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Thursday, August 31, 2006

It's "No Blog Friday"!

Today's Comic

No Blog . . .

Just to let ya'll know, I won't be near a computer on Friday to update my blog. My wife and I are driving down to Virginia to visit her grandparents in Williamsburg. Should be good times.

In the meantime, feel free to send me e-mails, message me on Myspace, and drop notes in the forums. Tricia's grandparents have the internet, so I imagine I'll be on in the evenings.

We're coming home Monday night, so there may not be a blog on Monday, either. We'll wait and see. Just wanted to let you peeps know where I'll be and not to worry about me. :)

For the guitarists out there, check out this awesome Dave Matthews Band tab site. Tons of great tabs for almost all of his jams. Mostly his old skool stuff.

- Wes

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Wednesdablog

Today's Comic

Ideas . . .

I'm always getting ideas for comics, especially since I've been working with Viper. Before I signed on with the Viper peeps, I don't think I ever considered working on a comic book or graphic novel. I've always been a comic strip guy. But lately I've had a ton of ideas for a comic book and/or a graphic novel.

The frustrating thing is I don't have time to work on them. I'm so busy as it is working on YHT and having a full-time job that I don't have time to squeeze in these other, totally separate projects. But, one day, I hope to launch all these ideas on society. Until then, I'm going to take a page from Doug TenNapel's notebook:

I'm going to buy one of those small, plastic file cabinet thingies. My wife has one that she uses to organize all our bills and paychecks and stuff. I'm gonna get one of those things and put tabbed folders in there. I'm gonna put the ideas' titles on each of the tabs, so I'll basically have a folder for each book idea that I have. Whenever I have an idea that would compliment a specific story (and I have several story ideas in my head), I'll write the idea on a notecard or a scrap sheet of paper and toss it in the folder. Once I've got enough ideas for one story, I can sit down, sort through the ideas, and start compiling a script for it.

Even though I probably won't be writing a full graphic novel or comic book anytime in the forseeable future, I can at least get a jump start by keeping all my ideas organized. That way, when the time comes that I'm able to work on other projects, I could possibly have an entire story (or stories) ready to be drawn and published! Just thinking about it gets me stoked!

I will say this: it won't be too long before you guys see me do something outside of comic strips. It's nothing that I would call "major", but I've written a short story that will be published in a book Viper plans to publish next year. I'll be playing a small part in the book, but I'm excited about it because it'll be my first time working with long-form comics! That's all I'm saying about that. I probably said too much!

DVR . . .

DVR's are awesome. I don't know how Trish and I made it this long in our marriage without one. You can pause and rewind live TV, people! So far, we've recorded a few reality shows, an episode of Psych (which ended up being a pre-empted WWE program), Because of Winn Dixie, and Dane Cook's Tourgasm. It's an amazing machine, and I recommend that every family have one.

Casey and Scotty . . .

Casey and Scotty is a cute comic strip written by a father and son. What better way to bond than by writing comics together? Check it out! It's good times!

. . . .

Just a note to the peeps who've been requesting my friendship on Myspace: I've clicked "Approve" on all of your profiles over the past couple days, but for some reason you're not being added to my account. What's even weirder is your friend request goes away as though it approved. So, if you have the patience, keep requesting me until you see me in your friends list. :)

- Wes

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Reviewed!

YHT Vol. 1 Review at PopThought.com . . .
I have found most webcomics to be of a more insular and geeky nature, this one measures real life events and puts it down on screen or paper very well.
- Alex Ness
PopThought.com
Alex Ness over at PopThought.com had this to say about YHT in his review of Viper Comics. You can read the entire review by clicking here.

- Wes

Monday, August 28, 2006

Quick Blog!

Today's Comic

My Bad . . .

Sorry for the lack of blogs over the weekend, and the late blog today. I had to work 12 hour shifts on both Saturday and Sunday, and my brain was fried when I got home. Today, we received our new internet and cable service. Once everything was finally hooked up, Trish and I went out to eat with some friends. So now I'm back and I'm ready to shoot a quick blog!

I'll play catch up on Wednesday. There's some things I want to note about the Lost Episodes strips I published over the weekend.

Joe and Monkey . . .

I drew a guest strip for my friend Zach Miller. He writes the great comic strip, Joe and Monkey. Head on over there and check out my strip. JaM is a great strip, so you should read it everyday. :)

. . . .

Hope you guys had a good Monday. Stop by the message board and say, "Word to yo momma!"

- Wes

Friday, August 25, 2006

This Is The Last Stop

Today's Comic

Last Stop . . .

Today's blog is titled after the Dave Matthews Band song "The Last Stop". The reason I gave the blog such a title is because that is the song I am listening to right now, and it's hard to think of titles for these things.

Obadiah Parker . . .

Check out this dude singing a cover of Outkast's "Hey Ya". It frickin' gives me the chills, man!

If you liked that kickin' jam, check out the band's website.

The Coolest E-Mail I Have Ever Received Ever In My Entire Life . . .

I received, quite possibly, the most humbling message I have ever received on Myspace the other day. So humbling that I've had a hard time responding to it. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say to someone who says something so awesome. I thought I'd share the letter with you peeps because, you know, we're all family here.
Dear Wes

You most likely don't remember me but, my name is Dane and I remember you. When I was in elementary school at Zane Trace I watched you paint your cartoons on the old art room walls. Ever since that you where my idol growing up and I wanted to be a great artist like you. And now I'm trying to take some of my sketches and make something of them. So in short I just wanted to thank you for inspiring to become the artist I am today.


Dane
See? What the heck do I say in response to that?

Dane, I'm embarrassed to say that I don't remember you. I looked at your pictures on Myspace to see if your face looked familiar, but it's hard to tell because you have your hair dyed and you wear scary eye contacts. Which is all good, because scary eye contacts probably get you out of a lot of speeding tickets.

Seriously though, I wish you all the best in your art endeavors, and I hope you keep me posted on all your successes and failures. Feel free to send me some of your artwork. I'd love to see what you're up to. Unless you're a better artist than me. In that case, keep that sh*t to yourself. :)

FYI: When I was a junior and senior in high school, I would spend my afternoon study hall in the art room working on miscellaneous art projects that I made up myself (and I got credit for them because that's how awesome I was - they let me make my own curriculum). One of the projects I invented for myself was to draw on the art room walls.

On one wall I drew two aliens zap-frying a dude. They were saying something funny, but I can't remember what it was.

On another wall next to the bathroom, I drew a huge dude busting out of the wall and pointing at the bathroom door. There was a bunch of text above the guy (who had slicked back hair and a suit) that read something like, "Are your legs crossed in agony? Are you sweating bullets? Do you feel nauseated and bloated? Then you should GO TO THE BATHROOM!" That's not the exact text, but it was something like that.

My senior year I went around the art room with a Sharpie marker and drew on everything I could. I drew on chairs, desks, clocks, cabinets, everything. You see, they were pretty much going to destroy the art room the following year in order to add on to the school building, so I labeled everything I could. It was good times.

. . . .

Hope you guys had a great week. If you're cool, you'll stop by the message board and give me a yell.

- Wes

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Today's Comic

Slow News Day . . .

Nothing much to report today. My sister is moving to Minneapolis for a job, but, since she's the least favorite child, no one in the family really cares. Good luck, Lara!

Snake Bites . . .

Check out the new Viper Comics sketch blog, Snake Bites! Each week there will be a different theme, and several of the Viper creators will be contributing sketches to the site. I'm signed up and I plan on dropping some sketches in there from time to time, so make sure to check it out!

. . . .

Leave a note in the forum, suckas!

- Wes

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

A Change in Our Family

Trish and I have decided to take a big step in our marital relationship. We've done a lot of research on this next phase in our life together, but there are still a lot of unknowns. Despite that, we think we are mentally, physically, and spiritually ready to make the leap we're about to make . . .






We're changing cable and internet companies! We're finally getting a DVR!

- Wes

Monday, August 21, 2006

Monday's Blues

Today's Comic

Matthew McConaughey . . .

It's true. My wife doesn't think Matthew McConaughey is that attractive, even though he's been voted one of the best looking guys in the world by all the Hollywood magazines. If my wife doesn't think Matthew McConaughey is attractive, then what does she see in me?!

Boxcar Adds a Multiplex . . .

There's a new member among my Boxcar brethren in the form of Gordon McAlpin. Gordon creates the outstanding comic strip, Multiplex. To give you an idea of the Multiplex vibe, try to imagine if old skool Scary Go Round and Joe Loves Crappy Movies had a baby.

Speaking of Joe Dunn's Joe Loves Crappy Movies, it along with Mitch Clem's San Antonio Rock City have also been added to the Boxcar roster to replace the artists' respective discontinued strips. Wow, that was a mouthful. And I'm not sure my grammar was correct, but I don't care.

Titus . . .

Still watching my Titus DVDs. Gotta say they're all freakin' hilarious. My favorite characters are Dave and Ken "Papa" Titus. Those guys get the best lines.

. . . .

Hope you guys and gals had a great weekend. Stop by the message board or my Myspace page and leave me a note. :)

- Wes

Saturday, August 19, 2006

You'll Have That - The Lost Episodes: The First Submission!

Today's "Lost Episode"

"The Econo Is My Kinda Car" . . .

Wes' (Andy's) car-buying experience continues. I was flipping through my all my comic submissions, and I found that one of the only consistencies among all the submissions (and even in the strip now as it stands) is Andy's car. It's looked the same for the past three years. Of course, it is based on my car, so that's how that worked out.

- Wes

Friday, August 18, 2006

It's Friday, Yo

Today's Comic

Christopher Titus . . .

A while back I mentioned my discovering Christopher Titus' Norman Rockwell is Bleeding comedy special on Comedy Central. I really enjoyed the special, and I found out after watching it that Christopher Titus also had a TV show on Fox called Titus. The entire show was pretty much based off his entire Norman Rockwell act, and it's hilarious! It ran for three seasons before being cancelled.

Well, I went to Wal-Mart yesterday and bought the DVDs for seasons one and two. According to an interview with Titus in the "Extras" section, the show was cancelled for pushing the envelope and not for bad ratings. In fact, when the show was cancelled it had higher ratings than two other shows that Fox decided to keep, and was also nominated for an Emmy award. It is a very dark comedy in that it makes fun of emotional abuse, womanizing, death, suicide, infidelity, mental illness, etc., so it's easy to see why Fox might've been afraid of it lasting any longer. Still, it's a shame because that show was freakin' funny.

I haven't watched all the DVDs yet, but I've seen nine episodes so far. Lots of laugh-out-loud stuff.

Christopher Titus and I have something in common in that we base almost all of our comedy on our personal lives. Even though Titus is edgier than I'll ever be, it's still awesome to see someone pour so much of themselves into their creation.

. . . .

Hope you guys have had a great week. Enjoy the weekend while I'm at work slaving away to pay the bills. :(

- Wes

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Random Wednesday Things

Today's Comic

Operation Wizard Storm: Part 2 . . .

It's time to re-group our onslaught on Wizard Magazine. I've got two things that you crazy cats can do to help get YHT in the pages of Wizard.

First, you can send another e-mail to this address:

secretstash@wizarduniverse.com

Secret Stash is a section in Wizard that features indie comic books. Write an e-mail to that address and tell 'em to feature YHT Vol. 1!

Also, you can jump on this message board thread over at Wizard Universe.com and tell 'em to feature YHT in the Secret Stash. This thread was created specifically for Secret Stash requests, so request away!

Thanks, peeps!

Chicks Love YHT . . .

I received this comment on my blog yesterday from a lovely young lady named Dettie:
oh btw, i totally didn't know that my boyfriend ordered me a copy of your book. i got home today and it was just there sitting on my bed! xD it's just so cute and awesome~ XD
I've been getting a lot of awesome messages from ladies who enjoy my comic, which is totally awesome. Not only for me, but for the guys out there who want to get their girlfriends and spouses into comics.

Fellas, chicks are diggin' YHT. If you're trying to get a girl to like you, buy her my book and she will fall in love with you immediately!

Comic Prints . . .

Just a reminder that comic prints are available for fifteen bucks! Just send me an e-mail with a description of the strip you'd like, and I'll send thee a bill from PayPal for fifteen dollars. Once I receive your payment I'll race down to the copy center as soon as I can to get the print, and then rush to the post office to ship the print to you! It's as easy as that!

Of Wives and Cats . . .

My wife considers our cats to be "people". This is apparent because it's not uncommon to hear her refer to our two cats as "the kids" or "our daughters". When she makes these references I cringe inside. Not because I hate cats or anything - quite the opposite. But our cats are "cats". Not "people".

Another thing that my wife does (that I don't understand) is she talks to the cats. She talks to them as though they are listening. On top of that, she'll call for the cats. If you own cats you know you can't "call" for them. You can call for dogs and they'll come running. A cat, however, will come and see you on her own time. Cats have things to do; people to see. They don't have time to rush to you everytime you call for them.

I don't know if it's the fact that I've been living with my wife for close to three years, now, or what. But some of her "cat habits" are rubbing off on me. I still don't refer to the cats as "people", but lately I've noticed that I've been talking to them the same way my wife does.

A few weeks back, our youngest cat, Stella, had to go to the doctor for an annual checkup and to get her shots. The next day she was kinda weird acting, and I couldn't find her when I got up in the morning. I looked all over the house for that cat, and I found myself calling out Stella's name during my search. I knew full well that cat wasn't going to jump out and reveal herself the second she heard her name. Even if she did hear it, she was going to come out when she was good and ready. And that's exactly what happened. She appeared of her own volition, seemingly out of midair.

I've also been making weird sounds with my mouth when I pet the cats. For instance, if I'm giving the cat a quick back scratch as I walk up the stairs, I'll pucker my lips and make a sound something like, "chooka-chooka-chooka". Weird, I know.

Lately, I've even noticed that I've been talking to the cats like they understand English on a fifth grade level. I won't reveal the things I discuss with my cat, but I can assure you that they are all one-sided conversations.

So there you have it. The magic of marriage. The changes we make that we don't even see until the change has actually been made, and then we're like, "Oh, wow! I'm a cat-talker."

I guess it's official. It took her three years, but my wife successfully turned me into a "cat-talker". But I'll be damned if I ever refer to those cats as "children"!

. . . .

Hope everyone is having a fun week. Stop by the message board if you get a chance!

- Wes

Monday, August 14, 2006

Maladjusted Monday

Today's Comic

Sonic Commercials . . .

Every once in a while a television commercial comes along that totally brightens your day. These commercials inevitably become your "favorite" commercials that you recount with your peers around the water cooler at work.

I used to love the old Burger King commercials with the office characters. There was the one commercial in the series where one of the characters made up his own catch phrase which was "That's spicy!" Classic stuff.

Currently, my favorite commercials have been advertisements for the Sonic drive-thru restaurant. There's a series of these commercials featuring two dudes in a car who bicker over the awesome food they are eating at Sonic.

Well, the most recent commercial I've seen is an ad for Sonic's breakfast burritos. One of the guys in the car says that the chipotle sauce and jalapeno sauce are used to "separate the boys (points to his friend) from the men (points to himself)." His friend replies by saying that he's not a boy, while the first guy claims he never referred to the other as a "boy". The friend says, "You just pointed at me and said I was a boy." To which the first guy says, "I talk with my hands, Mike! I don't know! All I'm sayin' is that it separates the boys (points to his friend quite obviously) from the men (points to himself quite obviously)."

It's one of the funniest commercials I've seen in a long time. I quoted it all freakin' day yesterday.

Sufjan Stevens . . .

I've said it before and I'll continue to say it again and again: Sufjan blows my mind.

During my recent visit to Port Huron, Michigan, I picked up Sufjan's latest CD, Avalanche. The CD features a bunch of music that didn't make it on the Illinois record. It seems to me that the Illinois CD could have easily been a double disc.

One of the things I love about Sufjan's music is his use of female backup singers. I've always enjoyed soft female vocals, and Sufjan really emphasizes them in his music. These women don't sing like Christina Aguilera or Tina Turner; not soulful. The vocals are almost "airy". Kinda like when your mom would sing to you at night when you were a kid. It's very soothing.

Anyway, check out Sufjan. He's the bomb, yo.

. . . .

Hope you peeps had a great weekend. Stop by the message board and leave me a Shout Out. You won't have to use your Cingular Wireless phone (that was a Cash Cab reference).

- Wes

Sunday, August 13, 2006

You'll Have That - The Lost Episodes: The First Submission!

Today's Lost Episode

"I Need You To Buy This Car" . . .

The storyline involving the car purchase is loosely based on my experience purchasing my Volkswagen. Very loosely based. My dealer didn't try to sell me on an expensive sports car, but there was mention of massive down payments and preferred credit.

The next car I'm buying will be used. I'm sorry, that was politically incorrect. I meant "preowned".

Pro Tip: I used Sharpie markers for the panel borders for the first few submissions. I liked the bold look they gave the strip. Problem is, the Sharpie ink fades like crazy if it's exposed to the sun (so forget about hanging artwork on your wall), and the dried up ink on the side of my T-square would get very gummy and streak the artwork if I wasn't careful. Nowadays, the Sharpies are only used for book signings.

- Wes

Saturday, August 12, 2006

You'll Have That - The Lost Episodes: The First Submission!

Today's Lost Episode

"More Leg Room Than Your Truck" . . .

I know nothing about cars. I try to act like I know the lingo, but often times it just makes me look like a fool. Today's Lost Episode is no exception.

When I sent this first submission of comic strips to newspaper syndicates back in 2003, I also shipped this submission off to my good friend, Jef Mallett, for a critique. Jef, being a great mentor and one hell of a model American, gave me some wonderful advice concerning these strips. Among the tidbits of advice he gave me, Jef alerted me to the fact that the cylinders in a car engine are positioned either "in a line" or "in a 'V'". Never both as it would be impossible.

I could try to cover up my snafu by saying that the car salesman obviously doesn't know what he's talking about, and then hope that everyone feels comfortable with the disingenuous stereotype I've made. But it's much easier to let it go and claim the mistake as simply that - a mistake. A mistake made by a guy who knows nothing about cars but wants people to think he knows stuff about cars.

- Wes

Friday, August 11, 2006

The Saga Ends

Today's Comic

The Saga Ends . . .

Today marks the end of Andy's dream. So, for those of you who were getting sick of this storyline, you'll have regular YHT goodness all up in your grill starting on Monday. :)

If you remember, a few weeks back I was struggling with burn out (which, as I found out, has a different meaning to me than it does to others). Around that time I was reading Doug TenNapel's blog, and he wrote about his newest book Iron West. He said that whenever he gets ready to write a new graphic novel, he thinks about what he wants to draw before thinking about what he wants to write. With Iron West, he wanted to draw a bunch of robot cowboys. Now that the book is complete, he has no desire to draw robot cowboys anymore.

So when I sat down to erase my boredom with YHT, I thought about things I wanted to draw rather than jokes I wanted to tell. As it turned out, I wanted to draw and write a medieval/fantasy story. Now that I've told that story, I really don't have any desire to draw a fantasy story anymore. In fact, I'm pretty stoked to get back to regular YHT strips - I've got some pretty cool stuff coming up. :)

I hope you guys enjoyed the past couple weeks' strips. I know it was a change of pace, but I'm very proud of them.

Katie . . .

Scott Kurtz wrote an excellent blog about his character, Jade, today. He mentions that he feels he doesn't give Jade enough justice in her strip; that she's simply become a "reactionary" character.

It's funny that Scott mentions this, because I've been having the same feelings about Katie lately. I think Katie is an awesome character, but more often than not she simply exists to react to something stupid that Andy has done.

I really want to flesh out Katie's character in the near future. I want to establish her as more than just an impatient wife - there's much more to her than that. Emaline needs some love, too. So expect something to happen with my female characters in the not-so-distant future.

YHT Vol. 2 . . .

Well, I've received word that the next volume of YHT (aptly titled You'll Have That Vol. 2) will cost $5.95 as opposed to $4.95 for the first book. The reason for the price increase? Eighty pages instead of sixty-four!

I told Viper that I was now drawing more strips than we could collect in two semi-annual sixy-four page volumes. So they upped the page count to 80 which should allow me to fit all the strips and toss in some cool bonus stuff, too.

Now to figure out the bonus material . . . hmmmm . . . .

Speaking of books, is anyone having trouble reordering a book from their local comic shop? Please let me know! Leave a note on this blog, drop me an e-mail, hit me up on the message board . . . whatever. I've heard some people complain about not be able to reorder, and I'm trying to get to the bottom of it.

The Norm on Myspace . . .

One of my favorite comic strips of all time, The Norm, is now on Myspace! This isn't a fan site, either. The page is owned and operated by Michael Jantze himself! So go add Michael to your friends list ASAP! Not only is Michael one of the best cartoonists alive today, but he's also very accessible!

. . . .

I hope you guys and gals have had a great week. Stop by the message boards if you get a chance.

Also, comic prints are permanently available!

- Wes

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Blog Dump

Today's Comic

Lots o' Stuff . . .

I've been out of town visiting family all weekend, hence the lack of a blog on Monday. Fortunately, I have a nice recap of the weekend, but first let's get some business out of the way . . .

YHT Vol. 1 and Penny Arcade at Amazon.com . . .

Right now, you can purchase You'll Have That Vol. 1 and Penny Arcade: Attack of the Bacon Robots together for $14.92! Just click here and scroll down to the heading "Better Together". That's a crazy deal, people!

Weddings and Such . . .

This past weekend, my wife and I traveled to Port Huron, Michigan to witness the marriage of my mother-in-law, Patty Miller, to her new husband, Nelson Finley. Not only did we have a great time at the wedding, but we also had a great time running around all weekend to visit friends and family. If you'd like to see pictures from the weekend, just click here.

Here's a quick summary of the events from this past weekend:

- Patty and Nelson's wedding was pretty rad, despite the lack of dancing at the reception. The food was great, and I got to meet some cool people. One of those cool people was Dr. Makim, Patty's boss. He's a big fan of YHT, and he's also an avid gamer. We talked about my comic and video games for a little while, and I gave him a copy of my book. He's a good egg.

- After the wedding and the reception, we went home and watched V for Vendetta. It was my second time seeing the movie, and it was still pretty good the second time through.

- On Saturday, we visited Tricia's Uncle Paul and Aunt Kim. They recently bought a new house, so they gave us the grand tour of the place. I gave 'em a copy of the book, and then we headed out to get some food. We stopped at a place called Mancino's which makes some killer subs. After lunch we headed over to Sarnia, Ontario via the Blue Water Bridge. We ate at a place called East Side Mario's, and then we went to Centennial Park to watch my brother-in-law play drums with his band. They rocked the house.

- After the concert, Trish and I drove back to Port Huron to visit her friends at a bonfire. We had a nice time, and I ended up getting in a lengthy, yet civil, discussion about embryonic stem cell research. Consequently, Tricia became very bored and tired.

- Sunday, Tricia went to lunch with some girlfriends while Spencer*, Dallas*, and I went to Best Buy and a local car dealership. I bought the new Dashboard Confessional CD, and the new Sufjan Stevens CD. Both are quality. At the dealership, we checked out the Pontiac G6's, because I think they're pretty rad.

*Spencer and Dallas are my bros-in-law.

- Sunday night, we went out to dinner with a few of Tricia's friends from the bonfire. We hit up Ruby Tuesday's, and I made an extremely unhealthy salad at the salad bar. Then we discussed how restaurants should provide the tin cup whenever you order a milkshake. Afterwards, I went home and crashed while Trish spent more time with her friends.

- Monday was a big day. While Tricia had her hair cut, I ran errands with her dad, Jim. Then we went to the car dealership again so I could test drive a G6. I really liked it.

- After the test drive, we met Tricia, Spencer, Dallas, Danielle (Spencer's girlfriend), and Jessica (Nelson's daughter and our new sister and sister-in-law) at KOA. We played putt putt, raced go karts, and hit the batting cages. My back and arms are still sore from swinging that bat!

- Once we finished up at KOA, we headed to Jim's storage unit to move some stuff out. Uncle Paul met us there with his truck, and we shared a lot of jokes at Jim and Paul's expense. Afterwards, we headed back to Paul's house for pizza, and we watched Hell's Kitchen.

- When we got home after eating at Paul's, Spencer, Dallas, and I watched The Amityville Horror (the new one). I thought it was pretty good.

- Tuesday morning I packed up the car for our return trip to Ohio. Before we left, we had lunch with Tricia's grandparents at Big Boy. I had a milkshake with a tin cup, but the tin cup had hardly any milkshake in it. It was as if the Big Boy was laughing in my face.

All in all, we had a great trip to Port Huron! It was a beautiful time of year to visit, and the weather was perfect all weekend.

Moira Quirk . . .

I flicked on the TV last night before going to bed, and I noticed that our cable provider added a bunch of new channels over the weekend. One of those channels is Nick GaS, which has all the old school Nickelodeon game shows like Double Dare and Legends of the Hidden Temple.

Well, last night I watched a block of the show Guts with Mike O'Malley (who's now on Yes, Dear) and Moira Quirk. I was curious as to what both of these actors had been up to since Guts ended, and it turns out that Moira Quirk is a comedienne. You can check out her website and a bunch of comedy clips at her website: www.moiraquirk.com.

. . . .

Hope you guys and gals have had a good week. Drop me a note on the message board if you get the chance. :)

- Wes

Sunday, August 06, 2006

You'll Have That - The Lost Episodes: The First Submission!

Today's Lost Episode

"Brotherhood" . . .

Another strip about how the relationship between two friends gets messed up when a lady enters the equation. There are several strips in this submission that showcase that dynamic.

It's interesting to note that, in these strips, Andy (or Wes in this submission) is the "straight man" while Steve is the guy who gets all the jokes. Whereas now Andy is the funny guy while Steve is more of the "straight man".

- Wes

Saturday, August 05, 2006

You'll Have That - The Lost Episodes: The First Submission!

Today's Lost Episode

"Apparently Nothing Important . . ."

In my first submission to newspaper syndicates, the characters of Andy and Katie were actually named Wes and Tricia. I thought it would be cool to have my wife (then my fiancee) and I as the stars of the strip. However, after I had sent this submission in, I realized that keeping our real names in the strip would attach us to the characters' actions a little too much. There was a lot of fiction in these strips (and there still is), and I didn't want people to automatically assume that Tricia and I participated in the same things that our "fictional" selves did. So, in the second submission, I reverted back to calling the male lead "Andy" and I created the name "Katie" for the female lead.

As it turns out, I'm a huge fan of Michael Jantze's comic strip, The Norm. So much so that this submission was almost a direct rip-off of Mr. Jantze's gimmick: his main character is always breaking the fourth wall. This first submission of mine is the only submission where my characters broke the fourth wall, and I've never considered using that tool ever again. I think that most of the time when a comic breaks the fourth wall, it turns out pretty cheesy. The Norm is able to pull it off in a way that compliments the overall feel of the strip and actually makes the strip very fun to read. I didn't accomplish that, so I quickly dumped it. Plus, I didn't want everyone thinking I was a Norm knock-off, though I still tend to get that comparison. At least it's not a blatant rip-off like this first submission. :)

Today's strip references the reaction that most guys have when their buddies reveal they are engaged to be married. It's always a big deal for guys. I had a bunch of guy friends, and we were all in the same pursuit to find a girl. But when one of us found one and became committed, the rest of the group didn't understand the attraction. Perhaps it was jealousy. Or perhaps it was the fact that we were losing another partner in the crime of pursuing young ladies. Whatever it was, it always made the newly committed friend feel like crap.

- Wes

Friday, August 04, 2006

Reviewed!

The Indy Comic Review website gave YHT Vol. 1 a unanimous four-star review! You can check out the complete review by clicking here.

- Wes

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Wednesday's Randomness

Today's Comic

Catchin' Up . . .

It feels good to know that I'm back on schedule with my comics. A few weeks ago I fell behind and I was posting the strips a day before they were to appear on the site. I don't like that. I like to have some leeway in case something happens or I want to have a "lazy" day. So now I'm back to a week ahead just the way I like it.

I'm even thinking about working even farther in advance. I bought a drawing board so I can sit in the bedroom with my wife and watch TV while drawing my comics. That's really added to productivity, too. A two week buffer would be pretty rockin' . . . I'm gonna have to think about that. :)

FYI - For the first few months of the comic's existence, I was a month ahead on all the strips. :)

Andy's Dream . . .

It seems that the current storyline is being enjoyed by most of you despite my worries that most people would not be sure how to take it. When the story is all done, you peeps will have to tell me what you thought of the whole story. If I feel you guys really enjoyed it, I may do another even more epic adventure in the future . . . :)

Amazon.com . . .

Just so you cats know, you can pick up a copy of YHT Vol. 1 for $2.99 at Amazon.com! Just click on the Used and New button and you can see all the discounted prices on the book!

. . .

Hope everyone is having a great week. Stop by the forum and give me a yell.

- Wes


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