So this is it! First official blog post for The Next Adventure. With the help of my wonderful friend Katy, I was able to do a little bit of editing on the site (CODING. : / . How have people lived with it so long?). It’s in a satisfactory place, for the time being, but I imagine I will be tweaking* it every so often to get it just right.

The comic itself is finally starting to get to the point where I can feel a little more relieved about posting. You might actually start to see a plot poking out beneath all of that stuff! Yes, folks, a real live plot! The story has been planned from beginning to end, though with enough room to grow or shrink, depending on what’s necessary. Though I’ve said it before, I have to mention it again: it’s going to be on the longer side. I’m kind of amazed that it’s already at page 54, but it’s not a big deal either, as this particular method of narrative takes up a lot of space. It really is more like storyboarding sometimes. A lot of the time. We’re working on it.

In the meantime, school has started up across the street and for the first time since I was a much much smaller person, I do not have attend classes in the fall. Weird.

*sometimes when I say “tweaking” what I mean is picking up all four corners of the tablecloth, tying them in a knot, and dumping the works, food and all, into the nearest trash recepticle. I believe in starting over. Also late nights and headaches, but not because I want to.

Hello!

New page is up, naturally (being Sunday and all). I’ve been working on a bunch of upcoming pages and I’m so excited to share them! And the story in general! We’re nearing the end of Chapter 2 rapidly, which makes me feel a little more accomplished : ). The other thing about having these pages near completion is that I’m seriously considering updating twice a week. Sunday is a given, but I may also update on Thursday, depending on how together I am and how my page supply is by then. But here’s hoping! I really want to get to the good stuff with you guys!

I also need to tackle the archive section of the site. Hopefully it’s not too much of an inconvenience right now. It should be working by the time we’re at Chapter 3, because it would be unfortunate if it wasn’t.

I’ve been listening to music that has been making my eyes water off and on throughout the entirety of working on this week’s pages. Michael Giacchino never fails to make me want to cry. His soundtracks are just that good. My roommate gave me some Lost music and oh man. So heart-wrenching. You can take that score and apply it to any old thing and suddenly you’re bawling. Not to mention I still feel weepy at the UP soundtrack. I’m not a person to cry at movies or shows at all, but music can do it. Maybe it’s because music isn’t just about one person’s story. It’s about everybody’s and nobody’s story.

First of all, Thursday post! Page 56 was posted this Thursday, so if you’re reading this Sunday’s page and it doesn’t make sense…there you go. I’d really like to keep this twice -a-week update thing going on to keep the story moving at a reasonable clip. We’ve got some ground to cover. Also, the archives are up and running! Take advantage of our wonderful list system and scan through whichever pages you’d like.

Natalie, Kipling and Regina are back again! I’m somewhat relieved to see them. Connor is going to be a lot of fun, don’t get me wrong, but his enigmatic character is a force to be reckoned with. At least Kipling and Natalie are a little better at dealing with their mysteries. Way to be a Mei Ling there, Kipling.

For the curious, Natalie made stew with russet potatoes, carrots, steak meat and onions, and they’ve got some bread (a little on the stale side) to eat it with. If you could tell that from the pictures of their plates, you have some weird skill and I’m afraid of it.

I cannot wait for autumn to actually start looking like it. Summer is my least favorite season–too much unnecessary heat. It’s much easier to sit at a desk when you don’t have to de-stick yourself from the seat every two minutes. Also there’s something really nice about staying inside and working on some art on a blustery day. It doesn’t come prepackaged with the I-should-be-outside guilt trip.

I totally had today’s page done in advance. In fact, I’m on top of things for a bit here (which is surprising, I know!) And I didn’t post it on time (in the wee hours of this morning), because for reasons unbeknown to me, it didn’t register that today was Thursday until 2 minutes ago. I hope I never have to say something that pathetic again.

Some of my friends and I are taking ourselves over to one of the States finest (imho) features: the shores of Lake Superior! I might be biased. I might have offhandedly mentioned the Greatest Lake in Next Adventure too, and never you mind. I’m excited, though, if you can’t tell. Don’t get me wrong; the city is great and everything, but it doesn’t fill the entire spectrum of life. I HOPE THERE WILL BE STARS.

Ahem. comic. So yeah! Last page of the chapter, guys! I’m excited, because after this? After this is Chapter Three. :D. Not without a word from our sponsor first, though.

You know what’s really good? Roasted tomatoes. Really easy to make and cheap, too.

Today’s post is the “word from our sponsor” I spoke of earlier. If you check the Categories on the side bar you can see the Public Service announcement collection. Today makes two, so it’s not much of a collection yet. But expect them after every chapter!

I’ve also added a “Links” section to the site, which contains links to other comics as well as banners for The Next Adventure. If you want, you can take them and put them where people can see them! The links-to-other-comics section is but a wee sapling right now, but it will grow with time.

Visited the comic book stomping grounds of Neil Gaiman today. As in the comic shop he frequents. Appropriately, 20% of the merchandise is something he worked on, and half of that stuff is signed. My friend waited on him in an art supplies store once. HOW COOL IS THAT? Sometimes I feel really fortunate to live in the Twin Cities; there is a pretty decent comic scene here.

Professor Layton.  No, I haven’t purchased the second game, but…Christmas? Finances are kind of pressing. Instead I’ve been playing the extra content on Professor Layton and the Curious Village. I would totally play the whole game again. Professor Layton and the Phoenix Wright series are my  favorite games ever.  I’m not really a game person, but stuff like that? Yes. So I have been listening to the Professor Layton theme on repeat for a couple days now, and I am not ashamed.

I finally registered with Top Web Comics, and I’ll probably put a button up soon for that business. I was looking through old sketchbooks last night and there is a ton of stuff to use as vote incentives : ). A lot of the sketches feature characters that haven’t been introduced yet, and some have hints of things to come. Fortunately, they’re vague enough that I wouldn’t consider them spoilers, but I’ll give a warning ahead of time anyway. Provided people are interested. Interested?

There’s a button now! AND a vote incentive. The first thing I’m going to offer is a sketch I did last year, back when The Next Adventure was going through its plot breakdown. There are two characters in the sketch that you have yet to meet, so if you want to be *completely* spoiler free, then don’t click the link, but really there isn’t much you can tell from it other than there are characters.

I hope to post one new vote incentive a week, and maybe I’ll make it…Tuesday? Does Tuesday work? I like Tuesday.

I took a walk  this afternoon (Saturday) and it was one of the most glorious experiences I’ve had in awhile. This city is perfect because it’s not just a city. There are beautiful neighborhoods all over, and the space between Uptown and the apartment is really beautiful on a sunny afternoon. Occasionally you will hit a main street, where there are restaurants or shops or something, and people are all over, eating and conversing. In between are massive pockets of beautiful old houses, most too big or expensive for individuals to own, so they’re rented to several. There are weird little gardens everywhere; some look like magazine models, some look like the gardens run themselves, but they’re all beautiful.

Aside from those things, I have to say that taking a long walk is recommended for all that ails you : ). If you can do it alone, even better. Unless it’s not safe. Then please go with somebody. But there is something about that time where  you have nothing to concern yourself with other than focusing your mind and body and soul on working together as best they can. It’s not strenuous but it requires a lot of energy. By the end, though, somehow, you’re ten times more energetic than when you began.

This weeks vote incentive (that will be this coming Tuesday, Sept 29) is another sketch from awhile ago of Kipling’s room, as well as the tiniest (first ever!) doodle of the Nautilus. It’s even more stylized than usual. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve got plenty of images that I think would be interesting incentives, but every once and awhile, when I have the time, I’ll make some new stuff too : ).

I’ve been working on upcoming pages and I’m so so excited! I can honestly say that this impending part of the story may be my favorite thus far. I guess that’s logical, since things are only going to continue to get more interesting, but I just really really like this part. And the character it pertains to.
I’m also very excited for you guys to meet the whole cast. It will be fun learning everybody’s favorites : ) .

Today’s vote incentive is quite old, and it’s kind of one I hold dear.
Every once and awhile, you nail an aesthetic or feel to a character or something and then you TREASURE that little scrap of garbage because it contains, in physical form, the essence of what you are trying to depict. This is the first drawing I was satisfied with of the first four characters created for this story, in the style that I was going to use once upon a time. It ended up changing a lot and continues to evolve, but I have held onto this one weird piece of copy paper because dang it, this is the first time I saw these guys together, exactly how I imagined them.