I'll admit, I'm not 100% happy with this strip, but it's better than waiting around any more trying to come up with something better. One of the reasons I've been having such a hard time with my updates lately is the fact that I just couldn't get past this particular strip! So finally I just bit down and accepted the fact that it's not gonna be funny, and it's not gonna be a big dramatic reveal, and it's not gonna be a cliffhanger. It's just needed to move the damn story along. So sorry. But we can get things rolling now that this obstacle is at least out of the way.

Anthrocon was a big happy vacation for me, something that I very much needed. I was reminded of how much I really do seem to have an influence in this fandom (albeit a small one), and it gave me a chance to reconnect with my artistic skills. I wasn't able to get into the Artists' Alley for any of the three days it was open, but I did hole up in the Zoo for a good portion of the time and just relaxed with people and had fun. Also hung out with the crew from All Fur Radio over at Fernando's restaurant and had fun there. I must say as well, the rave dance at AC is much better than the one I attended at FC, though I'm not knocking it at all.

I think we all realize that I cannot guarantee a twice-a-week update schedule right now, but I will strive to do my best to update as often as I can. I've seen firsthand what self-imposed stress can do to a person, so I'm just not going to do that to myself. I'd highly recommend that people subscribe to the RSS feed if they really want to know when the next update will come; though I will try to keep it as close to a Wednesday-Sunday schedule as possible.

Thank you everyone for your great support!

It's official. I'm heading to Anthrocon 2008. While I won't have a table in the Dealer's Den, I'm going to try to get into the Artist's Alley, which I believe is a "first-come, first-served" basis. If I'm not there, then I'll probably be hanging around somewhere, admiring all the other stuff that's displayed and for sale to people who actually have money.

Afterwards, if I'm not getting hammered in the AFR party room, I'll most likely be found in the Zoo, being my usual shy self. Please feel free to come up and say hi. I'm shy, not anti-social. I'll have sketchy stuff and I'd be happy to art at people. Yes, "art" is now a verb.

Also, as per my convention tradition, I'll be putting a secret sketch somewhere on convention / Westin grounds. For anyone who doesn't know what this is: I will take a sketch that I've drawn and put it somewhere noticeable (but not in-your-face) in a trafficked area. In other words, I don't put it out of sight, you won't have to search outside of regular convention areas to find it, I won't hide it in a restroom or behind a ceiling panel or in a box under the stairs in the corner of the basement of the house half a block from Jerry's Bait Shop (you know the place). If there's lots of people around, and it's part of the convention areas, and it's reasonably eye-level, then it's fair game. If you see it and recognize it, you'll know that it's the secret sketch.

Now, it probably won't be in place on the first day of the convention. Maybe not even by the second day. But at some point by the end of convention, it will be out there, just begging to be found. And when I do place it, if I can be arsed to remember, I'll also come on here somehow and post that it is in place, and possibly give a clue or something as to its location.

Now, what do you do with the secret sketch? That's right, you KEEP IT. You can take it and it's yours. All I ask is that if you do take it, send me an email or post on the forum saying that you found it. If you want to scan it and upload it to Myspace or FurAffinity or wherever, feel free to do so but make sure to give proper credit to me, as the artist. Also if you do, let me know so I can see it and feel good.

And finally - This is an all-too-familiar feeling this past week. Let's just say, hooray for people who don't know how to secure their networks.
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Sneak sneak sneak ...

Here's what I'm going to do.

Since updating this comic is sort of like taking a cross-country drive in a car that stalls every block or two, I'm just going to go ahead and do what everyone probably thinks I've done anyway. No, I'm not stopping the comic, because new stories and ideas keep flooding my head. What I am going to do is take another extended break to let the batteries recharge and get some of these other art projects out of the way. Yes, I STILL owe two people commissioned artwork from the break I took a few months ago, and I will get those turned out soon. But I also have other images that just won't loosen their grasp on my imagination, so I need to let them run their course. Be sure to keep an eye on my DeviantART and FurAffinity accounts for those, if you're curious.

I'm thinking after Anthrocon, I should be excited and pumped enough from the inevitable throng of fans that will no doubt trample me and shower me with praise. Yep, that just about oughta do it.

Speaking of which, I am going to be attending AC again this year, but once again I didn't get a table in time. What I'm going to try doing is getting into the Artists' Alley this time around and see if anyone wants to buy a few sketches from the comic. I'm going to have a big red binder full of all the paper sketches I've accumulated over the course of doing this comic, and will have them for sale for very reasonable prices. Don't worry, I still have all my digital scans backed up if I ever need to do anything with them. However not every single comic panel started as a sketch on paper unfortunately, especially the earlier ones. So if you're looking for a very specific episode, you might not be able to find it. Sorry.

And who knows - I just might have another binder for other stuff. Oh and my sketchbook, in case anyone wants to scribble something in there (PG works only; if you really wanna draw me porn, I'll give you a loose sheet of printer paper). I might also be on hand to just do some random sketches on the spot or something. No badges though, because I don't have money to spare for all the little clippy things. Also, I don't color by hand.

I guess I'll wrap this up by saying keep an eye out here (and on DA and FA) for a sneak peek at this year's AC con badge, so you'll know what to look for. Trust me, you probably won't recognize me otherwise!