Convention Crowds

I think there's something about going to a convention and being so wrapped up in activities that you barely ever sleep and then rush out of your hotel room to get to your first game neglecting to take care of personal hygiene. Gamer Funk is what I've heard it referred to, at least at the conventions I've attended, Gen Con and Origins. I'm not sure if it holds true for PAX or San Diego Comicon, since I haven't been to either yet. Hopefully both someday. I've heard the term Con Crud as well, but I think that's reserved for the sharing of germs between attendees.

For those attending PAX this weekend, I hope you have a blast! Maybe I'll see you there next year!

Face Your Fears

This is a stand alone post from my short lived first foray into web comics. It's a statement I think still holds up. Plus, it's got a tentacle in it and tentacles are always a pretty good thing...  Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

This past week Tabletop, the great web series from Wil Wheaton on Felicia Day's You Tube Network, did a review and gameplay video of Elder Sign. A pretty fun, if slightly difficult while you get used to what the various investigator abilities are, dice game from Fantasy Flight Games. It's also available as an iPad app.

OOooo Scary

click to enlarge

The title should be read in the voice of Count Floyd (Joe Flaherty) from SCTV. I really like the old EC comics. Recently Eerie and Creepy have begun to start up with new stories. So much fun to read.  I've been working on this gag for about a week so until I get my chops up to speed this style will probably be a rarity. Unless I come up with a bunch more gags and then I'll have to burn a little midnight oil.

I think some of my love of this style of comic derives from watching the Son of Svengoolie portrayed by Rich Koz. When he debuted in 1979 it was so much fun to watch the movies that I loved, b-movie monster fare, with a host that used (and still uses) humor to show how much he loves them too. In Berwyn, IL there's a horror shop called Horrorbles that carries a lot of his merchandise in addition to a TON of horror memorabilia. They have a series of shirts that feature the art of Basil Gogos who is famous for his "Famous Monster" magazine covers.  His use of color for what were black and white movies is pretty amazing. Great stuff and well worth checking out.

I just started posting my site to Reddit in addition to my facebook, Google +, and twitter feed. Thanks for stopping by. I hope everyone gets a kick out of my sense of humor. It's been a lot of fun so far sharing the things I used to just keep in my sketch books.

Shotgun!

Another coffee comic. On a weekday basis I generally go with the free coffee at work, but occasionally I'll stop on the way in at Caribou for a Depth Charge or at Starbucks for a Red Eye. At home I treated myself to a Keurig, because generally when I was making a pot of coffee I'd have a cup or two leftover and felt like I was wasting the coffee I was making. I'm thinking about picking up a french press though. I used to have one and it make really good coffee but it broke and I replaced it with a free Mr. Coffee hand me sideways from a cousin.

Coffee wise, with the Keurig, I'm pretty impressed with the Green Mountain Co.'s Dark Magic, and Caribou's Obsidian. The Starbucks K-cups are good too, they're just a little bit cheaper since there are 2 less per box in comparison to the Green Mountain or Caribou.

When I grind my own though, I love Intelligensia! Their El Diablo is probably my favorite. I've heard that they recommend the Chemex style coffee maker and it does seem pretty cool, almost ceremonial in how you make it. I'm thinking though for myself, the french press has a similar "ceremony" but I won't have to invest in filters all the time. I will end up having to get a better grinder though as my electric one has a tendency to make the grain too small and it makes it's way through the mesh so I end up with a bit of mud in the last cup or two.

Mondays

Seems like most Monday's I start out feeling this way. I want to sleep in on the weekdays and get up super early on the weekends when it's my time. Seems crazy, but if I could just stay up for 72 hours from Friday through Sunday I'd be good. Guess that's why during the week it's best to get a good nights sleep.

I seem to get my best results sleeping soundly by reading till my eyes can't stay open, turning off the light and going to sleep. Unfortunately, I'm addicted to some of my comedy shows on my iPad, Louie C.K., Jim Gaffigan, and Aziz Ansari. Each of which are available for $5 DRM free from their respective sites. Louie started the concept and I think it's worked pretty well for all three, but I'm not sure. I think it works mainly if you've got a huge following and your 1000 true fans not only support you but are also way more than 1000. If you haven't checked out their concerts I highly recommend them. Jim Gaffigan is the most family friendly, with Aziz being next but not really and the Louie C.K. is hilarious and thought provoking but definitely crude in an amazingly spectacular phenomenal way.

Bring on the Monday coffee carafe!

Artists Block Editorial

Yep, I had a bit of an artist block this week. At least with regards to the theme. What it did make me remember though is that this blog is still evolving and probably always will be. I'm still going to be posting Monday through Friday, but instead of a weekly theme I'm just going to keep posting the best that I can come up with on any given weekday. Sometimes there will be a few that link together and sometimes, probably more often than not, they'll be all over the place. 

I will definitely say that I'll always do my best to produce the best quality piece I can each day. Occasionally there may be squiggly sketches, but hopefully that will be part of the design rather than because I've run short on time and need to post something to meet the daily deadline. 

Thanks for continuing to check out the blog and comics. Please share the ones you like with your friends. I'm having a blast. 

Happy Friday Everyone!

Store-Bought Job

I guess you have to buy your board from a store, but I guess what I mean is there's a big difference between one you'd get at Toy's R Us and one that you get at your local skate shop. So much customizing goes into a board that the off the shelf model can barely keep up with the custom ones in the graphics department much less performance. I just noticed that the one near me closed, which is a shame. I guess that's happening a lot lately with the hobby hangout spots. It happened with my game store, it's happened with knitting stores, and stained glass stores. I guess real estate prices and taxes couldn't get low enough fast enough for these small specialty shops. Seems like nowadays you have to have an internet presence and it has to be profitable first before you can open doors on a small specialty shop, unless you own the property. Leasing and renting doesn't seem to work anymore, at least around here near Chicago.