Someone wrote that?

Cowboy Playmobil comic

2012-01-24T20:27:00.000-08:00

I got an email this week from the creator of a really nice looking webcomic that uses toys.

http://famobill.blogspot.com/

It's in Spanish, for those lucky enough to read that language.

And also this one ...

2011-10-02T23:04:00.000-07:00

If anyone is still reading this blog, I was also nominated for this award on Drunk Duck ... sorry, The Duck.

Character Development Nominated

2011-09-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

Character Development has been nominated for a Drunk Duck award in the photo-comic category. It's up against some stiff competition, but as they say ... it's an honour just to be nominated.

Duck & Quail strip

2011-09-25T15:06:00.001-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

I'm currently writing a series of strips for Duck & Quail, the mascots of www.drunkduck.com. It's an epic tale that details the battle for the soul of The Duck, as the site is now called, and parodies the recent events on the site.

Bad Meat EPISODE TWO

2011-09-24T16:07:00.000-07:00

The second part of Bad Meat is up at www.virtuallycomics.com. Drawn by Andy Sanchez, who has excelled himself again.

Plastic People

2011-08-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

This is one of a number of one-page Plastic People strips, that are just silly little things I occasionally get inspired to do. A few, including this one, have been published on the web in the anthology project Lite Bites, and hopefully there will be one or two printed in an upcoming Radio as Paper. There are more on my website, www.virtuallycomics.com

Mid-year Secret Santa contribution (3 of 3)

2011-07-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

As so concludes my secret Santa pages. Not sure DevanMuse liked them all that much, but I had fun doing them.

Mid-year Secret Santa contribution (2 of 3)

2011-07-12T13:24:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

Part 2 of my mid-year secret Santa homage to http://symbiosiswebcomic.blogspot.com, which was my random assignment in the Drunk Duck event.

The hardest part about using Playmobil to recreate a comic is finding a figure that looks remotely like the comic character. We got lucky, in that a few years ago we'd purchased an alien encased in an opening plant set (really, not kidding) from a bargain bin.

Oddly enough, the alien Playmobil figure didn't have an eye coming out of its shoulder, but thanks to my wife's ingenuity that was easily solved.

Mid-year Secret Santa contribution (1 of 3)

2011-07-11T16:59:00.000-07:00

Click the image to see a larger version.

I was assigned Symbiosis for my recent mid-year secret Santa, a comic by DevanMuse that can be found at http://symbiosiswebcomic.blogspot.com

I'll post the remaining pages over the next two days.

Many thanks to DevanMuse for letting me use this.

Utterly Rucked fan art

2011-07-09T13:52:00.001-07:00

Click on the image to see it larger.

This Utterly Rucked art was done by demontales as part of the Drunk Duck mid-year secret Santa exchange. Wonderful stuff. I'll edit this in a few days to provide a link to demontales comics, but the Drunk Duck is detoxing at the moment, and has been down for a week.

Thanks demontales. It was amazing to see drawn versions of the Playmobil characters, and the blood splatter was inspired.

Bad Meat EPISODE ONE

2011-07-02T00:02:00.000-07:00

The first part of Bad Meat, an ongoing story updated sporadically, is up on Virtually Comics.

Drawn by the talented Andy Sanchez, it tells the story of a young woman seeking revenge against the international society of cannibals that raised her to be food. She is ... Bad Meat.

300th page of Character Development

2011-06-09T16:39:00.001-07:00

Today marks the 300th page of the humour-fantasy comic done with Playmobil toys, Character Development.

Click here to go to the virtuallycomics.com website to read more.

Utterly Rucked has started ...

2011-05-28T17:21:00.001-07:00

Utterly Rucked is live and updating at a page-a-day until all 144 pages are up.

It tells the saga of the London KEAs Rugby Football club's tour of New Zealand, or should that be attempted tour? Things do not go as planned.

It seems someone is taking the notion of rugby being a game of two halves a bit literally, and chopping up players!

Check it out at virtuallycomics.com

Utterly Rucked -- Team Photo

2011-05-05T13:55:00.001-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

Production has begun on Utterly Rucked, which will go live at the end of this month.

It's a rugby/horror/mystery story over 144 pages, so we only have 139 to go!

Here's a teaser pic ... a team photo before anything terrible happens to the poor toys.

AFTER: Fire Sale (page 6 of 6)

2011-05-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

And that's the end of that one.

AFTER: Fire Sale (page 5 of 6)

2011-05-02T12:19:00.001-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

Many thanks again to skreem for drawing this script, and doing such a wondrous job.

AFTER: Fire Sale (page 4 of 6)

2011-05-01T15:36:00.001-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

Uh-oh!

AFTER: Fire Sale (page 3 of 6)

2011-04-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

Skreem really went to town with this episode.

AFTER: Fire Sale (page 2 of 6)

2011-04-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

After skreem drew the first episode of AFTER I had one of those vivid dreams entirely in skreem's art style. This story was the result.

AFTER: Fire Sale (page 1 of 6)

2011-04-28T14:58:00.001-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

The start of another episode in the AFTER 'verse. This is technically the 10th episode, but it's more a fun story than a core part of the plot.

Thanks to skreem for drawing this story so wonderfully.

Hollow Man Teaser

2011-04-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

Quite some time ago I posted about a story called Hollow Man, which is done in an old-fashioned, Edgar Rice Burroughs style, with sailing ships, dinosaurs, aliens, and other fantastical elements. Someone is currently drawing it. Yay.

Alex Korbey was kind enough to at least draw the first six-page episode for me. I hope he'll be persuaded to draw more.

Here's a teaser poster featuring some of Alex's art.

Darkest Day: Comics for Christchurch anthology

2011-04-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

A special Funtime Comics anthology was released yesterday, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross in recognition of the support they gave in Christchurch after the earthquake of 22nd February 2001.

It's a 72 page spectacular with comics from Dylan Horrocks, Chris Slane, Tom Taylor, Colin Wilson, and dozens of others. The cover graphics are by Lee Yan Marquez. It was all put together in a massive hurry by editor Issac Freeman, who did a fantastic job.

You can buy a comic online, at http://funtime.comics.org.nz

Here's my two pages worth (in reduced size and resolution). Click on the thumbnails to see a larger version.

Micky House ONE, page 5 of 5

2011-04-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

And so the first episode ends. We're looking for artists to draw future episodes, so if you'd like to give it a go send me an email or leave a comment.

Micky House ONE, page 4 of 5

2011-04-04T12:59:00.001-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

JZA's dollar bill makes me laugh everytime I see it.

Micky House ONE, page 3 of 5

2011-04-03T16:39:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

I realize the target audience for a W.C. Fields reference are mostly pushing up the daisies, but I like old movies such as My Little Chickadee.

Micky House ONE, page 2 of 5

2011-04-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

If you'd like a character to get a house call from the abusive doctor then send me the details.

Micky House ONE, page 1 of 5

2011-04-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

This is a short story going up on the anthology webcomic Lite Bites. The editor has kindly given me permission to post it here as well.

The art is by JZA, a very hard-working and talented artist whose speed is phenomenal.

Who is Rob Granito?: The Pillorying of an Artist (revised)

2011-03-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks to people who commented, and particularly to those who provided first hand evidence in regards to Rob Granito's claims. I offer an updated, revised version. I have highlighted most of the changes, and the parts of the original article I was most often misquoted on (such as "there really was a witch" which has been quoted as me claiming there was no metaphorical witch somehow?). Check out the http://legit-o-mite.com/suspects.htm page for a large list of evidence, including an amazing number of copied art examples.

The end of March, 2011 saw the comic-book fraternity asking "Who is Rob Granito?". Comic-related forums and websites became obsessed with this man. Queries quickly turned into a witch-hunt, and as is usual with witch-hunts it got a little out of hand with innocent people hurt, rash words said, false claims made, and tempers flaring. Unusually, however, there really was a witch, in the form of an artist passing himself off as much more accomplished in the comic-book field than he actually was.

Another unusual aspect of all this was the ability to watch events unfold from half a world away in almost real time. A ring-side seat via forums and Youtube as a man was outed as a fraud, confronted face-to-face, ridiculed, and pilloried for all of comic fandom to see.

Rob Granito is an artist. He has sold a number of drawings and paintings, and he has worked on a few comic book and illustrative projects. He started appearing on the comic-book convention scene before 2006, and quickly made a name for himself, becoming a named and promoted guest artist at a number of conventions from 2008 on.

As a guest of honor Rob Granito was given space to exhibit and sell his original work at these conventions. This is a privilege that many aspire to, but few receive. Most artists have to pay money to the convention to get space to show and perhaps sell their work, and they are geographically separated from the invited guest artists who get the prime real estate in the convention hall known as Artist's Alley.

But there are some problems with how Granito gained his self-acknowledged international status as an artist. Much of his artwork appears to have been 'heavily influenced' by others, to put it mildly. Many haven't put things so mildly, and have directly called him a fraud and plagiarist.

Take at look at Rob Granito's own website (www.robgranito.com) and you start to see the problem. The first title listed under his published credits is the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. The much beloved strip finished its run in 1995, and was entirely drawn by Bill Watterson. Listing this strip in a resume if your name isn't Bill Watterson is a very stupid thing to do. It's obviously false. But here's the thing, Rob Granito has drawn Calvin and Hobbes on commission for his local Post Office at Kiamesha Lakes, New York.

Rob Granito's Calvin and Hobbes cancellation stamp.

There's even a photo circulated online of Mr Granito posing with his paintings of Calvin and Hobbes, which are nice reverse copies of Watterson paintings. Very close copies, but still different from the originals. However, painting your own Calvin and Hobbes picture which is then used as a cancellation stamp by a local Post Office is a large step away from claiming to have worked on the strip, which is implied by the website, and explicitly stated by Granito in a number of convention guest bios; "His most current projects have been the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes." (http://www.wizardworld.com/robgranito.html).

Some of the publications listed on Granito's website and various convention bios are legitimate, or Legit-o-mite, to use a misspelling coined by Granito when using an online alias to attempt to defend himself. The term has since taken on a life of its own, and you can buy Legit-o-mite t-shirts online. Granito did draw some covers and t-shirt designs for Murphy's Lore, a series of stories by Patrick Thomas from Padwolf Publishing.

Granito was the colorist for I of the Wolf, written by Neil Kaplan. The website iofthewolf.com shows the process of how the comic is created, including the adding of colours by Mr Granito, which he does with some talent.

Granito is listed as an artist on Dustin Warburton's (Author/Screenwriter/Filmmaker) website. Warburton wrote the story for the film Spiders 3D, and has some acclaimed children's books published. Granito is listed as the artist for one of Warburton's children's books "How to Scare Kids", but while this is given as a published work (2011) on some websites, including Warburton's wikipedia page, there was no listing for the book on Amazon or elsewhere (possibly the book is in the process of being published rather than having been published?).

Granito's listed magazine credits also appear legit-o-mite, and he does seem to have been commissioned by the White House to do a painting of some kind, which may at first glance seem to be an outrageous claim (certainly many online commentators thought so) but is very plausible given the sheer number of portraits the political world generates, and the wide range of artists they use.

However, it's the impressive list of big label comic-book titles, such as Marvel's Iron Man, and DC's Batman title, Shadow of the Bat, that appear to be at odds with Granito's drawing ability and age. Granito has claimed, on multiple occasions, to have drawn the covers of Batman:Shadow of the Bat numbers 12 to 25 in the 1990s, which would have been when Granito was under the age of twenty. Cover drawings are sought after assignments, and for a young man who, by his own admission spent only a year at art college before dropping out, to have been given such a plum job would be unlikely. The listed artist of those covers was Brian Stelfreeze. When confronted with this fact in an interview published online Granito claimed to have been ghosting for Stelfreeze. This is hard to disprove, as Stelfreeze himself has not directly commented on the claim, but many who know Stelfreeze have weighed-in saying Granito's claim is ridiculous.

In the same interview Granito claims to have ghosted for other artists, including Dan Jurgens and George Perez. Those claims have been denied strongly by Jurgens and Perez, with Perez posting a denial on his Facebook page.

Other titles listed under Granito's published works include Garfield, Ironman 2, Spiderman Archives, X-Men, Ironman the Movie, Marvel Masterpieces III. Tomorrow Man, Dr. Tomorrow, Superman: The Woman we Love, Aquaman, and Teen Titan's Go. One online bio even claims Granito is working on The Simpsons (http://www.dragoncon.org/dc_guest_detail.php?id=1662).

It is clear that Granito has indeed drawn all of these characters at some point, and sold artwork at conventions of these characters. The question is in what capacity was he drawing them? Was he a paid professional artist working on the franchises, or was he just an amateur who drew some art on his own time? The evidence is piling up that it is the latter. Try finding a credit for his name on any of these titles and you'll draw a blank. That doesn't prove he didn't have some role, but it does suggest it was not a major one.

Granito also claims to have worked on various animated TV shows including the Animated Batman, Superman, and Gargoyles, which given the large number of uncredited people that work on such shows sounds plausible, but this has been directed denied by senior people from Warner Brother online.

One claim easily confirmed as false was that he was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for the cover of Shadow of the Wolf (which he did draw). The Stoker Award nominees are listed online, and neither Granito nor the title have ever been nominated. Indeed, there is no artwork category in the awards. It should be mentioned, however that Granito is linked with a smaller Bram Stoker Society (http://www.lugosi.com). It is possible that this other Bram Stoker Society did indeed nominate him for an award, but as the website lacks content (it's been 'coming soon' since 2006) it impossible to know, but this would still seem to be a blatant misrepresentation.

When it comes to Granito's artwork, however, it is much easier to see that something is fishy. Many of his drawings and paintings are direct copies, even tracings, of other works. Although even then there is a qualification to be made ...

A Rob Granito spiderman sketch card.

Part of the problem here is the somewhat bizarre nature of comic-book convention art. Frequently artists at conventions will draw characters they have never been employed to work on, and then sell these to patrons. This may sound strange, but it's an accepted industry practice, and is often the only way artists of smaller, independent comics can recoup the fee they pay to convention organizers for table space. Fans are far more likely to buy a sketch of Iron Man or Superman than some indie webcomic character they have never seen before, so artists give the fans what they want. It's marketplace capitalism in action. One of the reasons this practice exists is that an artist who is not associated with a title will sell their sketch of Wonder Woman or Spiderman for far less than a similar piece by an artist who has actually worked on those titles. It also gives artists, even well known ones, a chance to do something unusual and fun for fans, such as a Marvel artist drawing a DC character. Artists are also expect to 'put themselves' into their art, not just slavishly copy or trace someone else's work. Much of Granito's art is so exact in its reproduction of the original as to be far beyond homage or inspiration, and become straight plagiarism.

What Rob Granito appears to have done is list titles in his published credits when all he has done is a sketch card or one-off drawing of that character in a fan, as opposed to a professional, capacity. The question is has any of his work on the major characters he lists been bought and printed by a publisher, or is it all just unsolicited sketches and paintings he's done himself that remain unpublished? This is what the comics fraternity strongly suspects, and what has fueled their anger. It was anger that sometimes seemed to get out of control, but justified by the evidence against Granito that has kept rolling in, with more and more first-hand statements from people in the industry disputing and denouncing his claims.

Things came to a head in late March, 2011, when a number of online sites began at first questioning Granito's art, then attacking it directly as fraudulent. His website credits were ridiculed and dismissed as bogus, including many that may not be, and some that definitely are not, fraudulent. When it was noted that Granito was appearing as a guest artist at Megacon in Florida several people went there to confront him. Some of these interactions were captured covertly on video and posted to Youtube soon after they were filmed. In one video you can hear Granito say that his wife (at home) is fielding angry calls from strangers.

Comic-book forums and websites fueled the anger. Granito's artwork was posted next to the original image it was obviously swiped from. It should be noted that homages and swipes are common enough in the comic book world, so common there are websites dedicated to them. Generally the artist is expected to note that their work was inspired by another artist, or drawn 'after' another's style. Generally, but not always. Sometimes it is just assumed the fans will know. Sometimes an artist 'forgets'. To be fair to Granito at least one piece in the art folder he had at Megacon was labelled as inspired by George Perez. His other obvious copies were not in anyway identified as such. It would be wrong to suggest that Granito is alone in this practice, however, but in Granito's case it seems that the vast majority of his for-sale art is a blatant copy of other artist's work.

Some of the attacks got a little too personal, with Granito's mobile phone number (which was available on his website) being circulated online, and a picture of him holding his two infant children taken from his Facebook page and made fun off in less than appropriate ways. A number of fans made pleas to remember that while Granito might be a fraud, he was still a human being, a husband, and a father. But the attacks kept coming. Granito's DeviantArt webpage became littered with aggressive comments such as; "I wanna spit in your face", "I will punch you in the face, hoping to break your jaw" and, "I hope your kids know that their Father is a piece of shit".

Within days Rob Granito went from being a popular artist on the U.S. convention circuit to a pariah, and the attacks look set to continue. The witch hunt mentality of the online horde can be a little terrifying to behold. Granito's credibility was destroyed and his professional artistic career ruined in the space of a weekend.

Yet Granito's work was being criticized and challenged as far back as 2006, when several artists claimed that he was copying their artwork. Jan Duursema, an artist known for her stunning Star Wars artwork, cautioned her fans online that a Rob Granito was pirating her work.
(http://www.comicscommunity.com/boards/janduursema/?frames=n;read=7360&expand=1) Granito was called a phony by many on the convention scene in the intervening years, both privately and publicly, but appears to have continued to prosper none-the-less. He was a guest of honor at a number of conventions, such as Jacon 2008 and 2009, Animation Supercon 2009, and the upcoming DragonCon, September 2011 in Atlanta (One wonders if he'll make it to Georgia?). Convention organizers across the U.S. appear to have taken his listed credits at face value. Do they know more or less than the online witch-hunters?

Certainly Granito is lacking in online friends. One forum poster seemed to defend him at first, only to resort to name-calling and saying that Granito owed him money. One acquaintance felt the need to post a 'tell-all' story explaining his regretted role in Granito's rise to what he considers unmerited fame and now fully merited infamy. The only web voices to defend Granito have all suffered from the same atrocious spelling and grammar that Granito's personal writing is littered with.

Is Rob Granito a fraud? He certainly has misrepresented his artistic credits by listing titles like Calvin and Hobbes in his resume. But doesn't everyone pad their resume? Certainly not to the level Granito did. Is it just a case of poor understanding of how he should write his credits? No. Doing a sketch of a character is not the same as working as an artist on the comic book title. Doing a painting for a local Post Office does not give you the right to say you worked on a comic strip. Listing titles you did not work on in a professional capacity, copying art line-for-line, and lying about who you have worked with and for are major violations of the general trust that exists in the comic-book community. Granito violated that trust.

At first there were a lack of first-person statements from people in the industry that would have confirmed Granito as the complete fraud he has since been exposed as (a number have since been forthcoming). The witch hunt found a witch, but a few people grabbed their pitchforks and torches before confirming their suspicions. They're suspicions were based on some obviously fishy claims and blatantly copied art, but considering these suspicions had existed since 2006 or earlier, and had been posted online many times before, it was fascinating to see the speed and ferocity with which the events unfolded, and how claims of his deceit became multiplied and expanded to areas that people had no evidence of.

Did Rob Granito deserve to be pilloried? Yes. Confronting him with his obvious copying practices and false resume listings seems like a fair thing to do, and naming him as an artist whose works you should think twice about purchasing doesn't seem to be unwarranted. However, his family didn't deserve to be dragged into the whole mess. Granito may not have deserved all the fame he'd manufactured through falsehoods, but did he deserve all the infamy he's attained in the last few days either? Is he alone in his questionable practices? There will be a few artists on the convention circuit who will now want to trim some of the more inflated parts of their resumes and add a qualifier to their homage art, but it seems unlikely there could be too many more people out there with the sheer scope of Granito's plagiarism and misrepresentation.

The outing of Granito was a witch-hunt, which is a phrase laden with meaning, but to be fair to the online communities involved in the whole mess for the most part the actions taken toward him were restrained, and they did find a witch. Some may regret unwise words and false accusations made in anger, but the majority of commentators were driven by a desire to find out the truth about Rob Granito, and the evidence against him continues to mount.

Who is Rob Granito, the internet asked itself? Rob Granito is a fraud, the internet immediately and angrily answered. Perhaps not as big a monster as a few would have us believe, but certainly one of the most audacious con artists ever to have been exposed in the comic-book community.

Comments and updates/evidence would be welcomed.

A cartoon attacking Rob Granito by Yoni Limor

The Making of ... (4 of 4)

2011-03-17T12:08:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

My wife asked for her face to be cut off. She's shy. Which is a shame because you miss seeing her eyes sparkling with success as she surveys the completed set.

The Making of ... (3 of 4)

2011-03-16T14:44:00.001-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

It may have disgusting, but it was edible.

The Making of ... (2 of 4)

2011-03-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

My daughter helps out on the epic shoots. Recently she has been a sock puppet monster for an upcoming storyline. She's also keen to make her own Playmobil comics, and has created backgrounds for them herself.

The Making of ... (1 of 4)

2011-03-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

For the next four days I'll be posting pages that show the behind the scenes activity of the making of Character Development 31, which features the Pools of Flatulence.

More ads

2011-03-04T13:40:00.000-08:00

And more to come ...

Preview 3

2011-02-26T10:54:00.001-08:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

Here's a preview page of an ongoing strip entitled Eternal Death ... set in a Victorian-era world where vampires and liches rule benevolently over humans. Gabrielle Harland, a problem solver, becomes embroiled in the politics of those who rule, and those who would challenge that rule.

The artist is Hedda Hasselby, whose manga-esque style lends the story an extra element of style. She is working away feverishly at the first episode when the pressures of real life allow.

Which one?

2011-02-25T12:01:00.000-08:00

I'm venturing into the horrible world of web-vertising ... the shameless self promotion of my webcomics. I feel dirty. So to spread the muck around a bit, you can help me choose between these ads ...

Sneak Peek 2

2011-02-17T13:05:00.001-08:00

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Here's the first panel of a story called Bad Meat, drawn beautifully by Andy Sanchez Barreto. When it's done I'll let you know where you can view it.

Sneak Peek 1

2011-02-16T14:02:00.000-08:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

I have a six-page story going into an online webcomic anthology next week. It's the first episode of AFTER (the script of which is somewhere on this blog). I'll post the pages in tandem here as well when they go up, but for now here's a sneak peek at the wonderful artwork done by skreem.

I still need a photo or realistic artwork of a person or person looking at some dice for episode 28 of Character Development. So far the response has been underwhelming (read, nonexistent).

I need a photo to go into Character Development

2011-02-12T15:46:00.001-08:00

Episode 28 of Character Development needs a photo of two people looking down in astonishment at two dice.

While I could cajole my wife or friends to be my models I thought I'd open this up to anyone.

This is you chance to appear in a barely read webcomic of dubious quality. How can you say no to that?

Simply submit a photo of two people looking down at two six-sided dice to go with the following panel speech bubbles ...

Person1 (looking astonished): "How the heck did I roll a one using two dice?"
Person2 (looking dismissive): "No idea. But at least you never have to read this comic again."

I'll add in all the speech bubbles later, I just need the photo.

Submitting a pic via photobucket (or the like) is fine, or you can email it to david@virtuallycomics.com

Crossover event on Character Development

2011-02-06T10:28:00.001-08:00

This week's pages of Character Development guest-star a character from another webcomic, George the Dragon. Gary Lougee was kind enough to let me do a Playmobil version of his wise-cracking dragon, George.

Pointless milestone!

2011-02-04T10:24:00.000-08:00

Character Development has made it to 175 pages. Yay!

At a page-a-day the pointless milestones come around rather quickly.

Interviewed on Druck Duck

2011-02-01T11:09:00.000-08:00

I was text-interviewed by another webcomic creator on Drunk Duck .

At the same time I did a text-interview of him that will appear next week.

It was a fun process. Again, thanks to Drunk Duck for being such a supportive webcomics community.

The dead have risen ...

2011-01-23T00:15:00.000-08:00

I was surprised to discover that Jim Henson, the famed creator of the Muppets and Fraggle Rock is still working hard ... twenty years after his death. According to the New Zealand media Jim Henson created the current, controversial Air New Zealand mascot, Rico, last year (2010).

This bit of information has been repeated in at least two articles.

So it's true ... the dead have risen and are working in advertising.

The problem seems to have been some overly judicious editing which has cut the complete phrase from "Jim Henson's Creature Workshop" in older references down to just "Jim Henson".

Sigh.

Footnotes
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/marketing/news/article.cfm?c_id=14&objectid=10701482
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=189444
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10687476

Requiem for Bass in Three Parts

2011-01-21T19:27:00.000-08:00

Or should that be a Threnody?

This is my new purchase. A very second-hand bass.

It's a Core Evl Z4b, which aren't cheap ... unless they've been run over by a car. Which is what happened to this one.

It's fixable though. My wife is itching to have a go a repairing it, but has some other guitar projects to finish first, like that nice M.Suzuki acoustic we got the other day ...

Journalists. Damn journalists, and statistics!

2011-01-17T18:22:00.000-08:00

I don't know what made me click on this article about sunbed use today, but I was sorry I did.

The dire warnings about sunbeds causing skin cancer have gone unheeded, the article would have us believe. However, when you look closely you just realize that maths wasn't a favourite subject of the journalist writing (or cut and pasting) this pointless piece.

The article claims that a "study that recruited around 1000 members of Cross Health Society, found that out of 33% people aged between 21 and 29 who used sunbed, 3% were the regulars while no less than 27% would like to go for it again."

Let's look at those numbers, shall we.

Even if the entire survey was made up of only 21-29 year olds (it wasn't) then 3% of 33% of 1000 are regular users. That's 10 people.

Assuming a standard age distribution of survey participants, and assuming no-one under 21 was surveyed that would suggest about 7 people at best, probably less were discovered to be regular sunbed users. The article does not claim that anyone outside this age group were regular users.

So, 0.7% (or less) of people surveyed were regular users of sunbeds.

Or if you prefer, statistically speaking the number of regular users was insignificant. Practically speaking you can say that for all intents and purposes there is nothing to worry about with numbers like those. New Zealand has no problem use of sunbeds. Yet the article tries to make it read like an epidemic.

The article goes on to talk about sunburn rates from being out in the sun, but somehow uses those to make a claim about sunbed use?

Sigh.

Review of Character Development on Drunk Duck Quackcast

2011-01-11T11:54:00.000-08:00

There's a podcast review of Character Development on Drunk Duck's Quackcast 11, part one. They start talking about it about 6:30 into the podcast.

You can read daily pages of Character Development at its blog, http://itscharacterdevelopment.blogspot.com ... or see the archives in a more friendly to read format at www.virtuallycomics.com.

the Media's "Aflockolypse" Cluck Up

2011-01-07T16:13:00.001-08:00

There are sensation media reports of "mass animal deaths across the globe" in the past two weeks, which some have dubbed the Aflockolypse. Is it a sign of the end times, they ask?

No.

But, sadly, it is a sign of the end times of decent journalism.

There are basically two categories of "mass animal death"; birds and fish.

The fish (including some devil crabs, which I realize are technically not fish) seem to have mainly died from .... cold.

In case you haven't noticed, the northern hemisphere has been a tad cold this Christmas and New Year. Humans weren't the only ones to suffer. Some sea and river species are very susceptible to extreme temperature changes like those that have been experienced lately.

So the UK's Devil Crabs (oooh, devil, does that mean the Aflockolypse is biblical?), Chesapeake Bay's fish, and even Brazil's fish deaths are all down to cold weather (and currents). How ... boring. It happens all the time, but normally it goes unreported by the global media.

But it wasn't just fish in the Aflockolypse ... there were birds! lots of birds just dropping from the skies, dead. The sky is falling!

The media suggested the large numbers of birds dropping dead from the sky on New Year's Day could be a sign that the year was cursed, or that the world was going to end. 2012 was mentioned (because many journalists don't seem to know what year it is), and all sorts of conspiracy theories were 'reported'.

So what killed the birds?

Fireworks.

Again, this is a common event, usually unreported by the media. Every New Year's (and on other festive occasions) there are firework celebrations at night that startle birds, who fly about blindly in the dark. The crash into things (and each other) and die of blunt force trauma, as autopsies have showed.

Only the "hundreds of snapper" found dead on the shores of New Zealand seem to have a sinister side to their demise. They appear to have been dumped illegally by a fishing vessel.

So much for the Aflockolypse. But reason and logic are too dull and boring to sell newspapers and gain advertising revenue. So expect more conspiracy theories.

Drunk Duck feature

2011-01-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

Character Development was featured over at Drunk Duck, which is a very friendly and supportive webcomics community.

Being a featured webcomic suddenly meant that (at least) a few dozen people read the comic ... which I hope they enjoyed enough to stick with it.

Secret Santa return gift

2011-01-02T18:16:00.000-08:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

Here's the Drunk Duck secret Santa gift I received in the exchange. All the cast of Character Development in cute chibi-form. This was drawn by theshazerin. Thanks for the wonderful gift, theshazerin. You can check out his webcomic, The Mannequin Waltz over at Drunk Duck.

Secret Santa strip (4 of 4)

2010-12-19T09:48:00.000-08:00

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

The conclusion. Thanks to Darwin for allowing me to post these pages, and for sending people in the direction of my comics. And thanks to Drunk Duck and all those who organized the Secret Santa webcomic exchange for 2010.

Secret Santa strip (3 of 4)

2010-12-18T10:30:00.000-08:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

The secret Santa project was a lot of fun ... I'm looking forward to seeing what I get out of this process.

Secret Santa strip (2 of 4)

2010-12-17T10:55:00.000-08:00

Click on the image to see a larger version.

The brooding (half) vampire.

It's difficult to get Playmobil to brood ... they have smiles fixed as firmly as any campaign politician or beauty pageant contestant ... so I had to play with angles a bit.

All up it took 85 photos to make the 4 pages. There's always a few out of focus, but I experiment with odd angles and ranges just to see what I get. Sometimes, if the lighting is right, you can get a little bit of brooding from a plastic figure.

Secret Santa strip (1 of 4)

2010-12-16T10:03:00.001-08:00

Click on the image to make it bigger.

The webcomics community Drunk Duck has an annual secret Santa project, and I took part in this years one. I was assigned an webcomic creator's work to do something xmasassy with, and got an interesting vampire story, Only Half (the other story option by the same author/artist would have been too difficult with Playmobil). I think I was just meant to draw a single panel, but I went a little overboard and set a story within the timeline and universe of the comic.

Anyway, I thought I'd share the four page results over the next few days.

BTW: Over at the Character Development blog you'll find the end of episode 18 today, and the start of episode 19 tomorrow ...

Too much Pork for just one Fork

2010-12-09T10:26:00.001-08:00

A number of the Wikileaks embassy cables have shown that the U.S. is deeply worried about the high levels of corruption in other countries. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tunisia, Kenya, Russia, and many, many more.

The main theme is that corruption at the top destabilizes a country, undermines democracy (or what passes for it) and makes it difficult to justify funding such regimes.

Imagine a country where a senior government minister could channel funds directly to the company his daughter worked at? Or skim enough money so a major roadway in his home town could be upgraded and named after him? Or use 17 million U.S. dollars of government money on an airport that has no planes or employees?

Unfortunately this isn't corruption ... it's Pork. The person in question is U.S. Senator, Hal Rodgers, a Republican from Kentucky, who is just the latest senator to have the tag of the "King of Pork"; 'pork' being the completely legal method of attaching earkmarks to bills to benefit your home state, and in Rodger's case particularly his home town, which some have dubbed 'Mr Rogers Neighborhood' due to his funneling of $246 million of pork in recent years.

Rodgers has just been named the new head of the uber-power House Appropriations Committee. That's the one that controls the purse strings of the U.S. Government. The King of Pork is in change of government spending. Unbelievable. But don't worry, folks ... he's promised to stamp out pork. We can believe him, right?

Why isn't this corruption? Because it's spelt differently (to use an old joke).

This is the same kind of practice that is complained about in a number of the leaked cables. Giving money to relatives. Using money for personal aggrandizement. Buildings projects that are unwanted and unnecessary. After all, these are the kinds of things that undermine a democracy and a government. Well, only if someone cares.

Maybe that's the problem. The citizens of the U.S. don't consider pork to be corruption. They just shrug their shoulders and move on. In other countries people might actually get angry enough to topple a government over such 'pork'. Maybe Americans have just eaten too much actual pork to worry about the political kind ... and sit by listlessly as their politicians line their own nests with taxpayer's money. What's on the other channel?

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/house-gop-appoints-prince-pork-hal-rogers-chair/story?id=12343673

Dark Bay news

2010-12-07T19:15:00.000-08:00

Status Update: I'm taking photos for episode 23 of Character Development at the moment, and writing episode 34.

At the same time I'm writing some Dark Bay episodes. The rural NZ police drama illustrated with Playmobil toys has been on hiatus for a while now, but is never far from my thoughts.

So in the New Year, after the silly season, I'll start posting daily pages of Dark Bay as well as daily pages of Character Development, although I'll cheat a bit and start Dark Bay from the beginning again, and miss out one day a week as the episodes are 6 pages each, unlike CD's 7 pages.

The aim is to have written 20 episodes of it and have the page layouts for them done before I start posting, so there's over 100 pages of cushion ... then I'll feel no pressure to keep up the pace. Currently I'm writing episodes 12 and 13, and have strong ideas for the next few after that, as well as an overall story arc to work towards.

So look for a Dark Bay daily page blog sometime in the New Year ... say February sometime.

A few good men?

2010-12-01T12:51:00.001-08:00

The outcry against the current Wikileaks document dump seems to me to be a similar line of reasoning as Jack Nicholson's character in A Few Good Men. Apparently we can't handle the truth. We need people acting on our behalf outside the rules we are expected to follow ourselves. These people should have no public oversight or scrutiny of their actions. Secretly we want it that way ... because we can't handle the truth.

The diplomats and politicians want to give us easy to digest black and white versions of the world. There are good guys (France, for example) and bad guys (France, for example if we go back a couple of years). The leaders of the Free World are all nice guys and girls. They are competent, honest, hard-working. We can rest easy at night, and sleep soundly in out beds. Because if we knew the truth ...

The world is full of grey. The leaders of the so-called free world are often corrupt, vain, stupid, inappropriate, paranoid, etc. Toppling Saddam didn't create a wonderful secular democracy overnight ... and has allowed Iran to gain more regional influence than some of its neighbours would like. Pakistan has some serious problems, which include the possibility of nuclear terrorism. China and North Korea sometimes don't get along. The U.S. bullies and bribes other countries into doing stuff they don't want to do. The U.S. sometimes does negotiate with terrorists.

The thing is ... none of these are revelations. Unless you are the kind of person who takes press releases from the White House at face value. And that is the crux of the matter. Too many journalists and commentators have been asleep at their desks doing just that .. letting the obvious lies, half-truths, and diplomatic double-speak get reported uncritically. Or worse, actually helping to formulate and disseminate those lies.

It is not the job of politicians and their PR-people to tell us the truth. It is supposed to be the job of journalists to ferret out that truth and expose the grayness of the world. Not only are most journalists not doing that, many are actually attacking Wikileaks for making that job possible. Even now the mainstream media (particularly television) spends more time reporting the spin coming from the White House about the leaks than the contents of the leaks themselves. It's as if the majority of them have no idea how to analyze and write about evidence, so they resort to regurgitating the press releases from officials ... once again reporting on auto-pilot.

The lesson here is that not only can we handle the truth, but that many of us already knew the truth. It turns out that the cynics among us were pretty much on the money. Who would have guessed? It's the majority of the media who seem to have no idea what to do with the truth.

Let's hope a few more people have now had the wool pulled away from their eyes, and that maybe a few more journalists start to question the official line on a regular basis.

Feeling funky

2010-11-25T15:11:00.000-08:00

The end of another episode (the 15th) over at http://itscharacterdevelopment.blogspot.com/
A new one stats tomorrow.

Meanwhile I've been writing further CD episodes (finished the layout for the 34th) as well as writing something new (a revenge fantasy story that's a little different).

Now if I could just get out of this dark funk ...

Sigh

2010-11-24T18:03:00.000-08:00

Some days it's hard to keep working on something when you have no idea how it is being received.

Pointless milestone

2010-11-20T12:02:00.001-08:00

Over at the Character Development blog you can find the one hundredth page posted. Woo hoo! etc.

And yes, technically there are less than 100 pages, since every 7th page is a title page that (generally) repeats apart from the title words.

But "woo hoo" none-the-less.

Words of equal value?

2010-11-18T14:01:00.000-08:00

More Character Development pages over at the other blog.

I posted a link on Facebook today, but I'll post the rant about it here.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908//vp/40246873#40246873
The media no longer seems to have any ability to differentiate between sources. If somebody, anybody, says something it can be used as 'news', no matter how disprovable, how idiotic, or how ill-imformed the statement is.

An example of this is contained in the link about. I witnessed another example recently when a UK reporting of a gun shoot in East London was focused around the quote "getting a gun here is as easy as buying candy from the corner shop".

This quote was used by the in-studio presenter before the clip. Then restated by the on-the-scene reporter, then restated in voice-over yet again before finally being said on camera by the source. The source was a wannabe hip-hop dude who looked like a stoned extra in an Ali G sketch.

There was no evidence for the statement. No research was done. The source was unreliable. The quote really made no sense. Yet it had been chosen by the 'news' as the focus for the report on a fatal shooting. Why? It was sensational. It was good TV. That and it fitted in with an editor's own views/fears on the subject.

It was everything that is wrong with the current media.

The news media is (in general) divided into commentators, who can have opinions, and presenters and journalists, who are not allowed to have opinions. There may be good reasons for this, especially given the trend to pretty boys and girls as presenters and journalists who quite possibly have no opinions worth listening to "Is my hair okay?").

News presenters are no longer allowed to voice their own views, that would be opinion and editorial which is bad. If you are a news reporter, as opposed to a commentator, you MUST let others give the opinions. You MUST be balanced, even if that balance means letting someone state something that is incorrect, wrong, or stupid.

But just because news presenters can't tell us what they are thinking (lest the gods of fair and balanced journalism strike them down) that doesn't stop them from getting as many quotes as they want and selecting one that fits their now hidden agenda.

Any source will do. A doctor or a homeopath? It doesn't matter. A police spokesperson or a random stoned guy on the street? They are of the same value to the media,

Virtually sweaty

2010-11-15T10:28:00.000-08:00

There's a new page available at the Character Development blog.

One of the oddest little online games I'm addicted to is a Football 'roleplaying' game. The RP elements are minimal, but you do get to guide the development of your character in terms of their stats. You also get to play the games in real-time, on a virtual pitch, with other players.

I have two characters. They started out in New Zealand, but were soon snapped up by East European sides. So twice a week now I get to conference call on Skype with the players for a Romanian virtual soccer team.

There's a lot of chat in ... well, I'm guessing Romanian ... that I don't understand, but we communicate well enough to organize an effective off-side trap.

The other day my wife sneezed nearby and several accented voices said "Bless You".

My wee daughter was watching me play once and loudly announced that "This game is boring!" Peels of laughter from Romainia, Brazil and Scotland could be heard (It is a international squad).

The world really is getting t be a smaller place.

Now excuse me, I have to virtually run my arse off defending one side of a virtual football pitch.

Finish the sentence ...

2010-11-14T11:45:00.001-08:00

Over at the Character Development blog there's a sentence that needs finishing.

Update

2010-11-13T08:47:00.000-08:00

Another page of Character Development is up (click here).

Had a good writing day, despite the madness going on around me, and polished off episodes 29 and 30. Started writing 31 as well, but I wasn't happy with it and will scrap it and start again.

Meanwhile there's a couple of stories fighting to come out of my head, and I'll have to give in to them soon or they'll tunnel out of my skull.

New episode over at other blog

2010-11-12T11:03:00.000-08:00

There's a new episode starting today at the Character Development blog.

I'll post the link to the new daily page from this blog, but no longer the image. (Yes, I'm forcing you to another blog if you want to read the comic, entirely for rankings considerations. I'm a horrible person.)

Instead I'll post random thoughts, rants, and some other comic pages when I get the time.

Character Development THIRTEEN (7 of 7)

2010-11-11T10:19:00.000-08:00

Click on the image to see a bigger version.

Always read the fine print.

A new episode starts tomorrow, but only on the Character Development blog (http://goo.gl/YACg). I'd rather you were reading it there so the visitor stats help the various ranking sites it's linked to.

However this blog will still have updates, and a new episode of Dark Bay starting soon.

Character Development THIRTEEN (6 of 7)

2010-11-10T12:12:00.000-08:00

Click on the image to see a bigger picture.

The Bard's night of debauchery.

Character Development THIRTEEN (5 of 7)

2010-11-09T10:16:00.001-08:00

Click on the image to see a bigger version.

It's the little things you miss when you're away from home. Like drunken debauchery at your favourite sleazy watering-hole.

Once this episode finishes I'll stop posting the daily pages of CD on this site, and direct you over to http://itscharacterdevelopment.blogspot.com for them. That way I can start putting some other things up on this blog.

Character Development THIRTEEN (4 of 7)

2010-11-08T13:08:00.001-08:00

I've said it before ...

I like old jokes.

Character Development THIRTEEN (3 of 7)

2010-11-07T13:26:00.000-08:00

Click o the image to get a bigger version.

Some days I just don't have anything to add.

Character Development THIRTEEN (2 of 7)

2010-11-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to get a larger picture.

A bar in a dungeon. Not the most original of concepts, I'll admit ... but I do have an origin for it on the next page.

Character Development THIRTEEN (1 of 7)

2010-11-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a bigger picture.

Drinking games ... it's amazing how often alcohol features in roleplaying. Buying a round to gain information from the locals. Plying someone with wine to loosen their purse strings. But it doesn't always work out for the best ...

Character Development TWELVE (7 of 7)

2010-11-04T13:25:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a bigger picture.

Reading (and hence writing) are often overlooked skills, in the comics world as well as the roleplaying.

Character Development TWELVE (6 of 7)

2010-11-03T12:33:00.001-07:00

Click on the image to see a bigger picture.

Awash with story ideas ... overflowing with prose ... but short on time. Sigh.

Character Development TWELVE (5 of 7)

2010-11-02T12:19:00.001-07:00

Click on the image to see a bigger picture.

I was trying to get some 'emotion' into the faces of the Playmobil by using angles. Since they have fixed expressions it's a little difficult to 'read' their feelings.

Character Development TWELVE (4 of 7)

2010-11-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a bigger picture.

Can't think of anything to say today. Maybe it's because I shaved my beard off for Movember?

Character Development TWELVE (3 of 7)

2010-10-31T10:32:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a bigger picture.

Epic photo-shoot yesterday saw us complete episodes 17 and 18. Jelly-fueled mayhem. That's Jelly in the English sense of the word ... Jello if you're from North America.

Character Development TWELVE (2 of 7)

2010-10-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a bigger picture.

We are currently stalled on the photo-shoot for episode 17. Writing and life has got in the way of what is one of the trickiest shoots so far. But at least I have a 5 week cushion of completed episodes.

Character Development TWELVE (1 of 7)

2010-10-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a bigger picture.

This episode was inspired by an old campaign where we had all made up characters and the first thing we were asked to do was ride to help some besieged town. However, only one of us had any skills in riding.

It's amazing what 'essential' skills you can neglect when creating a character.

Character Development ELEVEN (7 of 7)

2010-10-28T12:23:00.001-07:00

And so ends another episode. A new one begins tomorrow.

Character Development ELEVEN (6 of 7)

2010-10-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

I had issues with this photoshoot. First, finding (in)appropriate things to come out of the Mage's backpack, then making sure I had enough shots and angles for each stage of the unpacking. Sometimes I make things difficult for myself.

Character Development ELEVEN (5 of 7)

2010-10-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a bigger picture.

I like old jokes.

Character Development ELEVEN (4 of 7)

2010-10-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a bigger picture.

You'll have to suspend disbelief and pretend that all the Playmobil have backpacks. And like any roleplaying backpack, they are Tardis-like in terms of interior dimensions.

Character Development ELEVEN (3 of 7)

2010-10-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a bigger picture.

If you have a player who has memorized the monster bestiaries it can be hard to surprise a party. On the other hand, if they can't quite remember the obscure details ...

Character Development ELEVEN (2 of 7)

2010-10-23T12:43:00.001-07:00

Click on the image to see a bigger picture.

Believe it is not, the monster in this episode is a large glass chilli ornament. It's an odd object that hangs around our kitchen for no reason I can think of. We stuck some eyes on it and ...

Character Development ELEVEN (1 of 7)

2010-10-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to see a bigger picture.

An episode dedicated to one of my childhood favourite cartoon characters.

The Hobbit Affair

2010-10-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

I'm going to be naive here and suggest that the whole Hobbit debacle isn't as complicated and sinister as many people are suggesting Here's my timeline of events;

* National Government introduces god-awful employment law.

* Jackson and Warners announce Hobbit movie to be filmed in NZ.

* NZ actors and film workers form long queue which is mistaken for protest action.

* Actor's Equity ask to negotiate collective contract with Warners.

* Jackson and Warners decline to negotiate collective contract on the grounds that it is probably (no one is sure) illegal under NZ law. Instead offer deal that includes profit sharing for all. NZ Government wonders if Hobbit profit sharing could replace superannuation scheme.

* Actor's Equity decides to use Hobbit as leverage against god-awful NZ employment law.

* Actor's Equity places blacklist on Hobbit.

* Warners freaks out. Like most U.S. corporates they despise unions, and in particular militant ones. By default they attempt to break the union.

* Jackson surprised by fuss. Can't understand what he has done wrong. Wonders if his Golden Boy status has been revoked while he wasn't looking.

* Jackson tries to go and talk to Actor's Equity at Wellington meeting. Is refused entry.

* Actor's Equity decries Jackson for not meeting with them.

* Both sides say things they will later regret.

* Warner's gets jumpy when international stars support boycott of Hobbit. Are afraid of Gandalf's staff. Suggests filming elsewhere ... perhaps a non-union country?

* Hearing the Hobbit is up for grabs other countries offer Warners lucrative tax breaks. Warners likes lucrative tax breaks idea. Wonders why it can't get them in NZ?

* Both sides entrench.

* Warners decide the risk of filming in NZ is too great. Suggest Ireland has nice countryside and co-operative union, and they don't mind paying three times the wages they would have to in NZ if they get big tax break and security. The Harry Potter sets are available as well. Bonus.

* Jackson would prefer to make Hobbit in NZ, but wonders if a few pints of Guinness might get rid of the bad taste in his mouth.

* NZ Unions fail to realize how much Americans despise labour (labor) unrest, and still believe they are in a position of strength. Stick to hard line.

* NZ Government scrambles to find juicy treat to wave at Warners ... contemplates wrapping Gerry Brownlee up in bacon and dangling him on a rope as cat toy for corporate tigers, but Brownlee eats bacon faster than it can be applied.

* Hobbit production moves to Ireland. 2000 plus NZ actors, technicians, etc are left without work.

* Unions blames Warners, Jackson, the government, the Illuminati, NASCAR, and the alignment of the stars for losing the Hobbit.

* Everybody else blames the Unions.

* NZ Actors get great "Pink Book" deal. The 27 NZ actors still employed feel much better about life.

* Hobbits and leprechauns unite and go on strike for better working conditions for all creatures under five foot tall.

Character Development TEN (7 of 7)

2010-10-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Apart from being a little too shiny, I think the chocolate yogurt dairy food worked well as a fecal substitute.

A new episode starts tomorrow.

Character Development TEN (6 of 7)

2010-10-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Food and Playmobil go together like ... we'll, they don't really go together. But it's still fun.

Character Development TEN (5 of 7)

2010-10-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Chocolate dairy product, ahoy!

It's just as well Playmobil are plastic and easy to wipe clean.

The oddest thing about this photo-shoot ... we bought a six-pack of Calci-Yum Chocolate Dairy Food to use for the special effects. Two of the six pots did not contain Chocolate yogurt. Instead they contain some white goop that tasted revolting (my wife described it as "sweet mucus"). I'm guessing the automated machine failed to put the chocolate stuff into the pots. A more savvy consumer would have returned the revolting substance to the supermarket for a refund.

So while I can recommend Calci-Yum Chocolate Dairy Food as a great substance to stand in for sewer crap, I cannot endorse it as a food product.

Character Development TEN (page 4 of 7)

2010-10-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

The Ranger's abilities with creature identification feature in several upcoming episodes. The Ranger is usually the quiet one. Perhaps that's because of the bad tastes in her mouth?

Character Development TEN (3 of 7)

2010-10-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Managed to finish the pics and layout for episode sixteen yesterday. Now we need to make up a large amount of jelly for episode seventeen.

Meanwhile I'm trying to balance writing more episodes of this with my need to write other stories as well.

Character Development TEN (2 of 7)

2010-10-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Everything poops. So in a populous dungeon where does it all go? Adventurers go in seeking piles of gold, but surely they're more likely to find piles of dung?

Character Development TEN (page 1 of 7)

2010-10-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

The start of the tenth episode.

I'm currently snapping pics for the sixteenth adventure, and writing the last pages of the twenties before embarking on fresh episodes to take it all through to the thirty-ninth part. So no sign of running out of pages for the foreseeable future.

Character Development NINE (7 of 7)

2010-10-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

He's dead, Jim.

A new episode starts tomorrow. And it features chocolate pudding as a special effect.

Character Development NINE (6 of 7)

2010-10-13T12:22:00.001-07:00

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

It's good to see someone keeping the faith in the old fashioned manner. Wouldn't Sunday's be much more interesting with the occasional sacrifice? Think of it as Survivor Church -- the most real of reality shows.

Character Development NINE (5 of 7)

2010-10-12T12:10:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Yes, Dennis. What DO you mean?

Just finished taking the photos for episode 14. You won't believe how easy the photos for episode 15 are ;-)

Character Development NINE (4 of 7)

2010-10-11T10:39:00.001-07:00

Ah, poker. It ebbs and flows in popularity, but always manages to take money away from people who can ill afford it.

Character Development NINE (3 of 7)

2010-10-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

I'm racing along with the photos ... currently snapping episode 14. So I'll switch back to Dark Bay at some point and set up a blog for that strip as well.

Character Development NINE (2 of 7)

2010-10-09T11:45:00.000-07:00

Blutac is a very useful substance when making these comics. In this case it was the easiest way to get the two Playmobil to kiss. But it's also been used to hold things to the walls, in hands, and keep the character's feet firmly planted on the ground when needed.

Character Development NINE (1 of 7)

2010-10-08T11:52:00.001-07:00

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Ah, anchovies.

My favourite pizza to make at the moment is a potato and anchovy pizza. It sounds weird, but is really tasty. You slice the potato really thin and lay the slices out on the pizza base (we use a store bought Turkish flat bread, but any base will do) so they just overlap and cover the base. Some rosemary and black pepper over the top, a trickle of good olive oil, and a few anchovies laid out on top. Finally some shavings of Parmesan cheese and it's ready to go into the oven.

The saltiness of the anchovies and the crispy potatoes really work together.

As an added bonus it is highly unlikely anyone else will want a piece.

Mmmmmm.

Character Development EIGHT (7 of 7)

2010-10-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

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A new episode, that concludes this storyline, starts tomorrow.