------------------------- 11/14/05 - By the way, I'm still alive. I've been working on some scripts for graphic novels, and sketching constantly. Looking much forward to January 1st for my coming back online, but also really enjoying the much needed rest from deadlines. Hope all is well for all of you as we swing into the holidays. my best, -christopher After a much-needed break, i am back, and am happy to be so. I have a lot of new stuff, listed and linked in the upper left there. But I'll paste it here as well. Today, Sunday, I am posting "Bruno" and "I am Hans Krunkel" Also of note, I'm slowly shedding the MoodyCow brand (for various reason), and the online store has been moved to baldwinpage.com at Good Port. Currently I am working on several projects. All (except Little Dee)will be updated here at baldwinpage.com, including Bruno and my blog. Little Dee will remain at littledee.net. Bruno will also continue to update on it's own here (baldwinpage/bruno.html). The current additional projects are: I am Hans Krunkel, a 32 page comic-book style story about twins. Only Sleeping, a graphic novel about... well, this and that. A slow paced piece. Approx 180 pages. Wild Life - Part 1. Fish of the Sea a series written by Dan Wolff with illustrations by me. I adore his work and hope you do too. Sketchblog, like it used to be. Just random stuff. Again, it's good to be back. Thank you all for your patience, the rest was much needed. But yes. So, some of you may be wondering a bit of where my life is right now, with so much up in the air when I disappeared in October. Well, it's pretty much the same. I've had no luck in my job search, so am still working full-time and my job is still pretty innocuous and non-horrible. So nothing too bad. Still living in Olympia, as that is where my job is. I should warn you, though. Currently I am being super-duper good in managing my time, and am keeping up with my current insane comic schedule on top of working and having a minor social-life. But if there are any snags, it will unravel. The work-load is huge, and as long as I'm still working full-time, snags will be inevitable. but I will try to keep them to a minimum. It's great to be back up here, though. Both because I'm so excited about all the projects I'm currently working on, but for the great support you've all provided me. Thank you for the kind words and support you've given in the past, and thank you all for coming back. Funny, there was a fair chunk of time today, when i should have been lying down, where I felt fine and was doodling other things, no idea my brain would collapse by evening. Still flu. A tad more human. Tired of it. Today's "I am Hans Krunkel" is the cover. I know it's odd timing, but I finished it, and so... um.. yeah. there it is. :) That said, I'm feeling better. And the Stevie Wonder jag i was on before the flu arrived has seemed to have resumed with hardly a bump. Oh, and i should note: "Only Sleeping" is moving pretty slow. Largely, the 180 page story is a bit more conversational, but it does have its slow moments. Like this long intro. Wish i could pound through it faster, I know reading two pages a week with this pacing can be a bit of a drag, but hopefully the finished product will be worth the wait(s). That said, i actually feel good and inspired. Simply a tad frustrated at my schedule. Still seeking part-time job. In the mean-time, my current wednesday drawing class has ended and I won't be re-registering again until my schedule frees up enough to allow it. This elimination of one more activity will hopefully help let-up a bit on my comics workload. Have a great weekend! -Christopher 1. apologies for the screwed up Hans Krunkel file which many people found wouldn't load. I have fixed the format and now it's up. 2. I recently was corresponding with Tyson Smith, who seems like a very nice fellow and does a charming strip titled Pirate and Alien. I love the artwork and the voice. A good start for a new strip, I'll be following it. I keep getting chocolate everywhere. yesterday, after watching "Bewitched" i found it on my nose and both forearms. Now it's on Bruno. Weakness is like a silly candy I enjoy. :) Oh, and I got "Only Sleeping" pencilled this weekend, which means both pages (theoretically) shall be up this week again. "White Papers" is one of the comics that will be placed on the Water Street section of the website, as it is part of that project as a whole. "White Papers" defines itself on its own "frontspage." It may leave many of you sighing and scratching your heads, and that's totally fine. If you have read the varied different attempts to define "comics" or "sequential art" or whatever, you are probably more likely to find this comic interesting. Me? I am merely trying to approach comics as an art-form and explore it. If anything I create here is of real significance in the history of the form, I am not so bold as to assume it, to declare it, to be so. So, bruno.... Today (and yesterday's) bruno are a funny yet strange thing. And I wanted to blog here to explain what's going on. I'm essentially having a bit of writer's block about Bruno, which concerns me, while at the same time I do not feel whatsoever that the project has exhausted it's possibilities. Essentially there's a mix of things going on. The simple version is that I've created a world in Bruno, which has slowly tightened the reins of possiblity until I can't think of anywhere ot move within it. I'm reflecting on the different types of stories I've done, from the more absurd in the beginning of the circus and cross-country anarchists; to more "realistic" recent ones, such as the ethics and emotional impact of stripping , or the exploring what it means to be a manager. This is further propelled by a bit of stagnation in my own life, or better put: I've been going through tremendous amount of emotional inner-growth, and I'm still trying to get the rest of my life to catch up. So yes, I had been kinda' waiting to see where bruno would go, or if my own life would go somewhere which would help propel her. But I feel it's stagnating, and that I have to look at the entire model of her "world" as a whole, and possibly tear parts of it down to rebuild. So, in the meantime I'm doing this silly "break the fourth wall" stuff for however long it takes until i figure it out. My guess is that it won't last long, that I might be ready to go even as soon as this coming Monday. but will hopefully keep you entertained until I for sure do continue. Frankly, I'm kinda' enjoying it. It's kind of fun. Which is something which bruno has been lacking a bit of lately for me. And so I won't worry too-too much. So yeah, the next page is pencilled, but tonight I was too tired to do more. Sorry. :-/ have a great weekend tho. A long one for many of you (mee too!). I'm thinking of Charlottesville, Tucson, Providence, or other possible situations. so..... Working full-time and doing comics full-time has taken it's toll, and in only a month-and-a-half, and it has moved me to pounce on attempting change again. So, my life. I've come to the conclusion that i will not be able to find a state job in Seattle in the forseeable future, and that going to the private sector, with only working part-time would mean too little pay and benefits to survive in Seattle. It's funny, if i didn't have comics, i would be quite content. I have an easy job, pays well with benefits, the best apartment in the universe in a pleasant town. But I wish to do comics, and I'm destroying myself and wasting my "life" (meaning: interacting with the rest of the world) doing it while working full-time. So, I need to leave my full-time job. Which also means I won't be able to afford my swank apartment. What i see here is a blank canvas. If I stay in Olympia, this means sharing an apartment and finding a part-time job which doesn't pay great with likely no benefits. During which i can continue to apply to better paying jobs, etc. I will pursue this path in a couple weeks if i choose it, but first i wish to also investigate other options. If I leave, the three top choices currently are (alphabetically) Charlottesville, VA; Providence, RI; and Tucson, AZ. Charlottesville and Tucson share the appeal that when i visited them i was utterly taken and charmed by them. Neither are a hot-spot enough that I couldn't find an affordable place to live with a crappy part-time job (assuming i never get sick). Charlottesville has the benefit of being closer to my home-town area of New-England, that occasional trips are more concievable. Tucson has the added benefit of being sunny a lot (which right now rates high compared to the cloudy Pacific NW). Providence is the only place i could imagine living in new England right now. Kinda' bizarre, but there it is. NYC/Brooklyn or Boston are too expensive, and I don't think I wish to move back to the Pioneer Valley. Plus I have some good friends in Providence, which is always nice. The other possible thing is a live-in situation. I actually am making enough money through art to pay my bills for my debt (yes, it's still there, but dwindling), so if i could live and eat someplace for free, I could survive (if you have an empty room for a year, and can feed me, I can do household helping things and doodles and all sorts of stuff). Mostly I'm thinking of maybe as a nanny with minimal time required, or maybe a live-in with someone with a disability, or maybe a dorm-marm for a private school or something (if anyone has any leads, feel free to suggest them my way, I am definitely willing to relocate). In the mean-time I'm trying to make as little change as possible for you all. And so, for now "Only Sleeping" is going off of a regular schedule. It's the most taxing as far as work, and though i dearly love the project, it has the smallest immediate-gratification of my current projects. As i get pages done, I'll post them sometime between Monday and Wednesday (so you won't miss them) and on the main "baldwinpage.com" I'll put a "last updated" date by the only sleeping link, so you can at a glance know if you're caught up. Anyhow. That's it. That's me. I decide on a path and keep it up until it either succeeds or i decide it's time to forge a new one. Wish me luck on this attempt. If you're wondering about "G", it follows the theme of "White Papers" (accidentally previously called "White Pages") and the blog from that is still relevant. See it below under the 2/8/06 entry. So this week will be pushed back, with Bruno on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. "I am Hans Krunkel" bumped to Thursday, but "Wild Life" kept steady on Wednesday. Oh, and the current plan is to stay in Olympia. I've concluded that I mostly wanted to escape because i was overloaded. Cutting back on the comics helps tremendously (though I long to get back to Only sleeping, and it is NOT a dead project). And I also had these escape fantasies of glorious other places, and I had to either kill/pospone dreaming, or else act on it, because dreaming and not acting wipes me out. I'm also happy that i feel comfortable in the "I draw bruno" shoes for the first time in ages. I think last week went well. That pleases me. I did "Hans Krunkel" over the weekend, so it was already ready to go. I am well, feeling fine, but just couldn't do it today. First, Hans Krunkel. This week takes place in an office, and last week i didn't have my act together enough to layout the photo references i had and take them to work and take matching pictures. I will take them this week and next week will return to it's normal schedule. In place of Hans Krunkel this week, I will be illustrating a wee poem I wrote a while ago entitled, "She ended up not having to run an errand." I hope you enjoy. Today's Bruno, I did not mean to make it so macabre, I simply found "opens a window" a peculiar choice of phrase (as a replacement for a door). Although, I do think I caught Bruno's mixed emotion in her face, of almost reflexive commentary and true sympathy. Like the rest of my little side projects, it will be permanently linked to from Water Street. Like the rest of my little side projects, it will be permanently linked to from Water Street. Meanwhile, my life stumbles along. I thought I had a part-time job lined up, but it fell through. And I'm quickly reaching the burn-out point I was at last autumn. I NEED to go part-time, and soon. I just have to find a job that pays moderately okay. That said, I'm also enjoying doing comics more than ever, these days. The steady projects, plus the others: Go Go Goognog and last week's poem, and I've begun taking source photos for the project (tentatively called "push")which will follow Hans Krunkel (there's only about a month left). I also managed to get the needed source photos for Hans Krunkel, so this week I am back in action. Yay, for that. It felt like forever to miss a week of it. So yeah, but Bruno and Dee are up, and I'm feeling it's time to lay down and relax. I'd predict the rest of the week or next week, but it'd be best if i didn't. HOWEVER! I will NOT be stopping Hans Krunkel like I've had to for Only Sleeping, even temporarily. I missed last week because of bad scheduling with the photo sources, and this week I only got one page done, but I am not going to let that be indicative of anything. So there. :) I almost feel it's an obligation to mention this, though i can't seem to get too excited about it myself, that today, twice, just after 1:00, the date and time will be: 01:02:03 04/05/06 Well, not for you Europeans who have to wait a month 'til the fourth of May because you can't get your day and month straight. :-P In other news, I think I'm doing a wee bit better this week emotionally. I'm in a bit of a spiral, and I'm trying to keep 'er steady. but so it goes. :) I'm calling the week a wash, and will try again fresh on Monday. On happier news, this week will have a Wild Life story by Daniel, since I missed illustrating it last week. And then we will continue every other week after this week, so it's all only one week off, rather than two. That made little sense. It's way late and I'm tired. Secondly, today is the last day of I am Hans Krunkel. I hope you have enjoyed it. I can say that it was immense fun to write and draw. My current plans for publication of it (if you're curious) is this: in a year or so i'll be putting out a collection of Water Street stories, and I plan to include it in that. Though I am considering approaching Drawn&Quarterly or some such publisher as well. Lastly, Bruno. I've been feeling kinda' down about Bruno, mostly because I've been unsure what lies next, but finally I sat down and read all the strips I've done since my autumn hiatus, and I pleasantly found them to be actually kinda strong. Sure, as ever, there are non-stellar strips, and I think the pacing suffers with my "interludes" (not planned) and it running only three days per week (somewhat remedied by reading them all at once). But yeah, I am pleased, and it puts me in a good mood to be so. The simple reason for the respite is that I will be stepping away from my desk from May 12th-23rd and am fighting just to get Dee and Bruno done before i go (I put in about 35 hours of straight work this weekend). (Any book orders will be fulfilled when I return) But then I will be back with more, I actually have a cue of projects just waiting to happen. And my work schedule is finally reducing on june 1st, so I'll be able to focus on things. But I will discuss that more when I have the breathing room to discuss the fact that I have breathing room. That said, I've returned at a "getting back in the swing of things" pace. I am Hans Krunkel is done, and I'm playing around with doing Only Sleeping in it's place for a while, or starting a new piece I have written and almost ready to draw. The result of all this is, today, there's only Bruno. I'll probably have something else on the site this week, we'll see. And Dan is taking a week's break on Wild Life before he moves on to Beasts of the Field after having just finished Fish of the Sea. All that said, I'm feeling good about Bruno, which makes me happy. So I am content. Oh, and I have fallen in love with the Hernandez Brothers' Love and Rockets, both Palomar and Locas. It's about frikkin' time I finally read them. And I've also fallen in love with movie director Catherine Breillat. But yes, I've been puttering at the next project, and I'm sure I'll start it soon. And there will be a Wild Life story this week, yay! :) Ummm... what else. Oh, my new job seems pleasant and I think it is a good fit. Like you wouldn't have done the same. but I'll be good :) and there will be three strips this week. Either two on wednesday, or one on wednesday and one on thursday. And although at first it may appear as some standard medieval knightly adventure tale, it isn't really that at all. Unfortunately, it will run at a maddeningly slow pace, of one panel per day. I know this is cruelty to readers, and I don't expect anyone to follow it. But I think that its the correct pace to make myself draw it, and so, there it is. I apologize ahead of time. I'm not guaranteeing more, but there you go. Oh, and I'm posting this today instead of Push. First off, I was interviewed for an article over at afterellen.com. Thanks, Veronica! Secondly, Happy 4th of July, you Americans. Enjoy yourself, and don't drink&drive or anything like that. Put the bottle-rocket in the ground before lighting it. And so, today's "Bruno", as well as the bonus political strip, are due to a local boycott in Olympia. You can find out more at www.planboly.org, or also, simply continue reading here while I blather on about it. So, the local food chain of "Thriftway" actually are refusing to stock "Plan-B" also known as the "Morning After Pill." The pharmacist even wishes to be able to fill the prescriptions, whether or not he believes in it, but the owner, Storman, won't let the store stock it. I find it a horrible thing, aside from being possibly illegal (that is being looked into). I feel that pharmacies should not be able to refuse to fill prescription medication based purely due to moral grounds. At all. Although I find this case particularly bad, as they are the only pharmacy in the downtown Olympia area (although "Family Planning" is an alternative), and me, being someone without a car, I would hate to be in the situation of being unable to access an extremely time-sensitive prescription. Anyhow. Not sure why I'm discussing it here. I know that 99% of you already know where you stand on the issue, one way or another, and there's little debating it. I hope you enjoy the comics either way. :)  If you are interested in purchasing any of the panels (except the portrait panels), feel free to email me. But, since I've been switching them around and re-drawing them so much, I took down the easy-purchase feature rather than constantly re-writing the code. Monday I'm going to see Harry & The Potters because... well, they're fun. No, more than that, they're earnest. Maybe I do miss the east coast. (Not quite that much, Pete). 
Which is about as fun as you get. It's dorky, and fun, and terribly earnest. I haven't had that much fun at a show since high school (and I'm sure my knees and neck will agree in the morning). Cho-Chang breaks my heart every time. And we got to save Ginny Weasley from the Baskilisk. And the snarky reference to Tipper Gore and the PMRC. Lovely time. Anyhow. that's my story. 
Lol. Todays was as much of a wash as yesterday. Admittedly, today, my day-job actually ran really late, and a class I'm taking ran really long, and I got some other work done which was due yesterday. I miss a day, you deserve me to be less cryptic. Sorry about that. Overall, I've been having a hard time getting my head together. To miss the strip may not appear to be a good sign, but actually, I think today I got decently back on track. Today was more just weird. See you Thursday!
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