Archive for ‘web comics’
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So let me tell you about the weekend I had. First off, something you should know: I make this comic on a 9 year old desktop computer, which I’ve had since college and built myself. This computer hasn’t been online in 5 years. It’s only used for making the comic. It has several redundant hard drives to automatically backup the pages, but the thing’s old.
So, Friday night, when I got home from work and started plugging away on the next @$$hole! book (which will be out next year), the computer shut off. Like the power went out, except all of the other electronics in my place were just fine. Strange.
So I tried turning the computer back up, thinking it may be a brown out or something, and before Windows even has a chance to load – power shuts off again.
Thinking there may be some problems with the power supply, I resign myself to several truths:
1) I’m going to have to buy a new computer (and if I want to finish the book on time, I’ll have to buy one soon)
2) I’m not going to get any book work done this weekend
3) I’m not going to get any webcomic pages done this weekend, thus eating further into the already quickly depleting buffer
Now, thankfully I’m pretty sure the hard drives aren’t corrupted, and I have been backing up the files every month or so. However, I don’t have Photoshop on my new laptop, so I can’t work on the comic pages over the weekend. This is fine, because it gives me a chance to focus on some of the other projects I have coming out next year.
However, then Beth tells me her laptop update just locked her out, and she doesn’t have access to her files either. And this frustrates her to no end.
So I make a call and my good friend Brent – bless him – offers to take a look at her computer, and to help transfer all the files off my hard drives. So Sunday Beth and I go over to Brent’s and spend the bulk of the day there trying to hack into her laptop, and then we open up my PC.
Unfortunately, Windows 7 is pretty solid in its security and doesn’t allow for anyone to change passwords without an admin (which she didn’t have), so we recover the files from her laptop and then send the rest back to factory reset. My PC, on the other hand, was another story.
Upon opening the thing up, we hear a jingling around on the inside. Turns out, the bracket that holds one of the motherboard fans to the motherboard has broken, and the fan won’t stay connected. When the fan comes off the motherboard, the computer loses power to make sure the it doesn’t overheat. So we salvage another bracket from an old PC, swap them out, and BEHOLD – the PC works once again.
Now, I’m still going to be shopping for a new PC – this is just the first in what will no doubt be a series of things breaking down with age – but now there’s not so much urgency in the shopping process. And I can keep working on the comics and the book in the meantime. So this coming weekend is going to be spent making up for lost time on the comic pages (and the book), which is going to be a pain in the butt. But, that’s part of the game. Plus, the Haunted Cabin story is a lot of fun to work on.
See you Friday!
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Every year my family takes a “camping” trip to a national state park with other friends of the family. These pictures came from that park. The park is gorgeous, and even though we went in the fall this year, the leaves hadn’t really started to change color yet. In fact, they were a very vibrant green. A kind of green I haven’t seen since I’ve been in Ireland.
When going into a story like this, it’s usually a good idea to have the story plotted out first. Unfortunately, everything I had plotted out didn’t quite happen – so instead, I had to change the story in post. This is a good thing, actually, because I think it made the story stronger and funnier. In truth, it also allowed me to play with some new techniques, which you’ll see in later pages.
Until next time, my friends.
Well, it’s the final month of the year (close enough, anyway) and what better way to breach this year with the next than with an epic story arc where I try something new.
This cover filter isn’t the new thing, either (although it was fun). The cover was made trying to create the gritty look and feel of modern horror flicks. Or even making new covers to old horror classics. For some reason, someone in Hollywood’s marketing department things that film grain, scratches, desaturated color, and buckets of blood sell horror flicks.
Sure, it may sell a certain kind of horror (cough cough torture porn cough cough), but not necessarily good horror.
This story, well…this is a comedy. More like a cult classic. Inspired by Evil Dead. So if you enjoyed those flicks, then you’ll like where this is going.
As for me, trying out new techniques in the comic tends to be a little more time consuming. Plus, I have two big projects in the works that I’m going to be fishing out to publishers next year. It’s going to be an exciting time. But as something that’s taking up a bunch of my time, I’m going to get back to it. Happy (almost) December!
I wouldn’t say that my lifestyle has changed, although I was a very different person back in the day (ie: high school). I was a much less confident individual, and also was a lot more quiet. Some people may be saddened by the fact that I made a conscious effort to change. Mostly because now I can’t shut up.
As for the goth thing, this is true. After college I returned home and found that most of my friends had moved away or were still in school. Connecting with an old friend from middle school, she invited me out to a club that had different themes every night of the week. The club is called Necto, and Monday night was “Factory Night,” or “Goth Night.” And let me tell you, it was an eye-opener.
While I never dressed up in goth attire, I did enjoy the outfits people wore (or didn’t wear) to the club. I also dug the music, and it’s become some of my favorite to this day. Bands like Combichrist, VNV Nation, Celldweller, Flesh Field, The Azotic, and many many more. Go to the website link above to check out some of the music and pictures.
I mostly went to the club wearing a black a-shirt and black pants (what I called my “artsy outfit”), but most people there wore more traditional goth outfits. It was always interesting to see how extreme some of these outfits would get, or how creative some people got with their clothes / hair.
The DJ and I became good friends, and the bartender always poured strong for me. They had amazing drink specials ($2 long island ice teas until 11pm, and $2 vodka drinks all night), and special events like Goth Prom all the time. Always a fun time. I even met several of my current day close friends from there.
Overall it was a positive experience, and has affected my life in a significant way. I’d say I’m better off for it. But would I go to a goth club again today? Well, my friend has been encouraging me to find a club in the city….
Come on, like you didn’t see this coming? I foreshadowed it on the first page of this story arc….
Ultimately I just wanted to be buried in warm clothes that had just come out of the dryer. It’s like the greatest feeling in the world. Especially towels or blankets.
This is the end of the Laundry Day story arc. It was a lot of fun, and we may return to the clothing revolt at some point in the future. In the meantime, however, we have more amazing comics in the queue – so stay tuned!
Like the comic says, I’m a guest of honor this weekend at Kollision Con.
Other guests include fellow comic creator (and my good personal friend) Russell Lissau, as well as Johnny Young Bosch and his band Eyeshine, Samurai Dan, and Doug Walker.
It promises to be a fun weekend, so be sure to swing by and say hi. Russ and I will be hosting several panels throughout the weekend, and will be set up in Artist Alley selling our latest books.
Here’s my panel list for the weekend:
FRIDAY:
Making Webcomics – 10-11pmSATURDAY:
Reading with Pictures – 3-4pm
An Evening with Trevor Mueller – 10-11pm
It’s my last show for the year, and I want to go out with a bang! Thanks so much for your support, and I look forward to seeing you at the show!
See, most people go do other things while waiting for the laundry. I said this last week. Remember?
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This weekend I’ll be a guest of honor at Kollision Con in St Charles, Il along with fellow comic creator Russell Lissau (Shrek, Strawberry Shortcake). There are also a slew of other guests that will be at this show including Johnny Young Bosch (Power Rangers), Samurai Dan, Doug Walker (thatguywiththeglasses.com), and many more!
Be sure to stop by the show and say hi. Russ and I will be doing panels all weekend, plus we’ll have tables set up in Artist Alley with all our latest books.
I’m also going to have a number of panels throughout the weekend, which should be a total blast. Be sure to attend and have a laugh, be entertained, and maybe learn a little something.
FRIDAY:
Making Webcomics – 10-11pm
SATURDAY:
Reading with Pictures – 3-4pm
An Evening with Trevor Mueller – 10-11pm
It’s going to be my last show for the year, so I plan to go out with a bang! See you there!
White noise, as it’s often called, is that background sound you hear from a fan or, in this case, the washing machine. White noise makes me fall asleep. In fact, I have difficulty sleeping without white noise. But when white noise is in the room, I often start to dose off.
The AC kicks in during a meeting, the static from the TV turns on, the sound the train makes while going down the track…all of these things make me sleepy.
Now, the idea that someone would just stand by the washing machine waiting for the spin cycle to end is silly – which was kind of the point. Most people go read a book, watch a TV show, go running – or do anything else they can while the laundry is going.
However, that would distract from the story…and also not provide a joke here. Or at least, would provide a different joke. Plus, this page leads into the next…which ads to the joke.
There’s a lot of joking in sleep, apparently.
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Next week I’ll be a guest of honor at Kollision Con in St Charles, Il. It’s an anime show put on by many of the same people who do ACEN, which is my favorite show of the year.
Joining me will be fellow comic creator Russell Lissau (Shrek, Strawberry Shortcake), and a slew of voice actors and awesome people I can’t wait to see again or meet for the first time!
My panels for the weekend:
FRIDAY:
Making Webcomics – 10-11pmSATURDAY:
Reading with Pictures – 3-4pm
An Evening with Trevor Mueller – 10-11pm
It should be an awesome time, so be sure to swing by and say hi!
This is based on a joke I heard on the radio from a stand up comedian. I can’t remember the comedian’s name, but the idea was pretty funny.
I used to tell my friends about this joke in college. Then a guy friend of mine told me he enjoyed fabric softener (he had sensitive skin or something). Kind of ruined the joke. Killjoy.
In any case, since it was relevant to this story arc, I decided to resurrect it here. I, for one, don’t use fabric softener for this very reason. However, I would still be wearing khaki pants with cargo pockets today if my little brother wouldn’t harp on me for being a “fashion old fart” every time he saw me.
But that’s okay, I can still beat him at arm wrestling. And in the end, that’s what really matters.
I know it goes without saying, but don’t do this at home. I didn’t actually drink anything when shooting this. This is what they call “hollywood magic.” I’ve crafted the illusion of consuming a poisonous and foul tasting liquid. In reality, I just made faces.
When shooting this story arc, I was in fact doing laundry. It was what I had set the day aside for, and while working on it I figure “Why the heck not also make a comic about doing laundry?”
So I did, and now you’re reading it.
So this weekend is my birthday, and I’m celebrating in style: a 1920s themed murder mystery, taking place in a Chicago speak-easy (or, my apartment decorated like a speak-easy). It promises to be a fun time, and more importantly provides an opportunity for more picture adventures. Should be a fun time.
Hope you all have a great weekend, and see you again next week!