The Voided Times Page A-3

December 15, 2005

And the crossover with UniEm from "A Magical Roommate" is underway! ^_^ Since we know each other in real life, we figured we'd try a new twist to the crossover concept. OK, maybe it's not new; there's a good chance someone else has tried it before, but I haven't seen it. We're putting both our art styles into one strip, instead of switching off. Hey, it's unique.

Unfortunately, I was not able to finish enough backlog for all the strips. However, I did get them all drawn, inked, and scanned. So providing my home computer's copy of Photoshop Elements is enough for me to work with, and the FTP program still works, I should be able to update regularly from home. ^_^ So barring any unforeseen problems, expect regular updating through the holidays.

Another thing that suffered from my busy schedule was the wallpaper. Blast it, everything conspires to keep me from finishing it. However, I did get it scanned also. If you want a sneak preview into what I've got prepared, then vote for me on Topwebcomics.com! The voting incentive is the un-fixed scan. I say unfixed, because I haven't yet gotten around to fixing the inking errors . . . like Theo's hair (which reeks, in my opinion), or John's cheek, or Alice's double-nose . . . Diedre's shirt . . . yada yada. And that tiger guy's getting a lot more attention than he's even had screen time. O_o. Oh well, he IS the main villain.

Or is he? ^_~

In any case, I probably won't be able to get into my blog section, so you won't hear from me until somewhere in January . . . unless I post in the tagboard, which could happen. So have a wonderful Christmas, and Happy Holidays everyone! *Skips off singing carols*

December 9, 2005

Finals . . . hurt . . . make it stop. . . .

Sorry I've been missing so much. But there's only so much I can do in a day, and this last week all effort has been towards school. And Keenspace/ComicGenesis wouldn't let me upload a guest strip Wednesday. Is it just me, or does KS/CG hate everyone? Maybe it's just the internet; my e-mails and Yahoo do the same thing to me sometimes. . . .

In any case, I'll be leaving next Thursday to go home. Hopefully, I'll have enough time to draw backlog. I'm currently working on my crossover with UniEm, and due to the mix of her art style and mine, my strip will be black and white while the crossover is going on. This will save LOTS of time, so I have a good shot at getting enough strips done to cover my leaving on vacation. I should be gone from Dec. 15th thru Jan. 8th. Doing the math, thats . . . 10 strips I need to do. Maybe 11, so I don't have to worry about Monday the 9th. I think I can do this . . . yeah. . . .

So keep watch on this site, I haven't abandoned it yet! Have a Merry Christmas everyone! (Unless you don't celebrate it, in which case have a Happy Holiday season.)

December 2, 2005

End Chapter One! Betcha never guessed I've got chapters in this huh? Well, neither did I! It just kinda happened. *shrug*

Also note the painfully detailed background! In full mange page layout! No, this isn't a permanent thing, just something fancy to end the chapter and FINALLY show that striped dude from the hiatus pic. My friends are calling him Hao-Yokai, because he looks like a mix of Hao from Shaman King plus a yokai from Inuyasha . . . who shops at Hot Topic. Special thanks to my good friend Lanea for help with his costume design. I couldn't come up with anything to save my life . . . or his dignity. I drew up a quick thumbnail of a pic that I could even use for a "Dress My Bad Guy" contest, but I was advised against it. Maybe I'll draw it up sometime for a voting pic. It's hilarious.

No, I haven't forgotten the Anniversary wallpaper. I was actually waiting till today's came up, because I want the Hao/Yokai-Hot-Topic Shopper to be on it. So now that today has finally arrived, I can finally really get cracking on that wallpaper. Expect it to pop up on my Deviantart page soon. I'll let you know.

November 23, 2005

Just a word of warning: Friday's strip will be late. I will get it up, but expect Saturday/late Saturday or so, because I'm gone for a few days visiting my grandparents and aunt. Unfortunately, I'm too swamped with studying for my Shakespeare test tomorrow that I can't do backlog; it was hard enough to get Wednesday done. But I don't like missing days, so I'll just postpone it. Besides, I'm nearly done with the first chapter! ^_^

After this chapter, I'll embark on a quest of sidetracking. In other words, crossover! UniEm and I have written a crossover that will incorporate both our art into one strip. It's not entirely pointless either; there's veiled plot points hidden throughout. So expect December and some of January to be taken up with that storyline.

November 16, 2005

Sorry for the guest strip. I've had it awhile, and now was a good time to use it as I have just run out of pre-drawn backlog. (O_O) This is the first time it's happened since I first started this strip. I should get some more done over the weekend, but in the meantime I'm still working on Friday's comic. Besides, I find this guest strip cute. ^_^

November 14, 2005

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!! ^_^

Today marks the first anniversary of Nowhere University! Congrats to all who've stuck with us, or who've barely joined us! A commemorative wallpaper will be done, the moment my right brain works with me (I've been drawing and redrawing it for the past two weeks and it looks dumber every time).

As for the voting, so far the Continue Grayscale'ers have the majority . . . mainly because no one's voted for color. >_O A relief . . . I might have been biting off more than I could chew with that proposal, and apparently everyone knew it. You're all so considerate. ^_^ So it looks like Nowhere U will continue in grayscale.

Also, I've been notified of a mysterious bug in the forums. If you've been trying to register, but are getting the message that you need to be admitted, please e-mail me so I can get a grip on how wide this problem seems to be. Because I should have it set to automatically admit anyone who applies.

So happy anniversary, and here's to another year of strips!

November 2, 2005

It's a new month! Let's see how high we can get in the voting polls!

Boy, this dragon story is a lot longer than it looked in the works. Don't worry, we'll be starting a new story arc on Friday.

So far, the score of Grayscale vs. Color is 3/0, Grayscale. If you want to post your comments about which you like and why, check out the forum.

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween! I had a mix-n-match of costumes, really. I was going to go around as "Arwen under the influence of the One Ring" . . . but I lost my ring somewhere in my room. So I went to two weekend parties as just plain boring "Arwen". Then, on Halloween, I resorted to my usual backup costume, which was Parvati Patil (I have an identical twin, so I like to dress up as one). The cloak I used can also double as a Dementor costume, or if I have one of my swords, a Ringwraith. So I was kinda four things for Halloween. How's that for fun? ^_~

October 21, 2005

Sorry for the lack of an update on Wednesday. I was elsewhere for longer than anticipated. And it's midterms. But I'm not letting it get in the way anymore, as it is now nearing three in the morning and I'm just now updating. ^_^

New pic up for the Top Webcomics vote button! Now when you vote for me, you get to see the three mascots of Rapunzel Hall! You've already just met one, and the other two will come in eventually. The fun stuff in the background won't be in the strip for a LOOOOONG time, so consider them advance spoilers. ^_~ Just to let you know I do have some interesting things planned, and I'm not just winging it.  . . . Ok I am, but I DO have things planned! Really! Heck, after we finish this dragon arc, we get new info on one of the roomies! But that I won't spoil; you'll have to see for yourself.

So enjoy the new stuff as it comes, and don't forget to see my new voting pic!

October 17, 2005

Look, a new webcomic listing button! Now you can vote for me on Topwebcomics AND Buzzcomicx! Please help me get out of the 3000's . . . X_X

Also, check out the gallery! We've got new fanart from Plaid, who captured Alice and Jane perfectly. Enjoy!

It has also come to my attention that we don't have a wallpaper here. O_o Well, that has to change. I'll see if I can get one up for the 1st anniversary. Now I just need to figure out what to draw. . . . .

October 12, 2005

Color! Now that's class for you! Actually, I have three reasons for this. One, I wanted to mess with color; sue me. Two, it's an apology for my scanner being on the fritz so often recently (still not fixed . . . working on it). And three . . . I need a vote. Coming November 14th, we have our 1st anniversary. I'm considering the possibility of transforming Nowhere University from grayscale to a full-color webcomic. Not full shaded though like today's; that'll kill me. Color will be slightly harder, as it will involve having to coordinate color schemes, but I think I might be able to do it. *crosses fingers* In any case, the voting should be up in the forum, which should now have a link at the top of the page! Whohoo!

So don't forget to visit the forum, and vote for me on Topwebcomics.com . . . wait . . . sorry, habit. :P Vote for whether you think Nowhere U should go color come our anniversary!

October 3, 2005

Ok, so UniEm did me a huge favor and bought me a new power cord for my scanner! Then I gave her her old one back that I've been using, and in theory we should now have two scanners working. In theory. Well, when she handed me the cord, I plugged it in and everything turned on OK. So I assumed that everything would work fine.

Notice all the assumptions. Note now that they are not confirmed.

When I actually tried scanning Monday's strip in, I ended up with some whacked image lined with neon pink and blue lines. O_o I have NO clue what that's all about, only that it wouldn't stop, no matter how I scanned it. And if I used anything but "color" mode, it made the most glass-shattering sound I've ever heard. I think I blew the ears out of all the dogs in the neighborhood. Sure blew out my roommate's. After awhile of wrestling with it, I was able to procure an image of usable quality, although it took some time to clean up. So if today's strip doesn't seem as great a quality as the others, there you go.

If I can't find out what's NOW wrong with this thing, I may just say heck with it and just find a scanner at school that I can stand in line to wait for. -_-

On the plus side, Rebecca JJ's back home and none too worse for wear for having to evacuate and getting stuck in that bad traffic exodus that was creeping out of Houston. Welcome back, Becky! ^_^

And a final note, I'm feeling especially good despite the fight with my scanner. I always get a spiritual high after the Mormon General Conference.

September 28, 2005

Due to my not being home at all the last two days (no school, so I hung out at a friend's house), Wednesday's strip is nonexistent. That, and it's not finished being drawn yet. I've hit artist's block. Don't worry, I do not plan on missing much else. I now have a working scanner, or at least I will until UnicornEmily takes her cord back.

Aside from a really lame excuse for not updating (so sorry, won't happen again), I've also decided to start research for a webmanga. This manga will not update as regularly as my comic, if it updates regularly at all. However, the premise is pretty funny. I realized it after hanging out with UnicornEmily too long. Anyone who reads the tagboard will know that UE is one of the most enthusiastic mahou-shojou (magical girl) addicts I've ever known. So far I've managed to keep myself from getting too into the stuff (I prefer shonen myself), but we got to talking and a story idea wedged itself in my head so bad, I have to pursue it. Basic premise: the main character is the mascot (you know how most every magical girl series has some cute animal/stuffed something-or-other that gives them their powers). Since I've never heard of a magical girl series from the mascot's point of view, this will be very interesting. The story will have a Native American theme though, so I need to research mythology, culture, tribal communities, art, and costume design before I can actually start the thing. The first twenty pages of the story will be submitted to Tokyopop's Rising Stars of Manga competition, because I haven't entered that thing for over a year, and it's high time I started pursuing my dream of a future manga-ka. This will be excellent practice. I do not plan on letting it interfere with my strip, which is why it'll take me probably a year to get it ready to come out on the web. But unlike my strip, hopefully this thing will be fully shaded with paneling and more detail and what-not. This is my plan. . . . I hope it works. . . .

A new strip will be up Friday, and I've also started work on a new voting pic. Speaking of mascots. . . . ^_^

September 22, 2005

Slight problem with the scanner. Emily's computer refuses to acknowledge its existence, and her husband's computer just up and croaked. I'm going to see if I can borrow her scanner cord to plug into mine so that we might salvage something workable (since my computer's just fine, and our scanners are same manufacturer albeit different models). If that doesn't work, I’m left with the last resort of school scanners. I don't like going to the school for scanners, because I think the library charges per hour, and the others are all stuck on iMacs, which, in my opinion, are the true evil of the computer world. I hate iMacs, and they hate me. I can never get them to work right. So if I have to use a school scanner, there will be a Friday update, but it might be later on Friday.

On a more serious note, GOOD LUCK, REBECCA JJ! I say this because my good friend and old roomie is now currently fleeing for her life from the wrath of Hurricane Rita (which, last I checked yesterday night, was the 3rd most powerful hurricane in history). I was worried about her when I heard that Rita was headed for Houston, and then I checked her lifejournal and sure enough, she'd left hours earlier. She has to leave behind all her art stuff, like her sketchbooks and cosplay costumes, and I really hope for her sake that they aren't damaged. It's horrible for an artist to lose any of their work; it's like losing a journal. I wish Rebecca and everyone who's in the path of Rita luck, and may God be with you all.

EDIT: After just checking the news, I'm relieved to say that the hurricane has mellowed to a category 4. Yeah, that's still bad, and there's not much difference between 4 and 5 as far as damage, but it's something. There's still the possibility it can raise again by landfall, but they're suspecting it may be more likely that it even drops to a level 3. Good luck there.

September 21, 2005

Guest strip today, since I haven't had the time to go over to my friend's apartment and scan in new strips. Until I get my scanner cord back, I don't have reliable scanner access. Wait, I think I've mentioned this before. *checks news* Yeah . . . just last update . . . I should probably stop repeating myself. O_o

Anyways, I've also got a lot due in school this week, so I couldn't find the time to go over and waste the 4-9 hours I usually do at UnicornEm's. I am planning on going over Thursday, so there should be an update on Friday. Dang, and I was so looking forwards to normal updating, too. But at least I have a few guest strips left that I can use as kind of a makeshift "Shirt Guy Dom" substitute (a little Megatokyo reference for you there).

September 12, 2005

Dang, it's hard to update when I don't have reliable scanner access or updating software . . . I swear, if Keenspace (sorry, it's Comic Genesis now I guess) acts up ONE more time. . . .

On the plus side, I've actually gone into the website code and nearly finished the changes! I say nearly because as I'm typing this, something still looks weird on the front page when I look at it through Mozilla (like, say, the bottom disclaimer hiding behind the tagboard. O_o). In any case, the following have been done: I've added link buttons to the two comic listings I'm a member of, as well as a link button to my sister's site. These sit now above the news box, because I can't figure out how to get them above the stupid calendar. I'll soon get one up for Unicorn Emily's site and Rebecca JJ's site, because I know them in real life. I still need to go into the links page and add a buncha stuff, like Skullbearer's new site, and DR's comic site (I've also got a ton of favorite strips whose authors I've never had the pleasure of speaking with, which is why this is going to take some time). I've also put the link to my Deviantart page in my Gallery page. Hopefully, I can get it so that I'll have a picture link later instead of a boring ol' text link. I've got several cool things there, so feel free to check it out if you wish. At some point in time, I may write up a character listing for minor characters, such as Michael or the teachers, and stick it on the character page. But for now, these are the only changes I've made. Don't laugh; it took me forever to figure this much out. I'm not gifted with the html stuff. ^_^

September 2, 2005

Sorry, another guest strip. I decided that I really need to fix my HTML first before I get back into the swing of things. Update is due Monday. The real reason I wanted to get on the newsboy was to wish everyone in New Orleans well. Hurricane Katrina is now the worst natural disaster in US history. My prayers go out to my readers who are either from New Orleans or who know someone there. Actually, my prayers go out to anyone involved in New Orleans, save the evil $&#(% who are now grinding the city under complete chaos and terror. I hope the innocent can be saved in time. They have the prayers and support of us on the outside.

While 9/11 may have changed the New York skyline, Hurricane Katrina has changed the US coastline. The great city of New Orleans has been virtually wiped off the map and now sits 80% under water. If anyone is able to help with contributions, there are charities all over the web, too many for me to post. But I'll put up a word of warning: MAKE SURE THAT IF YOU DONATE, YOU DONATE TO A REAL CHARITY! It's sick, but in times of crisis like this, people tend to take advantage of other's generosity and create false charities designed to bleed financial aid into their own pockets. Research your donation recipient well. And good luck to everyone touched by Katrina.

August 22, 2005

Man, I really hate breaking promises. But I have literally no choice in the matter. I had planned to get the two strips for this week done up on Saturday and Sunday, but I was not planning on what my Dad was planning. He wanted to get as much done in packing as soon as possible, so he had me pack up my entire computer set Saturday morning. T_T You can probably guess from this that I wasn't able to get the two strips for this week done. If I had a say in this, I would have packed up the computer Monday like I'd planned. But oh well. I'm going to have to move the guest strip that I was saving for next Monday to this Wednesday. I found more hardcopy guest strips that Unicorn Emily had drawn for me, but only AFTER I had packed my freakin' scanner. *head bash* This is the second time I've done something like this with her strips. No Em, I'm not out to kill your strips . . . really . . . it isn't my fault, fate's being a jerk. . . .

In any case, I'll see what I can do about coming back earlier than I expected. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to do a strip by next Wednesday. If I'm not, I may have to wait till the first Monday of September. I'd just as soon get something up Friday the 2nd though. Oh well. Now that each and every reader is completely confused about my update schedule, I leave you all and the next time you hear from me will be after I've moved back to Utah. Sayonara, everyone!

August 19, 2005

Due to my now having to get ready to move back into college next week, I haven't had much time to do strips. I already missed Wednesday's update. So for this week and next, I'll see if I can do updates on Monday and Friday. I've got a guest strip that will go up Monday the 29th. Any other guest strips will be appreciated, I could use them for the 31st or even the 24th if I get enough. But once I get back in school, I should be back to a normal and organized life, and therefore will be able to finally lift the "somewhat randomness" of my updating.

July 29, 2005

Due to things beyond my control, I have been held back in updating. The main culprits have been my own computer, my family internet-connected computer, and Keenspace itself as it switched to its new domain. I've also had health problems, plus I had to deal with an attempted break in on Wednesday night as some fugitive ran from some huge police hunt. He tried to bust into the house Bookmaster and I were house-sitting and discovered the hard way that the backyard is booby trapped. He really should consider himself lucky he didn't find out that the house owner's a beekeeper the wrong way (although I'd have paid money to see a criminal fought off by a half-dozen beehives, hehehe). That was a hair-raising experience however, given that he passed right by my window just as I was about to lift up the curtains to see what the heck was making the jiggling-the-kitchen-door sounds and falling-off-the-porch thump. So much for hoping it was just the cat. They guy tried to get away by the side fence, only to crash into it because there's no gate over there. Now that it's over, it cracks me up. But man, what the HECK did this guy do to deserve a several-county cop hunt complete with K-9 units and a spotlight/infrared helicopter?!?

All assuming things are OK on Keenspace's end, I should be back to my normal schedule next week. Oh, and I'm still taking fan strips if you've got them; that way, I won't have to stress so much when I do my move back to college come end of August. Thanks you all, for hanging in there!

July 15, 2005

Well, as some of you may have guessed already, I'm still having computer problems. And my own personal computer is also now getting in on the conspiracy. It was mainly due to Photoshop not cooperating that Wednesday's strip was missed. Now, several hours and a headache later, we've managed to fix that annoying problem (we being me and my twin sister Bookmaster). So hopefully, we can continue as planned . . . so long as the family computer doesn't restart its internet issues again. . . .

In other news, I looked at the calendar to find the date I should put up for this post, and realized that one month from yesterday will be my 24th birthday. Now, I've come to realize that I might have officially reached the age where another birthday holds more dread than excitement. Ugh, 24 years old and I'm STILL IN COLLEGE?!? *head bash* And I probably don't need to mention the "still single" problem. But I'm more bummed about the fact that it's taking me eight years for a four year degree. Although I did get an AA degree from a community college first. . . .

July 8, 2005

Crossing my fingers hoping this updates. Due to computer problems and being REALLY sick, I'm being far more random in my updates than I was even planning. Hopefully I can get things back in order soon. It's also crazy because I'm house-sitting for a neighbor for the whole month of July, so I'm not home that often.

Not much else to say, except begging for more votes on topwebcomics.com. I need to get back to the top 100; I get more hits there.

Thanks you all, for staying with me through this messed up summer! Hopefully I can do a little artwork soon as a reward.

June 28, 2005

Wow, this one got done way ahead of time! ^_^ But be warned - I'm still on sporadic updating mode, so forgive me if I do miss a day here and there. I had such a good time in front of the computer, that I was able to finish a fanart I'd been working on for awhile (check out my artwork at my deviantart page. The fanart I'm referencing is the one from Codename: Kids Next Door, a Cartoon Network cartoon that I find to be pretty clever all around (at least when it's not being juvenile, which can be a real turn-off). Basic premise of the show is that there is a worldwide organization of secret agent kids who fight to save others from the tyranny of evil (this usually means a variety of stereotypically enhanced adults, but also includes its fair share of evil kids too). Overall, I find the show to be really well-written and the characters really well developed for an episodic series. There is even good continuity. Yeah, it can get annoying sometimes (there are two episodes especially that I will NEVER watch again, no matter HOW much you pay me), but it's really good overall. In any case, I was wondering what these psycho-mini-spies would be like when they grew up, and since "what if" scenarios tend to really get stuck in my head, I just drew out a group shot of them as the Teens Next Door (roughly between 16-17 years old, I'd imagine). And upon completion, I still think that Numbuh Five is one of the coolest characters ever. ^_^ She rocks. And she's the first ever non-geek I've said that about (usually the geek is my favorite, and while I still find Numbuh Two cool, he and the others are nowhere near Five's standard, although Numbuh One comes close sometimes)

Oh, and vote for me on topwebcomics.com! I'm not doing so hot in ratings right now. . . .

June 24, 2005

Kudos to Brittany for this fanart that I'm using for today's strip. My ankle's getting better, but I still can't sit long at the computer. The next strip should be done soon though. As for the fanpic, this had me rolling (although you'd probably only really get it if you've seen the Pretear anime). The thought of some of those people cosplaying anime characters is just too much. ^_^ And John's right; the outfit may be weird, but at least he's not in a skirt. ^_~ The Fire Knight fits. Going as the Light Knight fits Ben too; yeah that probably would go with a lightsaber. And of course, the REAL magical girl cosplayer gets to play the final form of Princess Pretear . . . heck, this IS her "Himeno" namesake, anyways. Alice looks good as Mawata (actually, she looks very similar too; just needs to dye the hair green ^_~), Jane's great at playing the step-mom (or is that the step-sister's outfit? I get confused), Theodred makes a wonderful Hyate the Wind Knight, and Diedre playing the villain Psyche is just great. But the final thing that really cracks me up is poor Edward who was obviously forced to dress as the Sound-Knight-gone-evil Sasame. Lol, I don't think he'd take too kindly to cosplaying . . . and yet the outfit suits him. Toooo funny. ^_^

Don't worry people, I'll get that other strip up by Monday. Late Monday if my ankle refuses to cooperate, but between now and then I'll be working little bits at a time; that ought to work.

June 22, 2005

Um . . . sorry again about Monday? Again, another ankle relapse; this one worse than the last one. I was off that huge post-surgical boot, but now I'm back on it because I retwisted my foot and . . . well, you probably don't want to hear details anyways. Short story, I did something dumb, I'm paying for it, and it's affecting my update schedule. Again, this isn't too much of a surprise, and this is why I warned about the possibility of missed days. Until the foot is completely stable, there's no guarantee of me being able to sit in front of my computer for the 2-3 hours it takes to clean/color/render the strip. That over with, I can't really say much else is going on . . . life's been kinda dull, really . . . what with being stuck off my foot and all . . . except that I still have homework to do for a class that I had to extend through Spring/Summer to save my grade. Still working on that.

Again, vote for me on topwebcomics.com! I'm slowly starting to climb the ratings ladder, but I'm still a ways away from where I used to be. I'm not even in the top 100 anymore. And I got so many hits on that front page too. Ah well. I'm starting a sketch for the next voter's pic, and this one's going to include the strip mascots, which will be making appearances in the somewhat-close-but-still-a-ways-off-future.

Here's hoping I don't relapse and miss another day. Friday's strip isn't even inked yet, unlike the ten after that. This is mainly because I stuck it in realizing that I need to include something from her class later in the day before moving on to the after-school plot. So if it looks kinda stuck in between the plotlines, that's because it really IS just stuck there. But it introduces a minor character that I think will be interesting in the grand scheme of things.

June 15, 2005

Sorry about lack of Monday and today being late . . . had an ankle relapse. I was expecting this, which is why I say that things'll be rocky for awhile till my ankles stop whining every time I sit in front of a computer. Geez, and I thought the comp crashed on me often. . . .

Again with the begging . . . please vote for me on topwebcomics.com! I'll be sticking up a new voting pic the moment I can get my strip up regularly and still have time to spare. In the meantime, I'll leave you all wondering just who the heck that tiger guy and cheetah lady are . . . and what the heck they're doing on the hiatus pics. Here's a couple of hints; there's more to the "gang" than those two, and we're not gonna see them in the strip for a while yet. Sorry. ^_^

June 10, 2005

Hello everyone! I'm baaaack! ^_^ Still not entirely up to speck, so don't be surprised if I miss an update or two for a while. However, I'd like to get back to working on the strip, so you can be sure of at least one update a week, and three if I can help it. No promises for next Monday, since I worked a lot on this "welcome, I'm back from Hiatus" pic, but I'll still try to get something up. It's nice to be back, and since a friend of mine (thankie, Unicorn Emily!) gave me a scanner for an early birthday gift, I should be able to work just fine from here at home.

So on that note, I'll see you around! ^_~ Now's the time to start voting for me again on topwebcomics.com!

May 27, 2005

Ok, sorry the update was late today. I was behind in stuff. ^_^ Yes, this is BookMaster again (and I’ve fixed the link to my site in the last news entry, so it should actually take you there now). Today’s guest strip comes all the way over from The Geek Way, by Dennis Roth. Nice one, DR!

Oh yeah, and Shada is still improving. ^_~

Me? I’m doing fine. How are you?

May 18, 2005

This is HHB BookMaster of The Hero’s Handbook speaking today. ^_^ Just a little update for ya. This is not a hostile takeover of NowhereU by another webcartoonist. Nope. I can take over--I mean, run the place with the complete ignorance--I mean, cooperation of the true cartoonist on the matter. (Kidding, it’s not a takeover, but there were hostilities when Shada found out I forgot to post the guest strip last Friday) :-\

Shada wanted this sketch up in commemoration of a certain movie (as though nobody knows what I’m talking about) that opens tomorrow, which by the way certain people can’t see on opening day despite being obsessed fans, because there’s a little concept called “end of quarter rush” that shackles such desperate folks to another, slightly larger concept called “life”. And this “life” thing bites sometimes for just that reason. T_T What? Why, whoever said I was talking about me? What a silly idea. *shakes enormous Shakespeare textbook in frustration* She also wanted to mourn the premature demise of the entire Star Trek television saga. Since both these events are related to and affect the underlying core of the lives of two NowhereU characters, it was important that Shada acted immediately to take advantage of the timing.

FYI, Shada is doing much better and is recovering rather quickly. Hopefully, she’ll be back into the strip soon, but in the meantime there will be weekly guest strips assuming we have enough and Bonehead BookMaster actually gets her act together. Yeah, Shada’s going to miss the opening of Star Wars, too (still laid up), darn it. At least I have company in my suffering.

April 21, 2005

Well, my hiatus has officially begun. I have not even been able to get time to finish this week's worth of strips. As of right now, I have about three usable guest strips, so I might put up one a week. I don't want to be gone long, so I'll be back as soon as I can manage it. So far my goal is to come back by June, but that all depends on how surgery recovery goes, and whether I can get access to a scanner.

Vote for me on topwebcomics.com and see the way cool pic that I WAS able to get done. The first bit of it was turned into my hiatus announcement, but there's more to it than this mysterious-striped-freaky-dude. You can see it when you vote, assuming the pic doesn't break. Please don't break, pic . . . (if it's broken and you can't see it, let me know . . . I don't trust this thing to work perfectly)

So this is goodbye for now. When I can, I will be checking the forum (that doesn't require hours of sitting at a computer, so I will be able to do that sooner than I can start working on strips). If you see me there, feel free to ask me questions, wish me well, beg/threaten me to hurry back, etc. Till then, sayonara everyone! You've been wonderful! See you in the summer!

~Shada~

April 18, 2005

WE'VE GOT A FORUM!!! I've finally gotten around to getting a free forum hook-up. It's a temporary thing until Keenspace decides to fix/make their own forums. Hopefully, this can help tide readers over while I'm on hiatus. The address is http://nowhereu.proboards43.com/index.cgi.

I'm also working on the picture for the voting page. I've drawn it up, now I need to ink it. I should have it done and up this week. It shows some important stuff from the future of Nowhere, so they'll be plenty to speculate on in the new forum. Oh, and vote for me on topwebcomics.com!

April 11, 2005

Well, that was embarrassing. I couldn't even get a Friday strip up. I've never been so wiped even when I was on my high school track team. Argh, I hope I don't relapse again.

I feel so bad for missing two days, that I'm considering extending my deadline to start my hiatus. I was going to begin the break after this Friday, but I might just keep going through next week. It depends on how finals and my packing goes. If I do try for next week, I might get a "see you in the summer" picture up on Friday or something.

Thanks to everyone who's submitting a guest strip! I'll put them to good use. If you're still drawing one, see if you could get it to me by the end of the week, if possible. If not, don't sweat it; just keep in mind that starting May, I won't be able to do anything with it until I recover from my surgery enough to actually make it to my computer. ^_^

Once again, don't forget to vote for me on topwebcomics.com! Since the beginning of the April recount, I've been in the top 100 averaging 75 or so. I'd like to bump it up a bit before my hiatus. I'll get a pic done for the voting page soon. Thanks for the support!

April 6, 2005

If you don't see a strip by later today, that is due to what is probably Mono. For the last three weeks I've been on-and-off ill, and it's wreaking havoc with my schooling. Tuesday, I was so wiped I could hardly get out of bed let alone do a comic. I type this up now at 5 in the morning with my usual sickness insomnia, hoping that I will have enough energy tomorrow to get the next strip scanned, cleaned, and shaded. But if you don't see a strip for Wednesday, then it means that mono's got the best of me again. I really don't want to cancel, and I feel like wimping out. So if the strip ever skips a day, you know it's only under extreme circumstances.

Interesting. Apparently it's my lot in life to suffer physically. Strangely enough, it doesn't bother me. Everyone's got their problems. So don't worry about me people. I'm a rather cheerful person overall, and it takes a lot to get to me. The only thing I'm worried about is getting the comic up on time. Oh, and about my missing school. Can't forget that. Argh, I sound like I'm complaining again . . . I'm not, really. Maybe I'd better stop typing this early in the morning; I say strange things when I'm lacking in the sleep department.

One last note, the mono illness (not entirely sure it's mono, but it's a fairly good guess) has also kept me from doing the backlog necessary for a once a week posting while I'm out with finals/travel/surgery. This annoys me probably more than you, because it has upped the possibility of my having to completely take a several month hiatus. However, I've been getting a fair amount of fan strips (such as Unicorn Emily's five contributions so far, the one from DR, and the five Skullbearer will send the moment he can actually succeed in drawing them and getting them scanned before he suffers another problem himself, the poor guy), so I think I will probably have at least several guest strips a week while I'm gone.

To help tide people over, I hope to be able to get a picture up in the voting page. You know, that page you see when you vote for me on topwebcomics.com. The pic I will be doing will be based on an idea I got from my twin, HHB Bookmaster from the Hero's Handbook strip. It will be of some scene or character from the future. Hopefully, if I can get that up, you can forgive me for taking a hiatus. I really don't want to, but there really is no way around it. So I'll make the pic as nice as I can.

Ok, now I'm off to bed before my arms fall off from typing while I have no energy. Peace out. (Yeah, that probably sounds korny . . . ah well.)

March 30, 2005

Character bios and new character art are up for Theodred and Edward on the characters page. The first Nowhere U fanart is up on the gallery page. Yay! Don't forget to vote for me on topwebcomics.com!

March 21, 2005

Whoho! We've hit the 50 strip milestone! Wow, I've gotten that many done already? Cool!

As far as my predicament is concerned, I'll try to get a few strips done for a once a week thing. And yes, I'm accepting guest strips to help tide readers over. I really don't care how good your art is, just so long as the content is rated "g". I'll be accepting thru the first week of April, maybe into the second, depending on how busy I get with finals and packing around that time.

Don't forget to vote for me on topwebcomics.com! One of these days I'll get a decent button on the strip for the voting. I'd like to be able to get myself into the top 100. I'm somewhere around #175 right now.

March 7, 2005

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT

I've been analyzing the speed in which I do strips, and my backlog, and computer time, and what I have to do in the next month, and I have come to the conclusion that I need help. I should explain.

Come April, I will be studying for finals. Then I will be packing all my belongings, including my computer, and I'll be going home for spring and summer. While I am packing, I cannot do comics, because I will have no computer access. Then my dad will be driving me home. Another time I have no computer access. Upon arrival at home, I will nearly immediately go into surgery on my right ankle to fix a childhood injury. I am still trying to recover from my left ankle surgery last year. I will be out for nearly a month, unable to move more than a few feet. This seriously annoys me, because it basically means that for a month or more, I will not have any way to do a comic strip. And I do not have time to do backlog. I MIGHT be able to do a once a week thing, but as of yet it is uncertain.

I'd like to take a poll. What do you, the readers, wish for me to do? Here are the options:

I go on hiatus for a few months. Maybe more; depending on how dependable my family's home internet connection is (it's not reliable that often), and whether or not I can get frequent access to a scanner there.

I try as hard as I can to get weekly or once-every-two-weekly strips up.

I implore you, the reader, to send me guest strips, "G" rated so I can keep up my "family friendly" pace.

I try to get the weekly or less strip thing going, and use the remaining ones for guest strips (a combo of the above two options)

These are the options I've considered thus far. If you'd like to let your voice be known, either send me an email at mystrylshada(DIESPAMMERS)gmail.com (replace DIESPAMMERS with @; I do that to kill spambots), or stick it up on the tagboard. I'd like to hear from you so I know how best to serve the fanbase. I'll do what I can.

Thanks for the help! Don't forget to vote for me on topwebcomics.com! ^_~

Feb. 21, 2005

3am edit--Look! TAGBOARD!! Have fun, play nice. :) And, Ben's and John's character pages are working. Check 'em. However, the page now looks kinda odd using Mozilla (if it doesn't, let me know so I know I don't have a problem). I'll see if I can get that fixed later; don't have time now.

Meet Theodred. Poor guy. For a lot of reasons. I'll work on a full color pic for him to put in the character page. I'll work on Edward III too, while I'm at it. Oh, and we had seen Edward earlier as well. See if you can guess what strip he was in. He wasn't all that well drawn . . . in fact, I draw him a lot better now. But he's been in one panel before. The "Life, The Universe, And Everything" sci-fi/fantasy symposium was a smash! We had Dave Wolverton there, the author of "Courtship of Princess Leia" (one of my favorite Star Wars novels), as well as the webcomic artists who do "Utukki", "Gleaners", and even "Schlock Mercenary"! And of course, my good friend and artist of "A Magical Roommate", UnicornEmily. Also there was L.E. Modesitt, Jerry Pournelle, and the screenplay author of "Galaxy Quest", David Howard. We had several other famous people there, but my mind blanks. Next year, I hear we'll be getting Kevin J. Anderson, another Star Wars novelist I'm familiar with. I was actually on three panels. The first one I was pulled into was a Manga Compared To American Comics debate. That was really interesting. We talked about what was similar and dissimilar about Japanese and American comics. Then Anime 101 went really nice, and we answered a lot of questions. The webcomic panel was, as I suspected, huge (there were 13 artists there). But the panel was a terrific success. I now have a whole list of new webcomics to check out. "Schlock Mercenary" alone will take me months to catch up on.

Ok, now for my typical shameless plug. Vote for me on topwebcomics.com! Please? ^_^ Ok, I'm done. One of these days, I'll actually get around to sticking a button for it on the main page so I don't have to keep begging like the family cat. . . .

Feb. 16, 2005

So, did ya all have a Happy S.A.D.? ^_^ No, it's not an oxymoron. It's "Singles' Awareness Day" . . . that's what Valentine's nickname is around my school. My sister calls it happy Valentine's Candy Day, for obvious reasons. I also celebrate it as "Happy Van Von Hunter Day", because Van Von Hunter is one of my favorite webcomics of all time. I'm so buying his new manga when it comes out. . . .

Long story short, I'm a pathetic person who doesn't really do Valentines. And it's also my half-birthday. Nothing like knowing I'm 23 1/2 and still single to really rub a romantic holiday in. -_- Oh well, good thing I'm not a romantic. Mushy stuff isn't quite my thing. No, I'm not bitter. Really. Kinda. Oh forget it.

On an unrelated note, my university is having its annual sci-fi/fantasy symposium, "Life, The Universe, and Everything" (three guesses as to where that title came from, and the first two don't count). I get to be a panelist for two panels! I'm doing the Anime for Beginners panel, as well as the Webcomics panel! Of course, that's because the person who did the scheduling for the art stuff is my good friend, roomie, and web designer, Rebecca JJ. She's on the committee for the convention. I've got to share the Webcomics panel with like 10 other people though; she knows a lot of webcomic artists here. And I still can't get those two boys' bios to work. If I can't get it up by Monday, I'll just stick the bios here in the news section in the meantime.

Feb. 11, 2005

Still can't get Ben and John's bios to work. Argh, I've no clue what the heck is going on. Maybe I'll have to delete the whole page and start from scratch with the code. . . .

Don't forget to vote for me on topwebcomics.com!

Feb. 03, 2005

Scratch that again. They're down once more. ARGH, WHAT THE FREAKIN' HECK IS WRONG WITH THIS THING?!?

I also got myself registered at www.topwebcomics.com! Vote for me!

Feb. 02, 2005

Ok, scratch the character bio updates. For some (grumble grumble) reason, the bios refuse to take. It's annoying, since all the HTML works out fine. I'll fix it later.

They're up now! Had to change them by hand, dang Keenspace workspace junk. :P

Feb. 02, 2005

I've updated Ben's and John's character bios. For some reason, they had both had English listed as their major. Weird. Anyways, I fixed that plus added more info about them now that they've debuted in the strip. I also added a news page! Now you don't have to scroll forever on the main site to see the first news I've posted (not that you really care though . . . oh well, I like archiving). In any case, the characters are updated, and the main page looks a whole lot smaller and neater.

I got my first criticism today! Note: criticism is good; flaming is bad. Anyways, someone (I'll keep her anonymous, because I don't know if she'd want her name online or not) pointed out that Star Wars and Star Trek are not real "sci-fi". I got some valid arguments from her, so I thought I'd clarify things for the Nowhere world. In the school of Nowhere, technology + space = sci-fi. Yes, I know Star Wars is a space opera, and both it and Star Trek can be also classified as Fantasy (in fact, that will be brought up in a much later strip), but for this purpose, they will fall under the jurisdiction of the Sci-Fi club. Mainly, because there is no other genre that they'd fit better. I'd do a space opera one, but that's more a specialty in the sci-fi genre than a genre in and of itself. Great, now I'm going off on thought tangents again. . . .

However, she gave me a good idea for a new character. She suggested a captain of the Kendo team who will point out that Star Wars etc originally got their inspiration from Japanese Samurai films. This thought has refused to leave my mind, and I'm developing another character in my head. Oh boy. Well, whether he actually comes in the strip or not will be seen later. ^_^

Jan. 31, 2005

Enter another new character! These two guys were originally supposed to be only minor characters, but they've kinda taken over in the thumbnail sketched strips. Argh. Oh well. They represent two of my favorite sci-fi series. I've never been obsessed quite to their level (almost was with Star Wars though), but I still like the series. Problem is, I've read all the SW books and stuff, but it's been years since I've seen an entire ST episode. I'm a Warsie through and through, but I'm losing touch with my inner Trekkie. . . .

Jan. 24, 2005

Enter a new character! I've been wanting to get this strip up for ages. This guy's the favorite amongst most of my friends. If you want to know more about him, check the characters page. His "buddy" John should be arriving next week.

Jan. 21, 2005

Strip's up. It's late, but it's up. And still on the same day. Phew.

Jan. 21, 2005

Today's strip is late for a variety of reasons. Number one was my eagerness to get a new anime music video done. To check out my music vids, see www.animemusicvideos.org. My account name is mystryl_shada . . . as usual. Second reason why I'm late with the comic is because of my computer. To fully understand, let me explain my comp's three personalities.

Personality one: Robbie. The original name for my computer, named after a character for a book series I'm trying to write. Robbie is very cheerful and helpful, but talks too much. Personality two: Sam (also a character I've created for my books). Sam is lazy and prone to pranks, likes annoying me, and won't do anything if it's too hard. Personality three (and the newest one): Evil Robbie. Similar to Robbie, only evil incarnate; he purposefully crashes at the most inopportune times, fights back with everything, and usually is the reason I want to smash my comp. This is a personality that has developed now that my computer is over a year old.

A hint as to how bad my computer was during my attempts to finish my music vid: Evil Robbie on a bad day. Enough said. -_- I will try to get the strip up later today though, so it will hopefully still go up on Friday.

Jan. 19, 2005

Check it out! Backgrounds! This site just keeps getting better! Of course, now I'm gonna have to do backgrounds more often, or else I'll look like I'm slacking off. . . .

Jan. 17, 2005

Lookie! Buttons! ^_^ My twin sister made them. Check out her site in the links section.

She's working on a Nowhere U seal for me. Good luck to her; I have NO clue what would symbolize a school called Nowhere. A black hole? An invisible man? Anyone have any suggestions?

Jan. 15, 2005

You know, one of these days I'm gonna go outside and actually SKETCH some backgrounds. And buildings. And figure out how the heck to draw them. Because I can't seem to do it from memory. Oh well.

My sister made me directional buttons! If you have no clue what that is, stay tuned; one of these days I'll get around to putting them up on the site. Or . . . I should say my wonderful site coder Rebecca JJ will help me put them up on the site. Man, I've gotta learn more HTML. . . .

Jan. 11, 2005

I got the Christmas Special done. It's now Tuesday . . . evening. -_- Yup, something came up. Namely, homework and lotsa phone calls, including one from my twin sister who's several states away, and I never pass an opportunity to talk to her. But I did get it done. However, there's no real point in sticking it up only to be replaced in a few hours, so here's what I'm gonna do. I've scheduled the special to come up on Wednesday. Then the next strip is going to come up on Thursday instead of Wednesday. The strip after that is either gonna be on Friday like it's supposed to, or Saturday (which, knowing my luck, will be the more likely option, but I'll still try for Friday).

So enjoy the special. It's not my most well-drawn thing ever, but keep in mind I drew this with a bad hand. Gimme a break. I also was gonna use a new hair-shading technique from an online tutorial, but the $%@#! internet connection went down while I was coloring, and I wasn't able to open up the tutorial page. Oh well, maybe next time.

Jan. 10, 2005

Well, Saturday came and went. And I still don't have the late-Christmas special done. Of course, I didn't ASK for my hand to seize up in drawing it; it was painful enough getting Monday's strip colored. Argh, I don't like promising and not coming through. But if it comes down to putting up a post on time and saving me a whole lotta ouchies, I'd rather give my wrist a break. I don't know WHY it's bothering me; I thought that's what my ankles were for (don't ask, long history). But that's why I don't have it up. Hopefully, I'll have it done by Tuesday. I do have it drawn, I just need to scan, clean, and color. Hey, it's a lot harder than it sounds, especially with how long I take on things. That's why I've learned my lesson, and I'm saying I'll TRY to get it up. I feel reeeally bad in breaking these promises. I estimate about a 90% probability for Tuesday, most of it being because I feel so guilty for not getting it done. But I'm allowing a 10% chance for the unexpected. OK, now that I've beaten that dead horse to death (dead horse to . . . wait . . .), I am pleased to announce the beginning of my next Dungeons and Dragons campaign, with me as Dungeon Master. This is my second big adventure (not counting the minor skirmishes I led my sisters in), and I might have occasional comments. This week, we didn't really do much other than set up characters, and try to get them all to cooperate enough to go on a quest. Harder than it looks, especially since the characters are a neutral-good ex-paladin-gone-fighter, a chaotic-good ranger who's an amnesiac, a chaotic-neutral cleric who thinks everyone else is stupid, and a dual personality lawful-good fighter/lawful-evil rogue. Oh boy.

Uh, maybe it's time I invested in a News archive . . . this page is getting kinda long. . . .

Jan. 05, 2005

Happy New Year Everyone! ^_^

Well, I'm back. I wasn't able to work on the strip as much as I'd wanted, but thems the breaks. I should be done with the late holiday special by Saturday. Next Monday, I'll be back to the usual three times a week schedule. This week I'm only doing Wednesday and the Saturday special.

In good news, I got a graphics tablet for Christmas! So much easier. However, it's still taking me hours to shade (I'm just a slowpoke, I guess), so I'm probably gonna have to change the shading to a "special occasion" only thing. Or until I get better/faster at it. Because 8 hours total per strip is just toooooo much of my time. I want to start using some of that time for backgrounds, and I can't if I'm always racing the clock.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! Now back to school! Yay. . . .

~Shada~