general update

Sorry for not having any new comic updates for you as of late, but I've got a lot going on over here. Tonight, I have a meeting with my new web designer to revamp the website, which is long overdue. Apple users, rejoice because you are going to be able to view the comics a LOT easier than before. Over all, it's going to be much more user friendly and will have a slightly new look/layout. It will still be basic, but I think everyone will like it better.

The big news, as of late, is that The Dregs will become an animated series. I've got a co-writer in place, and I'm working on filling the roles for voices and music. It's weird thinking about things like that, but it's really exciting. We're going to start with a 30 second short and see where we'll go from there. Be sure that I'll keep you all up to speed as things progress.

the dregs #48

This joke is another Omar-ism, though it required a mood adjustment. Omar's (one of my fellow bartenders) punchline was actually "too bad good lookin' ain't hiring" after we both sighed that we need new jobs. I wrote it down since it was funny, but I couldn't use it for The Dregs since it's way too positive for any of the characters to say as a punchline. I think we can all agree that this way is much more appropriate.

the dregs #47

this episode was drawn in late july 2010. this episode is a special one because i think i finally came up with a better stylized look for Onions. i've been trying to find a good one for a while. instead of making him another chubby character, he's become more turtle like because i've always thought of him as being more cowardly than anything. i left him with the large body so it looks more like a shell he might hide in, but trimmed his neck down considerably and gave his nose a more dominant beak-like look.

i've also stopped filling in the black negative space by hand and let photoshop do the work for me. i doubt anyone noticed (or at least i hope not).

i hope you like it.

the dregs #46

this episode was finished a minute ago in early july 2010. sorry you had to wait 2 weeks for the new episode but our forefathers fought for our right to be lazy and i didn't want to disappoint them. anyway, i have to give my fellow bartender, Omar, credit for this joke. it was so funny that i had to write it down. what can i say? the guy's funny.

enjoy.

the dregs #45

this episode was drawn in late june 2010 and, like many of my joke ideas, it's an old one. i probably thought of this joke about a year ago so i'm glad i finally got to use it! like all the other "old ideas", it was the wording that didn't seem to be that funny. the punch line didn't have any "punch" and the delivery was too forced and wordy. sometimes it just takes stepping back from an idea for a year for it to work again.

the science project on hiatus

i just wanted to make a formal post about The Science Project and its continuing absence from near future postings. for the record, it is not over. right now, i'm working on publishing a small collection of Dregs episodes for sale and distribution, but i will pick back up with the SP when i have the time again.

thanks for your concerns and love for a truly fun part of my life.

john

a long anticipated episode - the dregs #44

hey, everybody. first off, sorry for the hiatus, but between going on vacation, my birthday, and preparing for a cartoon contest, i hadn't been working on anything new. if you were wondering about the contest, i had entered the "america's next great cartoonist" run by the washington post. if you guessed that i didn't win, you'd be guessing right. honestly, i wasn't surprised at the outcome because of two reasons - 1. the dimensions of the single panel entries needed to be 3.5" x 3". the dregs are wider than tall, so my entries might have been disqualified immediately. 2. my sense of humor doesn't seem to be something that meshed with the judges, but i'm judging simply by what made the 10 final cartoons. but whatever the reason, i'm ok with it. that's not to say that i'm not disappointed by losing the opportunity, but it's ok.

that being said, this new episode is one that i'd been trying to tweak the dialogue on for some time. it was originally a back-and-forth with onions, but it sounded forced. in true "me" fashion, it clicked right after i finished the pencil work so i had to redraw a good portion of it. i'm glad it worked out the way it did, because it's much better this way.

hope you like it!

oh! don't forget to vote for "america's next great cartoonist" at http://postfun.washingtonpost.com/post/entry/americas-next-great-cartoonist-vote