, but just in case, I wanted to let you know).

So, if you don't see any updates in the next 24 hours (starting 5:00 Saturday), you can bet there won't be a Monday GWS unless I manage to beat down the door of the Adelphia building early Monday morning.

Meanwhile, enjoy the above images!

oct.09.06

HELL no!

Remember when I said it might take a little while for GWS to come back while I was moving?

Well, today's might be the last late strip. My roommate moved out yesterday, which has left both of us living in piles of crap for at least the next week.

Oh god, did I say a week? Not a week for Kris. Kris has a long, hard, and hopefully rewarding few months ahead of him.

I meant a week for ME. I'm taking the week off to fix up the office, because when I look down the hallway, I see two rooms, and one looks warm and enticing. The other makes the neat freak in me want to vomit. Can you guess which is which?

My new bedroom is going to be the most soothing, calming room I'll have ever lived in. And yes, that IS a 1950's/60's Kenmore sewing maching that I am FINALLY GOING TO USE at the foot of my bed.

Tomorrow I get to clean and arrange the office. I bought myself a ton of goodies at Office Max today to make my work space way less repulsive and more organized. I can not WAIT to get this place fixed up and more functional.

And to top it off, Tuesday I'll have a BRAND NEW GIGANTIC DRAFTING BOARD to work at, too! Which means I'll no longer have an excuse to not want to work.

Which means more GWS goodness for all y'all.

In case you missed it, here's my sad excuse for a 12-hour "comic" yesterday.

oct.11.06

More soon...

After teaming up with my mom to put together my new drafting table (below!!) and carrying numerous heavy objects back and forth, my arms were too wobbly to really finish today's strip. Which is embarrassing, mostly because my mom put in all of the elbow grease (I just kept things from falling on her, essentially).

*sigh* I really need to work out.

Anyway, as you could probably imagine by what IS featured above, you'll likely appreciate the rest of this strip. Later. When my arms heal.

Here's another picture of my bedroom, too!

More soon. Including announcements re: SPX this weekend, Mid-Ohio Con, and visiting the UK!

oct.12.06

SPX, etc.

True story.

Some words of wisdom to you ladies who wanna go buff on the beach: bring a guy if possible, DO sunscreen all your exposed *ahem* pink pieces, and DO NOT let the guy covered in "theraputic mud" rub it all over you. No matter what he says, it will not give you firmer skin. It will give him firmer skin.

Anyway.

SPX
So I've decided, rather than jump right into a new car - and car downpayment, and car monthly payments - right NOW, I'm putting $1400 into my old Honda so it may last me through to next year instead. That said, I might not have a car Thursday and Friday, so I MIGHT not be coming to SPX Friday.

Saturday, however, I'll most definitely be sitting with Crazy Papers writer Jim Dougan at table G8 doing sketches all day! Please stop by and say "hey," buy the book, buy some art, or just throw a pie in my face. Whatev.

If I AM at SPX Friday, I'm going to walk around all day and maybe/hopefully sit with Jim for the last hour or so in case some of you can only make it Friday. So keep an eye on that space!

On to other cons...

Mid-Ohio
My car MIGHT not be ready for SPX Friday, but it most certainly will be ready for Mid-Ohio! So look for me there. I'm just gonna have a little bitty table, but I'll be doing sketches all weekend.

Birmingham International Comics Show
Wow, you blokes sure did give me the a-OK to go to this show! (Can I call you "blokes?" Is that too stereotypical? Do you actually use that word??) I'll be sitting next to Daredevil artist Michael Lark (as usual, totally bumming space off of him) and most likely dashing back and forth between his and Liz Greenfield's table, because, well, the better I get to know her, the easier it will be for me to steal her secret way-too-damn-young-to-draw-that-damn-good powers.

They should be stickin' me on the guest list, and I should be buyin' a ticket soon, so of course it's still "pending," but I fully intend to be at this show.

That's it for now! Because of the two "Sunday" strips this week, I'm taking a breather Friday. I hope you guys liked my little trip into Colorland!

See ya Monday!

oct.16.06

2004.

Monday's strip will be up a bit later today, but meanwhile... guess what I found when I was cleaning the apartment!

Yes, none other than all my newsprint life drawings from Drawing II class, the last drawing class I took in college (and probably the best class out of my 5 years of college). (The third link down is not work-safe!!)

And to top it off, I found this awful, awful drawing of Jamie when she was in Hazelnuts, which should raise the spirits of anyone who thinks they suck at art. Wow. Jamie looks meeeeeeeeeeeeean (and, um, baaaaaaaaaaaad) in this one!!

That's it for now. I'm sure I'll find more little treasures along the way, and seeing as I now live alone and can't immediately share everything with my roommate, I'm sure I'll be sharing them with you. :)

oct.19.06

Raina Ramble!

I have an excellent, comics-related reason for having a late strip today.

I read the whole thing tonight. Devoured it. I had no idea that rated-G ANYTHING could get that much attention from me anymore.

I met Raina Telgemeier oh-so briefly at Toronto this past year in a desperate attempt to NOT be too jealous of her; I have this vicious disease that makes me horribly jealous of other female comics talents, until I meet them and realize they are NOT horrible skanky girls who wave their hoo-hoos around to get jobs, but rather hard-working and very talented young women who just want to draw cartoons for a living.

*breathe*

Anyway, I'd barely seen any of her work, but I'd read somewhere that she was going to be tackling the Baby-Sitters Club books, and the little girl in me was just THRILLED! Back in the day, when I could read books that had no pictures like a normal person, I read the BSC books to death. I loved them. In fact, here's how I actually felt when I picked up this book:

I was so surprised at how quickly the story came back to me. The moment I got into Raina's graphic rendition of "The Truth About Stacey," I remembered this EXACT story... the Kid Kits, quiet Mary Anne who would "cry at the drop of a hat," the little kid who always greeted people by saying "hi-hi" (I used to sound it out quietly while I read, not able to decide on a specific musical tone the little boy used when he said it).

And the book blew me away. Just perfect. I'm damn impressed.

So I spent the rest of the evening reading her webcomic Smile (which is totally adorable) and basically becoming her biggest geeky fangirl. If you'd like to revisit your childhood, even if you never read the BSC books, pick this sucker up.

Unless you do a webcomic, in which case you will inevitably not update if you read this book.

oct.21.06

This strip brought to you by...

... the coolest GWS animation I have ever, ever seen.

Thank you, Mike, for your generous gifts of GIFs.

Seriously, Mike (aka. Tanukitsune) is getting his own gallery in the GWS guest art Hall O' Fame when I update it. Because this guy's a WHIZ with these animations! He's done several for not only myself, but Jennie Breeden and Liz Greenfield, among many others I'm sure. (Speaking of which, I just checked Jennie's page out and guess what I saw?! Well, go check it out for yourself!!)

Oh, please note that that IS a McSlimer sliming his way across the screen. It just doesn't get better than that.

I'm finally, for the first time in my life, getting ahead on work. I just scripted the next four strips for GWS, and I'm about to script ahead for Bat Boy tonight (I'm updating this site at MIDNIGHT instead of 3 am!! WOOHOO!!). I always knew this would happen - the moment I got my bed out of my office, and reorganized everything in the "work only" room, that I'd start getting where I needed to be. It feels GREAT!!

I'm no longer losing clients by literally losing their information in a big messy room. I'm getting around to all the work I should have done months ago (the donation art from my camera drive is sitting on my desk, ready to finish and be sent out!!), and I'm even eating somewhere OTHER than my computer desk.

This. Is. Awesome.

To top it all off, I'm finding yet more original art that I think you guys might enjoy. I'm going to start the eBay sales in early- to mid-November. But no worries, you guys will see the auctions right up top here the moment I start them. You won't miss a thing.

Since I've got a little extra time tonight, here's a quick wrap-up of SPX, since I never got around to it last week!

I was pretty well-hidden at Saturday's SPX (the only day I could make it!), but my old Martinsburg Journal pals Ellen and Tony miraculously found me anyway and we immediately went out to grab some lunch, leaving my poor tablemate Jim Dougan alone for much longer than expected.

I would marry these two in a heartbeat. Not like the preacher "Do you, Ellen, take Tony to be your... " version of marry - they've already taken care of that. I mean the Mormon version of marry. So all three of us could live happily ever after. I totally adore them both. For now, I'll settle with our once-every-10-months visit. *sigh*

Um, here's me. Drawing my one and only sketch of the entire show (told you I was hidden!). Thank you to John, who came all the way up to get a sketch from me!!

Here's a kinda of crappy shot of Mara Maguire of Black As White, me, and Christi Johnson of In The Puddle!

Here's another somewhat crappy shot of Mara, Christi & me with the backs of several local and Hotness heads. Though we didn't all sit together at this show, the Webcomic Hotness was still present!

And finally, me and Crazy Papers writer Jim Dougan in front of that mammoth poster of the CP cover. Thanks to everyone who picked up a copy of our book!! This will probably be the last time Jim and I sit behind a CP-covered table again, because, quite frankly, we can't stand each other.

Yes, of course I'm kidding. And I'll continue to bring CP books with me to shows until my stash runs out! So if you'll be at Mid-Ohio in a month, be sure to pick up your copy!

Last but not least, I made an effort to jog over to the booth where Jeph Jacques (I hope I'm spelling that right) of Questionable Content was sitting, because shit man, when ELSE am I gonna meet this guy? Super nice fella, and seeing as he was sort of hiding like I was, I'm really glad I found him.

Now if I could only track down Randy, Paul, Antonio, and Tim, I'd be one happy webcomic reader.

oct.24.06

OH I am such a putz!

How could I forget?? I got some awesome fanart while I was at SPX!

Madison, Clarice and Candy - three gals who don't get a lot of air time, which makes me so happy to see fanart of them! And later...

What can I say? Cailin Woods, you rule.

oct.24.06

On time or late.

Normally, for just about EVERYTHING, I'm either right on time or late. Most often late.

But now that I have this awesome new office space - and I can separate my relaxing bedroom from the work, work, work atmosphere of my "work room" - I've been scripting ahead and doing things EARLY. And that... well, that worries me.

Because me being early means something's changing in my life, and I'm afraid it means I'm turning into a grown-up. And nobody wants to be a grown-up.

So I've resolved to lower my mental age for Halloween, and either dress up as Janine from Ghostbusters or Penny from Inspector Gadget.

That'll teach me to grow up.

oct.25.06

Oh, awesome.

Mangled Stare is gonna have a dance-off.... with JAMIE and HAZEL!! Check it out!!

oct.26.06

Why.

So, I got ahead and did three - not just two, but THREE - strips done early the other day, because I have company this weekend. And that's AWESOME. Except that if I'm not doing the strip at 3 in the morning the day before it's due, I ALWAYS forget to update it! Sorry about that, folks.

Hopefully I don't run into the same trouble Sunday night!! Anyway, enjoy.