Dec 30, 2010
sometimes i can be really bad at peeling oranges, probably because i don't really eat them that often. i always either peel off not quite enough so there's a ton of rind left and it's lame, or i peel off way too much and the whole thing falls apart. it's still delicious in the end, though, so it's not all that bad.
number 190
Dec 27, 2010
dude, i love barchetta pizza. so good. also, i just found this on the internet. i was completely uninvolved with this. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100720181154AA19taw
this is number 189
this is number 189
Dec 23, 2010
it's true, about reindeer hooves. in the summer, they get soft, but in the winter, the footpads shrink so the sharp, hard hoof is more prominent, helping them to break through the ice that covers the plants they like to eat.
also, i thought about decorating the apartment while Cayle was out one day, but i didn't really have the supplies at the moment, and i wasn't quite sure how soon i'd be able to gather them, so for now we've just got up a little christmas tree i got from my parents. it's like a foot tall and it's kind of lopsided, but it makes the place feel more Christmasy, so i like it.
188
Dec 21, 2010
i really do start the day after Halloween. i absolutely love Christmas, it's my all-time favourite holiday, and i like to start celebrating early. the way i see it, there's no such thing as too much Advent or Christmas.
and if, like Dan, you are a little late listening to Christmas music, or you don't know what to listen to, here's some suggestions!
http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/2010/12/download-ho-ho-ho-canada-deux/: free Canadian Christmas music that awesome cartoonist Kate Beaton tweeted about. this is the link to "Part Deux" and there's a link to the first compilation on the page. there's a whole lot of songs here, so i especially recommend "Winter Song" by woodpigeon/Laura Leif, "Snow" by The Zolas, "Fearfully and Wonderfully" by Baby Eagle, "Cinnamon Winter" by Cinderpop, "All Together Now (For the Holidays)" by The Mountains & The Trees, and "Klausmas" by Hoffenheimer.
http://harryandthepotters.bandcamp.com/album/a-wizardly-christmas-of-wizardry: the new Christmas release from the OGs of wizard rock, Harry and the Potters. it combines some new songs with some live performances and some songs that were on compilations. it's music about Christmas AND Harry Potter. how could it get any better?
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/features/wizardrock/jinglespells4: the latest Jingle Spells album put out by The Leaky Cauldron. a compilation of wizard rock bands doing songs about Christmas. all the proceeds from buying this album go to The HP Alliance and Friends in Deed.it's more Christmas-themed, wizard rock, what else can i say?
http://sufjanstevens.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-christmas: the fantastic Christmas compilation by Sufjan Stevens, containing his Christmas EPs from 2001-2006. it's seriously amazing, and it includes some classics and some Sufjan originals. if you buy the physical cd it comes with a comic about Christmas, some beautiful stickers, and songbook that includes tabs for all the songs, some essays and a short story. again, there's a whole lot of songs, so i recommend "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," "Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!," O Holy Night," The Friendly Beasts," "The Winter Solstice," and the vocals version of "Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming."
http://xmas.asthmatickitty.com/: here you can stream the Sufjan album, and they have fun games and activities relating to Christmas and Sufjan Stevens.
http://familyrechristmas.bandcamp.com/album/a-familyre-christmas-volume-3: free indie music about Christmas from some of Sufjan's friends. i especially recommend the songs by Danielson, Sufjan Stevens and Half-Handed Cloud. you can get volumes one and two for 4 dollars each here and here.
this is number 187.
Dec 13, 2010
i loves me some Advent, and i loves me some Christmas. Christmas is like 12 days away, do you realise that? that's less than two weeks. i'm so pumped. to help you prepare for the coming holiday, here's a fantastic video!
(WARNING: IT'S A KIND OF SAD SONG)
and here's another, much happier Sufjan video!
also, just so you know, this will be my last post until December 21st, when i will be posting more Christmas comics. there won't be a Christmas Special this year, i'm sorry, but there might be one next year. it's hard to tell. Merry Christmas!
this is number 186
Dec 12, 2010
as you may have seen a couple days ago, i've been talking about the amazing things The Harry Potter Alliance has been doing. if you haven't yet, you really should check them out.
this is the patronus picture i submitted to their tumblr in an effort to help fight the Dementor Horcrux as part of their Deathly Hallows campaign. you, too, can submit your patronus, in the form of a drawing, painting, photo, story, video, etc., to help build up a huge message of hope against the real-life dementor-like forces, including depression, anxiety and more, here. and you can learn more about fighting the Dementor Horcrux at the campaign site, http://thehpalliance.org/action/campaigns/deathly-hallows/horcrux-2/.
and remember, it's not too late to sign the fair-trade petition and fight the Slave Wages Horcrux! please send out the link as much as you can! the more signatures, the better! http://thehpalliance.org/action/campaigns/deathly-hallows/horcrux-1/
also: Nic's patronus being a bearded dragon is a nod to my roommate, Cayle, who says his patronus would either be a bearded dragon or a cat. in addition, Dan's patronus being a zebra was Cayle's suggestion.
this is number 185
Dec 9, 2010
a year ago today, my grandpa died. he was a super awesome guy, and i really did get an old coat of his. it's fantastic. i also got a couple of his ties.
here's an example of how awesome my grandpa was: he had his own Cracker Jack prize. it was possible to buy a box of Cracker Jack and pull out, as your prize, a trading card of my grandfather. i have a copy of said card. as it turns out, it lists his home address and phone number, which is a little odd, but this prize was available a while ago.
anyways, Grandpa V, this is for you.
number 184
Dec 7, 2010
i'll hopefully have one more Harry Potter related post in a little bit, but for now the scanner's not hooked up, so it'll have to wait a bit.
and seriously, "Tangerine Speedo" was an awesome song. i used to love that song. i haven't listened to it in forever, though. good stuff. i'm probably going to buy it from itunes. also, when i was doing research for this comic, i learned that "Tangerine Speedo" was on the soundtrack for the movie Charlie's Angels, and that Caviar also had a song on the soundtrack for Gone in 60 Seconds. and, best news of all, their song "The Good Times Are Over" was used in the closing scenes of the DragonBall Z special Bardock: The Father of Goku. amazing.
and here's the music video for "Tangerine Speedo"
EDIT: the music video's gone, but here's the song, at least.
this is number 183
Dec 6, 2010
Dec 2, 2010
the Patronus Charm is, by far, one of my most favourite parts of the entire Harry Potter universe. it's a great way to express your hope, and happiness, and joy, and faith, and belief, and strength. also, learning what form someone's patronus takes is a fun way to learn more about them. really, the whole idea of patronuses is fantastic.
like last week or something, i talked about the super amazing Harry Potter Alliance and how great they are. yesterday, they announced the second real-world horcrux they are fighting in their ongoing Deathly Hallows Campaign- the "Dementor-like experiences" of the real world, such as depression.
so, as a community, they are gathering together to cast as many patronuses as they can, in the form of art, such as drawings, paintings, writing, photos, videos, songs or whatever other medium you can use to express your patronus, which can be submitted to their Tumblr. as it says on their website, "Once they are all made, we’ll be taking many of them to create a collective Patronus that we will send as a message of our community’s hope and inner-power to a group who needs that message (the specific group is to be determined)."
i'm definitely going to get on this and submit my patronus in some form or other, and i definitely recommend that you guys do the same. you can learn more here.
and again, their website is http://thehpalliance.org/ and remember: Expecto Patronum!
Nov 29, 2010
Nov 25, 2010
so i wrote this comic and then i realised that i totally kind of spoil the end of Harry Potter a bit. so i made this little banner, and if you scroll over the image (or click it) it shows the whole comic, so you can read it that way. also, that first frame is crazy, i've never really drawn those characters from behind before.
also, today is, in addition to Thanksgiving, my brother's birthday! woo! happy birthday, Matt!
this is comic 179.
Nov 22, 2010
sorry for not posting a comic on thursday. that's the first thursday update i've missed in a while. thursday was quite a busy day, though. me and some friends went to see Scott Pilgrim Versus the World at ISU's movie theatre, and then we went straight from there to the big theatre to see the midnite premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 1. it was awesome. i should be on regular schedule for the next while, i've got at least through the end of december planned.
also, i really did break my wand before getting to the HP7 premiere. it was way hecka sad. i need to find a new one, but i don't know if it'll be the same, you know? hopefully i'll be able to find a good one soon.
this is number 177
Nov 16, 2010
in celebration of the release of the new Harry Potter movie, i thought i'd post an educational comic about the Harry Potter fandom.
the Harry Potter Alliance is a really fantastic organisation that acts as Dumbledore's Army for the real world, fighting real-world horcruxes like slave wages, illiteracy and poverty. over the last few years, they have donated over 50,000 books to schools and communities across the world, raised enough money to send 5 planes full of medical supplies to Haiti after the earthquake in January, won $250,000 from the Chase Community Giving Contest that went toward their LGBT rights and illiteracy programs and expanding their reach, and more.
currently, they are working on the Deathly Hallows Campaign, targeting seven of the world's worst real-life horcruxes, starting off with passing around a petition to get Time Warner to switch to using fair trade chocolate for all of their Harry Potter-related merchandise. You can sign the petition here.
and if you're interested in finding out more about this awesome organisation, you can go to their website, http://thehpalliance.org/ or find them on facebook and twitter.
also in celebration of the imminent release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 1, i recorded a cover of the very amazing song "Wish You'd Be My Witch" by the wizard rock band The Mudbloods! you can listen to it (and download it for free) here:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_music.cfm?bandID=894894
and here's the song if you just want to listen to it here.
this is number 176
Nov 15, 2010
Nov 11, 2010
to be continued! sam, matt, jessica, and whoever else may know what you might hear if you don't really listen when someone tells you that something tastes like heaven exploding in your mouth, please don't say anything. i'll have another raisin bran crunch-themed comic up soon to finish the story.
also, i probably should have not been so lazy and inked the second comic in this series either yesterday or earlier today, but i played some Dragon Quest 9 and Resident Evil 5 instead. i'm pretty close to beating both. hopefully i'll have the comic done soon.
number 174!
Nov 8, 2010
true story, it was crazy.
also, i just got an amazing package from the awesome Jason Bradshaw from Boredom Pays! i'd sent him my "Breathe" minicomic and he sent me his new comic "The Worst in Everything" and a copy of his old one, "Fragments." they're both super great, and i'm way pumped! i definitely recommend checking out his fantastic comics on his blog.
173
Nov 4, 2010
Dear Jimmy,
My brother gave me the idea of doing a comic where I say "Hubble Gotchu," based on Milky J from your shoutouts segments, and it's basically a brilliant idea. I'm not really sure that I did it justice with this comic, but I gave it a try.
Also, do you remember when you played Dance Your Hat and Gloves Off last week and two of the competitors completely DESTROYED the world record for that game? That was incredible! Never before has any competition been that mold breaking!
Oh! And another thing- if I remember correctly, you tweeted today about having "Battle of the Instant Dance Crews" on tonite's episode. That seems totally amazing. I am so totally looking forward to that. Thank you so much for all that you do.
post number 172!
Nov 1, 2010
i really did dress as Wishbone for Halloween. it was pretty great, i think.
also, i wrote another minicomic! this one's called "The F Word," and it's the same size and length as "Breathe." it, too, is a dollar. i'm still working on allowing you to purchase it via the internet, but if you can find me in person, it's only a dollar and i can definitely sell you a copy. this one swears a lot, though, so if you're sensitive to that type of thing, you shouldn't buy this one. there's like 12 of the f word in it (hence the title). the cover looks like this:
171
Oct 28, 2010
i drew this comic with my new B tip PITT pen, to see what inking a comic with that would be like. i'm not sure how i feel about it.
also, this is a real book. it was on clearance at the Barnes and Noble website, but bow it's not on clearance anymore. it's still pretty cheap, though, so if you like H.P. Lovecraft and don't yet own all of the fiction he ever wrote (by himself. there's also another book they have at my library, The Watchers Out of Time, that was written by Lovecraft and August Derleth, and i think maybe one of the stories in that book is in this book i bought), this book is a great deal at only 12 bucks. it's hardcover and like 1100 pages, and it's pretty awesome. you can find it here. also, sometimes it gets out of stock on the website, so if you're interested, you may want to purchase it soon, before it becomes hard to find again.
and another thing: i feel like Barnes and Noble was crazy lucky (or maybe very skilled) to have acquired the URL books.com. i mean, i guess someone was likely to end up with it, but i feel like that's the kind of domain name you'd want to buy right when the internet was first starting up, so you could sell it yourself for a ton of money, you know?
this is number 170.
Oct 26, 2010
so, it turns out that this last thursday was the anniversary of Elliott Smith's death, and i didn't even realise until matt said something that nite, so i didn't say anything about him in my comic post that day.
Elliott Smith, though, was a fantastic musician who is greatly missed. he's the reason the main character of this comic is named Elliott, and he's the reason why it's spelled with two Ts. Elliott Smith is one of my most favourite musicians, and i first heard of him from the movie The Royal Tenenbaums (my all-time favourite movie), because his song "Needle in the Hay" is on the soundtrack. in remembrance of Elliott, here's a video of one of his songs, which i guess is called "My New Freedom," but i always thought it was called "I'm Doing Okay, Pretty Good" until tonite. as far as i know, it was never officially released, but it's amazing.
and here's an amazing version of Elliott's song "Say Yes" as performed by Ira Glass and Lucy Wainwright Roche.
also, i recently bought some awesome books from the fantastic Sam Spina! you can read his amazing comics and buy his books from his site at http://www.spinadoodles.com/
this is number 169
Oct 21, 2010
Oct 19, 2010
Oct 15, 2010
every friday nite on his show, Jimmy Fallon writes his thank you notes for the week. so, today i figured i'd do the same, but for him.
also, i recently bought some PITT artist pens! this comic was inked with my new F pen, and here's a page of ink sketchings i did with my new B pen. i think i like the B pen better than the F, but we'll see how that goes with future drawings.
oh! and another thing: i just bought a super nintendo, and for that super nintendo i have acquired the game Mortal Kombat 2, which i'm pretty pumped about, but as of yet i only have 1 SNES controller, and Play N Trade does not currently have any more controllers. is there anyone out there who wants to help me out? help would be greatly appreciated. thank you.
166
Oct 14, 2010
if i remember correctly, McCormick (or however it's spelled) makes the recipe cards with all the needed spices included, and seriously, they're amazing.
oh! and if, like me, you own either Pokemon SoulSilver or Heartgold, starting tomorrow, Friday, October 15th, you will be able to receive via the Nintendo Wireless Connection, a lv. 5, pretty rare Mew, in celebration of Silver and Gold's tenth anniversary. the download will be available until the end of the month, so you should make sure to get it while you can. also i think you need to have two or less wonder cards saved to your game to get it, just so you know. i found out about this from the fantastic Pokemon fansite http://www.bulbagarden.net/, and if you love Pokemon like i do, you should probably check it out.
and another thing about video games. yesterday, i found at a local thrift store a SNES, and today i purchased the awesome game Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and i am way hecka pumped about it. rock n roll.
number 165
Oct 11, 2010
Oct 4, 2010
grasshoppers are awful. except that one in James and the Giant Peach, he was pretty cool.
sometimes i used to walk from my old house in Chubbuck to the mall, and these days sometimes (though very rarely) i walk from the mall to the Portneuf library, and i like to walk along the canal, because it's really quite nice and it's a little faster than walking along one of the roads. unfortunately, in the summer and fall, the path by the canal is COVERED in grasshoppers. seriously, sometimes the only areas of ground that don't have grasshoppers on them is the part that's blocked by bushes, so the grasshoppers can't stand there. it's awful. and then, they jump and hit me in the hands and face and it's totally stupid. really, i'm not a fan of grasshoppers.
anyways, to go out on, here's the song "Family" from James and the Giant Peach.
this is number 162
Sep 30, 2010
look, it's elliotterasu! i somewhat recently acquired the video game Okami for the ps2, and it's awesome. it's all so beautiful, and it all looks like it's watercoloured, and i love it. plus, whenever you find just random animals hanging out in the forests or fields or whatever, you can feed them, and it's all cute and they become your friends. basically, it's amazing.
anyways, sorry that this is not really an actual comic. i hopefully will have a real one up on monday, if everything goes according to plan.
on the plus side, though, i finally filled out the whole "Cast" page. you can see it here.
also, i recently wrote a minicomic. it's six pages, not including the covers, and i'm selling it for a dollar. i'm looking into a way i can set up payment with like paypal or a credit card, but i don't know yet. i might have to charge for shipping if you're far away, but if you're in the pocatello or chubbuck area, i can definitely sell it to you for just a dollar. also, there's only ten-ish right now, and if you get one of these first ones, they're hand-numbered, so that's pretty cool, so you might want to buy one fast. the front cover looks like this:
this is number 161
Sep 27, 2010
Sep 23, 2010
at the end of august, me and Matt went with Liz and Kathy O'Brien to the Gateway Theatre to see a local production of the musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and it was fantastic. the song elliott's singing in this comic is "Suppertime," which Snoopy sings in the musical. here's a video of it from the animated movie version of the musical.
if ever you get a chance to see it, i really recommend this musical. it's so good.
this is number 159.
Peanuts is copyright Charles M. Schulz
Sep 20, 2010
Sep 16, 2010
i don't say it in the comic, but i imagine them dancing to Motion City Soundtrack's song "Make Out Kids." it's not the usual kind of song dance crews dance to, i feel like, but i think it works really well. also, is it just me, or is this the most complex (in terms of character numbers and variety, and in terms of action) comic that i have drawn yet. it's crazy, and it took me forever to finish.
oh, and i'm sorry it's been so long since last i posted a comic. i'll have a new one on monday, if everything goes according to plan. and coming up next, the party is winding down!
and actually, yesterday was my birthday! i am now twenty-one years old! it's crazy!
this is number 157
Sep 9, 2010
this one goes out to my brother, his cat, and our friend Mindy Curran. Sawyer (in the comic) is at least kind of based on Sawyer (my brother's cat) and the whole thing about the shortsuit i would have never thought of if not for Mindy, who has worn shortsuits in the past, and they're awesome.
also, Hubble's outfit in this one is based on a photograph i found by doing an image search for "hipster clothes." here's the picture, it's pretty great.
so yeah. more with Sawyer is to come!
number 156
Sep 7, 2010
the song featured is "The World Should Revolve Around Me" by Little Jackie. it's a very good song, i definitely recommend giving it a listen. also, once i did accidentally tell someone that it was by Jackée, who was in Sister Sister and a bunch of other shows and movies. it was an accident, they have similar names.
#155
Sep 2, 2010
Aug 31, 2010
Aug 30, 2010
dance parties are awesome. we had one at our house the nite Scott Pilgrim got into theatres, and it was a huge success, plus the Scott Pilgrim movie was fantastic.
also, i'm sorry about the cast page. i don't know when i'll be able to finish it, hopefully soon. i've been moving out of my apartment into a new one, and now i have to unpack my boxes in the new place, so i've been really busy.
this is number 152.
Aug 26, 2010
Aug 24, 2010
sorry if these are giant. these are the first three pages of a comic i started working on november of 2008. it's about a secret society of intelligentsia who work together to save the day from the evils plagueing the world in about 1889 or so.
and in case you aren't sure, yes, the protagonist in these pages is Thomas Hardy, author of Tess of the D'Urbervilles. and yes, he does have the power to control paper. that kind of thing was the premise for this comic: the authors, painters, inventors and other great minds of the era happened to have supernatural abilities. other characters i planned to feature were Nikola Tesla, H G Wells, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (i think that's how it's spelled) and Jack the Ripper. They team up to protect Great Britain (and, in some stories i have planned, the whole world) from terrors such as Thomas Edison, The Theatre Man (as featured above), and more. i was planning on having a story involving Dagon, from the Cthulhu mythos, but i wasn't a hundred percent sure about that. i have a whole big thing planned, and i've got maybe like five or six pages inked (in ballpoint pen, on lined paper) and another six or seven pages pencilled (again, on lined paper), and i have a whole 13-issue story planned out in notes and sketches. i definitely plan on going back and finishing it, but i've got to re-do the first pages on better paper.
also, page two is probably my least favourite of all the pages i've done, because it's kinda lame, and a lot of this is really sketchy, but in later pages it gets a lot better.
anyways, this is post 150, and i should have another regular comic up on thursday.
Aug 23, 2010
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