Status: Calmly
Listening To: Led Zeppelin - "You Shook Me"
Been Reading: Helen Castor - Blood and Roses: One Family's Struggle and Triumph During the Tumultuous Wars of the Roses; Hitoshi Ariga - The Big O!
Been Watching: Firefly

Well, you guys...Here's a new page! It is the worst page in the book. We shall hope that it remains the worst.
03: 17 : "Goodnight, Everybody"

In business news, I've been getting everything arranged for conventions and such, a little later on this year. (Anyone looking for a roomie for SDCC?) Gonna update my portfolio, soon as I get a moment to breathe. (Gonna split it into two sections, for illustration and design...since I've got all this design stuff, now.) Also, stuff is for sale, I remind you. (And...I encourage you to maybe think about picking up a copy of the book, or a coffee mug, or a t-shirt, to keep we hungry artists in business. I need to buy new pens, right now.) If you didn't see it, the shirt of the month is Akhenaten.

Valentine's Day is just over a month away...I'm already so excited! My favorite holiday, you know. I'm chompin' at the bit for this year's V'Day Sketch Catch Extravaganzapalooza! Hee hee...In the meantime, I offer this reminder that nothing says "I love you for all your unique qualities" like commissioning a portrait of your one-true-only, or says "I pay attention because I care" like commissioning some art of your dearheart's special favorite thing...Just a friendly suggestion. Did I mention that I need pens and have convention travel expenses? ^__~

On the personal side of things...this article resonated deeply with me. Mm. Yes. Yes, yes.

In sad news for the rock world, Ron Asheton has passed away. Let us take a moment of silence for the fallen Stooge.
*holds lighter in the air*

...And now, let us tribute him as we tribute all great artists, and let us keep on rockin', ever.

Have a week, y'all. A full one of seven days. <3
~Ever your JoJo

Status: Thumbs-Up
Listening To: Radiohead - "Go to Sleep"
Been Reading: Hitoshi Ariga - "The Big O!"
Been Watching: "Batman: The Animated Series"

Hey! Hey, you guys! First of all, my wishes that you have an excellent new year. And second, I have news of an exciting new addition to Dead Squirrel, for the new year...

...merchandise!

You guys have been asking me for years about when I'll be selling "I Heart My Kerberos" coffee mugs, Hermes t-shirts, and Dead Squirrel logo gear...well, now you can actually get it! (My personal favorite item is the Hades polo shirt...a mortal-sized edition of the exact shirt that you see Hades wearing on the cover of volume 1!)

I've also instituted something very special: the Shirt-of-the-Month! Every twenty-eight-to-thirty-one days, there will be a new design released...available for only that month before it's retired! Which means that you, O Hip One, will have a kind of super-rare, limited-edition thingamajig. It'll, like...earn you major points with the indie crowd. If you're into that. And in any case, you'll have a pretty cool new edition to your wardrobe!
To start that off, I've featured a history-inspired design starring my favorite pharaoh, Akhenaten!

Are you excited? I'm excited! And to show you just how excited I am...the first twenty of you guys to email me a photo of yourselves with your fancy new DSC stuff will be treated to a free ink drawing of whatever* you fancy! Because I loves y'all.

So, have fun perusing the first offerings of my humble wares, and remember to check out Bohemian Trash and Shark Robot, who also very sweetly carry a few of my artings!

*Nothin' illegal or hateful. Also, one drawing per person, even if you're buyin' more than one thing. If you buy more than one thing, you ARE still double the awesome, though.

Status: Feeling Better About Myself
Listening To: Third Eye Blind - "Wounded"
Been Reading: Akino Arai - The Big O; Mary Castor - Blood and Roses: One Family's Struggle and Triumph During the Tumultuous Wars of the Roses
Been Watching: Justice League: A New Frontier

So...Sorry 'bout makin' y'all wait for this page. It seems that whenever I have these lags of a couple weeks, it's when I have my worst pages. It should be that I, like, reward you guys for your patience by giving you my best stuff, but it never seems to work out that way. Maybe my subconscious makes me put off scanning because I'm ashamed.

Anyway...I always loved this part of the script. I liked the way it flowed, and the really, really stupid, shameless dialogue that I could throw in (like on this page!) Alas...I was having a bad time, emotionally, about my work. So it all came out very, mmm...self-conscious, tentative, and over-thought. There's no confidence behind those lines.

And this is because JoJo is on the wagon, having a psyche full of self-esteem issues. And she occasionally goes through these nasty identity crises. But you guys, being the intelligent children that you are, already knew that because, like, all my story protagonists have identity complexes and/or self-esteem issues.

Bleh. Have a page:
03 : 16 "You Know What a Cup of Coffee Means"

And now...Wonderful fanart! From wonderful people! Who are wonderful!
Below the fold:

Status: Nerdbasket
Listening To: Tyler Bates - "Tonight We Dine in Hell"
Been Reading: Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life
Been Watching: The Venture Bros.

Well, well, well, I've got a new page for y'all. Which, I think is the winner for longest page title I've ever used. ( In case you don't get it. )

...This page was where I broke down, in the scene. This was really hard to get out. I kept having these awful echoing voices intoning that I'm too figure centric and that there aren't enough backgrounds but if there are backgrounds you can't see anything and you can't see anything anyways and that I'm generally a hack and a failure as an artist. So...that was fun. *sigh*

Dis 03:15 - "Um. I've Noticed You Around. I Find You Very Attractive...Would You Go to Bed with Me?"

In unrelated news, I did a self-portrait. Look below the fold.

Mood: T.G.I.F.
Listening To: Van Morrison - "Moondance"; Ludo - "Love Me Dead"
Been Reading: Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life; Charles M. Schulz - Peanuts; Chaz Addams - Creature Comforts
Been Watching: Goodfellas; Zero no Tsukaima

And another page. I recall I was having a particularly difficult time drawing this sequence. My head was full of those nagging self-doubts and dark thoughts. It's, like, ironic and awful because I was always particularly proud of the script for this scene; good flow, but I had such a hard time forcing it down on paper. Er...down on Bristol board.

03 : 14 : "Introductions"

It snowed last night. Everything's covered in flaky white stuff, now.

The fold...

Status: Heart Full of Soap Bubbles
Listening To: The Eccentric Opera - "Die Fruelingfeier"
Been Reading: Charles M. Schulz - Peanuts; Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life
Been Watching: The Little Mermaid; The Sleeping Beauty; Mansfield Park

What, ho! But I have a new page for you this day!
Here's another view of Chez Hades. His kitchen wallpaper is that Modernist boomerang pattern that drives me wild. (In mango red.) I've always wanted a Kit-Cat Clock. Kestrel's got one in Onieros, too, except it's an opossum, so it's upside-down. Because I live vicariously through my art until I can close the gap between fantasy and reality. I really can't understate how much I love '50s-'70s industrial design. For me, these shapes represent something really iconographic and timeless. I think all TVs should have rabbit ears, even if they're not actually doing anything. And cars should be made all of rectangles. Oh, man...Just shut me up now. Here's the page.

03 : 13 : "Sit With Me"

Click "read more".

Status: Contented
Listening To: Project 86 - "Doomsday Stomp"
Been Reading: Francis de Sales - Introduction to the Devout Life
Been Watching: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

New page of Dis for y'all!

...And back to our heroes, again.
I have a major weakness for industrial design of the 1940s-1980s. You know, the unbearably ugly ones. Hades' house is one of those California-style ranch houses, split-level because it's on a hill. (Offices are downstairs, and living areas are on the top.) While I was drawing this page I was wishing it could be in color, so I could show you how his living room is all in pea green and yellow ochre and brown, with wallpaper that's sort of...large...diamonds. His kitchen is Fiestaware "mango red", with that '60s boomerang pattern. (You know what I mean.)

Heh. In addition to kitschy furnishings, sleep-deprived baggy eyes, and dark colored wardrobes, Hades and I also share the trait of being somewhat...untidy in lifestyle. And eating a lot of frozen food. (Oh, the celibate bachelor life! Or, eh...bachelorette life, in my case. For I am, in fact, one of those lady-type persons one hears about now and again.)

Here's the page, kids.
03:12 - "Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch"

Also! Excitey times! Dis books and (gorgeous high-quality, it's-like-having-the-original-and-actually-the-same-size-as-the-original) prints are now available from Shark Robot! Yippie skippy! (Remember, a copy of Dis would make a great Christmas gift for the literature or history or indie comic geek in your life. ^__~ )
...While you're there, hop over to the Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series shirts that I designed and give 'em a look. (They make great Christmas gifts for the anime geek in your life. ^__~ )

More below the fold...

Status: Rain. Bows.
Listening To: Our Lady Peace - "The Birdman"
Been Reading: Lee Strobel - The Case for Christ
Been Watching: The Addams Family

First order of business, a new page of Dis! Huzzah! I really like this page. I actually ad-libbed all of Hermes' speech, there, writing it in after the pictures were already drawn and inked...Highly unorthodox! It worked this time, though. XD

Page 03:11 - "Long Story Short"

In other news...So! This past Saturday, I attended ValleyCon, in Fargo. And there, I met some very happenin' hepcats!

First, the very talented inker Mojo Moen! Really slick work. And a great guy.
I also met Scotch Anderson, goofy cartoonist with goofier hair. Seriously, amazing hair. Also, very funny comics. *swipes photo*
<--These are they.
(Psst. Click "read more".)

=D

The American democratic process has processed. Congratulations to Mr. Barack Obama, who will be taking the oath of the office as the forty-fourth president of the United States of America.

This man has already shown a remarkable power for inspiring and motivating our people. I pray that he will serve his term of office with dignity, courage, ethics, and above all, wisdom. He's sure as heck got his work cut out for 'im in the coming few years.

I tip my hat to Mr. McCain. He conceded defeat most graciously.

Ah, America, we have now selected a new leader and representative of ourselves. Much is expected of him. Let us also hold such high expectations of ourselves, and endeavor to achieve them.

*throws candy to the masses*