The big news in the land of webcomics today was the arrival of Scott McCloud’s latest bit of sequential art. Actually, it’s not the comic that’s stirring up all the buzz (although I hear it’s pretty good), but the micropayment system that debuted along with it; supposedly, it’s the one that’ll be the salvation of struggling webcartoonists everywhere. I hope it works out for Mr. McCloud…his search for a decent micropayment system has become something of a grail quest for him.

Don’t worry…I don’t have any plans to start charging admission for my comic; I think that comic strips want to be free (self-contained works like Mr. McCloud’s graphic novella are another story, though). Of course, if this micropayments thing bears fruit, I could see maybe using it with some side projects.

Every time a new comic’s posted, an angel gets its wings.

If all goes according to plan, I’ll be heading out to see a late showing of the new Terminator movie tonight. This means that tomorrow’s comic might be a bit late, since I’ll probably be dead tired when I get back in. That said, I did manage to get an early start on it in anticipation of this little eventuality, so it might not be very late at all. And heck, if the movie thing doesn’t pan out, it could even be (gasp!) early.

Did you like what I did with the title there, by the way? I said “I’ll be back,” as in “I’ll be back after I go see this movie,” but it’s also a catchphrase from the Terminator series. Witty, no?

I’ll be quiet now.

Looking for some refreshment this summer? Try a new comic!

If you’re wondering, I thought Terminator 3 was pretty good. It had an old school, early 90’s feel to it…you know, the same feel the early Die Hard and Lethal Weapon movies had, back when it was all about the fist fights, car chases, big explosions, and corny puns. I think I actually miss those days.

But the real highlight of the night was finding this.

I am easily amused.

Today was just a quiet day of working on the comic, folks…I didn’t keep tabs on what was going on in the real world at all, really, so I’m afraid I don’t have much to talk about.

It was pretty relaxing, actually.

I was hoping the winners of the Web Cartoonists’ Choice Awards would be announced by now, so that I could cheer or boo the results as appropriate. Sadly, that’s not the case…instead, here’s an article about the awards that you might find interesting.

A midnight comic posting? Will wonders never cease?

I had something else to say, but now I’m sleepy and can’t remember. Maybe in the morning.

Are there any other cartoonists reading these news posts? Or aspiring cartoonists? Wannabe cartoonists? Folks who just like saying the word “cartoonist” over and over? If so, you might be interested in a book called “Your Career In Comics.” It’s basically a collection of quotes/nuggets-of-wisdom from a bunch of cartoonists (Bill Watterson, Charles Schultz, and Wiley Miller, to name a few) on topics ranging from the importance of quality writing in comics to the ups and downs of working with a partner; click on the link above and head to the “excerpts” section…you’ll see what I mean.

It’s sort of like those cartooning discussions they have in a lot of the various webcartooning forums, minus the backbiting and navel-gazing.

Another comic posted at midnight? Is this going to be a trend? Time will tell.

Oh, and hello to anyone visiting from “Strippers’ Corner.” If you’re wondering, “Strippers’ Corner” is a showcase for new webcomics and not…well…what you might be thinking it is; today’s the day “Tweep” shows up in the rotation.

The problem with these late-night blog entries is that they’re only on the front page for a few hours before they’re sent to the archives. Anyhow, I just wanted to point out that they’ve announced the winners of the Web Cartoonists’ Choice Awards; even if you’re not particularly interested in the awards themselves, it’s worth checking out just to see the “award presentations.”

What could be better than a new comic, you ask? A new comic and a free Slurpee.

One of the perks of having lightly trafficked forums is that I can, on a whim, go in and tweak its appearance without really having to worry about disrupting someone’s viewing experience.

I’ve changed the background for the message bodies to plain ol’ white, which should be a little easier on the eyes. There are still a few things about the forums that I’m not keen on, appearance-wise, but they’re getting there.

I found out about this today, and I’m thinking it might be fun to participate. It’s an all-day blogging marathon to raise money for charity…pretty much any charity you want, in fact. The only thing is, it might be a bit late for me to find sponsors. Still, I suppose I could take part and just give moral support.

If I do end up doing it, I think I’d spend the day doing this and give updates on the blog.

Despite a rash of power outtages, today’s comic has been posted.

I’m running a little behind with tomorrow’s comic, I’m afraid. Expect it to be posted sometime early in the morning.

Do my eyes deceive me, or is this a new comic?

Today’s the first day of the big Comic-Con in San Diego, and most of the big names in webcomicry and general geekdom are gathered there: Tycho and Gabe, Messrs. Piro and Greg Dean (they’re sharing a booth), the Dumbrella gang, Mr. Kurtz of PvP fame, Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragonés (a brief aside – when I was a little kid, I went to one of these comic book conventions and meekly asked Mr. Aragonés to sign my beaten and battered copy of The Death of Groo. And sign he did, complete with a little Groo doodle over his signature. I only mention this because that memory springs to mind whenever his name comes up. It’s also the single geekiest moment in my life.)…even Wil Wheaton’s going to be there.

You may have noticed that my name isn’t in the above list. Well, there’s a good reason for that. You know how whenever there’s a State of the Union address, they pick a (not terribly important) member of the administration to stay behind in case of some sort of disaster? There’s a similar deal in webcomics. Because of all the talent that’s gathered in one place, the Great Webcomic Council came to the conclusion that someone had to stay behind, in case a giant rock plummets from the sky and lands on the San Diego Convention Center or whatever. So here I am, ready to rebuild the world of webcomics, should the need arise.

Yes, the thought frightens me, too.

Eventually, I’m going to start repeating myself with these “new comic” announcements.

I may not be attending the Comic-Con, but at least I can peruse the blogs of people who are. And I don’t have to cope with any funky aromas.

I saw “Pirates of the Caribbean” today, and was mightily entertained. I wonder what folks who haven’t grown up in Southern California and been to Disneyland dozens of times over the course of their lives (I don’t know if excursions to Disney World are a regular occurance for Floridians) think of the movie; for me, the first scene brought back memories of floating past the Blue Bayou restaurant and hearing the recorded chirping of crickets in the background.

It almost makes me want to go back to Disneyland for the umpteenth time. And then I remember that it’s friggin’ hot out.

Who got da new comic? I got da new comic.

An unforeseen consequence of watching “Pirates of the Caribbean” yesterday is that I now have the “A Pirate’s Life” song stuck in my head.

While everyone else attending the Comic-Con was asking for autographs from their favorite artists, this gal was asking for monkey doodles.

Today’s comic has been approved for all audiences.

If anyone out there is interested in webcartooning, there’s a new webhost that caters solely to cartoonists (although, I don’t see anything on their web site that says you’re not allowed to use your web space to, say, post pictures of purple polar bears, if that’s your thing).

I think Lunarpages has a better deal for folks just starting out, but the “unlimited” bandwidth deal for $19.95 a month is intriguing.

Some days the comic comes easy, and some days it doesn’t.

This is probably one of those things I shouldn’t admit to being amused by…but alas, I am.

I’m not going to be posting much today (not that I’ve been all that chatty of late…) because I’m planning to devote the day to working on the comic. I’m trying to build up a buffer of strips, which will hopefully result in fewer racing-the-deadline moments (which generally isn’t all that good for the quality of the comic).

Basically, the reason I’m telling you all this is to give me a little bit of extra incentive to actually follow through on it. Hurray for accountability.

A new comic is a many splendored thing.

Because one sparsely-updated blog simply wasn’t enough, I now have a LiveJournal.

I’m not making much progress on the comic buffer, but the quest continues.