Power is out. Smartphones are great. (Updated)

Within two minutes of power going out, I discovered my stash of candles weren't where I thought they were and that my flashlight only had 30 seconds of battery life. So I burned scented candles and used my iPhone instead!

Anyway, I hope the outage is quickly resolved, but who knows with this megastorm. Comics are uploaded through Sunday, so no panicking until then.

Really, the only reason I'm posting now is because I CAN. Living in the future is great. Blogging in the middle of a hurricane, listening to music on the iPod. Posting a cat pic for added flair.

Of course, if my battery goes before power returns, I will be completely unable to cope.

UPDATE: Morning is here and things look good upon the initial check. Power returned over the night and there's little damage to the yard. Every dead branch in our trees ended up on the ground, but they're all small ones - so this was more of a landscaping service than a disaster. I saw a larger limb down across the street, but that's it so far. I'm glad I was spared, but that's because the storm chose to focus on the northeast. I wish all those affected a speedy recovery.

This is what I did today.

No, this isn't an official cast photo or anything, but it *is* a collection of all the pics that will be going on the cast page! I thought it would be fun to see what would happen if I crammed them all together.

Before you get too excited, the new cast page bios haven't been written yet, and I have yet to decide how the page will even be laid out. This is a free time thing, and free time is rare.

Anyway, it seems a hurricane is coming at me. If I disappear from the internet, it's probably due to a power outage. I may end up comicking by candlelight, or I may luck out and have the megastorm focus all its energy on crushing New England. Who knows? (To all my friends up there: I hope you are safe and things go well! If my wish comes true, sorry I sent it to you.)

I really hope preparedness wins out and this storm's impact is quickly remedies. I kinda need power and internet to function, y'know?

Mailing day II, Heat Wave Boogaloo.

(Although I think it's more "Summer as usual in Georgia" than an actual heat wave.)

Yes, FINALLY, the second wave of donation goodies is hitting the post office! (Magnet people, who got their goods in the first wave, I want to see pictures of what you did with your new prized possession!) This wave covers everyone who donated for a sketch and told me what their request was (With one exception. Sorry, Kevin!) and a few lucky ones who donated for a print and magnet.

After I finish packing everything, I will be faced with a decision: Do I risk giving up my primo parking spot to drive to the post office, or do I walk two miles in 95-degree heat instead? On one hand, I *do* need the exercise. On the other, MY SCANDINAVIAN SKIN WILL BOIL AWAY!

The upcoming third wave, which will hopefully go out at the end of this week, will cover the rest. Those who donated for a sketch without giving me a request will end up getting a facefull of whatever the heck I wanted to draw for them!

The wrath of snowmageddon

I'm back in DC, and I forgot my darn card reader. iPhone, fix my problem!

Snowmageddon hit this place pretty hard. Aside from the nightmarish icicles, the snow took down SEVERAL trees here. Just like the last storm. Man, this house has a yard or fragile trees! I'm so tired of snow, and the clearing in DC is far worse than Winchester. That's just pathetic. It is my goal to convince grandma to order in. A lot. I don't want to hit the road again until I leave.

Word of warning: This blog might suffer while I'm here. The situation is not great, and that affects my productivity. For those who don't know, my Alzheimer's-and-cancer-ridden grandfather is on hospice care and he's been going downhill. There's no telling how long he'll last, and he did look better today. He's still eating, so that's a good sign.

To be honest, I'm toying with the idea of putting Precocious on a filler material break while I'm here - although I doubt I will. For one, producing filler material will probably take the same time as producing a new comic, so why do it? Also, we're right in the middle of a long storyline, so the timing sucks. Also also, I have yet to miss an update and I don't want to start now. I want a Bill Holbrookian streak of 15 years with no missed updates! (Of course, Bill Holbrook also gets PAID for what he does...)

I just wish I had come into here with more scripts. Once again, I get into a situation with only a loose idea of where I'm going for the next week or two. (Once I get by it, I have a *much* better idea of what I'm doing. Don't panic too much.) I'm hoping to knock out a few comics tomorrow and get my scripts in order, but family obligations might get in the way.

Basically, I *should* be able to keep things going normally - but don't be surprised if Sunday's strip suddenly changes to an Olympic sketch or something.

Do a little dance

As promised, and - er- forgotten, here is yet another painting post - with the painting looking very similar to the last version... but more finishedish! It's not totally done yet, but it's very close. Yes, it should be done, but - heh - I just noticed I forgot to paint the bottom border! That's minor, but it means no signature yet. (Glad I caught that now...)

I can't believe I still have the painting around here. I blame the snow. Ever since snowmageddon hit, I've been on a perpetual snow day - even though it barely impacted my normal life. I live like a shut in! My bedroom is my studio! I had no place to go! But, still, it felt like time off, and KNOWING I couldn't leave led to the required stir crazy feelings. Now that the snow is finally clearing, I emerge blinking and confused, wondering where the last 10 days went.

Snowpocalypse 2.0!

Since the plan for today is to knock out some comics, which is not a bloggable thing, I choose to distract you with a snowy picture!

Another boatload of snow has crushed Winchester, and I'm not remotely thrilled with it. This amount is well beyond the manageable stage and into the "oops, there goes your power" area. All I want is a warm stretch and some heavy plowing. Free me!

The worst part of this is that I'm snowed in with the worthless damn dogs. I hate dogs. I really hate dogs. I look down on dog people, as if they are fundamentally flawed. Dogs are stinky, stupid need machines, and the two in this house are some of the worst.

My normal routine when stuck with the dogs is to throw them outside and let them enjoy the yard. I can't do that with TEN THOUSAND FEET OF SNOW OUTSIDE! Today, I had to shovel them a path so they could wander around and do their disgusting things. But the dogs are not content with going out the side door. It's snowy out the side door. Why can't they go in the backyard, where it MUST be sunny and warm! Every time I go upstairs, they clamor to the back door and look at me with hope. This is where I point out that the back doors are GLASS, and anyone with a brain can see the snow has piled up so much that the drift is taller than the dogs! In their small brains, there's some HOPE that it's nice out back!

So I finally gave them what they wanted. I opened the back door and they bounded out - smacking face-first into the wall of snow! They stumbled backwards in complete disbelief. You mean that snow drift that was visible outside is ACTUALLY THERE? Idiots.

So I'm hoping making comics will improve my mood, but I'm sure the situation will get worse before it gets better. That's the cue for our power to go out.

(Please don't go out, power.)

Let it blizzard! Let it blizzard!

There's a reason I always doubt the weather report. Winchester is located in a unique space - the Appalachian mountains are placed just so that they deflect clouds away from the town. Big storms with big promises often end up bouncing to the north or south. There was one year when a blizzard dumped a foot of snow to the north, south, east and west of us. We didn't even get flurries. It's a horrible fate for a school-age kid who had a habit of not doing his homework. Salvation ruined by a barely-passes-for-a-mountain! If you're a kid in Winchester, you learn quickly you can't count on mother nature to give you a break.

This current storm began the same way. Last night I checked the radar and noticed it was dumping snow everywhere around us - but there was a tiny hole in the storm directly over Winchester. Same old, same old. I went to bed when an inch of snow was on the ground, assuming we'd get a nice moderate snowfall while the rest of the state was smothered.

I was wrong! Overnight and this morning, the storm overpowered the mountain and caught us up with the forecast. There is a LOT of snow outside right now - and more to come? Dang. As you can see in the picture, the snow shovels used this morning are about to be lost as the snow keeps coming and coming. I guess this is the yearly epic storm after all.

Of course, I am well beyond school age at this point, so much of the fun of snowfall is lost on me. Now I have to worry about how long it'll take for the roads to clear up so I can make contact with friends again. I am bound to go stir crazy here after a few days. C'mon, VDOT, do your thing and clear a path to my door!

Let it snow! Let it snow!

Winchester is supposed to get a huge heap of snow tonight. Already there is an inch on the ground, causing massive panic in the streets, I'm sure. Winchester gets snow every year - not that much, mind you, but enough - yet crazy panic still sets in! OH GOD WE NEED MILK AND BREAD! FIGHT THE OTHERS!

Fortunately, this house was recently stocked with panic supplies. The only shortage I have for this snow-in comes in the liquor department. If my mother's account of the ABC store is any indication, I'm not alone in enjoying a nice nip during a snowstorm. Alas, I am too pretty to buy my own booze, yet so unpopular no one is generous with their spirits! What a horrible fate! So I must face this storm without my precious Captain Morgan. Oh god, I have to find ways to entertain myself! What's this? I have lots of comics work to do. AND lots of new DVDs? Hey, sobriety might not be that bad! (Note: It's been about two years since I've bought liquor for myself. I am not as cool as that last paragraph might make me seem.)

If I am a good boy, I can use this nature-induced time out to be nice and productive. Heaven knows I have a pile of commissions to work on in addition to the comics. If bad, I shall go stir crazy and do horrible things with our precious milk. Don't ask.

At least the isolation will be pretty!

*twitch*

Wintertime in comicland

It's time to put cartoon wardrobe logic to the test: Winter is here! I've already witnessed one snow and one icy mess, so it's time to think about subjecting my characters to frozen water in its zestiest forms! After all, in comics, winter means snow ALL THE TIME! Cartoonists love white, fluffy idea fodder.

The problem, of course, is dressing these kids. They run around barefoot, with tails and ears exposed to the elements. Hats are physically difficult to keep on with that physiology, but snow hats mean winter clothes! It doesn't make sense, but that is how it works in the realm of cartoons, friends!

Should I go with a winter story, I'll need to set up my kids in suitable winter outfits. That seems hard, so maybe I'll waste winter with classroom stories! They can be fun too!

Snow day!

Winchester got 5 inches of pretty today, and it certainly brought out the kid in me. Snow day = day off, right? A day off from what? My job? Hey, being unemployed makes every day like a snow day!

Today was meant for comic grinding, but I took a day off from that as well. I got one comic done, and it was a STRUGGLE. I am really struggling to ink right now, and I think it's my nibs. I can't find one with the correct feel - even though they're all supposed to be identical. I have one more strip ready for inking tonight. Maybe I'll play with nibs and see if I can find one that doesn't suck. The night *is* still young. Maybe I can get some lettering and drawing done too. After all, now that the sun has set the pretty is no longer distracting.

Reunited, and it feels so good!

I'm back home, with my beloved no-copy blue pencil. Oh, how I missed this little bugger! Fat mechanical pencil, you were a poor substitute!

Anyway, daddy's tired from a hellacious drive home during a dreary, rainy day. I'm too lazy to hook up my scanner, much less sketch something fun for the day. Instead you get to bask in the glory of my bloated ate-out-for-20-straight-meals face! Sexy!

Agoraphobia

I'm back home, after a long time away - and nature did all it could to keep me from making home. I would have been better off taking a submarine home. What I'm saying here is... FUCK RAIN! That was overkill, you damn weather gnomes, and you know it!

See: Proof the world is against me! Life is cruel and damp out there. MY VOW IS TO HIDE FROM EVERYTHING AS LONG AS POSSIBLE!