Back to the "real" storyline

I know that a lot of people are confused with where I left things a couple of weeks ago, but rather than drag down the beginning of the new story arc with a ton of exposition, I decided to just jump in and explain things as we go. Easier for me to write and draw, and hopefully a better read for you. But if you'd like an idea of what's going on (and what's to come) this strip should give you a big clue.

It's Here!

Too Many Notes is now available at the site store. 108 pages square-bound with a glossy cover stock, this trade paperback has all of the strips from 2006 plus the first 24 Suburban Tribe strips with commentary by moi.

If you wanted one of the print comics but balked at the price, this collection is a much better value. Grab one while you can. If you are here in Louisville, you should also be able to find them at Carmichael's Books and The Zone by the end of this week. And if you pre-ordered, your copy will be shipping out today or tomorrow.

Tiddies & Bitties

I was going to post this blog last Friday, but there were so many people commenting on the music entry, I didn't want to interrupt. (63 comments? I feel like one of the popular kids!)

The D&D version of Suburban Tribe is back, as promised, for a brief (2 weeks, max) story while I take a breath before diving back into my regular ongoing "epic."

Time to thank all of you for a few things. First, thanks to everyone for all of the music suggestions. It was heartening to see a lot of passion in so many of your recommendations. A lot of new stuff for me to look into, and surprisingly, a lot of overlap with stuff I already own, so maybe I'm not such a lost cause. I selected Jimmy Eat World, Portishead and Spock's Beard at random to start the week. And pandora.com is also impressive.

Secondly, thanks for sticking with the first story of 2007. I was really trying to wrap the thing up before the end of March, but I didn't make it in time, obviously. I'm glad that Britney's return got a reaction out of a few people, and that no one wrote to ask just who the heck she was. That means quite a few of you have been around this place for at least a couple of years. Cool.

Lastly, Too Many Notes is finally running on the printing press at Ka-Blam as I type this, so that means I should start shipping to customers who pre-ordered the book by this time next week (knock wood). Look for it on sale here on the site, and if you live here in Louisville, KY, Carmichael's Books and The Zone as well.

Please recommend some Music to me

Seeing as I spend 90% of my waking hours in my studio drawing, writing, designing and/or ActionScripting all by my little self, music plays a big part in keeping me company.

My problem is that my taste in music falls somewhere in between "Lame" and "Quirky" and I ran out of quirky music months ago. So, I need your help to keep me from drawing a face on an old volleyball, setting it on my desk and talking to it until my wife comes home every day. Here are the factors you need to consider before replying:

1. No rap or hip-hop. I'm whiter than a loaf of Wonder Bread, and I'll be 35 this summer. White guys with guitars, please.

2. I'm not really all that hip, so beware! The only 2 CDs I bought in college were Pearl Jam's Ten and STP's Core. Both were bought a few years after they came out.

3. Country music is fine, but please no Corporate country music. In other words, no one who wears a Cowboy hat, has a beard and sells a lot of CDs at Wal-Mart. Think Neko Case and Johnny Cash, for example.

4. New age and Orchestral/Instrumental music is cool, too.

5. Available through iTunes a huge plus.

Ok, that's it.

Does this make up for my Holiday Rant?

April 2nd: Better than Christmas.

I am so glad that April Fool's day fell on a Sunday this year. No one noticed that I locked myself in the house while I drew and napped all day, avoiding April-fricking-Fool's. God, how I hate it. An April Fool's joke, by definition, is one that requires a lie/set-up that gets the victim's hopes up about something then the perpetrator pulls the rug out from under the victim, which results in a "joke" that's only funny to the jerk that pulled the prank and/or told the lie. Said jerk then absolves himself of all responsibility for being an ass by saying "April Fool!" Agh, my teeth clench just thinking about it.

Halloween isn't that much better. Nothing gets on my nerves more than an adult who is really into Halloween and uses it as an excuse to scare other adults as well as small children with fake blood and guts and horror pranks and all that.

Easter's next on my list. Easter was fun until I got to catholic grade school, where I learned that the church drags out the holiday for six weeks as they tell six-year-old kids in gruesome snuff-film-like detail over and over, about Christ's final hours. Odd that the nuns in these schools will discuss these horrifying, grisly Roman rituals, but no one will tell these kids where babies come from.

"Mom, how did the baby get in your tummy?"

"Uh... why don't you ask Daddy to put Faces of Death IV in the DVD player again?"

You know what I give up for Lent every year? Jerks, idiots and sub-morons. I've never managed to get through the whole season without them coming back to me, though.