Smile & Wag!

The Showdog!

Eagle Emissary — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:07:00 +0000

Designing a new character was fun, but it took a long time. I’ve been dealing with writer’s block a lot since the beginning of the Fall 2008 semester, so a good story comes with the sacrifice of valuable work time. This one was actually thought up and drawn during that semester, but was published just last week. I’m posting them together to make the story seem more unified.

Working under the constraints of a three-day week in a paper is problematic for a story that runs more than two or three gags long. I could have drawn out the process of revealing that the “other Dalmatian” was telling the truth about Spot being int he show with him, and I think it would have been more interesting, but, you know…constraints, constraints, constraints.

I wanted to take this story farther. I’m a little sorry I didn’t, but there was the risk of running the story for more than a week…and that tends to lose readers’ interest in the context of a student newspaper, I’m told. I don’t know if that’s actually true, but I’ll admit, dividing the third one into three separate comics seems a little ploy-driven. I’d be doing the same type of humor (insults and comebacks) three or more times in a row. That would be a bit too much.

Schweinhund!

Eagle Emissary — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:24:00 +0000

The correct spelling is actually in the title of this post. I was, once upon a time, a German Language minor. Now I’m a Creative Writing minor…sooooo much fun! Anyway, I still like to use German Language jokes in my comics, provided that my primarily English-speaking audience can understand the joke. (This usually means using cognates, incidence of words with both similar sound and similar meaning in two separate languages.)

I must apologize for the state of this posting… something is preventing me from posting pictures in full size. You’ll have to click on the comic to see it more clearly. I’m sorry.

By the way…

Eagle Emissary — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 22:52:00 +0000

…Happy New Year, everybody!

Random end-of-the-semester thoughts…

Eagle Emissary — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:48:00 +0000

Ohai! It’s time for my “end-of-the-semester” report!

It’s nearing the end of the semester… and looking back on it…

well…

actually, I don’t wanna look back on it. I didn’t have an easy semester at EMU, and my comic itself is suffering.

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. I’d like to post my comics in order, and I can’t post at home easily, and the first comic of a certain plot arc is there. I need to get it on my thumb drive to take to school.

So, the semester…

Let’s see: I dropped out of a Life Drawing class early in the semester and got a W grade for it, for example… I wanted (sooo badly) to drop out of my German class, ’cause it just wasn’t working for me, but by the time I was considering it, it was way too late; plus, my family dissuaded me.

…and…

I’ve changed my minor to Creative Writing, since German wasn’t going to cut it for me.

I got a C- for a presentation I gave in German Lit class… I think I deserved to flunk it, personally. And I totally didn’t give a first one. (We were required to give two 10-minute presentations, and I gave just a 5-minute one–eghch!)

*Sigh*

Anyway, I’ve got a Writing class this afternoon which is, actually, enjoyable for me; and I’m excited about all the classes being over…I don’t hate the exams, because I test well.

Also, I had some emo-problems this semester, but I’m doing okay now, which may be due, in part, to the addition of fish oil to my diet.

I think I’m going to start a new personal tradition… near the end of every semester, I will change my profile pic. I just did that today, as one might notice (who follows my blog <zum Beispiel: Jacob and Marty, plus a few others!>)

As for the projects I enjoyed, I’d have to say one was making a comic for a blog to be read by peers in my writing class (click to see it here! not available via search engines!). I briefly co-authored a comic panel with my pals called People for the Ethical Treatment of Students (or “P.E.T.S.”), which ended after two publications. It was a fun experiment. My last comic of the newspaper was pretty good, too. I’ll leave you with this festive, jolly, and seasonal letter from Dr. Milkcowski!

End of end-of-the-semester report!
Spyke (.o:) out.

Oh, yeah… Merry Christmas, everybody!

Drowning Your Sorrows in Soda

Eagle Emissary — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:33:00 +0000

This was (or so I think) the first comic I did with this font. It’s called Lafayette Comic Pro, or somesuch. I like seeing drunks portrayed on television, so I thought a caffeine joke with a similar “drowning your sorrows” theme would be cool. And, yes, in the title I used the word “soda.” If someone out there dares to challenge me and think “pop” is more sophisticated, I’ve got news. “Pop” should be an anomotopoeia; it should not be used in reference to a drink. (I can get away with saying this because I come from the Mid-West.) Also, I made Jonathan use the German way of talking about colas…he calls them “colas,” not “Coke” or “Pepsi.” It sounds more professional to me.

This rant is at an end…thank you for listening, Jake and Marty!

PWNED by the Dog!

Eagle Emissary — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:27:00 +0000

I don’t remember if I added this one yet, but I’m in a rush, so here it is. The lighting was both a pain in the neck and simple as heck…heh-heh, ignore that dumb rhyme please. It was purely…

oh, never mind!

Coffee-Shop Pooched!

Eagle Emissary — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:23:00 +0000

Oh, yes, wacky kicks… I tried doing my comic dialogue in “Trebuchet” font. I don’t recommend it very highly. Don’t tell anybody, please, but I strongly considered using a censored explitive in the last panel from Little Johnny!

Milkcowski’s New Patient.

Eagle Emissary — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:18:00 +0000

This is a pun… a double pun… a poorly executed double pun, but still…

Oh, yeah: as you can see, the shading is awful. I considered doing it in color, but when I did, it just didn’t look right that way either. I was thinking of making this into a short series of comics, but Jonathan isn’t supposed to comprehend bovine. What could they possibly talk about?

Late-Night Intervention.

Eagle Emissary — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:16:00 +0000

I’ve had loads of caffeine before, so I could definitely see how Dr. Spot could mistake this for addiction.

Manga-Blonde!

Eagle Emissary — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:15:00 +0000

The idea here is that Jonathan is reading a manga called “BLEACH,” and Kate takes the title pretty literally.