We’re back into it! Back into the guts of Slaughter’s marketplace, back with the Machito crew as they look for pilots. I, for one, have missed this tremendously.

My project schedule is finally — finally — starting to lighten back up, and it looks like I can slowwwwly start returning to DRIVE. This means the world to me…as this story is one I’m very much writing as a gift to myself. And I’ve missed it.

The big detour, these past five months, has been the documentary film I’m making, STRIPPED. Turns out, feature-length films are immensely complex undertakings that require tons of time. Who could’ve guessed. WHO COULD’VE GUESSED. 🙂

Fred Schroeder and I have been pouring all our spare time into it, trying to get it ready for all our Kickstarter backers, and in time for the film festival season. Thankfully, we’re nearing the promised land, and I’m proud of how the film is turning out.

Anyway! Over the next 2-3 months, as the post-production work on STRIPPED winds down, I should be able to slowwwly increase the number of DRIVEs I can produce, until we return to our once-a-week schedule.

As I have in the past, I’d recommend adding DRIVE to your RSS feed, or signing up for e-mail delivery, as that’ll save you from having to check the site. The updates will be irregular for a few more months, so that’s the least stressful option.

Thank you for your kindness and patience during these past few months! Even though DRIVE is a strip I’m drawing as a gift to myself, I know a lotta-lotta folks are getting into it, and have missed it as much as I have. So thankfully our long national nightmare is drawing to a close.

My apologies for the site-wide slow-down, lately. The company that serves up the ads for the Sheldon site has been repeatedly tripping on crucial power cords strewn about its office (or so I surmise)…so everything’s breaking over there.

The downside for you and me is that the ads get served up r e a l l y s l o w l y, almost to the point of ridiculous.

So! For now, I’ve put the ads into iframes, so they’ll get served up last. But! Being the half-smart guy that I am, I only kinda-sorta remember how to use iframes, so they’re positioned down ten pixels and over ten pixels and regardless it is what it is. 🙂

My heart broke, today, to read that Richard Thompson is retiring his sublimely delightful strip Cul De Sac, due to Parkinson’s. And I wanted to take a moment to celebrate Richard.

More than anything else, because Richard is a good man, an insightful man, a funny man — and because his art makes the world a better place.

I particularly loved the hour or two we got to sit down in Ohio and chat solely about comics for the documentary I’m making. His philosophy of comics, the joys and the heartbreaks of it, and his own path into the art form — all of it was so wonderful to hear. The documentary is all the better for his presence in it.

Even more so, I’m glad for his gift of Cul De Sac to the world. It was and is a fantastic, fantastic strip — perhaps one of the best we’ll ever see. It made the small moments of life seem big and meaningful, and made the big, overwhelming moments of life seem manageable and relatable. It did what a comic strip should do: Reduce life to its essence, in joy-filled ways that told you you weren’t alone.

So thank you, Richard, for your gifts to the world…and your gifts to me. I am a better person because of your art: And that is the highest compliment I know how to give an artist.

I’m sure there’s a scifi short story that deals with this, but I’ve been thinking, lately, about how Earth’s First Contact is kind of like an dating site. Our broadcasts are like a Match.com or eHarmony listing.

People: There is a REASON we haven’t had an interstellar date yet.

Rounding out our guest strip week is my good friend David Malki !, purveyor of fine jokeries over at Wondermark. Dave’s famous for his unique incorporation of Victorian-era etchings into re-worked, re-imagined strips with an awesome, modern writing style. Which makes his guest strip all the more awesome: Dave’s a great artist, and it’s fun to see him try a different approach.

A huge thank you to Dave…and to Dylan, William, and Kris for guesting this week. It was awesome having you!

And I’m back to it on Monday!

Today’s guest strip was kindly drawn by my friend Dylan Meconis, a 2012 Eisner nominee with a “ligne claire” style that I just love.

Dylan’s best known perhaps, for her long-form comic Family Man, which artfully blends 18th C. academic theologians with…lycanthropes. But I’d also highly recommend her short story Outfoxed, of which I can not say enough nice things.

Plus, as you can see for yourself, she draws really cute dog bellies.

Wednesday’s guest strip might just be the cutest version of Arthur I’ve ever seen. I seriously mean that: I find this version super endearing. And so both a thank you and a shaken, clenched fist goes out to Senor Tallman for today’s guest strip. Be sure to check out his work at Reptilis Rex!

I’ve asked four friends to fill in for me on a particularly busy week, and I can’t wait for you to sees ’em. First up is the the most Kristofer of Kristofers I know: Kris Straub. For those of you that know his work: This is a cool step away from his normal style, isn’t it? I really dig it. And for those of you who don’t know his work: Check out his strip Chainsawsuit, and his recently completed sci-fi epic, Starslip

Sheldonista Mallory Eagles sent me in this awesome shot: “…I have found a lovely spot to put our brand-new Arthur statue now that he’s home. The thing I love the most about
this is that they match.”

That’s awesome, Mallory: Thanks!

I think we’ve buttoned up the last remaining bugs for the new site, but it’s worth askin’: Any remaining bugs you know about that I’m missing?

Drop me an e-mail, or post below — and thanks for the help!