Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 25

Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - 12:05 AM
[Update by Brian]
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As we've seen in the past, even though Evil Bad Guy Ninja is a complete jerk and godless killing machine, he's not beyond helping Stu out of a jam, but mostly only because he has a natural respect for Stu because they're both ninjas and old partners/rivals, and because Evil Bad Guy Ninja wants to be the one standing over Stu's lifeless corpse at the conclusion of an epic final showdown. Or if that doesn't work, he also seems perfectly willing to just leave him to die. It's an interesting relationship, I think.

To prove to you that I was dead serious about making sure to get a comic strip up this week, I got it done Monday night already. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty stoked about that. This one didn't turn out quite as well as I was hoping--I don't think the writing is quite there. I'll chalk it up to the 2-week layoff and try and do better next time.

This is the last comic strip of the year. I guess 46 strips in one year is not too shabby--I'm more than satisfied, especially when taking my track record into account. I'm pretty excited about where 2009 is going to take us. Although, it's also somewhat scary because the current storyline is due to end in the near future, and while I have a number of ideas for future storylines, nothing is definite quite yet as far as what exactly is going to come next. I probably need to get to work on that when I have some free time. On top of that, if I can adequately manage my time, there are a couple of other projects I'd like to try out, as well, but it'll be tricky because I don't want to stop drawing CNMB. So we'll see how that goes.

My girlfriend got me a Wacom tablet for Christmas, which works a lot better than the one I borrowed from my friend that one time. She's had it for like four months now--I was under the impression she just bought it for herself, because it's been sitting right under my nose for all that time. I haven't had a chance to hook it up to my computer yet, but I'm eager to try it out and see what I can learn to do with it. I'm kinda thinking I need to get a bigger computer desk already (I've been "thinking about it" for like three months now) because there's not a whole lot of space here to use the Wacom. We'll see. She also got me a really cool book that I'll tell you about sometime soon.

I need to get to bed. Thanks for hanging in there those two weeks when I didn't deliver. I should be back next Tuesday with another new one. See you then!

Thwarted Again.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008 - 5:18 PM
[Update by Brian]
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Now I'm really failing everybody. I got sick (again), and I had to finish a secret project in time for Christmas. The good news is that I got better (sorta--my stomach ailments are gone, but I've had a cough for a month now, and it continues to get worse every day) and I finished my secret project. The bad news is that these accomplishments came at the cost of not getting a comic strip done again this week. I am really sorry about this. I feel like such a jerk and like I'm slacking off after hitting my goal for the year. But honestly, things just never really worked out right at all over the last week.

I'll try and do better next week, when the big holiday stuff is over, and when I (hopefully) won't get stomach cramps, nausea and diarrhea for the fourth time in less than two months.

Thank you very much to everyone sticking around waiting for the next installment.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: No New Comic Strip This Week!

Monday, December 15, 2008 - 11:01 PM
[Update by Brian]
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Real life strikes again!

After having a wonderful, but very busy and very exhausting weekend, in conjunction with some early Christmas celebrations with my girlfriend's family, sleeping more than I meant to last night to make up for the lack of sleep over the weekend, probably having to work overtime tomorrow due to our holiday workload, havoc on scheduling as a result of inclement weather, and the Philadelphia Eagles playing on Monday Night Football, I can pretty much guarantee you that there will be no comic strip this week. I could just delay it by a day, but I think we would all be better off if I just wait and put the next one out next Tuesday. I don't want to try to rush it out this week and give you an inferior product. I really hate it when the strip has to take a backseat to other things going on in my life, even when the other things are more important than the strip itself. I try to be as consistent as I possibly can, and it bothers me when I miss a deadline. But this time around, I just wasn't able to compensate for everything else going on. I meant to work on the strip early, but that didn't pan out, either.

And I was on such a good run, too--the last time I missed an update was the week of July 22. Ah well.

Thanks for understanding, and I apologize for the delay. Please don't think that just because I hit my goal for the year, I intend to slack off until January or anything like that. I fully intend to be back here next Tuesday with an all new strip.

See you then!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 24

Tuesday, December 9, 2008 - 7:06 PM
[Update by Brian]
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I met my goal for 2008.

When I went about re-launching the strip in January of this year, I set a production goal for myself--double the size of the archive. I had accumulated 45 strips over my first eight years of drawing Chewy Ninja Monkey Bars--a pretty paltry number by anybody's standards. I decided that if I really wanted to dedicate myself to making the strip consistently, I needed to prove it to myself by doing as many strips in one year as I had in the last eight. I started the year with 45 strips in the archive. Today's strip is number 90. Even though 90 strips still isn't really very many, I feel pretty good about what I've accomplished this year. When I was previously never able to do more than 12 strips in a single year, I managed to force a little bit of discipline on myself (for once) and pump out a more respectable number.

The last few weeks have really helped me out, as well. While I do approach the strip every week as something I "have" to do, I now feel like I "have" to do it because I want to get the story out there and I want to have fun doing it. There was a stretch that I just recently got out of in which I got too preoccupied with numbers and statistics, became disgruntled because I didn't have a bigger audience, and suddenly "having" to do this strip felt more like work than it felt like fun. I was talked out of that mindset recently, though, and now I'm having fun again. It probably shows in the product, too.

Thanks for all of your support this year. I couldn't have done it if nobody was reading. I hope I'm able to keep it up.

In other news, you may have noticed a couple of changes around the site. First, I put twitter back on the site so if you get really bored, you can keep an eye on what I'm up to. I also plan on using it to update readers on the progress of the next strip, to give you a better idea of when it'll be up, exactly. I also updated the "New Readers" graphic because I thought the old one didn't look very good. I also changed the "Contact" link to "Email Me!" I was told "Contact" doesn't sound too personal, and I agree. I think there are some new Links, as well, if people still look at links pages.

That's all for this time. Thanks again for reading and for all of your kind words and motivation.

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 23

Tuesday, December 2, 2008 - 8:15 PM
[Update by Brian]
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Can't blog now--there are people at my house, and I don't want to keep them waiting any longer.

I'll be back soon. Until then, please enjoy the comic, and thanks for reading!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 22

Tuesday, November 25, 2008 - 7:55 PM
[Update by Brian]
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This strip took forever, but it was so worth it and I'm really proud of how it turned out. Only one panel really didn't turn out as I hoped it would, and considering this one has 13 panels, that doesn't really bother me all that much. I also recently got a new pen that I think has improved my inking quite a bit. It's a little thicker than my small ones, and a little thinner than my big ones, and it seems to keep a lot of my lines much cleaner because I don't have to go over the same lines over and over again with an inappropriately sized pen. These pens, people! They are essential!

I got pretty preoccupied with not having a bigger audience than I do for the past month or so, and I was pretty bummed out about it (and probably bumming all you out with my whining blog posts, as well). Fortunately, some very encouraging folks said some very encouraging things, and I realized that I need to just be having fun doing this strip instead of stressing out over why more people aren't reading it. I haven't even been doing it consistently for a year yet, after all--these things take a lot of patience and commitment, according to every webcomics personality on the planet. Considering how much attention I pay to those guys, you'd think I'd pay more attention to what they have to say.

Thanks for reading! I'll see you guys next time!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 21

Tuesday, November 18, 2008 - 7:58 PM
[Update by Brian]
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To quote The Tick, "Next issue: a big fight!"

I feel pretty good about this strip. I dunno why--probably because it's the official end of the talking, which was starting to drag even for me, and I love writing dialogue. As much as I've tried working on it this year, pacing is still not a strong point of mine in the realm of comic strips, and I feel there is a lot of room for improvement.

I was hoping to have this strip done earlier than this, but I must admit that I succumbed to an old addiction of mine for about an hour last night--Diablo. Yes, the original. I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help myself. When I start a game of Diablo, it's very hard to focus on anything else until I finish it. Not to worry, though--over this past year, I've been very good at stemming the urge to goof around or play video games or sleep in lieu of doing the comic strip, so it won't be an issue.

It's funny...in my reading of other webcomics over the past couple of weeks, the creators are all distracted by Fallout 3 or Wrath of the Lich King. Here I am, dote-dee-doe-ing along playing a game from 1997. Ah well; it is a great one, after all.

I'm out for now, but I'll talk to you soon! Thanks for reading!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 20

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 8:11 PM
[Update by Brian]
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I honestly don't have too much to say tonight. I need to work on restoring my confidence in the strip, which kind of took a hit this past week when the responses to my request for critique pretty much universally said that the art of the comic strip was strong, but the story was not really grabbing anybody. I sort of thought the opposite would be the case. I don't feel completely down and out, though, because I realize we've sort of been mired in exposition for a few months now (hence the joke in this week's comic), and asking for critiques at such a time may result in some less than stellar results due to a fairly decent lack of action.

Ultimately though, I think I'm probably just being too impatient. Even though it doesn't seem like it to me, 86 strips is not very many, so I probably shouldn't be expecting to be able to create the perfect comic strip just yet. There's plenty of time to develop story and characters and everything involved.

It's not quite time to panic.

Thanks very much for your continued support! Take care, and I'll return next week with a new strip.

Election Day

Tuesday, November 4, 2008 - 12:32 AM
[Update by Brian]
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I ain't telling you who to vote for, and I ain't telling you who I'm voting for. That's not my place. (Only mainstream celebrities are allowed to do such a thing.) In fact, I may not even get to vote--my address on my driver's license changed and I never told them anything about it. But I hear I can bring in a utility bill stub and that should take care of things. We'll see. But even though I do plan to vote, hopefully my general political apathy and dislike of political parties shows in today's strip. And who better to represent conniving politicians than our very own Robert Pratt!

My apologies if you're not fond of me delving into current events. Next week we'll get back to regular action. Believe me, it's not something I want to do regularly, unless it was maybe about sports or something.

I am pretty happy about having the strip up this early again, though. I was determined to have this one up early--it wouldn't make much sense to not have an Election Day comic up until after the polls have already closed.

Recently I submitted the strip for a critique on a certain webcomics-related forum, but unfortunately I haven't gotten much in the way of responses. I've only gotten one so far, and that guy said the comic is technically sound, but he wasn't interested in the story. The review was generally positive, but the story is what I'm most concerned about, so it was sort of demoralizing. As far as a lack of any other responses goes, I don't know if that means the strip is solid and I should just keep doing what I'm doing, or if it means the strip didn't grab anybody hard enough for them to even put forth the effort to critique it. I don't know why I'm suddenly so self-conscious about it, but I've been really worried about the strip's longevity for a few weeks now in terms of never finding a significant audience beyond my friends, family, and loved ones. I'll give it a little longer to see what happens, then decide whether or not to worry about it more.

Thanks for bearing with me this week! We'll be back next time with Part 20 of Stu Versus San Francisco!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 19

Tuesday, October 28, 2008 - 8:42 PM
[Update by Brian]
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Last week's comic strip officially used up the buffer I built up on 24-Hour Comics Day. I had four week's worth of strips, and promptly used them all without drawing a single strip in that amount of time. So in the end, I'm glad that I did the 24-Hour Comics Day when I did, or we'd be in bad shape here. Additionally, when I did 24-Hour Comics Day in 2006, I didn't draw another strip until January of this year. This time, it was only a month until I drew my next strip, so that's an improvement over last time. For the time being, craziness has passed, and I should be able to draw at least one comic every week again for awhile.

It's funny, though. I was listening to an old episode of the Blank Label Comics Podcast, and they were talking on there about how no matter how big of a buffer a cartoonist builds up, they always seem to eventually revert back to their natural buffer. So I'm thinking my natural buffer must be zero. After I used up my last buffer strip, I tried and tried to sit down and work on today's strip, so I wouldn't have to save it until Monday night. But no matter what, things kept coming up to distract me. I eventually concluded that it was my destiny to have no buffer. I really hope next week goes better--this is way too late for my taste, and I apologize for the delay.

I was out of practice, too--I can't believe how much more difficult it was to draw a strip after a month of not doing it. Before the break, I was getting to a point where I could draw my characters on the first try. This time, it was taking numerous attempts to get them right, and I can still pick up on some sloppiness here and there. At least I'll be able to work that stuff out soon enough.

That's all I can think to say at the moment, and my friends are yelling at me to come carve pumpkins with them. Thanks for hanging in there, and I'll talk to you again soon!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 18

Tuesday, October 21, 2008 - 12:27 AM
[Update by Brian]
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Reminds me of when they pass out important papers at school or in a meeting at work and there's not enough for everybody, or when somebody has a copy that's stapled wrong or has pages cut off.

If you like making fun of old, bad science fiction films, you may recognize some familiar silhouettes sitting at one of the tables in the first panel.

This is definitely the earliest I've ever posted a comic strip, and this is where I was hoping to get one day. When I say "updated Tuesdays," I'd like that to mean that the new comic strip is available all day on Tuesday, not after I get off work on Tuesday. Right now, my schedule is sort of staggered in such a way that a comic strip is ready to be posted Monday evening as opposed to Tuesday evening, which means I can have it up all day Tuesday. The only question now is whether or not I can keep it up.

I archived a bunch of old blog posts and I added some comics and removed some comics from my list of other comic strips you should read. I also put some new links on the Links page, most notably a link to my weekly sports blog, if you're interested in that sort of thing. Sorry, I can't help myself--a little cross-promotion never hurts.

As always, thanks so much for reading! See you next time!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 17

Tuesday, October 14, 2008 - 6:07 PM
[Update by Brian]
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For the record, I would have had the comic posted at around 2:00 today. However, instead of using my lunch break to work on the strip as I had originally intended, I spent most of the time killing a red wasp that got in the house. I have an incredible fear of stinging insects, so I knew I wouldn't have been able to concentrate without doing something about the intruder. He also picked my room to hang out in, of course. After watching the wasp for a solid 15 minutes, waiting for it to land long enough so I could smack it with a rolled up magazine, I got fed up and sprayed it with Raid, and got Raid all over a bunch of stuff in my room in the process. Luckily, everything seems to be okay. Well, except the wasp--it's currently working its way through the Cape Girardeau sewer system.

It's safe to say that 24-Hour Comics Day came at exactly the right time, because things keep happening that are preventing me from drawing. Actually, it's mostly just work that has prevented me from drawing. Without getting into a really long and unnecessary spiel about the logistics and scheduling of publishing, let's just say I worked a lot of overtime over the past two weeks. Fortunately, we're done with most of that stuff now. So now all I have to do is catch up--I really don't want to immediately waste the entire buffer I built up.

By the way, check out the blog entry below for a little bit of insight on my writing process. I'll try to keep up with posting more blog entries, in the meantime.

That's it for now. Enjoy the comic, and I'll be speaking with you again soon!

Writing Day.

Saturday, October 11, 2008 - 5:41 PM
[Update by Brian]
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When it comes to writing comics, it sometimes seems like I put as much work into the writing process as I do the drawing/digital artworking process. Certainly not the same amount of time, but a lot of the same stress and a lot of the same staring at the paper and thinking, "Okay, what comes next?" for 38 minutes at a time.

I have a notebook that I carry around with me seemingly all the time--to work, at home, when I visit Mom and Dad, and pretty much anywhere I go if I feel I might have a few spare moments to sit and write. There are some writings for other projects and interests in that notebook, and a lot of doodles of me throwing beer cups at Chicago Cubs players, but it has mostly been dedicated to scripts for my comic strips. I don't really write full-fledged scripts, but I do more of an outline in which I make notes of how many panels will be in a given strip, the angle and details of each panel, the expressions and actions of the characters in the panels, and the dialogue and sound effects in each panel. So nothing is fully fleshed out or definite, but it gives me the perfect guide for when it's time to sit down and draw the next strip. I also draw a thumbnail of the layout of the strip in the corner of the page, so I know how to draw my panels when I get started.

But like I said, nothing is definite. A lot of times, I'll think of extra jokes or details I want to include after I've already started drawing, or I'll think of a better angle or a better punchline, or I'll decide Stu needs to kick a guy in the face when I previously thought it was unnecessary. Since I just come up with brief outlines for the strips, I have the flexibility to be able to include these sorts of last-minute additions without feeling like I'm screwing something up.

Today was a writing day. The bad news is that I didn't get a lot written. However, the good news is that I finally finished an outline for an upcoming strip that I've been hung up on for a whole week now. Granted, I also didn't have a lot of free time this week, but when I did have a few moments to sit down and try to write, nothing was working. It's always really satisfying to finally work out a troublesome strip like that. Scott Kurtz says that he likes the challenge of writing himself into a corner and then finding a way out. I guess that's what's happening to me whenever I get stuck on a particular comic--it's not something I'm doing on purpose, but it definitely is a challenge.

So, with that thing finally written, I guess it's, as they say, back to the drawing board. See you Tuesday with a new strip!

Take care, and I'll talk to you soon.

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 16

Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - 9:13 PM
[Update by Brian]
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My apologies for the strip being so late this week--work has been a real killer for the last five days or so. I don't want to get into all of that, though.

I'm a little out of sorts right now, so I think I'm going to cut this blog entry short. However, I do intend to return within the next day or so for a little more discussion. And I seriously do mean that--seems like every time I want to make another blog entry in a week, it never happens. But I'm gonna try my best to get back here tomorrow or Thursday.

Thanks for your continued support! Hope you like the strip, and I'll see you soon!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 15

Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 6:06 PM
[Update by Brian]
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The "Powerpoint slides" in this strip were all done in Adobe Illustrator, in case you were wondering. I was able to make this comic very quickly since there was not a lot of drawing and not a lot of Photoshop work to be done. This strip evolved quite a bit from my original idea for it. At first, I was just going to draw the slides in typical comic strip panels and it would have looked like a typical comic strip. But I thought that might be kind of boring, so I decided to draw a big picture of Pratt with a series of slides surrounding him, and I really like how that turned out. I'd say it definitely livens things up a bit.

I want to say thank you to everybody who helped make 24-Hour Comics Day on Saturday a big success. I got some much-needed work done, which has already taken some pressure off of me in terms of always coming down to the wire to get comics done on time, and I got to have fun with my friends at the same time. I hope everybody who was here had a great time, and I really appreciated the company in this task. To everyone who couldn't be here, thank you very much for your support from afar. It's really great to see the comic strip getting this kind of momentum behind it. A lot of times, I get pretty worried that things are getting stagnant and that the comic will never go anywhere, but days like Saturday make me believe otherwise. Once I get some pictures together, I'll make a photo page of the event.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and I will return soon.

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 14

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - 7:05 PM
[Update by Brian]
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Holy cow, that's a lot of text! However, I'm still really happy with how this strip turned out. If the tension is becoming unbearable, then I'm doing my job right. If it's not, well...hey, look over there! *Drops a smoke bomb and disappears*

On Saturday I will be participating in my own little version of 24-Hour Comics Day, in which I sit down and work on comics all day while friends are invited to hang out, keep me company, watch TV, play games, party, or whatever they want to do. You can read more about 24-Hour Comics Day here or here. There is actually an official date set for it every year, and there are established parameters for what an artist can and cannot do. I don't really pay attention to any of that stuff, though. My goal with 24-Hour Comics Day is not to attempt to write, draw, and otherwise complete a certain number of strips within a 24-hour period. Rather, I'm just devoting an entire day to working ahead. I write the strips ahead of time and then go back and add the digital portion of the artwork later on, after 24-Hour Comics Day has ended. The actual drawing takes up the most time, so I just devote the entire day to that--it feels like I get more work done that way.

Anyway, I'm hoping that this will give me at least a 1 or 2-comic buffer so I can take a week off without missing an update, should it ever be necessary, and so I can get a little bit ahead so that I have new comics up by 12:00 AM Tuesday instead of like 7:00 PM Tuesday. I hate feeling incredible pressure every Tuesday evening as I attempt to finish the comic as soon as I get home from work.

Wish me luck on Saturday--hopefully it'll be a productive day! Thanks for reading, and I'll be back on Tuesday with a new comic. I may also try to document 24-Hour Comics Day via photographs, so be on the lookout for those, as well!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 13

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 - 8:20 PM
[Update by Brian]
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Yeah, now I'm thinking Stu was definitely right about them not coming.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I am honest-to-God pleased with the artwork in this comic strip. I like how similar I was able to draw Renee in the first two panels, I like Gary in panel five, I like the cityscape in the last panel, the van actually looks like a van, and I like the back-alley look in panel four. I ain't gonna lie--I did look at some pictures of city for some influence on those buildings, but from what I understand, I'm allowed to do that. It just seems like such a change of pace--there's almost always something about the art that really bugs me or doesn't quite capture what I had envisioned, but for once, I think I got it right.

The humor in this one is sort of subtle in that it's just some banter between henchmen, but you get the gist of it. I've always been sort of fascinated by the small talk that goes on while bad guys do their evil deeds. Think Star Wars, when the stormtroopers are talking about new speeder models as Obi Wan sneaks around to disable the Death Star's tractor beam. The dialogue in this strip isn't quite along those lines, but it kind of reminds me of it, or any other instance of conversational bad guy talk. You know they're probably always trying to one-up each other, so they're never quite going to get along--they're always going to do something wrong to displease the other.

That's it for this week! Thank you very much for your continued support, and I'll see you next time.

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 12

Tuesday, September 9, 2008 - 7:32 PM
[Update by Brian]
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Maybe Stu was right about them not coming.

I have all kinds of site and comic news to report. Unfortunately, none of it is really all that positive. None of it is incredibly terrible either, though. It's mostly just very irritating.

First, Firefox 3 downloaded itself on my computer, and my site does not display properly in it. There's a little white line that runs vertically down the site between the comic strip and the stuff on the right-hand side of the page. As a result, I am considering revamping the site design a little bit--not a complete overhaul, but mostly just some technical improvements. It may finally be time to step further away from my beloved HTML and incorporate some newer, better technologies. I would also like to improve the look of the stuff on the right-hand side of the page--it looks very sloppy and cobbled together.

Secondly, I tried out that Wacom tablet, and it's safe to say I don't quite know how to use it, yet. The sensitivity is set way too high, and my lines were going all over the place. I need to look up some tips and tricks on the internet and I need to better configure it for Photoshop and try to turn the sensitivity down, if that's possible. Or, if anyone reading has experience with the Wacom, I'd love to hear from you!

Lastly, it's a good thing nobody ever emails me, because I learned this weekend that my outgoing mail for the site doesn't work. I can receive, but I can't respond to anything. I tried everything they told me to to get it to work, but no luck. I'm considering dumping Microsoft Outlook and managing my site email through gmail. My Outlook is from 2002 and sucks, and I figured, hey, maybe it's time to try something new.

But hey, at least the comic itself is pretty cool, right? I'm hoping to deal with all of that other stuff soon enough.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 11

Tuesday, September 2, 2008 - 7:47 PM
[Update by Brian]
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A little video game humor for you there. You know how I have to throw that in every now and then.

For whatever reason, this comic took an incredibly long time to draw. I think again, it was just a matter of having to draw my characters over and over again, which is great for practice, but it can still be fairly time-consuming.

I got my friend's Wacom tablet on Friday, but I haven't had a chance to mess with it yet. I'm pretty excited to see what I can do with it, if anything.

I have the next five or six strips outlined, and I think things are really going to get exciting really soon. I'm looking forward to it. So stick around and see what happens next!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 10

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - 7:45 PM
[Update by Brian]
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Well, here we are at comic strip number 75. I hate to make a big deal out of all of these supposed little milestones, but believe me, if you take into account my lack of productivity over the last eight years, it's definitely worth it to me to point them out. This is also the 30th comic strip I've done this year. Wow, 30! The most strips I'd ever done in a single year before 2008 was 12, so that's pretty exciting. I hope to keep them coming!

Also, for the record, I very easily could have cheated on panels two and five, since Stu kicking down doors has become something of a running gag. I thought about stealing a panel from a previous instance of the gag, but decided to do some real drawing and hone my skills instead.

A friend of mine at work is going to let me borrow his Wacom tablet. For years, I've sworn off Wacom tablets because I really enjoy hand inking. But now that I have a real opportunity to use one, I might do some sketches and try my hand at digital inking. I'll be sure to post the sketches here for your perusal.

Thank you very much for reading, and here's to 75 successful comic strips. See you next time!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 9

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 7:02 PM
[Update by Brian]
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Well, the first panel took an incredibly long time to draw, but other than that, things went pretty smoothly with this strip. I still need to learn a combination of editing my dialogue down a bit and planning and structuring the panels to better accomodate the dialogue so the word bubbles don't cover up too much artwork. Seriously, I spent a lot of time on that artwork--I want people to see it!

Honestly, I don't have much else to report this time around. Maybe this week I'll have a chance to do a little "more" for the comic, like I talked about a couple of weeks ago.

I'm gonna go find something to eat. Thanks for reading, and check in again next week for strip number 75! Wow, that seems like so many comics, and yet so few at the same time. Ah well.

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 8

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 7:25 PM
[Update by Brian]
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Ah, no opportunity for cheating this time around. Lots of drawing, and it felt good to really have to work hard at it for the first time in a few weeks. Not only could I not copy and paste anything, but there was also a fight scene. I must admit that the fight scenes never look quite as good as I envision them, but this one is still all right.

One of the advantages of doing a long-form comic like CNMB is that there's not always a need for a punchline at the end of every strip. While I always prefer to end any given strip with a really good zinger, the fact that CNMB reads more like a comic book or graphic novel than a strip allows me to move the funny parts around if I need to. This strip, for example, starts off with a (hopefully) humorous sight gag, and then there's a fight, and then there's story progression at the end. My original idea for this particular strip did have a punchline at the end, but then I came up with this idea and liked it a lot better, so I went with it, instead. I think it turned out okay.

Once again, I failed to do a mid-week blog entry last week. I'll go ahead and say this week isn't looking good, but you never know.

We're getting into mid-August here, so a number of my friends will be heading back to school (either to learn or teach), and the more summery activities will be slowing down soon. I must say it was a pretty good summer, and I can honestly say I was never bored. If I wasn't at a wedding, float trip, barbecue, ball game, movie, on a road trip, or just generally hanging out with friends or family, I was keeping busy doing my own thing--making comics, writing, exercising, taking a solo road trip, fulfulling other responsibilities, or something along those lines. It's been a few years since I've had a summer in which I've gained so much appreciation for my friends and realized how great it is to have them in my life. On top of that, I feel better about myself than I have in years, probably since 2004, which has gone on record among my friends as being the greatest summer of all time. I worry less and find myself overcoming more and more inhibitions. I'm still not quite to where I want to be, but for once, I feel really good about where I'm going. I was even so lucky as to attract the attention of a very special young lady, which has made summer that much more wonderful. :)

But now that things are probably going to slow down a little bit, it's definitely time to further devote myself to the comic strip and hope that the positive feelings I have now carry on into the remainder of the year and help to keep me passionate and motivated about what I'm doing. I think back to how much progress I've already made this year compared to years past, and it's really exciting to think about where I might be able to go with this if I keep at it. I still have a lot of improvements to make, but at least I can face them with a smidge of confidence.

Let's go.

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 7

Tuesday, August 5, 2008 - 7:55 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Yeah, okay, so it's pretty clear that I blatantly cheated on the artwork on this one, but this strip has been in my head for awhile now, so I swear it wasn't a matter of me being lazy or anything like that.

Life has been pretty crazy for the past couple of weeks. I was out of town for the second straight weekend, and now I'm even more exhausted than I already was. However, it looks like things are going to slow down a little bit now, and I'm hoping that I'm finally going to have more time to devote to the comic. In this case, I'm not just talking about trying to get to a point where I'm doing two strips a week, but also just doing more for the comic. Because right now, I'm not doing enough. I haven't done any promotion for a couple of months now, and things just feel stagnant, despite the fact that I'm still making strips. I want to bring in more readers and develop a better rapport with the readers I have now--be more personal, write more blogs, try to come up with some extra little goodies, etc. The only problem is I'm still not entirely sure how to go about doing that.

Sounds like it might already be time to re-read How to Make Webcomics. I'm kinda looking forward to it.

I'm done here for the evening, but maybe I can find some time to return before next week with a blog, if nothing else. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!

A Villainous Interjection

Tuesday, July 29, 2008 - 8:00 PM
[Update by Brian]
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Hello! After fulfulling my other, more pressing responsibilities and taking a much needed vacation to Chicago to visit my brother and sister-in-law, I have finally returned with a new comic strip. I already feel like I have to apologize--there is so much dialogue going on in this one that it's hard to even see anything, but hopefully you still get the gist of it. I'm gonna have to start doing a better job of editing things down. That or just planning things out a little bit better.

Also, I hope you don't think all of the silhouettes of the Goonish High Council are just copouts because I'm too lazy to design some new characters--that's intentional. I've always liked the idea of an evil, mysterious council of doom that's all dark and shadowy, even when they're standing in broad daylight.

It took my awhile to get back into the groove of drawing after taking a week off. But once I got into it, I remembered how much I like it and got excited again.

Next on the agenda is working ahead on the story--I'm still at a point where I know what's coming, but I don't have it planned out strip for strip. I would feel much better about where the story is going if I did that.

Sorry once again for the missed update. Thanks for your continued support! I'll be back next week with another new strip.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT - no new comic strip this week!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008 - 12:59 AM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Well, I hadn't missed an update since April, and I was feeling pretty good about my consistency here lately, but all of a sudden, things just piled up a little bit too much, and some other, more important responsibilities took precedence over the strip. Therefore, the next installment of Chewy Ninja Monkey Bars will come to you next Tuesday, July 29. Despite this minor setback, I still feel really good about the direction of the comic strip, as well as my dedication to working on it every week. (I'm also still on pace to reach my end-of-year goal, although I have a little less leeway to work with now.)

But man, it still sucks to have to miss an update. I'd go ahead and do it, but I really, really need to get some sleep. I know that even the best webcartoonists miss an update here and there, particularly the ones with lives and dayjobs away from their strips. But it still feels like I'm letting you guys down. I'm really sorry about the delay, and I hope I'll be able to make it up to you with some quality strips in the coming weeks.

Thanks for your continued support of the strip! I will see you next week!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 6

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 - 7:37 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Can't talk--All-Star Game.

I'll be back later this week with a REAL blog entry.

Behind the Scenes 3

Tuesday, July 8, 2008 - 7:27 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I thought maybe I would give you guys a break from all of these drama-heavy strips with a little behind-the-scenes hijinks.

A little backstory on this one: on a Monday last fall, my friends Katie and Cole and I were going to meet at my place and go see our friend Josh coach a JV football game in Scott City. My doorbell rang, and I answered it thinking it was them. It turns out it was this meat salesman. Allegedly, a regular customer of his down the street, the Vernucci family (or something like that), had a completely full freezer and couldn't accept their entire order. Thus, the salesman was going door to door trying to sell off the part of their order they couldn't accept. Well, I love meat, but my suspicions were aroused by a number of factors:

1) I could not verify the existence or non-existence of the Vernucci family.
2) The salesman could produce no documentation proving the legitimacy of the business.
3) The truck was unmarked.
4) It was raining--if it was a scam, nobody in any of the other houses would come out in the wet to help me if I needed it.

I refused everything and just sent the guy on his way. As we headed to Scott City, I told Katie and Cole about what happened and considered the possibility that the dude wasn't a meat salesman at all, or perhaps a seller of human meat products, and that he was probably trying to kill or kidnap me. In hindsight I thought the whole incident was pretty funny and thought it might make a good comic strip in the future. And here we are.

And nobody take this thing the wrong way just because it appears as though I am to become mincemeat in the last panel. I assure you I'm really not that morbid, nor do I have any desire to die or anything like that. It's all in good fun. :)

Back to action next week. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you then!

Rise to Power, Part 6

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 - 7:36 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finally, the epic conclusion to our flashback.

Okay, if I wasn't already out of it last week, I definitely am this week as I recover from an absurdly awesome camping trip over the weekend. I was already suffering from an incredible lack of sleep, and the camping trip compounded that even further. And with the 4th of July occupying the coming weekend, things may get even worse before they get better. Ah well--it's all worth it. The only problem is I'm still having problems finding time to do site promotion and all of that good stuff that goes along with making a webcomic besides...y'know, making the webcomic. But pretty soon, maybe I can really get going again.

I got nothin' else! Thanks for reading, and maybe we'll be getting back to some serious action pretty soon now.

Rise to Power, Part 5

Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - 7:29 PM
[Update by Brian]
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....

As if making this comic strip wasn't sad and poignant enough, Don Henley's "New York Minute" came on my .mp3 player as I was working on it. I don't know what it is about music always seeming to sync up appropriately with things that I do or things that happen around me, but it can't just be coincidence.

This comic strip comes at an interesting time for me--I feel like if something like this happens in the story, it should come at a time when I'm feeling all depressed and in the dumps in reality. But it turns out I actually feel better than I have in a very long time. My good friends Katie and Andy got married over the weekend--it was bound to happen for these two sooner or later (well, we had known it was coming for awhile now), and to see them finally seal the deal and to see them that happy...well, maybe the feeling is a little contagious. For me, anyway. On top of that, I had more fun at the reception than I've had in a long time, so that didn't hurt, either. They're wonderful people and they deserve absolutely nothing but the best. Congratulations, guys!

I don't have much else to report as far as the strip goes. I really need to get back on the promotion trail and get the strip out there for people to read. I've been slacking off a little bit lately--there's been a lot going on. So I'm gonna try to work on that, and on that note, if you ever feel the need to tell your friends to check out the strip, please don't hesitate.

That's all for now! Thanks for reading and I'll be back soon.

Rise to Power, Part 4

Tuesday, June 17, 2008 - 7:45 PM
[Update by Brian]
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New comic is up, and before the 8:00 hour, even! I think that's only been done once or twice since switching to the Tuesday schedule. This one ain't too funny, and the next one won't be, either. But I hope they are compelling, at the very least.

Astute readers may recall in Strip #5 that Stu mentioned an incident involving trolleys. Perhaps some light will be shed on this mysterious event? Next week, mayhaps? I dunno...we'll see!

Also, if you're dedicated enough to have read some of those past issues, you'll notice the actual words are only barely legible (if that). I'm thinking about maybe going back and replacing all of the lousy, hand-drawn word balloons with digital ones so that new readers interested in familiarizing themselves with the archive can do so with ease. In those days, I just didn't consider the appearance of the word balloons to be so important to the strip. However, I foresee this endeavor being potentially difficult because some story details may have changed since some of the early dialogue (namely some pieces of Stu's origin), and I'm conflicted on whether or not to change things in the older strips to reflect what eventually happens in the more recent strips. I probably won't, because in a comic strip like this in which ideas have been perpetually bouncing around in my head like a years long game of Pong, I think some ideas and story elements are just naturally going to change and evolve over time. It still stinks, though, because to me, it doesn't feel like everything is coming together perfectly. I feel like I've retconned, which isn't a horrible sin or anything in my mind, but it's still not perfect. In all honesty, I should probably just not be so hard on myself.

Also, the fact that I was an English major will tempt me to change bad grammar and such. But if I do end up going back and essentially "cleaning up" the text, I think I'll be able to resist all of these urges and leave things the way they are. Just more readable. Aesthetic changes are okay, but other than that, things need to stay the same.

That's all I know. I'll be back next week with a new strip, and maybe sometime in between with a blog or some minor updates. Thanks for reading!

Decided not to add Twitter...for now.

Thursday, June 12, 2008 - 11:42 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

So I was about to put one of the little Twitter feeds over on the side bar. If you don't know what Twitter is, it's a social networking service in which you basically sum up what you're doing at any given moment in 140 characters or less. It's like the little status update things you can do on Facebook or Myspace, only you can show off your status updates wherever you want by adding a little widget to your website that updates itself whenever you update your status.

It seems like sort of a fun thing to do. I went ahead and signed up, and it's cool that I can see what people I'm interested in are up to. But as far as putting on the site, well, maybe now is not the time for the following reasons:

1) I don't know anybody personally on Twitter.
2) I don't know if anybody who looks at this site uses Twitter. I want to use Twitter at least in part for promotion of the comic strip, and I don't see that going too well at the moment.
3) I'm already inundated with social networking services and obsess over them on a daily basis--adding another feels like I might be overdoing it a bit.

I believe it may be more useful in the future, but for now, I think I'll limit my use of Twitter to personal amusement only. Also, I looked at the site with the Twitter widget applied, and it sort of made things look messy. I had it over on the side bar, and if I'm going to add anything else over there, I may need to make some graphic or layout adjustments, because it was starting to look like a Tetris board when the blocks get near the top and you start to panic and throw stuff everywhere. I may need to add some sort of box or containment unit over there to keep things looking a little neater and more professional. I will revisit the idea in the near future when time allows it.

Welp, I gotta get to bed. I should do these blog entry things more often.

Rise to Power, Part 3

Tuesday, June 10, 2008 - 8:05 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Again, I apologize for all of the narration. However, I assure you that it's all worth it, so make sure to read every last word of it, you lazy bums!

This strip is the 20th of the year. I'm well on my way to doubling the production of my most productive year. Sad, isn't it? Yeah, I know. My actual goal for the year is to double the number of strips in the archive. There were 45 at the start of the year, so I need to get to 90 by the end of the year. If I keep up my current pace, that shouldn't be a problem. Hooray!

I wasn't too thrilled with the artwork in this one, but to be honest, there just wasn't a whole lot of artwork to begin with, so I guess it doesn't bother me too much. I am, however, extremely proud of the logo for the Hired Goon Association. If the strip ever becomes popular enough for its own line of merchandise, you can bet there will be some HGA items for sale.

My comments last week about possibly switching to a twice-a-week format generated some discussion on the forum, which I then followed up with a question about the current pacing of the strip. I was wondering if the pacing has improved at all--I know it used to be a problem and I've been putting legitimate effort into improving. So check it out and let me know what you think!

I plan on adding a Twitter feed to the site within the next week sometime. I don't know if anybody who comes here uses Twitter or not, but you should follow me when I get it set up. I'll let you know.

That's it for this time around. Thanks for reading! I know there was a lot of it this week.

Rise to Power, Part 2

Tuesday, June 3, 2008 - 8:10 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Well, as long as he admitted it was stupid, I guess I can let it slide....

I've fleshed out the story of the strip for what will probably end up being the next couple of months, and it looks like we're going to learn even more about Stu's mysterious past than I originally thought! What can we expect to find out, you ask? That's a good question that may or may not be answered next week.

Sorry about all of the narration--it's just gotta be done sometimes.

I'm really starting to put serious thought into switching to a twice-a-week format. Before I do this, I'm going to need to build up a bit of a buffer so if I get really busy in the future, I'll have some strips to fall back on if I don't have time to draw two comics every week. Right now I do all of my work on Monday night and Tuesday evening. But if I can put a couple of hours a night a few additional nights a week into the strip, I think I'll be able to manage two a week once I have a buffer. This is a sign that I'm getting better with managing my time, and I'm proud of that. Only drawing one strip a week was an incredible and frustrating grind at first, but it has definitely gotten much better since then.

Now that I have the strip planned out a little better, I'm really excited about where it's going, which is probably contributing to me wanting to do two strips a week so we can get rolling. However, it's going to take some time to prepare for the change, and then even more time to settle in to the change once it happens, so bear with me. I really hope I'm able to do it!

Thanks a lot for stopping by! I'll be speaking with you again soon!

Rise to Power, Part 1

Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - 7:48 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We interrupt our current story arc, Stu Versus San Francisco, to bring you the exciting flashback, Rise to Power. Looks like we're going to find out how Mayor Pratt gets away with what he does, how Stu got on his bad side, and perhaps a little more of Stu's mysterious past, as well. Stay tuned! Or whatever the internet equivalent of "stay tuned" is.

That last panel looked a lot cooler in my head--it still turned out all right, I guess, but not quite how I originally envisioned it. Astute readers may recognize the design of the building--it's based on something in one of my favorite video games.

Also, if you missed the update on Saturday, you might find a couple of new and updated character bios on the cast page.

As always, thanks very much for reading, and the next installment is coming soon!

Cast page updated at last!

Saturday, May 24, 2008 - 2:49 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The cast page has been totally revamped with some all-new character entries, some updated character entries, and new pictures! It looks a lot better now--all the pictures are the same size, which gives it a much more polished and professional look (sorta).

Also, at the request of some readers, I removed the "WHO?" from below my name on the title graphic. They told me I should be proud of my work (and I am) and to let others know that I'm proud of my work, and that self-deprecation shouldn't be included in one of the very first things you see when you look at the site. And they're right, of course.

That's all for now! More comics are on the way!

Editorial Changes!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - 11:30 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You know how I was disappointed because the most recent strip was sloppy? Well, I went back in and added three things that I forgot to do, and I feel a lot better now. I don't really like doing that, but it was really driving me crazy that I had forgot this stuff! See if you can find the changes! (Hint: They're all in the last panel.)

With Memorial Day coming up, as well as some more free time here and there, I'm going to try to make some long-anticipated (by me, anyway) updates to the site in the next few days. Will it really happen?! Stay tuned to find out!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 5

Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - 8:50 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ugh...sorry this one is so late. Let's hear it for last-minute script re-writes.

This one is a little sloppy--I was running out of time, plus I'm not very good at drawing people sitting down. Also, I forgot to ink a bunch of lines in the background and ended up doing it in Photoshop. Hopefully this will be something of a lesson for me in spreading my work out more and not trying to do everything in two nights. You would think I'd have this figured out by now, but things just never seem to work out the way they're supposed to, and everything gets left until the last minute.

Anyway, self deprecation aside, thank you for your continued support of the strip. I will be back soon enough with another update!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 4

Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 7:58 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I'm steadily getting a little bit faster at this whole thing. This strip would have been up even earlier if Adobe Illustrator hadn't started getting all finicky on me right at the very end. I hate to say it, but I think for the first time since I've had it, my PC doesn't have the power necessary to do the things I do. It might be time to start saving...ugh.

I'm proud of today's strip because it's probably one of the hardest ones I've done. I've only done a few fight scenes in the entire series so far, and I don't think any of them were as involved as this one. It was fun to put together, but also a little daunting. There were a few times I had to go stand in the middle of my living room and act out Stu's motions to make sure I was drawing things correctly and that he was lashing out with the right limbs. Also, I apologize if the art is a little sloppy in this one--again, drawing my characters actually doing things and not just standing there can be challenging, but it's something I want to learn to do well. Maybe it'll pay off someday.

Also, there is a new topic in the forum that I would like your input on, if you don't mind.

That's it for me. Hope you like the strip, and I'll be back soon!

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 3

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - 8:18 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Oh, that pesky mayor....

That last panel was a lot of fun, but pretty difficult, as well.

I'm trying to get the pacing of the strip down a little bit better. I always have all kinds of ideas for strips involving anything and everything that could possibly be going on at any given moment, but I'm learning to better pick and choose what you get to see. It's important for me to keep things moving, even though there are a lot of little things that I think would be neat to include in the strip. If I want you guys to keep coming back, I have to keep the pace at least slightly faster than that of a fast slug. I think I'm improving slightly!

Anyway, enjoy the strip! Thanks for reading!

Public Service Announcement

Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - 8:10 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This one was a lot of fun. This is an idea that's been kicking around in my head for about a year and a half now, so I figured I would throw it in just as the tension was beginning to really rise. These intermission strips get pretty positive feedback, so I'm intending to keep doing them every now and then as a brief, but silly break from the story. Originally it was supposed to be Mike and Stu lecturing about the name of the strip on a stage, but at the last minute I decided to take a different approach and have the bad guy do it. I'm really excited about how it turned out.

I still haven't made those cast updates I wanted to make! Maybe I'll finally get around to it this week.

Hope you enjoy the strip! I'll be speaking with you again soon.

Stu Versus San Francisco, Part 2

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - 8:25 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I'm rather proud of the artwork this time around. Not only did it not take me a million years to draw today's strip, but I actually did it fairly well compared to some of my more recent outings. I actually liked the last one quite a bit, as well. I think not having to draw any vehicles just makes the strip so much better overall. I guess maybe I'll put some practice into that in the event that vehicles appear again later in the story.

Also, this strip marks another minor milestone for me. With the completion of today's comic, 2008 has officially become my most productive year for making comics. And it's only April. I don't know if I should be proud or disgusted with myself. I'll go with the pride for now, but things can always change.

I'm going to try to make some updates to the cast page later this week. If I don't see you then, I'll be back next Tuesday with a new comic. Thanks for reading!

Stu Versus San Francisco

Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - 10:15 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Once again, my completion and posting of the strip was delayed by quite a bit. Feel free to blame TurboTax and my dad's taxes for that. Also the fact that there is a mysterious 8-hour gap in my day that I cannot account for. It might be my job, but I'm not entirely sure. You have my apologies.

I'm a lot happier with this strip than the last one. I think maybe more than anything else I need to learn patience in my drawing, and patience in my improvements to my drawing, as well.

I'm starting to spread word of the comic strip a little bit. I told some co-workers about it and I'm going to get involved in some more online communities and shill it there. The going is slow right now, but that's expected. Here again, patience is going to be key. I just have to stick with it and they will come.

Maybe.

Nothing more to say this week. Enjoy the new strip and I'll be speaking with you again soon! Thanks for reading!

Have Fun Storming City Hall!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008 - 8:50 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Holy crap, I am so pumped to finally get to this point in the plot. You have no idea.

I was pretty discouraged when I determined I wasn't going to get the strip up until tonight sometime, but I'm reading How to Make Webcomics right now, and it drives me like that car from Rad Racer. Best resource for making webcomics available today. Each time I pick it up, I get a fresh boost of determination that puts me back into the comic-making mindset--it makes me feel like I can really do this. I don't know whether or not it'll actually happen, but I should be enjoying myself while I try.

I still didn't leave enough room for my word bubbles--I'm working on it. I also need some more improvement in my backgrounds. And I need to work on my characters, too. Basically all of the artwork needs improvement. I'm hoping that with my new Tuesday schedule, I'll have a little more time late in the week to practice drawing. The good thing about my strip is that it's not just a bunch of talking heads--the characters are always interacting with something or in some kind of action pose. It's challenging to make it look good, but I'm hoping that in tackling the challenge over and over again, I'll eventually get kind of good at it. But we'll see.

Hope you like how things are going! I'll be back soon with another blog entry and/or strip.

Chewy Ninja Monkey Bars is Moving to Tuesdays!

Thursday, April 3, 2008 - 11:40 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You know when critically acclaimed, but ratings-starved TV shows try to hook you with that line, but then you and the rest of America forget to watch it when it actually moves and the show ends up getting canceled? That's exactly what I hope doesn't happen here.

Until further notice, the strip will be updated on Tuesdays. And by Tuesdays, I actually mean Monday at around 11:45 PM central time. So for you night owls and obsessive fans*, it'll technically be updated on Monday. But for all of you non-crazies, barring any unforseen complications, the strip will be up ALL DAY on Tuesday for you to check out at your convenience.

Reasons for doing this are simple--I'm less busy at the beginning of the week than at the end of the week. Thus, working on the strip at the beginning of the week should give me more time to devote to the strip, and as an added bonus, I'll still be motivated because my day job usually doesn't suck the life out of me until around mid-week. Right now I'm working a lot on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and I'm just not able to fit the strip in on these days anymore. I'm also cranky and irritable when I get home from work, which is not conducive to efficient strip-making.

Since the strip currently only has three fans, I hope this won't be an issue. It was something I wanted to straighten out now, in the event that the fanbase eventually grows to four people.

Thanks for reading, and sorry about any inconvenience this may cause. The next strip will be up on Tuesday!

*Current obsessive fan count: 0

At Last!

Monday, March 31, 2008 - 11:00 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If this keeps up I may have to switch to a Monday schedule. Maybe this week I'll officially get back on track. If nothing else, at least I've abandoned my old response to getting off schedule--stopping production altogether. Even though the strip has been late the past two weeks, I'm still doing it. That's not ideal, but still a step in the right direction compared to how I used to approach this thing.

It's amazing (and irritating) that only three days have passed since Mike and Stu set out for San Francisco over five years ago. Ouch.

It's pretty easy to tell from today's strip that I'm still struggling with consistency. I cheated with a little copy and paste in one panel, then didn't cheat and tried to draw the last two frames approximately the same and failed miserably. I need more practice--that's all I can say.

I'm also developing an annoying habit of not leaving enough room for my word bubbles, forcing me to partially obscure characters and details I would have preferred to have left visible. I'll get a better grip on this eventually, as well. However, I've really struggled with it over the last couple of strips, and has me thinking about trying out hand-lettering sometime. I'm curious to see how it would turn out, but it already takes me so long to make a strip as it is. Nevertheless, it's definitely something to consider if I can't manage my artwork well enough to leave room for the digital word bubbles I'm using now.

I'm done talking for the evening. Be happy--Mike and Stu finally made it. Now we're getting somewhere.

Also, I'd like to say happy birthday to my friend Ashley, who will never see this, but is still cool enough that I didn't want to not say something. And celebrating a birthday tomorrow is my friend Rick, who coded the strip archive and was essential to the re-launch of the site. Happy birthday, Rick!

See you next time!

A Meager Victory

Monday, March 24, 2008 - 11:38 PM
[Update by Brian]
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ah, now that things have settled down just a bit, I had a chance to finish last week's strip. I apologize once again for the delay, and will do my best to make sure this week's strip is up on time. Unfortunately, at this point I can't make any promises since I still seem to be getting slammed at work on a daily basis. But with any luck, I won't need to work any overtime this week, and the rest of my responsibilities (such as this comic strip, of course) can be tended to promptly and smoothly.

At least, for the time being, it looks like I shouldn't have to deal with any freak flooding in the immediate future. I guess that's the one disadvantage of having a creek behind your house.

As for the strip, you may remember Ted from his unfortunate encounter with Stu some strips back. He's still a jerk. And there was something of a brawl, as well, as you may or may not recall.

It was fun to draw a variety of different faces other than those of the regular characters. They're obviously not as polished as the regulars, but I'm sure it was good for me all the same.

I need to get some sleep--I've been making myself sick staying up too late recently. Enjoy the strip, thanks for hanging in there, and I'll be back with a new one soon!

This week's strip will be late.

Thursday, March 20, 2008 - 11:20 PM
[Update by Brian]
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A crazy week of flooding, a day job in which I seem to be picking up more and more responsibilities all the time, and a sudden irritating need for at least seven hours of sleep a night has thrown my comic-making schedule completely out of whack. I'm very dependent on routine sometimes, especially when it comes to making comics. I can't seem to adjust very well when my routine is thrown off. As a result, this week's strip may not be posted until tomorrow at the very best, or Sunday or Monday at the very worst.

I'm really sorry about the delay. I try very hard to get the strip up on time, but occasionally real life really does get in the way. I'm getting better at treating the strip as if it is a second job, but I'm still not very good at it, nor am I very quick about the comic-making process. However, I would be very grateful if you'll grant me this one screw-up.

Thanks, sorry once again, and I hope to be back here with a genuine comic strip soon.

Score One for the Good Guys

Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 11:10 PM
[Update by Brian]
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Hey, this strip didn't take so long to make. I'm noticing a direct correlation between the time it takes to draw the strip and how many times I have to draw my characters in the strip. I guess that's normal, but it may give you an idea of how long it sometimes takes me to get my characters to look (sort of) correct.

Anybody remember the escapades of Mike and Stu and the hired goon dispenser? Perhaps this will refresh your memory--I know it's been awhile. Again. That only happened 20 strips ago, but it was years ago that it was seen for the first time. But hey, at least I'm getting better with consistency...for now.

It's funny how cartooning works sometimes. I literally haven't drawn Evil Bad Guy Ninja in years, and out of nowhere here he is, returned to my drawing board like an old friend (or enemy). Sure, he looks basically the same as Stu, but it's still just not the same as drawing Stu. He's a different guy. And much more villainous.

In other news, I made a makeshift news/blog archive and moved the older entries there. You can check it out if you ever need to kill some time before a date or colonoscopy. Next I am hoping to make some improvements to the cast page.

Also, I was thinking maybe I would start doing some more blog entries here. You know, something to tide you over between strips. Does that sound at all like a worthwhile endeavor? Any interest?

I'm done here for now. Enjoy the strip and I'll be back soon!

More Desert Hijinks

Friday, March 7, 2008 - 12:10 AM
[Update by Brian]
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Crap. I didn't get the strip done by Thursday. Here lately it seems to be taking more time to get the strips out. Isn't it supposed to be taking less time? Ah well. I'll get there someday. In my defense, I did have to spend some extra and unplanned hours at my real job this week.

Since this is strip #52, that means that at our current rate of update, there is exactly one year's worth of strips in the archive. Remember kids, it only took eight years to get to this point! Bleh.

If you need a recap on the robot bounty hunter mentioned in today's strip, you might want to climb aboard here or perhaps here. Even if you're not a new reader, it's been awhile. And if you've already forgotten its alleged replacement (shame on you), you can catch a glimpse of it right here.

I gotta go to bed so I can work tomorrow, even though I'd rather just sleep through the inevitable snow storm of doom projected to hit sometime within the next 24 hours. It's going to crush us like a crunchy insect.

Thanks for reading! See you next week.

Ninja on the Clock

Thursday, February 28, 2008 - 11:12 PM
[Update by Brian]
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In which we learn how long it takes ninjas to do certain things.

I know there's a lot of the talkie-talk going on here in the past few strips, but it's been necessary for character development, avoiding plotholes, and giving me an excuse to draw my characters over and over again so that I actually get good at it. If it's starting to wear on you, bear with me--we'll get back to action before you know it. It's at times like this that I wish I was at a point where I could dish out two or three strips a week so that things moved a little more quickly. But maybe we'll get there sometime soon.

Not much else to report at the moment. Thanks for reading, and I'll be speaking to you again in approximately this same spot next week!

What's in Here?

Thursday, February 21, 2008 - 11:25 PM
[Update by Brian]
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Well, it only took almost eight years, but we've finally reached the 50th comic strip in the series. You may choose to applaud if you so desire, but I would highly recommend that instead you deliver a much deserved kick to my ass for being such a bum all these years. Ugh.

In all seriousness, though, it does make me feel pretty good. Once you make 50 of something, you feel like you can make 100 of something. Although, I really hope it doesn't take another eight years to get there. 50 strips is nothing compared to...well, every other webcomic around, but it's what I feel is my first real milestone. That coupled with my actually being productive and pumping out a comic (almost) every week has me feeling pretty good about this whole thing. I still need to work on finding new readers, but we'll get there someday. And the strip isn't perfect or anything, either, but again, I'm hoping that working on it with even the slightest bit of consistency will help to improve it.

I also feel pretty good because I was way behind this week, but still managed to successfully finish a strip by my Thursday deadline...even though we're in the 24th hour here. Just ignore that part. I know I said a few weeks ago that Wednesday was going to be the official update day, but I usually wasn't getting the strip up until after midnight, so I offiically changed it to Thursday.

That's all I have to say for now. Enjoy the comic, and I'll be back here again next week. Thanks for reading! Here's to another 50 strips...maybe.

Overwhelmed

Thursday, February 14, 2008 - 12:30 AM
[Update by Brian]
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My apologies for the missed update last week. My schedule has been somewhat thrown off for the last couple of weeks, and especially this week. If you're local, you are certainly aware by now that we got buried under 28 feet of ice. As such, power outtages and other side effects of massive ice storms are screwing up everything! Now, all that being said, it's still not really an adequate excuse to not be posting comics. I'll try to not let that happen again for as long as I can.

But now that you have your new comic, tell me, can you honestly think of a better way to spend Valentine's Day than with a new edition of Chewy Ninja Monkey Bars? I know I can't...well, actually, I can. In fact, I think of several better ways to spend Valentine's Day. But I guess I'll take what I can get, and this year (and let's be honest...every year), that's making comics for you!

Enjoy the new strip, and I shall return with a new one within a more reasonable amount of time.

Whoops

Thursday, January 31, 2008 - 11:30 PM
[Update by Brian]
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This was the first comic strip that I've actually drawn since the site re-launched. I guess it turned out pretty well for my first legitimate time back to the drawing board, but there are (as always) a couple of things that didn't quite turn out the way I wanted them to. There's a certain lapse between my brain and my pencil that I have never been able to bridge. I can always visualize great images, but they rarely turn out that way. But I figure this is probably a problem for anybody who draws.

Since I'm way out of practice, I am incredibly slow--more so than usual--which led to a slight delay in the strip being posted. I'll get into a groove one of these days. First I have to get good, then I have to get fast, and then I have to get good fast. I've also considered trying to do some warm-up drawings before I actually start working on the strip--I understand this helps artists focus and improve and just generally get into the drawing mindset. I would have done it this week, but I didn't have time. Irritating...that reminds me that time management is something I need to work on, as well.

This whole thing is apparently a learning process, as you might have discerned. It is a little frustrating right now because I'm new to approaching the strip as something I must do consistently. But I am confident that I will get the hang of it soon enough.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next week!

On The Run Again

Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 12:25 AM
[Update by Brian]
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Just can't wait to get on the run again....

I shamefully admit that this comic strip was drawn in 2006 and is just now seeing the light of day. :(

Well, this is our second strip after the re-launch, and judging by how things are working out for me, the initial update schedule is going to be late on Wednesday nights. I unfortunately am going to start out on a weekly schedule until I get a little faster and otherwise back into the groove.

My day job seems to have made the digital-editing portion of the comic strip-making process somewhat easier, which is good news. I know my way around my programs better than ever.

Since I'm just getting back into making comics, your feedback is especially welcome. Please let me know what you like and don't like.

Enjoy the strip, and thanks for hanging in there!

Another Brief Interjection

Saturday, January 19, 2008 - 6:25 PM
[Update by Brian]
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So, the first new comic strip after my most recent...erm..."vacation"...yes, that will do...contains both metahumor and a weiner joke. As you can see, we're off to a great start here in 2008.

I need to offer you something of an explanation as to why I've been such a bum over the last year or more. Or really, since I started the comic strip, for that matter. Without getting into a big, too personal and too unentertaining sob story, I have my reasons for not being productive. It's not time--I've got time. I've just never learned to use it very well. And it's not because I'm no longer invested in the strip--I enjoy the world I'm putting together and can't just leave these characters in the dust without any resolution.

More than anything else, and I guess the Webcomics Weekly podcast has sort of helped me define this, there's a sort of debilitating fear that goes into commiting to this whole webcomics thing. I can no longer do this thing that I do where I create comics for a couple of months, then take a little time off, then make some more comics, then take a year off, etc. At this point, for the strip to be worthwhile both to me and to any readers who may still exist, I have to commit to it and do it regularly. It's kind of like taking up exercise. Or flossing. It requires dedication, which is something I haven't shown yet. And it's scary to make that commitment--scary enough that I've been just as content to do nothing at all, rather than dive right in. You may not think that, considering that it's something that I really enjoy doing. But it requires setting aside time to do the work that goes into it. It requires sacrifice--less video games, less TV, less sleep (I already do this part well), and less time with the ladies (I am also good at this). It requires gumption, research, confidence, and a genuine passion for the art.

There's doubt and anxiety and an immense lack of confidence, too. I let the thought that I may not be good enough stop me from even trying more often than not. I'm afraid that people won't get my jokes, or that my jokes are actually all just rip-offs of other people's jokes. Or that my characters are all just me with different clothing and speech patterns.

I've probably said a lot of this same stuff before. But I can't keep working inconsistently like I have for...well...forever. It's now or never. I'm either going to do this thing or I'm not. And if I manage to do it consistently and it bombs miserably, then I suppose there's nothing stopping me from moving on to a new idea.

Time to get to work.