Happy Halloween!

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Happy Halloween! 

Well, Halloween has almost gone, and we still haven't had any trick-or-treaters, so I guess that means we will have to go find some children to push out kit-kats and milkyway bars on. Probably, we won't have anybody stop by our door at all tonight, not even to TP the trees out front. (The kids really missed out too because the candy wrappers are glow in the dark. Oh well.) I guess that we will have to eat all of he chocolate ourselves, something that I am not opposed to. We also did not do a pumpkin this year like we had planned on, but it saves us from having to watch the thing decompose on our porch.

For some reason, I did not think about doing a Holiday strip until the last minute. Therefore, although I should have posted this Halloween strip up at least a couple of days ago for the most effect, I am doing it now. I'm pretty sure that I will be ahead of the curve for Thanksgiving. Until then, I will be dreaming of pumpkin pies and cranberry sauces. My girlfriend says "winter squash and spiced cider." (She hates pumpkin pie!)

A Wet Cat

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A Wet Cat

Sorry to all of those voters who wanted this posting on Friday. As Monday and Friday are the top two current leads in the sidebar poll, it somehow seems fitting to split the difference into the weekend. But I also know that the best way to build up a an audience is to try and develop some posting consistency, therefore I will try to do better.

As for this comic, there were a couple of things I was going for here. First, I wanted to try and update Dana's hairstyle since it seems a little awkward. I've tried to give an indication how it falls over the ear this time rather than behind it. Second, I wanted to try and experiment with a couple of different techniques with incorporating more shades through the "hatching" technique. You can see it in the rug, and in the picture of the ship in the background.

Finally, please feel more than free to leave (constructive) comments about the comic here. Are there things I should try and include? Things I should avoid? Do you know of a better way to draw and post these things? (One thing I have already learned is that the type of pen nib I am using loses it point after about three comics. I will be buying more.) Drop a note--an anonymous one if you want--in the comments. Not only have all of the ones you have already made helpful, but I assure you, I read every one. Thanks. See you next week.

Skratchi's Lament

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Skratchi's Lament

Well, crap. After some work on this comic, it turns out that it will not post like I really want it to. Therefore, to properly see this comic in all of its glory, you will need to click on the image and then expand it with the hidden lower right-hand box (but only if you are using internet explorer). There are some instructions in the sidebar here which pretty much say the same thing. If anyone knows a better (and free!) way to do this, or if they know of other browser idiosyncracies, drop me a line in the comments. Otherwise, I am going to continue to fool, like a fool, with the form until I get it right. Ideally, I would like to have a large image appear in the center of the page which no-one has to do anything except look to see it properly.

As you can tell, I went with the "pixie" hairstyle for Skratchi. Thanks for all of your comments. They really helped shape how I see Skratchi as a character. As for the other hairstyles, I discovered that the "mod" version looks too close to a minor character on the PBS Arthur cartoon. Therefore, I decided to play it safe and not use it. What do you think? Is Skratchi what you had in mind? You can drop me another comment below to help shape her character if you wish.

As for things here on the cartoon front behind the scenes, my laptop is experiencing technical difficulties, so next week's comic may also be late. (The AC adapter has a frayed cord which finally blew up in a shower of beautiful orange sparks. I have to wait a couple of weeks for a new one.) I am going to continue to shoot for a Friday update, since that is what the majority of readers seem to want, but it might be better to check back on Monday for the time being as I can catch up more on weekends. Anyhow, thanks for reading and enjoying. Until next time!

Neat Announcement : Online Store Open!

I've been working behind the scenes here a little bit, and I thought that, even though it might be premature, I would set up a little online store where you could purchase some cool stuff featuring Angry Bear Comic characters and logos. As I am a person of very little means, I have set this store up through cafepress, a fairly cool site that allows one design and sell a limited selection of merchandise without having to deal with the pragmatics of producing products, shipping them, or whatnot. Furthermore, this is more for fun than anything else; it is certainly not something that I ever hope to get rich off of. In any event, if you have some time, check it out: http://www.cafepress.com/angrybearcomics.

Finally, thanks to everyone who has posted a comment in the previous entry. It looks like "pixie" may be the hairstyle I'll be going with for Skratchi, unless of course something changes between now and the next couple of days. Please post your comments if you haven't already--heck, post again if you want to. All of the comments have been useful, even insightful, and have helped me shaped my ideas about the future of the comic. Until next time, have fun and enjoy!

Choose a Hairstyle for Skratchi

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Choose a Hairstyle!

Well, it sure has been awhile since the last post, hasn't it? Sorry about that. Work continues to take up a lot of my time, but on the plus side, I am getting caught up on all of it. And that allows me to take a moment to make a new post here on the site. I hope that I will be able to continue with a bit more regularity here, even if it means I wind up posting sketches instead of full comics.

Anyhow, this leads me to the picture above. I want to add a new character to the comic, Skratchi. I don't have a whole lot worked out concerning her character, and I was struggling on her design a bit too. I figured, "What the heck? Why not let the handful of readers here on the site choose how the design goes?" With that in mind, you, the reader, can help me decide which hairstyle Skratchi should have. Each hairstyle has a name next to it, so if you have a moment, leave me a comment (even an anonymous one) and suggest which hairstyle you like the most. Do you like "little house," the most? Or are you a "poodle" fan? I'll use the one I get the most response on so you can see the results in a future comic.

Concerning the sidebar vote on which day to have new comic posted, I will try to start posting with more regularity, and since Friday is currently in the lead, I will try to post on Fridays. However, I am going to leave the vote open, so you can continue to vote for your chosen day, and maybe the schedule will change to reflect your choice. But, even if it is a day or two late, please have a little pity on me. My other life has more than its share of demands. Until then, enjoy and have fun!