Ellie on Planet X

I’m going to be in San Francisco this weekend visiting Wondercon! So if any Ellie readers are comic artists who have a table there, let me know and I’ll stop by and say, “Hi!” Because I’ll be incommunicato for much of the week, I may not be able to respond to comments in a timely manner, and blog posts might have to wait until next week. But there will still be comic dispatches from Ellie on their regular days!

In a comment from last week Tom Dell’Aringa, creator of the awesome comic Marooned, was hoping Ellie had the ability to fly after we witnessed her zip off a cliff with Jeff and Muffin in tow. Well, I know for a fact that she can’t fly, but it was in her original design plans. How cool would that have been? Here’s some evidence I found in an old journal I came across in the basement of the Strang Institute Mission Control Center:

And here’s a reminder that I’ll be interviewed at Comic Chatcast next week, Thursday April 7 at 9pm Eastern, 6pm Pacific. Join in and ask me anything about all things Ellie!

Whew! It looks like everything’s back to being “Go”.

We’re sending out a hearty “Thank You!” to our I.T. department Digital Impulse. If you need to build a website, especially one using WordPress, Digital Impulse is your place to go. Not only did they take my initial design for the Ellie on Planet X website and make it into a reality (like in about two minutes), but when I ran into problems due to our migration to a new server, Digital Impulse quickly assessed the situation and fixed everything all up too. Plus, reasonable prices and prompt service – you can’t beat that. So all of you readers who want to have a webcomic of your own, but don’t know the first thing about setting up a website…Digital Impulse is the answer!

‘Twas my birthday yesterday and as a gift my lovely girlfriend created this incredible portrait of the Strang Institute’s favorite mascot, Bijou! I’m sure to tout Azucena’s incredible works of artistry more in the future (especially once we get her a website up and running). This piece is water soluble crayon on slate and perfectly depicts Bijou’s personality – she owns the place. El Alacrán, by the way, is Spanish for the scorpion.

In the fable of the Scorpion and the Turtle, the Turtle carries the Scorpion across a river on the promise he won’t sting her. When he does anyway, dooming them both, the Scorpion responds to the Turtle’s cries of “Why” with, “Because it’s my nature.” Such as it is with Bijou. Still, she’s an amazing and smart dog. If ever there was a candidate for canines with self-awareness, she would be it.

Note: I probably won’t have a comic update for tomorrow due to deadlines, birthdays, and other equally important events. I will, however, post something! Ellie, Jeff, and Muffin will return on Monday. Thanks!

Here’s part of a sketch I did of  Squid-Girl, a character from Denver Brubaker’s incredible comic strip Tales of a Checkered Man. It’s like a film-noir-superhero kind of yarn and you should be reading it now if you’re not already. You’ll be able to see the rest of my sketch featured on Fan Art Friday when you visit there too!