Spike's Cartoons and Whinging

Wow.

Knute Snortum?

Hey.

HEY. I see you out there, duder.

You've been transcribing "Templar, Arizona" pages for OhNoRobot like CRAZY. Don't think I haven't noticed.

Thanks. You're doing it outta the kindness of your own heart, too. That's pretty wild.

And the rest of you guys have been helping out, too. My readers are seriously just so fucking cool I cannot even believe it sometimes.

So look, I'll tell ya what.

For as long as I can manage it, Templar will go twice-weekly, starting in February. How's that sound?

I can't promise I can keep it up for long, but I'll do it as long as a can. It's the least you guys deserve.

Oh, and "Lucas & Odessa" will finally come back, too.

Ah, over-commitment, my old friend. HOW I'VE MISSED YOU.

Music Appreciation: Nirvana.

When I first began listening to Nirvana in high school, I wasn't really ready for them.

I don't mean that in any profound, mystical sort of way. I'm just saying that when I was 16, I wouldn't have known good music if it had tried to climb up my ass and lay eggs there. I watched MTV, for Christ's sake.

So, basically, I didn't get Nirvana. I owned In Utero, I watched the Unplugged special, and I had three flannel shirts. But I didn't know what the fuck, and that's a fact.

I wasn't even on the ball enough to realize just how uncommonly beautiful Kurt Cobain was.

Yeah. Late bloomer.

Anyway, I've recently begun listening to Nirvana again, and I'm a little surprised with them. Ten years down the line, and they actually sound better than I remember. Maybe I'm just better equipped to appreciate it, now. I don't know. But I don't think it's sentimentality, because I clearly remember not especially caring when he did himself.

This is the song that flipped the switch.

Nirvana - Breed

Wow. So now I know. It's offical. Kurt was pretty good. Kurt was better than most.

I think I'm experiencing retroactive regret. I was most definitely and absolutely one of those passive, aggravating teenybopper fans that inspired this guy to eat that double-barrelled doom-cock.

But I'm still convinced the dope-sucking hag he married didn't exactly help matters.

It doesn't make up for missing a week...

But the Templar, Arizona cast page is twitching to life, today.

It's not finished by a long shot, but it's a start. And it's worth a look, if you want to see the little bastards in glorious full color.

I guess it's probably obvious by now...

.... but there won't be any "Templar, Arizona" this week. Sorry, guys. Deadlines for print work are bearing down. But hopefully, this won't be a repeat event.

Blurgh.

Templar's been up for the past two days, but the toning only just got up ten minutes ago. Sorry, folks. Today was clearly Mounds of Bullshit Day, and I'm finally in the home stretch of a print project that's nunnayer bizness, so it was grinding molars and tension headaches all around. Page is, as always, here.

A little wacky, I guess. But truth is stranger than fiction.

Templar?

As a matter of fact, yes. Templar.

Oooh, cliffhanger page. Kinda. Lemme see if I can get a second page up this weekend, seein' as how this ain't much of anything.

And on a very serious, veyr grateful note: I am incredibly thankful and really surprised by all the support you guys are giving the comic. If you're clicking the banner ad, thank you. If you've bought a shirt, DOUBLE thank you. If you've done both, send me a picture so I can erect a wax image of your likeness in my personal shrine. Because I WORSHIP YOU. This stuff really makes me want to update more often. Let's see if I can manage it.

URF DUH HONK BONK

It's my anniversary, today. Two years.

AND I TOTALLY FORGOT.

(And I do not use the <blink> tag lightly, people. You know me. You know my mystical warrior ways. This is serious.)

My husband forgot, too. Completely. Utterly. Boom.

And we didn't finally remember on our own, either. We weren't even capable of that. My mother-in-law called to wish us well fifteen minutes ago, and we were all DURR WHUT U SAY.

Yeah.

So when I don't call or email you guys on your birthdays or on the holidays, don't take it personally. Because I can't even remember my own.

We'll do something tomorrow, I guess. To celebrate, I mean. IF WE CAN FIND THE GODDAMN APARTMENT DOOR.

By Popular Demand: a New Spreadshirt Design!

You asked for it! You got it!

New in Iron Circus Concessions: A t-shirt that actually has something to do with the comic it supports! My mind is officially blown!

The Sassy Cavy, Templar, Arizona's popular Bolivian fast food chain, has done more to compromise and commercialize countless proud culinary traditions than The Olive Garden, Panda Express and Taco Bell combined. But damned if they don't make the best chili-roasted piggy-on-a-stick you can get at 3:00 AM this side of the riverbed. And with a generous side of corny fritter-fries, to boot. Yurm. Tastes like clogged arteries!

Click on over to snag yourself a shirt! And deep, undying love to everyone and anyone who's picked up a SATAN WORSHIPS ME tee or hoodie! I love you guys like my own filthy, misbehaving children.

I hope this shows up on Netflix.

On a religious kick these days, aren't I? Must be the season.

In a nutshell: one of those movies that probably won't tell me anything I didn't already know/suspect, but I'll probably still rent it anyway. All the Illinois screenings seem to be over, so I guess the only way to get ahold of it is as a DVD. I'll see what I can do.

Most people can't articulate their faith. Not all, but most. I have no religious faith to speak of, but I can articulate my lack of belief better than most monotheists I've met can outline their piety, and that's a little scary. Or maybe a lot scary. It means they don't think about it.

A belief system as total as a religion isn't something I feel should be taken so lightly, or regarded with such willful ignorance.

If you're going to identify as a Christian, know what being a Christian means. Know where Christianity comes from. Understand its imperfections, and don't misuse it. Your faith doesn't exist to make you feel superior or to flesh out your fantasies, and it's not a board with a nail in it. It's a system of morals. A, not THE. And they're not universal, and never will be, and in a free, fair, and reasonable society, never should be. You're going to be disagreed with. Always.

Oh, and stop trying to convince me that I'm going to Hell. That's not a very compelling nuclear option when I don't actually believe in one. Kthnx.