News: February 2001

         

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2001
    As Not Damonk's evil reign of terror continues, Jed R. Cruz brings us this depiction of the cast as characters from some game, the title of which escapes me at the moment. :-/ Anyways, go read Yvette. :-)

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2001
    Whew... lots of news today. The first will be the most obvious one: Damonk is up to his old tricks again. :-) Er, that is... Not Damonk is at it again. Either way, I won't complain. :-) His guest comics will accompany the fan art I promised would be up here every day. So once you've got your fill of everything non-canonical over here, check out (Not) Damonk's comic, Framed!
    Today's fan art is by Kim Hughes, artist of Seikatsu, a very cool manga-style webcomic which unfortunately is very short. :-) But yeah, there's been a definite dearth of Helène fan art lately... cough cough... ;-)
    Next, I might as well mention the latest poll results: Iain is the most popular least-seen character, taking 27% of the vote. That office Staff Guy was close behind with 25%. Then came Ghada with 23%, and Ciaran a bit further form the pack with 19%. Harry the VP doesn't have many fans, taking a mere 4% of votes. And finally, all but 2% of readers have something against Larry. Now vote in this week's poll!
    I guess it's about time I reported on the Great Big Sea issue again... as I mentioned a few weeks back, I was in touch with the band's manager to find out that the original cease-and-desist order wasn't legit. I've tried contacting him twice since then to get some more answers, but haven't received any reply yet. So, since the order seems to be null and void at this point, I've put the offending strips and artwork back on the site. You can see the two GBS strips here and here.
    And finally... I have to lament the passing on of Common Grounds. Webcomics superpower Corey Marie Kitley has decided to take her work in a new direction, capitalizing on her previous experience with Sit & Spin. Her new comic is called Life's So Rad, and you should all read it right this instant. :-) (It will later be found at radcomics.com)

Monday, Feb. 26, 2001
    There we have Friday's comic... I apologize for being hideously late with that one. :-) Meanwhile, I've decided that I'm going to take the rest of this week off... I've got some personal issues to deal with, and I also need some more time to devote to the Avalon book (which should still theoretically be coming out in mid-to-late March). And there's also some school in there that I should probably work on, too. :-)
    But make sure to keep coming back during the week... I've still got a couple pieces of fan art that haven't made it to the Art section yet, so I'll post here one each day to keep things from getting stale. And as a bit of a teaser... when Avalon resumes next week, we're going to dive right into Ceilidh and Joe's long-awaited night out at the movies.

Sunday, Feb. 25, 2001
    Big thanks to Joe Herbert for today's Guest Artist Sunday! The second panel really sold this one for me. :-)

Saturday, Feb. 24, 2001
    I really apologize for my inconsistencies this past week. I've been tired and stressed all at the same time, and right now the last thing I want to do is stay up 'till 4 AM to finish Friday's comic strip. So I'm going to try to get some sleep in this weekend. There'll be a Guest Artist Sunday comic tomorrow, and then Friday's comic should be up on Monday. And I'll eventually get up-to-date (and hopefully, I'll also get rested. :-) ).
    And, as has become the custom, I'm sucking up by posting some truly kick-arse fan art. :-) Here's more jaw-dropping work from negativeZero, which we've decided depicts Ceilidh's Scottish ancestor, Agnes "Deathbringer" MacFarlane. Neg's a regular over in the Avalon Forum, so feel free to post your comments there.

Friday, Feb. 23, 2001
    I was only able to get one comic finished for today... check in tomorrow to see Friday's.
    Here's some good news... the results of The Evil Network's recent Top 10 Favorite Comics poll are in, and Avalon ended up as the 10th most favorite! Thanks to everyone who voted for Avalon; because of your efforts, it beat out the likes of User Friendly to make the list! The new Top 10 list should be up over there early next week.
    And here's something from Michael McKay-Fleming, artist of Alice and a fellow Canadian. The "Matterhorn Matt" Ultimate Tournament is taking place this weekend in Ottawa, and is seeking donations for the United Way's Poverty Unit. If you're interested in making a donation (or want more info), check out the Tournament info and the United Way website.

Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2001
    Sorry for the delay in the latest two comics. Things have gotten rather hectic for me recently, and I won't be able to get Tuesday's comic up until later today. And I'll eventually get two comics done in one day.
    In the meantime, you have some truly amazing fan art or Ryan and Deirdre by Tae Jensen! This and several other pieces of fan art will be making their way into the Art section in a week or so.

Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2001
    Well, it seems my computer's motherboard bit the big one, and is now in the process of being replaced. I'll be using the family computer (and reacquainting myself with the trackball) for the next 2 to 4 weeks.
    Meanwhile, Avalon was featured in an article in yesterday's Ottawa Citizen (our prominent local newspaper)! Unfortunately it didn't weather the translation to electronic format very well, but you can read the article here.

Monday, Feb. 19, 2001
    My computer's acting up again, preventing me from being able to scan today's comic strip. I'll see if I can't get things up and running tomorrow. My apologies for the delay.

Sunday, Feb. 18, 2001
    There seems to be this unfortunate backlog of Sunday Guest Artists, so I'm doing the wrong thing and putting two up in a single week. :-) Big thanks to Julie Miyamoto and Nicholas Yu (the force behind The Bad Boys of Computer Science) for their submissions! And I refuse to explain either of them. ;-)

Saturday, Feb. 17, 2001
    Well, it would appear that CafePress will be raising the price of clothing items shortly. Specifically, they're raising their base price by US$3.00 on March 1st. So now's the perfect time to check out The Avalon Store! ;-) No, it's not normally linked to from anywhere on the site, but that's because I'm a twit. But never mind that... if you're looking to buy some Avalon merchandise, now's the right time to do it.

Friday, Feb. 16, 2001
    Well, much of yesterday was marred by Keenspot being in a severe state of "down." It was a textbook case of making substantial server upgrades without making backups first, and the downtime was entirely the fault of Keenspot's webhosting service. If you didn't get a chance to see yesterday's comic, make sure to hit that Previous Comic button.
    Also, fanart god negativeZero is at it again with a Valentine's Day comic featuring Alan and Helène! You can find it here in the Avalon Forum.

Thursday, Feb. 15, 2001
    It seems that people are equally divided between wanting a black & white Avalon book now vs. a colour book later. I've decided to immediately go forward with a black & white book, mainly because it's a guaranteed deal at the moment, it'll be cheaper than if colour were involved, and it's only about 6 or so strips that will be reduced from colour to greyscale. More details about the book will probably come in a couple weeks, after I've sent all the materials to the publisher.
    Meanwhile, we return to our previous poll, already in progress...

Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2001
    First piece of news is that The Nice Corpse has started! This is a project undertaken by webcomics group The Nice, in which several artists collaborate on an ongoing comic strip. The trick is, the artists take turns drawing panels, but are only allowed to see the two panels before their own. I was lucky enough to get in on a few panels myself, and what little I was allowed to see left me itching to see the rest. :-) So make sure to keep an eye on that during the next few weeks.
    And next I have to apologize for interrupting our favorite-least-seen character poll for something a bit more serious and time-sensitive... mainly, the prospect of an Avalon book. I currently have the opportunity to publish the first year of Avalon in dead-tree format, but I will be limited to a black and white printing process. This means that any Avalon strips that appeared here in full-colour would be reduced to greyscale in the book (and any bonus story would also be limited to black and white). Granted, the black and white process would be very high quality, and there would be a full-colour cover. The only alternative is to pass on this opportunity, and try to find an option which would allow full-colour printing for the strips that need it.
    So what I want to know is which you would prefer, if you would like to purchase an Avalon book: black and white now, or colour later? Use the poll on the left to voice your opinion. Take note, though, that there's no guarantee that I'll ever find an affordable opportunity to print in colour. Also, if a black and white collection is printed, there's no guarantee that a colour version would be printed anytime after. Anyways, let me know what you think in the next two days, and we'll go from there.

Monday, Feb. 12, 2001
    Wow, the results of yesterday's final 80's Music Smackdown was almost a tie. But in the end, Men Without Hats beat Fine Young Cannibals with 50.12% of the votes. And of course, this brings on a new, relatively-topical poll for you to vote on. :-)
    And this might be the best webcomic you've never heard of: Irritability, by Mike Woodson, is the completely irreverant adventures of big-dumb-lummox Chappy Chappy and his lazy-evil-genius friend Exoth. If you like hilarious insanity and shiploads of random, inane characters, you must read this comic now!

Sunday, Feb. 11, 2001
    This week's Guest Artist Sunday comic comes to us from TODCRA Productions, the ones behind the Keenspace comic Film Funnies. I will leave it your own interpretation. ;-)
    And today we have the final Smackdown! Genesis put up a good fight yesterday, but it was Men Without Hats who prevailed. The winner of today's match wins the entire poorly-run competition! Who will survive: Men Without Hats, or Fine Young Cannibals? Vote now!

Saturday, Feb. 10, 2001
    Well well, Men Without Hats have dethroned Tears For Fears. They try to defend their title today against Genesis! All your vote are belong to us!!

Friday, Feb. 9, 2001
    Whoo, Tears For Fears is in this one for good! They managed to fend off Yes, so now they move on to face the ultimate in 80's music: Men Without Hats! Vote without reservation!
    And speaking of voting... the Top 10 Favorite Comics vote is still on at The Evil Network. The deadline is Thursday, Feb. 15, so make sure to vote soon for your ten favorite webcomics!
    And finally, I have an update on the Great Big Sea situation... it seems that the person who sent me the cease-and-desist order had no authority to do so. Someone with authority is currently investigating. I'm also waiting to hear the final verdict on whether the Great Big Sea strips can return to this site.

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2001
    Tears For Fears successfully staved off Depeche Mode yesterday. Now they face Yes in today's smackdown! Vote now!

Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2001
    The Police have finally gone down! Tears For Fears have won their first match... but can they repeat their victory against Depeche Mode? Vote now!
    Also, as as if Avalon's IRC channel wasn't inane enough, check out the #avalon Stats Page! And you're always welcome to drop by #avalon on irc.nightstar.net.

Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2001
    Nena is the latest to fall by the wayside, as The Police blaze a bloody trail toward victory in the 80's Music Smackdown. Can anyone stop them now? Tears For Fears says... yes.

Monday, Feb. 5, 2001
    The Police's evil reign of terror continues, having barely beaten out A-ha in yesterday's smackdown. It may turn out to be their undoing, as now they must face Nena! Vote, for great justice!!

Sunday, Feb. 4, 2001
    First off, I want to thank Julie Miyamoto for yet another Guest Artist Sunday submission! Meanwhile, in the Smackdown, Prince got wasted by The Police, who now face the perennial 80's favorite, A-Ha! Vote without hesitation!
    And next is an unfortunately serious note regarding the appearance of Great Big Sea in the comic strip on Friday. A few hours after that strip went online, I received an e-mail from someone who apparently is related with the band, demanding that I remove all images of Great Big Sea from my site. I sent a reply asking for more information on how this person is related with the band, and what I was in violation of by posting artwork of the band, but have yet to receive a reply. In the meantime, I'm going to comply -- at least temporarily -- with their demand, removing all images featuring the band members from this site before the 48 hour grace period expires. I'll keep everyone updated on whatever happens next.

Saturday, Feb. 3, 2001
    The Police just barely beat out the B52's yesterday, extending their streak to three wins in a row. Can they take on Prince? Vote now!

Friday, Feb. 2, 2001
    Can you say, "Phil Collins is going down?" I knew you could! ;-) The Police have won two smackdowns in a row, and now face the venerable B52's! Choose the winner!
    And once you've done that, you are hereby required to go visit Joe England's brilliant weekly webcomic, Zebra Girl, which had actually celebrated its 50th strip last week! If you haven't seen this comic yet, you haven't truly lived.

Thursday, Feb. 1, 2001
    Wow, The Police just kicked Duran Duran's arse into orbit. But today they face the indominable Phil Collins! Vote now!
    And man oh man... Damonk has just retired Avalon to his Hall of Framed! I feel like Mario Lemieux before he came back to kick Jagr's behind. ;-) Thanks Damonk! (Hey, I held up my end of the bargain today...)