News: April 2002

         

Tuesday, April 30, 2002
    The Forum continues to get overhauled this week, so as long as it's being beaten on, Avalon discussion can take place in the avalon_readers community over on LiveJournal.

Monday, April 29, 2002
    So Avalon's hiatus ends today... though as you can guess, there's going to be a bit of a recap before we get into any new comics. Sorry about the filesize...

Friday, April 26, 2002
    Thanks to John Campbell for this fan art of Ceilidh! She looks either very serene, or very bored. ;-)

Wednesday, April 24, 2002
    The Keenspot message boards are currently under maintenance to upgrade them to phpBB 2. They're also being switched to a better database backend. Ultimately, this means a better-looking (and possibly even faster) Avalon Forum, with some cool new features. The Keenspace boards were upgraded last weekend, so check them out for a bit of a preview.

Friday, April 19, 2002
    Big thanks to Julie Miyamoto for ousting Nick Yu today. ;-) In other news, Nick knows where I live, and has already sent his goons...

Thursday, April 18, 2002
    The hockey playoffs are well under way now. Keep checking back here and on the hockey pool page for updates on players' scores. And also make sure to come back right after this round of playoffs, so you can enter for the second round.
    I also want to apologize for the lack of any new guest comics/fan art on this page. It may look like Nick Yu has taken over Avalon for good (and is just really slacking off now... ;-) ), but the truth is that a good number of people have sent me guest art by e-mail... but I can't view them. My provider's mail server is inaccessible at random times, so I have to telnet in and read my mail using a text-based client (which makes it a real pain to view images). As soon as I can see the guest art, I'll post it. :-) Alternatively, if anyone wants to resend some art they've already e-mailed me, you could upload it to a web site and e-mail me the URL.

Tuesday, April 16, 2002
    So far, over 100 people have entered the hockey pool. The entry deadline for the 1st Round is tomorrow, so make sure to get in on it right away!
    You can see who's already signed up on the scores page. If your username is listed there, it means you've successfully registered (you may have to wait a couple of hours before the page is updated). If you have a "0" as your score for Round 1, that means you've made your picks for the 1st Round. Some people haven't made their picks yet... remember, registering and making your picks both have to be done to get in on the 1st Round (registration is separate because it can be done at any time throughout the playoffs).

Monday, April 15, 2002
    The 2002 Avalon Hockey Pool has begun! It's free to enter, and there are cool Avalon prizes to be won! All you have to do is pick who you think will win in each round of the NHL playoffs. There is a separate entry form for each of the four rounds, so you can enter the hockey pool at any time -- but remember to keep checking back for the next entry form!
    1st Round entry ends this Wednesday, April 17th, at 7:00 PM Eastern (4:00 PM Pacific). Visit the hockey pool page now to read the rules, and register to play!

Wednesday, April 10, 2002
    The NHL regular season wraps up this weekend, and that means the return of the Annual Avalon Hockey Playoff Pool! Registration for the First Round will begin Sunday night, after all the playoff matchups have been finalized. Stay tuned for more info this weekend.

Saturday, April 6, 2002
    Avalon was meantioned in a recent edition of T. Campbell's Webcomics World, which can be found over at Fans until tomorrow. I... have absolutely no idea what he's talking about. And if you'll excuse me, the retro steam-powered tachyon emitter over here needs fixing...

Friday, April 5, 2002
    Nick Yu can find a way to bastardize anything. ;-) Though I do like the steampunk idea...

Wednesday, April 3, 2002
    Apparently the Forum has been downgraded from "hopping" to "limping." ;-)

Tuesday, April 2, 2002
    Certainly most people know by now about my inability to continue Avalon daily (it's been pretty obvious if you've come back every day for the past month to find no new comics. :-) ). I've been spending this time off to figure out what to do about the conclusion of Avalon, and how to do it without screwing up all my ugly real life responsibilities.
    I've made a couple of decisions: the bad news is that Avalon will be on hiatus for another month. The good news is that, when it returns, Avalon will be five-days-a-week again (and that should last until the comic concludes).
    Obviously, given that I'll have missed almost three months since I stopped drawing Avalon regularly, the comic is going to end much later than I had originally planned (August 30). I'm going to backdate all new comic strips to reflect the time in which they were meant to be posted (which will also coincide with the events in-strip). If all goes according to plan, Avalon will conclude some time in November -- three years after it began.
    Until Avalon resumes in early May, I hope to keep this site updated as frequently as I can. The first thing many people will want to know is that the Third Annual Avalon Hockey Pool will definitely be taking place soon. Look for details on that by this weekend. Also, there may be guest comics, fan art, and some of my sketches to post here during the break. Plus, the Avalon Forum will be hopping as always, so feel free to discuss things in there.
    I hope that nobody is too dismayed by my decision to continue the hiatus for another month, since this will allow me to bring back Avalon the way it should be, especially for what should be an unforgettable finale.

Monday, April 1, 2002
    Big thanks to Rae, artist of Elf Madness, for this guest comic! Now go read her comic before she tells us to again. ;-)