I love the last panel in today's strip. Good job, me.

I have a small, pseudo-awesome announcement to make on Monday, so come on back and we'll chat about it. :)

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

My wife is out of town this week visiting Chicago with her mother and her aunts. During the short time I've been married I've come to realize that women like to have periodic "girl days" where a bunch of them get together and visit the mall or something. Sometimes these "girl days" turn into "girl weekends", and, in my case, they have evolved into "girl weeks". I have no problem with my wife going on these excursions, in fact I encourage them. But I have yet to get a phone call from my dad saying, "Wes. I just gotta get out of town, son. Let's you, me, Grandpa, cousin Vince, and my buddy Jeff all go to the mall in Columbus. We'll eat at Brio and we'll just talk. We'll just talk it out. I gotta get away for a few hours."

Before Trish left to meet her mom in Michigan, she suggested that I take a week's vacation from work while she's away. She didn't have to tell me twice. So now it's day three of my vacation, and I'm having a great time so far. Loneliness hasn't kicked in yet, but I'm expecting it any day now.

I've been home by myself before while Tricia was away visiting family, so it's nothing new for me. In fact, I kind of look forward to these days I have all to myself. I get to do all the stuff I want to do without having anyone to whom I need to justify my actions. For instance, while Trish is gone I'm eating whatever the heck I want to eat regardless of the health risks or time of day. Candy bars at eleven o'clock PM? Delicious! In fact, late night candy bars taste better than mid-afternoon/early evening candy bars! I suggest everyone try it!

On Monday, I ate two steaks. That's right. Two of 'em. Plus a pot full of Lipton rice. It was amazing. Yesterday, I ate dinner at my mom and dad's house, so yesterday's meal doesn't really count as it wasn't that adventurous. Today, I'm ordering pizza AND breadsticks from Donato's Pizza. Donato's is my favorite pizza, but Tricia doesn't like it very much so we hardly ever get it. But Trish is out of town this week, so I'm gonna get my Donato's on! Tomorrow I'm grilling up some chicken breasts, and on Friday I think I'll grill some massive hamburgers with lots of cheese. On Saturday, I'm picking up Tricia from the airport and we're going to eat at Outback Steakhouse (Aussie Cheese Fries pack 1300 calories! No lie!). From Sunday to next Friday I'm fasting.

Well, my coffee's done and I've got some comics that aren't gonna draw themselves. Time to get back to work. People are discussing the Steve/Emaline storyline in the message board. Check it out, playa.

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

Alright, guys. I think I'm through the worst of it. I felt pretty good on Saturday, but I took the opportunity to rest all day before going back to work. Then on Sunday my fever returned and I felt horrid again. But today I feel pretty much back on track despite a little bit of a cough. I can handle that, though.

I posted Friday's strip today, and I'll try to post another twofer on Wednesday. That should get us all caught up on things around here. I appreciate everyone's patience while I recovered from my near-deadly illness.

In other news, the Litterbox Chronicles is back in first place in the Zuda competition! But the race is very close, so make sure to go vote for LBC if you haven't already! There's only a week left in the competition (the last day of the contest is Monday, March 31)! If you've already voted, why not tell your friends and family members to check it out, too? You could even blog about it! That would be extremely rad! Thanks for all the support!

- Wes

I do appreciate all the support LBC has received this month

Labels: News, Randomness

Sorry for the lack of a comic strip today, but I'm sick as a dog. I started feeling the symptoms of a cold on Wednesday, and by Thursday those symptoms had elevated to a temperature of 103, body aches, and no energy whatsoever. I spent the entire day yesterday in bed. The only time I got up was to take a shower. I feel better today, but I'm still pretty exhausted and achy. I'm gonna try to get a comic posted, if not today then definitely by tomorrow.

Again, I'm really sorry. I appreciate all of your patience especially since we're in the middle of a clutch cargo storyline.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go lay on the couch for a while. :)

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

There won't be a new strip up until later Wednesday evening. Our flights from Minneapolis to Columbus were delayed all day, and we didn't get home until 7:15 PM. I had an important phone call at 8, and by the time that was over I was too tired to stare at bristol board for a few hours. So I've decided to relax for the rest of the evening.

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

I've been reluctant to bring this up, but I can't stand it any longer. There's been a bunch of drama going down at my Litterbox site, and now a dude is trying to get me kicked out of the competition. He's even reported me to DC. If you like drama, and I know you do, go check out the comments section of Litterbox Chronicles.

I need an aspirin . . .

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

I'm a "tight" penciler. When I'm doing the pencils for the comic strip, I make sure to draw every single detail that I want inked. This allows me to have a pretty good idea of what the finished strip will look like before I start throwing inks on it. Some people don't like to tight pencil - they're "loose" pencilers. They just swipe out sketched panels and do most of the dirty work in ink. I guess it helps make the inking process feel less like "tracing" and more like "drawing". I don't trust myself with an ink pen. When I'm drawing with a pen I try to draw like I would with a pencil, and the results are usually horrendous.

The problem I have with tight penciling is this - a lot of my best drawing occurs during the penciling stage, but when I go to inks I tend to lose a lot of the vibrancy of the pencils. I think it's because I ink much differently than I pencil. Penciling is fun and spontaneous! Sometimes I get into a zone and I can kick out a stack of brilliantly-penciled strips in a short amount of time. The inking process is much different. It's slower and more precise. I have to plan ahead for each stroke, and I try to keep a much steadier hand in order to get the line I want. So a lot of the spontaneity of the penciling stage gets lost in the precise control of the inking stage.

However, lately I feel that my inking is starting to look better than my pencils at times. And that makes me feel great! For instance, when I was penciling today's strip I was NOT in a zone. I wasn't enjoying the drawing process, and the pencils were kind of a chore. That happens from time to time. So when I was done penciling, I stared at my comic thinking how I could've made it look so much better. Unfortunately (or fortunately - depends on how you look at it), there's not a lot of time to make edits when you're drawing a daily (or semi-daily) comic strip. So I swallowed my pride and started inking. When I finished inking, I was surprised to see that the strip actually looked better than when it was in the pencil-stage! Granted, it's not the most ground-breaking artwork I've ever created, but it's not something I'm ashamed to put up for your viewing pleasure, either!

Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you. You know, you work on this stuff for 3-plus years and it's exciting when you notice any kind of improvement in your technique. :)

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

I bought a PSP over the weekend, and it is awesome. However, I have a problem. I went to psp.connect.com to download some free demos and videos, but I have to download the Playstation Software manager to import the files to my PSP. Usually not a problem, but it turns out the software only works with a PC! This is the first Mac-ostracization I've experienced and it hurts me to the core!

Any other PSP/Mac owners out there? Is there a workaround?

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

I periodically go through these phases where I think everything I create horribly sucks. In all likelihood it probably does, but there are times when I actually think I'm pretty good at this cartoonin' thang - and those are good times. I relish those times. Sadly, those times are few and far between.

I spend most of my creative time in a sort of stasis - not really hating or loving my work. I'm satisfied with my creation(s) and feel they are worthy of public viewing, but I rarely feel as though I really knocked something out of the park. It's a good state to be in because it keeps me striving to be a better cartoonist while not keeping me up at night.

But every once in a while I'll go through a stage where I feel like I'm a lousy hack. It could be that this stage is the "truthful stage", but that's another discussion for another time. When I'm in this stage I tend to look at my work with complete disappointment. I look at my older cartoons and I'm even more critical of the mistakes I see. Then I start thinking about all the other extremely talented cartoonists out there and how they blow me away with their abilities, and it all leaves me with a pretty dismal feeling.

I've been feeling this way lately.

In spite of all this, I received some good news concerning another project I've been working on. It's nothing fantastic, but I was excited and I decided to call my parents with the news. My Dad answered and gave me one of his awesome pep talks which totally brought me out of my funk.

When I got off the phone with my Dad, I started thinking about all the pep talks he gave me while I was growing up. One pep talk stuck out in my memory rather clearly:

I used to have bullies in elementary school, and I can remember coming home from school one day and I was crying because they had tormented me all the way to my block. Despite the fact that the "tormentors" rarely used physical violence (it was mostly empty threats), my Dad decided it was time to teach me how to defend myself. He showed me the proper way to make a fist (don't hold your thumbs), how to hold my hands to guard my face, how to use my elbows, and a couple of kicks for good measure. I don't know if he was serious about me knowing all these moves, or if it was just to lift my spirits and keep me entertained (we laughed a lot during our little practice). Either way, I went to school the next day feeling like a freaking ninja! That is until my bullies started ridiculing me again. It wasn't long before I was right back to feeling like an idiot.

And that's what will probably happen in this situation. In fact, I know it will. My Dad gave me one of his best speeches last night over the phone, and it really did wonders for my morale. But all it's gonna take is one semi-negative e-mail from a reader or a less-than-stellar book review or some lingering feelings of inadequacy to make me feel like a "faker" again. Such is the life of a creative person.

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

I decided to bring back the guy we love to hate - Omar! If you're new to the strip and you're not acquainted with the enigma that is "OMAR", please click here and read through the strips chronicling Omar's decent into evilness. The storyline was a controversial one, but most everyone agreed that Omar sucks. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I can safely tell you that Omar will continue to suck.

Enjoy!

In other, unrelated news, I purchased my copy of Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, the fourth volume in the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series, and I will hopefully receive it in the mail in the next few days. In celebration of this purchase, I re-read the first three Scott Pilgrim books and was immediately reminded why I'm so in love with this series. Brian Lee O'Malley has done a remarkable job of blending slice-of-life situations with the purely fantastical.

Furthermore, O'Malley has cemented himself as one of the handful of creators who get me jazzed about drawing and creating. He joins the list along with Bill Watterson, Doug TenNapel, Craig Thompson, and Scott Kurtz (I know a lot of people might accuse me of kissing Scott Kurtz' @$$ all the time, but I'm not gonna sit here and B.S. you guys that the dude DOESN'T inspire and influence me).

In creative news, I was recently re-commissioned by my local phone company and I'm trying to write a graphic novel. The phone company gig should help pay for a Dyson vacuum cleaner (can you believe it, Mom?! I'm using my "play" money to buy a vacuum cleaner!) and the graphic novel is proving to be both challenging and fun. I hope I stick with it.

Leave me comments and message board posts. I love reading them, and I have a little more time to respond to them now. :)

Kisses.

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

I bought my wife an 8GB iPod Nano for Christmas, and she loves it. Since neither of us have a cassette deck in our cars anymore, I bought her an FM transmitter so she could listen to her iPod in the car. Problem is, it sounds like crap. There's too much interference and several of the songs sound like they're being played inside a tin can.

Anybody have any tips on playing an iPod in the car? Are certain FM transmitters better than others? Please share any info you may have!

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

My wife and I bought a condo and we moved into it last March. Actually, it was the very end of March, and we weren't really "settled in" until mid-April.

It's been a wonderful adjustment moving into a condo association after several years of living in an apartment complex behind a shopping mall. Things are much quieter living in a condo, mainly because most of the people who live here are really old and retired. The kind of people who wake up at 5 in the morning and are in bed by 7 or 8 in the evening. When Trish and I lived in an apartment, our neighbor was a guitarist in a local heavy-metal band and his home was the site of many "post-gig" parties. Not only was it loud, but my wife was often upset to find her parking spot taken by one of the many party-goers celebrating next door. So moving into the condo was a wonderful choice for us. We can enjoy many of the benefits of apartment living (no mowing, no water bills, etc.), we're finally building equity, and our neighbors are too old and crusty to rock out in heavy-metal bands.

Across the street from us lives the Kessler family. Unlike most of the people that live around here, they're a young family. The Kesslers are one of those families that, when you look at them, you say to yourself, "I want a family just like that." Mr. Kessler was a principal at a local Catholic elementary school, and his wife is a stay-at-home mom. They have two daughters - 7- and 4-years-old, and they're cute as buttons.

This past summer was a lot of fun because Mr. and Mrs. Kessler would often be seen outside with their kids playing baseball, riding bikes, and taking walks. They hung out at the pool, and Mrs. Kessler headed up the condo association's "Entertainment Committee". You can tell this family loves each other and they are a prominent feature to our little community.

Yesterday morning, Mr. Kessler died unexpectedly at his home. He was 35.

I didn't know the Kesslers, and I never really talked to them other than the occassional, "How ya doin'?" when Trish and I walked past them during one of our evening walks. But Mr. Kessler's death is something that has hit Trish and I both really hard.

We live in a society that doesn't really advocate family values anymore. If someone tries to make a stand for traditional family values, they are made to look like ignorant sexists who are stuck in the 1950s.

But here we had a family that, for all intents and purposes, fit the bill of a "traditional family". Mr. Kessler went to work as a school principal. Mrs. Kessler stayed at home and took care of the house and the kids. And they were happy! Gosh dang it, they were happy! Those little girls were funny as heck to watch when they were playing in the pool or at the playground! Mr. Kessler would take those girls on walks around the neighborhood - the girls dressed in fancy hats, boas, and plastic jewelry overtop jean jackets and purple sweatpants. It was the kind of thing you'd see on the front of a Hallmark card.

Losing a family member sucks for everyone, but I feel the worst for the kids. Mrs. Kessler is a woman and she's resilient. In time, she'll be able to move on. But it'll take longer for the girls. Girls need their daddies. Girls need daddies to show them what kind of men they should look for when they start dating and, eventually, start a family. And Mr. Kessler was a fine example of the kind of man every girl should be looking for.

I hugged my wife extra hard today and gave her a kiss on the cheek. I told her I loved her and I made sure to thank her for making dinner. It's stuff I should be doing everyday, but, like most "easy" stuff, it gets neglected. If God decides to take me early in my life, I hope I can leave half as much of a legacy as Mr. Kessler.

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

The first comic book my mother ever bought for me was Batman - Shadow of the Bat: The Last Arkham No. 2. The issue date is July 1992 - I was 12 - and the price is a mere buck fifty. She bought it for me during a visit to the local RiteAid drug store.

I have the book bagged and boarded and sitting in a shortbox with the rest of my small collection of comic books. The comic is in pretty good shape, but the spine is pretty worn from where I would hold the book open on a certain page while I re-drew the artwork inside. I can still remember certain panels quite vividly, and while flipping through the pages I was instantly reminded of all the time spent trying to find a panel that would be fun to draw.

You see, this is when I discovered Norm Breyfogle. He was an excellent comic book artist back in the early nineties who used a thick, broad line. You could tell he used a brush, too, because some of his lines just looked dirty. I loved the look of it, and I would spend hours trying to emulate the style with a number two pencil. Have you ever tried to "draw" inked brush lines? It can be a tedious process, my friend.

After Batman, Norm went on to draw the comic book Prime for Malibu Comics. Do you guys remember Malibu? That publisher lasted all of ten minutes.

Anyway, Norm Breyfogle is the man. Anybody know what he's up to these days? Is he still kickin' it in the comics industry? Norm, if you're readin', thanks for inspiring me as a kid! You're great at what you do!

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

I had a really productive weekend. It was very satisfying, mainly because it's been awhile since I've been able to say that. Granted, the holidays were busy and I guess you could say I was pretty productive from October through the beginning of January, but that "production" wasn't really doing anything to stroke my creativity. Commissions are fun to do and they certainly helped pay for my new computer, but once the work is done it's just sort of . . . done. Easily forgotten about.

So for the New Year I've vowed to start working on some of these other ideas I've had percolating in my brain over the past few years. That's one of the reasons I decided to reduce the publishing schedule for YHT - so I could have time to work on some of this other stuff.

Over the weekend I finished the submission package for my first new project. I'm proud of the cartoon, but at the same time I'm worried that it might not be good enough to get noticed by the "powers that be". I've come to find out that's a worry that every creator has no matter how established he/she may be. But I'm trying to stay optimistic. If it doesn't get picked up it's no big deal. It wouldn't be the first time my submissions have received a rejection. I've got several more ideas where that one came from, so I'll just keep plugging away.

For the record, I'm really not comfortable talking about this new comic strip yet. Mainly because if it doesn't get picked up by a publisher I really don't know if I want to pursue it independently. Maybe in a few weeks I'll divulge some more information, but for now I'm gonna keep tight-lipped about it. I pretty much just want you guys to know that I'm not squandering ALL my extra time playing Guitar Hero.

So now that I've finished the submission package for this new strip, I'd like to start thinking about another project that I have in mind - a graphic novel.

I've been wanting to write a graphic novel for quite some time now, but the idea just seems so daunting that I didn't know where to start. I visited some of my favorite artist's and writer's websites trying to get any tips I could find on creating graphic novels. I've bought a book on how to create them, and I study a stack of my favorite GNs to see how the creators approach the introduction/set up, plot, climax, and conclusion.

The scariest part about creating a graphic novel is the idea of writing the thing. Where do I start? What process do I follow to write it? Should I do multiple drafts? Doug TenNapel carries around note cards to scribble down plot points as he thinks of them. Then he arranges them in chronological order to help when writing the script. Other writers simply start by writing the script with complete panel descriptions and dialogue.

I like TenNapel's method, but I didn't like carrying around a small stack of note cards. I'm one of those guys who hates having a bunch of crap in his pockets, and having those note cards in my pocket along with my wallet and chap stick was a little too much.

I also don't like the idea of writing a script. I get bored typing on a computer for a long period of time, and since I'm the writer AND the artist I don't really need to lay out panel descriptions for myself. I already know what I want the panels to look like.

So I decided to attack the graphic novel the same way I'd attack my comic strip. I bought a new notebook - college-ruled - and I'm going to start thumbnailing everything out in the book. I already have the basic plot all figured out; it's just a matter of getting it on paper.

So that's the goal for the next month - write out a graphic novel. I'm assuming it'll take a month, but it may take longer. Once I finish with the writing, I'll move on to the art and we'll go from there.

Unfortunately, I've probably wasted too much energy talking about "wanting" to do the project that I'll never actually do it. You guys can hold me accountable. :)

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

YHT was recently received a nice little review over at iFanboy.com. Go check it out to see what the iFanboy peeps had to say about You'll Have That.

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

Applying for jobs on the internet can be a joke, because half the time I don't even think a human looks at your application. If the criteria in your resume and application don't perfectly meet the standards they're looking for, then your application is filtered out by some web program that generates an e-mail saying, "Thanks for applying, but you don't have the necessary qualifications for the job." Truth is, I probably don't have the necessary qualifications for some of the jobs I've been applying for, but I'd rather hear it from a human than a computer.

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

Now that winter is in full swing, my basement office has been feeling the bite of the cold temperatures. It's not uncommon to find me at my drawing table wearing two layers of t-shirts and a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up. My hands and fingers get so cold that, when I touch her, my wife thinks I've been outside.

My beloved wife, being the angel that she is, brought home a small, 1500 watt electric heater for my office. It works very well, but for some reason it keeps tripping a breaker. My first thought was that I had too many things plugged into one outlet, so I moved it to another outlet in my office. Still, the breaker would trip. So I gave up on the heater and went back to layering up.

Well, it's six degrees outside today, and my office was FREEZING this morning. So I pulled out the heater, plugged it in, and began cruising the net as the heater did its "thang". The second I thought the heater would work without interruption - *CLICK* - the breaker trips plunging the basement into darkness.

I was frustrated and cold. I couldn't find the flashlight so I used my cell phone backlight to find the breaker, pressed it (we've got one of those old "Pop-o-Matic" fuse boxes), and the lights came back on filling the basement with the hum of electricity.

The battle was not over. Not this time.

Trish dug out an extension cord, and we plugged the heater into an outlet in the adjacent room where the dog sleeps. Apparently this did the trick because I've been sitting in my cozily warm office for a couple hours now.

That's it. This story has no climax. Deal with it.

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

When I got to work this morning, I was told by a fellow employee that there was a meeting in our conference room. I changed my shoes and grabbed my safety gear, clocked in, and walked into the large conference room where all our meetings are held. The room was packed with employees - several guys from the previous shift, a small group from the facility next door, and a few salary people.

After a few minutes, the side door of the conference room opened and a small procession of the "corporate elite" slowly lumbered through the door. It was very quiet; the expressions on the faces of these men were set and somber.

One of the corporate guys, an HR rep from company headquarters, stood at the front of the conference room and told us how great of a job our facility has done over the years. However, in spite of our excellent workmanship, the company has decided to close the doors on our facility in order to save money. The first round of layoffs begin in May, and the doors are expected to finally close in November.

What a way to start 2008 . . .

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

Here Ya Go, Trish . . .

My wife, Tricia, has been yelling at me to write a new blog post. So here it is. My apologies for letting the blog fall to the wayside here in early 2008. Please don't hate me.

Twitter . . .

I've been Twittering like a fool. If you don't know what Twitter, go check it out and sign up immediately. It's addictive. I've been using a program called Twitterific on my Mac, which allows me to keep my Twitter list in a separate window. I'm constantly up-to-date on my Twits! My wife doesn't understand the point of Twitter. I find it addictive!

I've also added a Twitter feed to the website. You can see it on the right side of the blog where the WesCast used to be. Now you can be constantly updated on the crap I'm doing throughout the day!

"The Loft" Audio . . .

Remember back in October when I spoke at a local church about my faith and my comics? I promised you guys that we'd get some audio and video from the evening and I'd share it with you. Well, I finally received the audio and I've posted it online for everyone to listen to! There are two ways to listen to the audio file:

- You can listen to the file directly through this link at TalkShoe, or
- You can download it from iTunes. Just go to the iTunes Music Store, type in "WesCast" in the search field, and subscribe to my little podcast. The audio from "The Loft" should download automatically once you subscribe.

The audio lasts a little over an hour, and I want to apologize in advance for my rambling. I think waaaay faster than I can talk, and I feel like I didn't do a good job clarifying a point before jumping onto another point. If any of you have questions about anything I spoke about, please leave them in the blog comments, message board, or e-mail me.

The question-and-answer sessions begins about halfway through the speaking engagement, and that was a lot of fun. I fielded some really good questions, and hopefully you guys will enjoy my answers. :)

New Projeckt . . .

I've been diligently working on a new comic, and I'm having a lot of fun with it! It's a little weird to be working on a cartoon that isn't YHT, but at the same time it's also kinda refreshing.

At this point in the game, I'm reluctant to reveal too many details about the cartoon. I'm starting at ground-zero with this concept, meaning I've gotta go through the paces of submission packages and rejection letters all over again. So I'd rather not waste all my energy telling you about the idea when I should be executing the idea. But once I get things in the mail and the concept is hitting the desk of editors, I'll give you guys a closer look at what I've been working on.

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

iMaccin' . . .

This is my first blog post written on my brand new Apple iMac. I'm very tickled with this new computer, but I'm still figuring out a lot of stuff. I downloaded Quicksilver because a few people told me that it was an outstanding program, but I'm still not sure what it does exactly. I'll figure it out, though.

This is my first Apple computer (I don't count my wife's MacBook because, technically, that's not MY computer), so it may take me a little while to get acclimated to the way the Mac OS works. I'm up for the challenge, though!

Here's a picture I took of myself using PhotoBooth, a fun Mac diversion:



That's not my office in the background. My wife and I are staying in my brother-in-law's room while we're here in Michigan. I feel bad because his room is currently littered with our clean and dirty clothes, a pile of unwrapped gifts, and other miscellaneous junk. Sorry, Dallas. We'll be outta here soon.

Quick Reminder . . .

Just a quick reminder that YHT will return to a three-day-a-week schedule starting Monday, Dec. 31. The site was down for a few days, and I just wanted to remind everyone that the lack of five comic strips next week is intentional and has nothing to do with domain names and DNS servers. :)

YHT Newsletter . . .

It's never to late to sign up for the YHT Newsletter! Just shoot me an e-mail at wesmolebash@gmail.com and I'll add you to the mailing list!

- Wes

Labels: News, Newsletter, Randomness

Today's Strip

Two-In-One . . .

To make up for the lack of comicky goodness yesterday, I've posted both Thursday's and Friday's strip together. I've squashed the two strips into one giant, grand-slam comic strip for your holiday enjoyment!

I hope you guys liked this little storyline! It was a lot of fun to write, but I hate drawing car interiors. Even though I liked the story, I was still cursing myself for writing it while I tried to figure out how to make my characters look like they were riding in a car and not floating in space. It's tough to do, and I got a lazy a few times. But I'm happy with the end result. Hopefully you are, too!

Quick Hits . . .

Here are some quick updates before my wife and I skate up to Port Huron, Michigan for Christmas:

- As you know from reading the blog, I drew six comic strip panels featuring Andy and Katie in a Christmas Countdown for my local newspaper. I'm going to publish all six of those strips next week starting this Sunday! So make sure to check the site all next week for full-color, single-panel, comicky goodness!

Also, make sure you shoot an e-mail to the Gazette's managing editor thanking him for featuring YHT in the newspaper! While you're at it, let him know how great he is at Guitar Hero (he needs some encouragement). You can contact Mike at mthrone (at) nncogannett (dot) com.

- A DeviantArt user has posted a comic strip where he apes several cartoonists styles. One of the "aped cartoonists" is yours truly, and it was really neat to see someone else's interpretation of my artwork! The comic is actually pretty cute, too! Check it out!

- People are still signing up for the YHT Newsletter, and many of them are super excited about it! Check out this little haiku written by recent newsletter subscriber, Brian Camp:

i dig 'you'll have that'
now getting the newsletter
rock on my brother

Still haven't signed up for the YHT E-mail Newsletter? Now's your chance to make sure you never miss an issue! Just shoot me an e-mail at wesmolebash@gmail.com and let me know you'd like to subscribe. I'll instantly add you to the list of other subscribers so you can be cool like them! Sign up today!

. . . .

If I don't get a chance to talk to you guys before the holiday, I just want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year! I hope Santa fills your stockings with everything you've asked for!

- Wes

Labels: Fan Mail, Newsletter, Randomness

Today's Comic

YHT in 2008: Is the Strip Gonna Suck, Now? . . .

A handful of people have asked or made comments about how the three-day-a-week schedule will affect storylines and continuity. To be honest, I was wondering that myself. But last night I sat down with my notebook to do some writing, and I got into a "zone" so to speak. The ideas were flowing like the wine in Capastrano . . . or something.

Anyway, for those of you who are wondering, the first three months of 2008 will be mostly stories, including one HUGE storyline that I can't wait to start drawing! I think there are only a handful of stand-alone gags, and I threw those in there just to break up the continuity a little bit.

A lot of you have said that you prefer the longer storylines as opposed to the gag-a-day format, so hopefully you'll be relieved that the three-day-a-week schedule won't derail my attempts at continuity. I still work very hard to make sure each strip stands on its own, so don't worry all you "gag-a-dayers" out there - there will still be plenty of funny stuff to print out and hang on your refrigerator!

YHT Newsletter . . .

I've been beating around the bush on this idea for a while now, and it's time to just do it. I'm starting up a monthly YHT newsletter that will contain a lot of the info that we talk about in the blog here, but will also contain some behind-the-scenes info, contests, and updates on future projects (I told you that 2008 is the year I start working on some new stuff, and I'm not lyin').

So if you'd like to sign up for the newsletter, just shoot me an e-mail (wesmolebash@gmail.com) and let me know. No need to write me a long e-mail - just tell me you want to subscribe to the newsletter. It's as easy as that.

The first newsletter will go out in January.

No More Commissions Until 2008! . . .

I've finally caught up on all my commissions for the year, and I'm not taking anymore commission work until 2008! I'm spending the next two weeks getting caught up on YHT, and then I'm going to Michigan to enjoy Christmas with my in-laws. If I take anymore commissions there's no way I could get them done by Christmas.

Thanks to everyone who bought commissions from me over the past few months. I've pretty much got all the money I need to buy my new iMac! What an awesome feeling to know I'm about to buy my first Mac entirely with money I earned from cartooning! It's very satisfying! You guys made it happen, and I'm very grateful to you all!

Thanks again!

- Wes

Labels: News, Newsletter, Randomness

Today's Comic

Has It Really Been Three Years? . . .

Tomorrow, December 6, will be the third birthday for You'll Have That. It's hard to believe that I've been hard at it for three years, but I'm still here chugging along. Each year of the strip has been busier than the one before it, and 2007 was no different. Let's recap, shall we?

2007 was busy to begin with. I started the year by taking the month of January off in order to catch up on some projects - namely Sasquatch - and get back on schedule with the production of my strip. The break helped immensely, and things were back on track when the strip returned in February.

March saw the release of the Sasquatch anthology published by Viper and created/edited by Josh Howard. My story, Sasquatch and Timmy, received some praise from several of the book's reviewers.

The rest of March, April, and May was spent scrambling to get the YHT one-shot together and out the door to the printers in time for its summer release. We made it by the hair on our teeth!

In June, a local art gallery approached me about exhibiting my artwork. On July 17, we held the opening reception of The Art of Cartooning featuring myself and my new friend, John K. Victor.

Not only did we open the art show in July, but I also turned 27 that month, taught two workshops on cartooning, and made a trip to San Diego for Comic-Con International. July was by far the busiest month of my year, but it was also the most satisfying. I learned a lot about myself during that month, and my trip to San Diego helped shaped the future of YHT and some other projects I'm wanting to work on (more about that later).

The YHT one-shot hit store shelves in August, and, early in the month, John Victor and I spoke to a group of about thirty or forty people at the art gallery hosting our exhibit. We talked about cartooning and our different backgrounds in cartoon art. John has more of a commercial art background than I do, so it was fun to compare and contrast our methods of attacking ideas and our art. John's a great guy, and meeting him was one of the high points of my year.

Mid-way through August I had to tear down my art exhibit so the next show could come through. It was both bittersweet and a bit of a relief at the same time. I was honored to be invited to show my artwork to the public, but what a hectic summer it was! It was nice to take the show down and put it behind me. The fall would be rife with plenty of new things to stress me out!

September started out smoothly, but at the end of the month I was contacted by the local telephone/internet/cable company in regards to my cartoons. The company commissioned me to draw a series of cartoons featuring a small kid to help sell their products. You can see a couple of the drawings here and here.

I spent the month of October working on my telephone-company-commission and the daily strip, and I also spoke at a local church about my faith and my cartoons. Halfway through the month, the editor of my local newspaper contacted me about drawing some Christmas-themed strips featuring Andy and Katie to be published in the paper throughout December. Of course I accepted the offer, thus sending my stress levels a notch higher.

November was an exciting month. Of course we had Thanksgiving, which was soon followed by Mid-Ohio-Con - my first time exhibiting at a con by myself. My wife, Tricia, came with me and we had a blast. After the con, I wrapped up the work on my telephone-company-commission and began focusing on my work for the local paper.

December continues to be busy. I've got a few commissions to finish and get in the mail before Christmas, and I'm playing catch-up with my comic strip. Since July I've only been a day ahead on the production of the strip, and in October I was forced to skip an entire week of creating the strip due to longer-than-expected hours at my day-job! That was very frustrating for me!

On top of all that stuff, 2007 was the year Trish and I moved into our new house, Trish graduated college and started taking classes toward her sign language certificate, I bought a new car, and we adopted a dog (who is currently sleeping on the floor in my office). All in all, this year was a great year for me, my wife, and our goals!

Onward to 2008 . . .

So what does 2008 hold for the comic strip? I'm not sure, but I'm almost positive that it'll be busier than 2007 (at least I hope so)! It's because of this foreboding sense of "busy-ness" that I've decided to take a small vacation during the week of December 24. Trish and I will be visiting family in Michigan for Christmas, and it'd be nice to visit with my in-laws without worrying about comic strips for a few days.

Additionally, when the comic returns on December 31 I will be returning to a M-W-F update schedule. I'm doing this for two reasons:

1.) I'm going back to college in January. I'm really nervous about this, but I found out that I only need 9 classes to finish my associate's degree. So I'm gonna snap that up and then see what we can do about a bachelor's.

2.) I want to work on new projects unrelated to YHT. I've got so many ideas for comics and cartoons that I don't know where to start. But I'll never be able to start unless I free up some space in my schedule. After a lot of thought, prayer, and talking with family, friends, and contemporaries, I decided that reducing the frequency of YHT updates was the easiest way to address this issue.

Don't fret, though. YHT will continue to go strong in 2008. I'm not sure what the future of YHT books holds, but I know I'm going to visit more cons next year to promote the books that are available. I'm actually thinking about bypassing SDCC for MoCCA in 2008. I'm also thinking I'll attend Mid-Ohio-Con again since it's only an hour's drive from where I live. More info on that stuff as we get to it, though.

Overall, I'm very happy with how far the strip has come. I'm even more happy that you guys are still reading the strip. It means so much to me that you guys and gals enjoy reading my little comic, and it really makes my day when I get to interact with all of you through e-mails, message board posts, and blog comments. So keep 'em comin'! I appreciate the feedback more than you'll ever know!

Thanks for an awesome 2007, and here's to an even better 2008!

- Wes

Labels: Randomness, Year-In-Review

Today's Comic

I promise this was not planned . . .

- Wes

Labels: Randomness

Today's Comic

Is Murray Really a Racist? . . .

YHT reader and blog commenter, Ryan, posted some interesting questions on the WESton Churchill blog entry. I thought I'd create a new blog post and answer his questions for everyone to see:

So... I don't quite get it, because Murray said, "there are a lot of trashy black people," and Andy asked how it isn't racist. I know that in the first comic, Andy was right by saying that just because you say, 'I'm not racist' doesn't negate a comment that could be, or straight up is, racist.

The first strip in the series was written in response to some people I know who make racist comments but don't associate themselves as racists. If someone comes up to me and says, "Now, Wes, I'm not a racist, but . . ." I brace myself for some mild "hate speech".

But then in the next one, Andy says that he does agree that there are shady people around, but he doesn't believe that it is based on race, gender or sexual preference. But in the first comic, Murray was saying that there are lots of trashy black people. I don't find that racist. I can agree with it. But at the same time, I can also say that there are lots of other trashy people around. Trashy white people, trashy Hi