Repurposing the sketchy coyote guy for a Bio strip. Haven't done one of those in a long while. It's not that there hasn't been anything to draw about, I just haven't felt that pull to do one. The bio comic gets thinner every year. I got some flack for focusing on the negative sides of things and that probably kept me from wanting to do anything with it for awhile. Felt like I was bitten, so I yanked my hand back. Well, there you go.

Saw a short film about the power and longevity of C+H's influence and this made me think about the strip and how there really hasn't been anything like it since and that, whether he knew it or not, Watterson was kind of ringing the knell of the end of the newspaper strip as being something of any kind of real cultural THING. I'm sure there are others that are popular, doing well for their creators, etc. but really, are any of the level of quality of THAT strip? Are any inspiring the kind of devotion and memories that C+H did? Is there anyone out there doing strips for the art and love of it, or is there now always a certain level of money as part of the equation? Looking at the strips of the early part of the 20th century, I come away breathless, wondering how in the hell people MADE those things and how anyone could let that level of craft and artistry simply fade away. Sure, times change, tastes cycle through and now we're getting long form comics that have similar beauty and love, but that daily dose, that bit of art made for the common human seems faded to utter obscurity. Attention spans have been sanded down to near nothing and our ravenous hunger for a constant stream of new content of any kind has likely played a part. Still, the echo of C+H won't fully fade and many people likely ask why there isn't more like this. At least, that's what I feel.

Gah, three weeks since the last post. That's not good, though there was a week in Boston in there as well as a houseguest this past weekend. Still, I want to beat last year and that's not the way to do it. Here's the latest panels from the Party Line comic. I know showing these here, they're all out of context. Still, it's what I've drawn and this is my blog. The one thing I meant to put in here and forgot was that I tend to look towards influential art as a sort of permission, like someone else has already done something therefore it's ok for me to do it, too. Part of that is because I really don't think my imagination is as broad as it could be. Then again, there's no reason for me to be able to do EVERYthing. So.. who knows. Anyway...

Another page of this, if it's even a thing. It might be. I like the way it looks. There's a kind of 70s vibe to it. There's also a simple solidity, if that's a thing. I don't know. I scavanged some stuff from the Smatt comic and am doing some more self discovery kind of stuff with him. I don't know. I just work here.