NEWS for 05/01/08:
Wow, look at that, I've shamed myself again. To express surprise could only possibly be done so in a disingenuous and irreverent fashion. But it's not all bad news. No! It's not! See, you may be wondering how such a simple scene as the one above took me almost a month to complete. Well, it didn't! No, I started work on a much more complex comic which would move the plot along in a customary fashion, but of course like I have done every single week of my adult life I managed my time poorly and inevitably found that I wouldn't be able to finish it before the month was out. Then, at the last minute, the concept for the above comic occurred to me and I was all "Wow, that works beautifully as a functional pause in the action, a simple, effective scene, and an opportunity to streamline certain elements of the plot!" Only I used not so many words. So I raced to do this comic before the last minute, but the last minute beat me like it usually does. But the good news is that as a result of all this I already have the next comic halfway done, so, haha Old Man Time, my fervor to defeat you has paid off after a fashion! Now I can definitely say that I will have the next comic finished within--
No. No, Joseph. That's a trap. I have to come to terms with the fact that, for whatever flaw in my nature, I am terrible at keeping promises. Maybe if I didn't make the damn things I wouldn't be so inclined to break them. ...Wow, this sounds really bad for my personal life, doesn't it? Getting into a whole deep area here. Alright, I'll just say that so far as the comic is concerned I'll stop throwing money at where my mouth clearly is not. I'll just keep trying to get the comic done as soon as possible, and hopefully Zebra Girl won't wind up in Keenspot's Ended/On Hiatus section.
Wow, I do not shut up once I get going, do I? I always babble after pulling an all-nighter. Alright, here's some real news then. A certain neighborhood wizard had a neat little cameo over at The Wotch last Tuesday. Thanks Anne, thanks Robin! You guys are great.
And here's something else that's great, your friend and mine (unless you're not cool, in which case he's just my friend) Bren MacDonald did an animated version of one of Sandra's old Journal Entries and posted it on YouTube! That's awesome, Bren! You're awesome! We're all awesome, hurrayyyy... gah, gotta finish this all so I can sleep again okay.
Speaking of Sandra's Journal, Sandra was feeling sympathetic so she did up a super-sized Journal Entry for today! And I... I guess she thinks it's pretty. Thank you, Sandra, it's... it's pretty. It is! Really. ...Pretty.
And, ah, here's something else that's pretty! I made a Zebra Girl mandala pattern and stuck it on a new shirt in the CafePress store, and hopefully someone (who may be you, or may not) will like it and will subsequently buy it and that will be a good thing to have happened! Mandala, what a great word! Yeah! Alright, yeah, we end on an up note! Okay!
I had hoped that the news would cushion the sting of my dishonor.
Not so much as I had hoped.
-Joe
NEWS for 04/05/08: Spring? Why do they speak of Spring? It's still the middle of winter, surely. But wait... the trees... they begin to bloom! Has the river of time become a waterfall? Have my senses blurred? Did the book of cause and effect flip a page or two ahead of my ability to read them? How can this be??
Oh my God in absolute seriousness how does this happen. I've gone on hiatus and had guest art that ran in less time than this. What is causing this insane drag? How do I lose so much time?? I'm not on vacation or anything, so how does the comic keep getting slower? How much of my audience have I now lost because I can't get my act together?? Screw that! I'm going to start on the next comic today! In fact... I can't talk anymore, I gotta get to work. Show gets on the road now! This month will not end without at least one more page!
This comic used to be weekly... I can't belive this comic used to be weekly...
-Joe
NEWS for 03/14/08: What's new! What's new, you ask? Well, the comic isn't new at all. But! Buuuuut... let's take a look at what is new! As it turns out, there's quite a bit!
I have finally started upgrading and updating the fan work, starting in the fiction section. Mawgan Dell's epic Angels and Demons is finished, and the latest chapter of Stacy Dooks' Tiger Boy is finally on this site! Furthermore, both they and Amp-Muse's About A Boy have been infested with character illustrations by yours truly, achieving an ironic evolution as fan work which has inspired the author of the work which inspired it. New art on every page!
Sandra updated her journal fairly recently (if you can still call it that), and there are finally new free desktops in the store! One of them is an expanded version of the primary image I did for About A Boy. While it does feature a copyrighted character, I'm fairly certain I don't have to worry about Dark Horse taking everything I own since even though it's in a "store" I'm not technically selling it. That's defensible, right? Speaking of the store, there are new items in the CafePress section which might appeal to you. Anything is possible, because everything is fresh and alive today! Even that dirty old FAQs section has been rejuvenated, with new information about the town of Miscellaneous (way down at the bottom of the page, with Tomie).
Lastly, I would like to settle some old scores by giving shouts out to other webcomics who, in their various styles, have shouted out to me and mine and have not yet received the shouts that they are due. I was surprised to find out how many I'd overlooked! For example, The Fan by B.T. Isaac hosted a very brief sighting of a particular wandering wizard. Hydragon and Decaf Coffee's Awfully Generic has had several subtle hints of Zebra added to its archives, and if you squint hard enough to can discern the flavour around in here and here. Wow, how do these things evade me for so long? Good thing I found L.P. Hogan's Webcomic Crossover & Cameo Archive, or I might've gone my whole life without finding these. And that's not all! The united evil overlords of Evil Overlords United (Ti-Phil, Net, and Mravac Kid by name) are apparently keeping a close eye on Sandra. And Aja over at True Magic recently gothed up the place with a familiar, if decomposing face. And finally, Asylum Laboratories have been having Zebra-esque fun for several Halloweens now, as can clearly be seen here, there, and everywhere.
So there you have it! Many new things. ...But no new comic. That's hard to make up for.
Let me tell you, when this storyline gets wrapped up I am seriously going to look into developing a simpler, more efficient drawing style. After all, the audience deserves quantity as well as quality. You all want to see Zebra Girl's story roll along, don't you? That's why you come to the sight. To see what happens next! Not to just look at what's already happened. The pretty pictures are great, sure, but if the pace of the story is sacrificed then it hardly seems worth it. All this time I've refused to sacrifice the artistic standards I've set for the sake of efficiency. But efficiency can be a facet of aesthetic quality, too, and maybe I've sacrificed too much of that. After all, many great artists tell their stories with simpler, less complicated techniques than I've used. Maybe it's time I embraced the beauty of that simplicity. Or it will be time, as soon as I get to a point where I can make the transition at a break in the plot. Perhaps I'll even give computer shading a try... I'm loathe to forsake my beloved crosshatching, but when the comic slows to freaking monthly updates, it's time to forsake something. So just you wait, you old audience, you! Just weather this one storyline with me! Because after this, things are going to change! After this, when I truly learn to refine my art, to reign in my mad artistic obsessions, I'll bring you all a streamlined Zebra Girl you can learn to depend on!
After all, I've never broken a promise to you, have I??
-Joe
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