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Well folks, have officially moved into a new apartment. It has been hectic the past few weeks, so I am looking forward to getting back to work. I am glad that the move is over now and my new place is pretty sweet. A new place for a new year. There is only one word that will appropriately describe my current condition: Huzzah.
Now that I am in a new place, I am looking forward to what should be an interesting year. I have a few things in the works, some comic related and some personal. I will be sure to keep you posted as soon as anything develops. Until then, enjoy the strip!
Sad to say, but there will not be any updates this week. My computer containing all of my files had an accident over the weekend during the process to upgrade to Windows 7. She is alive, but her condition is critical. As soon as we can get her back up and running, Tools will continue! Also, I would like to point out that this little issue is not so much of a Windows issue as it is a “my hard drive is being a hard to deal with drive” issue. So by all means, PC users, upgrade to 7; just make sure you know what you are doing…
I’ve always wondered if astronomers and meteorologists ever get annoyed with people claiming that Labor Day is the end of summer. Do they get upset knowing full well that summer lasts a few more weeks, scientifically speaking? Another interesting thing is that we always say Labor Day is the end of summer, but we never say it is the start of fall. What do we call those few weeks in-between? It is a magical fifth season called sumtumn perhaps? Or maybe fummer? Either way, I think I’ll agree with the general population in saying Labor Day is the end of summer. Sorry scientists.
It is pretty obvious why Labor Day is considered the end of summer. The days are noticeably shorter and the air is a bit cooler. The leaves are starting to change and apples are starting to taste better. Football is back in full swing and baseball is heading toward the playoffs. But the most telling sign that summer is over is the school year is beginning. This is not such a big deal to me now because I have no summer vacation, but the fact school is starting evokes some interesting memories.
I know for a fact that I never looked forward to going back to school. It was easily the most depressing part of the year during my youth. It was like that all the way through college. I guess that is pretty common though. What is interesting about all of this is that when I look back at it, I remember the start of school fondly, well college anyway. The fact is I really don’t remember the start of school for most of my school years, but I clearly can remember the first few weeks of college. Now I know that, at the time, I dreaded the start of class, but for some reason I don’t remember it that way. When I look back on it, the memories are all good. I remember seeing the people that I missed over the summer, the easy first day of classes, getting out to the first parties, and walking around campus late at night with good friends. Clearly the start of classes was not the end of the world that is seemed at the time.
The mind is an amazing thing. I find it interesting that I remember something that I hated so much, so fondly. Maybe I am just getting old and looking back is more pleasing than looking forward. Maybe it is because the start of school was a good time for me and I was too stubborn to admit that I enjoyed it. What ever the reason, I’m glad that I have such good memories of the first day of classes. It is nice to look back and feel good once in a while.
Tools is back folks. This time in widescreen HD*. Let the party begin folks!
In other news, I have been working on a couple of different projects. One project is that I am trying to start up a weekly sports podcast with a good friend of mine. If that gets up off the ground, I will be sure to let you know about it. The other project is my third CD. I have been spending time writing lyrics and trying to compose the music to said lyrics. As soon as I get something completed, I will put a sample on the site!
I hope that is enough to get your salivating for the future! I am going to try to stay as busy as I can. Sooner than later I will have some updates on the progress on these projects. Until then, there will still be Tools for your enjoyment!
*Widescreen HD only available if you have a HD Widescreen monitor.
I just wanted to let everyone know that I will be unable to update my site this week because I will not have Internet access. But do not despair! I will still be working on next week’s batch of strips so I will be able to post as soon as my Internet returns. When that happens, Huzzahs for everyone!
As a writer, I find myself constantly editing my strips to make them less wordy. I have given a conscious effort to reduce the amount of words that I use to convey a point. I have found that people prefer to obtain their information in short, bite-sized bursts instead of complex, long-winded rhetoric or fully detailed dialog burdened with minutia. In fact, I bet only a few of you actually read that last sentence. The point is that I realized that my writing needed to tighten up and I have tried to do so, but it is a hard thing for me to do.
At first, I really struggled to edit my strips. Part of me felt I failed because I didn’t get it perfect the first time. I hate making mistakes and I felt that anything that needed editing was a mistake on my part. I got over that pretty quickly once I realized that I was running out of room to draw in my panels. Even at that point, I still had a hard time editing and I had no idea why. But then it dawned on me; I was a product of academia.
In college, I had to write for volume. Every paper had a specific page or word requirement that had to be met. I even had professors who graded tests based on the length of essays (or so it seemed). It did not take me long to figure out how to stretch my writing out as far as possible. Instead of saying Stalin was bad, I would write Joseph Stalin was a very bad leader of the Soviet Union and committed terribly egregious acts of violence that left scars visible to this day. I became quite adept at writing the same basic idea twenty five different ways. I learned to value every word that I wrote, and that is why I have a hard time editing to this day.
My time in college had engrained in me the idea that length is as important as content in one’s writings. My time in the real world has convinced me otherwise. As a result I’m trying to teach myself to be more direct in my writing. I’ve also come around to the idea that editing is a good thing. In fact, my whole outlook on writing has changed. I feel that a good writer is able to clearly explain ideas with as few words as possible. That has become my new goal with each strip I write.
My girlfriend and I had to get up early this Saturday to wait for the phone and Internet guy to set up our new service. The worst part of getting up that early was that there were no good cartoons on. When I was younger, there were tons of great cartoons on Saturday. Not so much anymore. No wonder the youth of today is so angry; they have nothing to cheer them up on the weekends! These kids don’t know what they are missing. I guess all I can do is hope that one day, Saturdays will be rich with cartoon awesomeness. Until then, there is always Spongebob…
I finally have scanned and cleaned up all my early paper and ink strips! Well almost. The few that I have not done are either no longer relevant or seasonal. The latter ones will be done once the appropriate season rolls around again. But for the most part, it should be all digital material from here on out!
Since I moved to Philadelphia, PA 3 years ago, my parents periodically send a care package. These are usually for the holidays, but sometimes I get one out of the blue. I don’t ask for them, but hey, free stuff is free stuff! These packages could contain anything from holiday gifts to toys for my cat, Artemis. There is one thing, however, that is always included in these packages: Sunday Comics.
I don’t get the newspaper down in Philadelphia, so my parents make sure to send me a bunch of Sunday pages each time they send me a package. It is because I used to love reading them each Sunday morning while I sat in bed and ate my breakfast. It was a highlight of each weekend. I remember reading the comics and being entertained by greats like Watterson, Shultz, Hart, and Davis. It was always a great time reading the comics on Sunday mornings; but as I look back on those times, I realize that I took them for grated.
As I would finish up the comic, I would toss the paper aside and continue on my day. I knew they would be there next weekend, so it wasn’t a big deal. I could count on seeing the same faces that I had seen each Sunday for the majority of my life. I never even thought there would be a time when I would not be reading the Sunday comics while enjoying a bowl of cereal. Like many things in my life, I subconsciously assumed they would be there forever. But, as they say, nothing lasts forever.
As newspapers continue to struggle, I know it is only a matter of time before the Sunday Funnies are a thing of the past. Those wonderful full color layouts that made Sunday morning so enjoyable will soon be a thing of the past. Sure, comics will continue to be popular as more and more of them shift to the web, but it really is not the same. There was something special about holding the paper in my hands for a few moments of quiet relaxation. The world was busy, even back then, but somehow those comics slowed it down. They will be greatly missed and hard pressed to replace.
I am glad my parents still send the old Sunday strips. It give me a chance to enjoy those quiet moments while I still can. I wish I could say that I cherish every moment with them, but I don’t. Even now, I still toss them aside after I finish reading them. Even now, I still feel as if they couldn’t possibly be fading away. Or maybe I do know they are leaving but I have become so desensitized to change that it doesn’t bother me. I don’t know which it is and I will most likely never know. What I do know is that I should be reading the Sunday comics with a greater appreciation, because sooner or later, appreciation and memories will be all that is left of them.
Last weekend I read “The Watchmen,” because I wanted to read the comic before I saw the movie. After I finished it, all I could think about for the next few days was how incredible I thought it was. The story was amazing and the characters were some of the best I have ever read. I literally could not get the comic out of my head. But then a funny thing happened to me; ideas started running through my head of different things that I would love to see in a comic book. Eventually I was inspired to write my own graphic novel.
Even though inspiration has struck, I have not actually started working on anything, nor do I think I will begin any time soon. There are several reasons for this. The first one being time. Between my full time job and my part time job of working on the strip, I am not sure that I will have enough time to dedicate writing out a full story. This may change in the future, but for now time is tight. Another reason for my delay is my own limitations as an artist. There is no way that I could create the type of art needed for a compelling story and I do not know any artists that have any interest in working with me. Maybe after my name gets out there a little more and my network develops, I will be able to collaborate with someone, but until then my ideas will only be written words at best.
Despite these set backs, I am still very excited to one day create a graphic novel. Obviously, I cannot guarantee that it will be an instant classic like”The Watchmen,” but I hope to create a story that people will want to read. Until more peices fall into place, I am content on scribbling down ideas for a comic in the future and that is fine with me. I planning on sticking around for quite some time, so I am not in any hurry. Besides, I still have “Tools,” and working with those guys is still a blast.