Spike's Cartoons and Whinging

Last Templar of the year.

Try not to throw confetti. Save that for tonight.

Happy 2008, everybody.

Templar: Buying the hype.

The Epiphany way!

I might have said this before, but due to the unique way their media evolved (TV and computers never really went their separate ways), in Templar, their internet sucks, it's more of a peripheral to their television. But their TV is awesome. Think deluxe cable, except with a ton more channels, a ton more programming, even more special interest stuff, and built-in Tivo.

Getting a TV show of your own isn't like getting a YouTube account, though. You still have to convince someone to finance it and air it, whether that someone is Daddy or a network executive. (In some cases, he's both.) It's cheaper to make a show, but it's still not cheap. And you certainly can't walk into a studio and demand airtime.

But Templar TV is a tiny bit like YouTube, in the sense that rivalries between the numerous small-time shows can be pretty catty, pretty personal, and pretty unprofessional. It's good for ratings, which are very definite; you always know exactly how many people watch any given show, since they have to be paid for and downloaded. But I'm getting really off-track. Sorry.

Anyway, on to other things.

I've been informed numerous times in the comments that the shirts I'm currently using to print my "Science Will Save Me From Myself" design (on sale now!) might not be free-trade friendly. I'm sorry if that offends you guys; that was genuinely beyond my knowledge at the time, and I simply went with the most frequently recommended brand of shirt. If it's any consolation, I'm sorry. I'll be more careful next time. I plan on printing up more designs when I have maybe half of the current run sold, and I do plan on changing brands. But I gotta say, Fair Trade, Pro-Union, and Cost-Effective aren't exactly an easy-to-find combination in blank shirt manufacturers. If you have any suggestions, let me know. I don't want to offend you guys, but I also don't want to try to sell you $30.00 T-shirts.

And in closing: My New Year's Goals.

- My current WACOM rattles when shaken. Solution? Find a way to get one of these. (And write it off. Thank you, capitalist tax code!)

- One-month buffer of updates on Templar. really. I've been shitty about updates, I know I have. That needs to change.

- Get out book two. This will happen, no worries.

- Finish the last of the commissions from book one's pre-orders. ALMOST DONE, I SWEAR.

- Finish Seekrit Projects.

- Teach dog that strangers are his friends.

- Save world.

- Be happy.

- Drop fewer dishes.

- Remember to stop swearing when children are present. FOR REAL, THIS TIME.

Templar: What was that? Sounded like someone's hopes collapsing completely.

Don't expect Epiphany to go anywhere coherent with this. Seriously. She's been around Scip long enough to absorb some of his Buddhism fanboyishness, but it's being filtered through colossal teenage hubris, inexperience, too much TV, and a targeted agenda.

Not to say she hasn't got a good point, here and there.

It's really, really important to me that nobody in this comic's cast comes off as a supervillian. That is to say, devoid of any positive attributes to speak of, universally and inarguably loathsome, and completely without friends or advocates. No matter who you are or what you've done, you're probably not entirely made of shit. Like the tired old saying goes, even Hitler had a girlfriend. To that end? Pippi isn't dumb. Prickly, defensive, ignorant, stubborn, manipulative, and probably inappropriately precocious, but not dumb. And not entirely unlikeable.

Unless you're Reagan. But that's in the pipes, more on that later.

In other news, this is probably only funny if you care too much about politics.

Bye!

More Housekeeping.

Merry Christmas, all you happy people.

I'm doing some housekeeping, today. I added a load of fantastic fan art, some of which has been in the hopper for ages... Sorry about the wait, guys.... And answered a few questions in the FAQ thread in my forum. Now I'm off to add all you people asking around after me on MySpace, and work on that gift comic I promised you for winning me Webcomic Idol. (No, I haven't forgotten!)

I hope everyone got exactly what they wanted this year. I did!

Templar: Not exactly Under the Bodhi Tree, are we?

I am totally opening my presents in three and a half hours and no one can stop me.

Also? Screw it. I'm a week behind, I'm not gonna catch up, am I? It's time I accepted it. Let's start fresh, okay? No more back-dating the updates, this is Monday's page. Sorry, folks. But between cons, getting shirts printed, answering emails, mailing orders, calling comic shops, and remastering chapter two's art for print, I couldn't handle a backlog to boot. Let's pretend I took last week off on purpose.

I'm so behind on my blog posts that I haven't even had time to publicly thank you guys that have sent me gifts for the holidays, namely these books. Hell, part of Templar's lag is your fault, since I basically ate up a day each reading these things from cover to cover. Art Out of Time is just fascinating (Stardust the Wizard! Herbie! White Boy!!) , and I honestly never thought I'd get Freak Babylon. Ever. It has photos I've never seen of performers I've never heard of before, which is one helluva trick when you're as into this sorta thing as I am.

And to top it all off, I open my inbox a few days ago, and find an mp3: A cover of "Crazy Horses" by Throat, with Neil Fallon from Clutch, my favorite band, on guest vocals. Just because.

Thank you. You guys are good people. I keep saying it over and over, but that's because it's true. I hope your holidays are half as great as mine have already been.

Thanks for reading my comic. Thanks for printing my comic. Thanks for buying my comic. Thanks for knocking me up into the #1 all-time spot over at Webcomics Nation. Thanks for winning me Webcomics Idol. Thanks for coming to see me at conventions and sending me emails and fan art and everything else that you do. 2007 has been my best year on record, professionally and creatively. And with you guys in my corner, 2008 will probably kick even more ass. If that's even possible.

Happy holidays, internet. Let's hug!

Templar: Still behind...

I WILL CATCH UP. I swear it. And a buffer, too. It's on my list of New Year's Resolutions.

Oh God please be patient with me.

Also, that shirt I previously mentioned? Finally available.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to personally call 350 comic shops and beg them to stock my comic.

Peals of insane laughter go... here.

Templar: New Page!

And a new page every day until I'm caught up, too. Templar will continue to update as normal all through December, by the way. No breaks.

ALSO NO TIME. ARGH. So much to say, but I've got a new page to start. That always wins out. Back to work.

Templar: In a hurry! Not much to say!

You want comic, you got comic!

Late? Yes. But here! And I will update the comic three times this week or die trying, too.

A more comprehensive update will come this weekend, including a con report, a book a received in the mail, and more. But for now, WORK.

Bye!

Templar: Set for the rest of the week!

Two pages in one night, Wednesday's AND Friday's update. I am Iron Man. Here's today's.

I won't be here to tell you about Friday's, though. I'll be in New York, at the New York Anime Festival. I've never been, since it's never existed before this year, but I think things might go okay.

But hey, other that that: BIG NEWS, EVERYBODY. The December issue of Previews is out, at that means Templar is ready to be ordered through your local comic book shop! Hand the guy in charge of the pullboxes behind the register this number!

Make sure other people do likewise, too. This could be a big, big boost for me, if enough copies wind up being ordered!

Also, my official excuse for this hideously frantic last few days: My first t-shirt run. As in, mass-order of shirts. no more print-on demand stuff. This design will be premiering at the festival!

Bold statement about your faith in the march of progress, or sarcastic indictment of our over-medicated, ad-fueled scramble to buy into Big Pharm? YOU DECIDE.

Available in XXL, XL, L, M, and S. If you're not gonna be in NYC this weekend, pray that sales are sucky, cuz whatever doesn't sell I'll be offering online when I get back.

Speaking of stuff to do when I get back:

- Answer a metric buttload of mail.
- Catch up with people who's book orders have returned.
- Finish up commissions.
- Post a metric buttload of fan art.
- Start cleaning up chapter two for print.
- Post in my own freaking forum a little more often, maybe.
- Answer questions brought up in the blog.
- Sleep (optional).
- Build a buffer of at least a week for Templar (the impossible dream).

Gonna pack now. Bye.