Teasers for Bedlam: Sinister Placement

Here are some teasers for a new long form Bitstrips series (as opposed to the gag strips I'm accustomed to):

Otter Disaster #21: The Year of the Ox

Context is Everything #19: Self Pity?

Context Is Everything #18: Chipped Beef or Shredded Pork?

Context Is Everything #17: Robot Raspberry

Otter Disaster #20: Should've Listened to Them...

Wow! Two new strips in as many days...I'm on a roll. Here's a somewhat mean spirited strip based on real events. The physical attributes of the object of my desire are somewhat exaggerated, and the warnings weren't as overt in most cases. I wasn't really in a good head-space at the time, and Slash certainly isn't to blame, but as a character in my strip, he's the chance taker, and the one most likely to say, "Sure, why the hell not?".

Otter Disaster #19: Meaning isn't funny

I've been reading An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories (Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, & True Stories)

Which inspired this:



There are some good strips and stories in the book, but there are also lots of strips that read exactly like the first five panels of the strip above, minus the sixth.

Maiden Bitstrips: Can I Play With Madness

Bitstrips: More Iron Maiden, A New Series, and A New Otter Disaster

I finished 'Seventh Son of A Seventh Son' for my 'Maiden Bitstrips' series today:



I've also compiled some of my goofier strips into a new series called 'Context is Everthing'. Here's a sample:



And finally, a new 'Otter Disaster' #18 introducing Shinya: Last Call Ninja:

My first viral Bitstrip: ...a little better

Bitstrips allows other creators to remix strips that you make, if you allow it. I did the strip below titled '...a little better', featuring the small things that make life a little better. It was remixed directly about 17 times, and then there were numerous remixes off those direct remixes. I counted 20 plus strips based off the initial strip here:


Then Bitstripper geokis32 remixed and made a strip called 'Freaky Things' with the little things in life that freak her out:


...so I (and many others) remixed that strip:


The community of creators is one of the really fun things about Bitstrips. For another really funny example of this remix-mania see this series of strips featuring a wickedly eternal staring contest between Dare and Kathi.

Maiden Bitstrips: The Trooper

A link to the original art this is based on.

24 Hour Comics Day: FINISHED!

I participated yesterday/today in the 24 Hour Comic Challenge at Bitstrips.com and finished my story while also achieving my set goal of at least 144 published comic panels (I did 147) in 19 Hours 20 minutes.

The Comic is titled Perfect Gentleman: A 24 Hour Comic. The title was chosen at random by a Windows Media Player play list. On Friday night I assembled a 24 hour long play list to listen to during the challenge. I had already decided on randomly generating the theme/concept of the comic and while I was pulling together music, I decided that the first song to come up in 'shuffle' mode once the challenge had started would be the name of my comic. The winner was 'Perfect Gentleman' by Helloween from their album Master of the Rings. The strip (other than being a great title) has nothing to do with the song.

It was a great deal of fun to create, and a genuinely rewarding experience. I was pleased with the little romantic comedy story I told, and I was very surprised at how much affection I developed for the characters in such a short time. The biggest surprise was that the main characters I'd created (Sam and Lena) ended up getting pushed to secondary status as a pair of 'sidekick' characters (Nick and Melody) began writing themselves, taking over the focus of the story.

In Scott McCloud's original challenge he suggests 100 panels for a web comic, but Bitstrips automates a lot of time consuming tasks, letting you copy and paste elements so I bumped the panel count from 130-160. I easily hit that target with 4.5 hours to go. Next year I might suggest 140-175 panels, depending on what kind of story being told. All in all a really good time. I'm tired today, but it was worth it. Here now is Episode One of Perfect Gentleman: A 24 Hour Comic-Some Competition:

24 Hour Comics Day

I am going to participate in 24 Hour Comics Day at Bitstrips.com tomorrow. I have attempted to draft other Bitstrippers to participate as well via a series of strips describing the challenge, giving some tips, and answering questions. A few people have show interest, but I don't know if there will be anyone joining me or not.

Bitstrips: Iron Maiden's Eddie - Somwhere in Time & Aces High

I managed an OK Bitstrips version of Somewhere in Time:

and I'm very pleased with my rendition of Aces High:

Otter Disaster #16: Not So Great Minds

Based loosely on a recurring conversation I used to have with my buddy Kris.

I'm kinda proud of the motion in this one, with the characters swapping positions over the course of the strip.

Bitstrips: Iron Maiden's Eddie Part II

So I've managed to do some more Eddie compositions at Bitstrips

My single most viewed strip)






I'm currently trying to figure out how to do 'Somewhere in Time'.

Otter Disaster #15: Rush to Judgement

Otter Disaster #14: A Familiar Voice

Otter Disaster #13: Coffeet Break

An almost completely true story:

Otter Disaster #12: Calling His Bluff