Oooo, I’m dyin’ again…

So we are on to page two of Patrick’s Dicebox tale in all its retro-furturo glory. (permalink)

We discover Griffen’s secret talent–the one I didn’t even knew she had! I mean beyond the way she can sport a fedora.

Patrick rocks my world

Patrick Farley’s guest story for Dicebox, “Don’t Look Back,” has begun, and it delights me no end. (permalink)

It delights me so much that I must share a peek of his interpretation of Griffen here:

As Kip put it, “she’s workin’ the Thin White Duke.” Which is true and so very, very appropriate. I always say that I learn something new about these characters everytime someone else takes a stab at them—in this case I think a better idea of the look Griffen’s college band might have sported among other things.

All I know about what follows is the decade he’s paying homage to, the one we both grew up in and has influenced us in ways we are reluctant to admit (well, I am anyway) He promises it’s only going to get worse which naturally has me eager in anticipation.

As usual, I’ve been keeping ridiculously busy in my “time off” but I did manage to provide Dylan Meconis with a fill-in for this week’s Family Man, a companion piece to one I did earlier. Always nice to have a chance to tackle something different.

She’s made of cheese!

Kip makes a pouty face every time I say that our daughter is made of cheese. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t believe in yellow cheese.

The image above is a 3D ultrasound rendering of Taran Jack, taken from a video session we had this past weekend. Yes, thanks to modern technology, boutique clinics and generous grandmothers-to-be, we can get a jump start in making embarrassing videos of our daughter. And you can find my edited down version of the experience right here on YouTube.

I was able to bring about six folks to the recording–I spent about half my time observing their reactions as seeing my daughter live in the womb. Dylan was (and is still) delighted when the tech demonstrated that Taran was still a girl by pointing out her “princess parts.” Patrick seemed a little startled by the way my belly moved in response to Taran’s activity as seen on screen. I couldn’t figure out if Erika was fascinated or horrified, and Barry seemed to find it a satisfactory documentary, if a tad unrealistic. And Kip always gives great reaction–he’s still blown away the yawn that begins the video I linked to above.

Oh, and I should mention Patrick’s Dicebox fill-in won’t actually begin until next week. So it goes.

End of Dicebox : Book 1: Part 8 : Birds of a Feather

Not only is this week’s update two pages, it marks the end of Part 8 of Book 1: Birds of a Feather. (permalink)

I’d also like to mention that I have been taking time to update other parts of Dicebox.net , most significantly the Gallery and the Store where I have a new t-shirt design for sale, which I call the Green Man:

I’ll also be doing a reprint of the Poppy design at the end of August. I’m only planning on doing a run of the dark green ladies cut, but if you want the design on a different color or style of shirt (or tank top or pants, etc.) contact me and I can probably make it so as a pre-paid pre-order.

And now for a word on updates for the rest of 2008.

Though there will continue to be weekly updates, this’ll be the last update of new material of Dicebox proper for a while–perhaps for the rest of 2008. Yes, this is due to me being pregnant and all that goes with it, present limitations and possible future ones.

As is custom, I have a fill-in cartoonist lined up for my post-Part break, this time out it will be Patrick Farley.

After that treat, I will be doing page revamps, rewrites and pages notes, the whys and wherefores of this are outlined in this post here. This is something I feel confident I can make some sort progress, as well as something I need to get cracking on as we are coming to the end of Book 1.

The week I actually give birth (which could be anywhere from October 16th to November 7th) will be covered by a short fill-in of some sort, as will the couple of weeks following birth.

Then I will return to page revamps until at least the beginning of December but maybe until January 2009 depending how things go.

will be working on the last Part of Book 1, Part 9: Out of a Molehill while all this going on, writing, laying out, drawing pages, etc. But I won’t begin releasing this Part until life has resettled into its new pattern (now with infant!) and/or I have a large enough back-up of pages to provide an extravagant buffer for myself. I really want no un-expected breaks or interruptions to this last Part. Regardless, by the start of 2009 I will be updating the story proper again.

Why not just go on hiatus? That makes me nervous. I need that weekly update as a goal and obligation. I’ve ingrained that so into my psyche that I can get a bit depressed if I miss an update. Not to say I don’t enjoy and desire to work on Dicebox, but I know what creatures of habit we all are and I want to make sure I don’t break this habit.

So close

Alright, so, just one page of Dicebox this week as opposed to the two I was hoping to do in order to compensate for last week. And honestly, I’m glad of even that one, all things considered.(permalink)

As you’ve probably noticed, I don’t tend to post in this journal when I fail to make an update– I figure everyone has enough Internet noise as it is. Though I am willing to do so if folks find it helpful or even courteous.

At the risk of jinxing myself, next week should see the end of Part 8: Birds of a Feather, which has gone on about two months longer than intended, thanks to a certain fetus.