Howdy again folks,

I just wanted to check in here during the waning hours of 2003 and wish everyone a great new year and to reflect a little on the previous year.

2003 saw a lot of changes for me personally. Back in January Emily and I gave up apartment living and purchased our first house! And to keep things really exciting, the week after we closed we found out that we were expecting an addition to the family! Hello Ulcer-City!

Alena was born in September and it has been a whirlwind ever since.

Also this last year I discovered that one of my books (Tainted Circus) was in the University of Buffalo's Poetry and Rare Books Collection! I was able to make contact with Dr. Michael Basinski and made arrangements to donate the rest of the series. Apparently he picked up a copy at a "zine fest" and decided to add it to the collection as an example of local Buffalo underground publishing. He was quite excited to have the whole set. So I now reside alongside the likes of Twain and Joyce, pretty cool, eh?

To help celebrate Tales From The Dougside's 15th anniversary I opened an online store through Cafepress.com to sell merchandise. Check out the link on the left side of this page!

A pretty good year overall, and I have much bigger plans for 2004....including finally publishing that 200 page TFTD book I keep promising! Keep your browsers ppointed in this direction for more details and progress reports!
Talk to you all soon!

---Doug

Howdy again folks. its been a bit, but I have been busy. The little bug (Alena) has been sick this past week with a chest cold so I have had to make a few doctor visits. She's doing fine and remains her smiley little self, but has her moments of crankiness when she is hungry or tired. I haven't gotten much in the way of drawing done lately, but I did manage to sneak in a few movies since I last posted.

I finally got out to see MATRIX REVOLUTIONS. I liked it, but was left with more questions than answers at the end. For a movie that was being promoted with the tagline "Everything that has a beginning has an ending." I must have missed it. It really left things up in the air.

Far more satisfying was the incredible finale to the LORD OF THE RINGS. The Return Of The King was easily the second best of the trilogy and was close to the first one. One thing that really struck me about this film was that the story's focus seemed to shift from Frodo and his terrible burden/mission to Sam's unfailing loyalty and friendship. Indeed friendship and teamwork really seemed to be the underlying themes overall. It is rare when a film in this genre actually hits an emotional chord, but this one did. There has been a lot of criticism about the ending (or should I say endings!), but they didn't really bother me that much. It was nice to see some bright moments after so much darkness and struggle for the characters. It really showed what they were fighting for.

Well, that's it for now,

---Doug

PS. Check out the links on the left side here. I have added a link to email me so feel free to send me your opinions on Matrix or LOTR if you want. Hopefully i will have some progress to post soon.

Howdy again folks,

I am still working on the calender. Things have been a little crazy. Work is a bit nuts right now, but it is the holidays so that is a given.

Last night the drawing board beckoned to me after I turned the computer off and was headed downstairs for much needed sleep. I really should have gone to sleep since I had to be up at 430am, but i felt compelled to do some drawing. I have had a cartoon sitting there unfinished for a while. I have worked on it in little drips and drabs since September. Last night I put some finishing touches on it. I just need to hit it with some whiteout to cover up a few mistakes with the ink brush, but it is basically done. Not feeling satisfied, I pulled out an unfinished "One Hour Comic Strip" from a few years ago and started to ink it. I had actually started drawing this one back when I was in Arizona, but never got to the ink stage for some reason. So I am finally committing the black stuff to the board to finish it. In true spirit of "One Hour Comic Strip" I worked quickly and did 2 and a half panels plus all the lettering in about 20 minutes. Still have 2 and a half panels left plus the logo.

A quick word about the "One Hour Comic Strip". The concept derives from something that was going around in comic book circles back in the mid 90s call the 24 hour comic book. The object of the exercise was to create a 24 page comic book in just 24 hours. The purpose was to help the artist take creating down to a gut level instinct. With no time for revisions, you have to learn to make descisions fast. Almost like playing in a band live before a studio audience. You just have to go. Now since I just draw a single page strip and not full comic books, I thought that I should break it down to that smallest form 1 page=1 hour. My object is to create a completed 1 page comic strip from start to finish in just 1 hour. i don't think I have ever actually succeeded completely. I have written and drawn in less than an hour, but when you add inking in to the mix I usually clock in at about 90 minutes to 2 hours. Still pretty speedy when all I started with was a blank page.

I might try to do a few more of these just as exercises for me. I want to create some new strips for the 200 page book and it will probably be a good way to help me get back in the swing of things. My cartoons have definitely gotten sloppier but I need to unjam the ideas in my head so i just have to get them out for now. I may share a few of these soon on the site, but for now they remain private.

Talk to you all soon!
---Doug

Howdy again gang!

Tuesday night I spent most of my night working in the kitchen and baking a birthday cake for Emily (who, battling a severe cold, had fallen asleep on the couch). Upon completion I seized the opportunity to fire up the XBOX and play one of the new games Em had brought home for me. I chose ESPN NFL Football and before I knew it, it was 1:45am. which isn't too bad, but when you have to report to work by 7am, its a little late. Very cool football sim. I still have to get the hang of passing and changing plays, but still a lot of fun.

Last night I was on babysitting duty as Emily went out to a holiday party with my Mom and sister. They stopped in after to help sing Happy Birthday and have a slice of cake. Alena fell asleep while Emily was out and I took the opportunity to once again to feed my video game addiction and played some more football. I also was printing out countless copies of this year's holiday note to include with our Christmas cards. That took a while, so I didn't get any work done on the calender. Tonight though, Alena willing, I will sit down and try to whip out a few more months so I can try to get it done and posted onto CafePress by week's end.

"Put down the controller and step away from the XBOX...."

---Doug

Hey Gang,

Last night I worked on the calander some more. I hope i can get it finished by the end of the week. So far I have the cover done, as well as the months of January, February and March. I started April, but my lack of sleep from the night before overtook me a bit and I had to stop before I did something stupid, like applying the plunk and bloat filter on everything. Rule number one kiddies, Never design when you are tired!. I like the way it is coming together so far, and I think that many of you will be pleased with it. Each month features one of my favorite cartoons along with some history about it (including date drawn and intended publication date).

It's going to look pretty damn snappy on your wall!

Duty now for the future,

---Doug

Hey gang!
Welcome to the very first posting of Blog From The Dougside!
I figured I'd jump onto this web log bandwagon before it left town. There is a lot of exciting news I'd like to share with you all, and this seemed like a good way to do it.

First, plans for my next book have been on hold for a bit. This year has been incredibly crazy with the new house, and the birth of my daughter Alena Margaret in September. Today is her first day in daycare and it was particularly hard on my wife Emily. I was choked up too, I miss the little bug. She is a real cutie. Just looking at her makes me smile...even when she is crying her eyes out. I can't help it! I'm a sentimentalist at heart!

I am pleased to announce though, that Anti-Social Lawnmower is a priority for 2004 and will most likely see the light of day about mid-year. I will keep you updated with my progress as it merits reporting.

I am currently putting together a 2004 Wall Calendar featuring some of my favorite cartoons along with fun facts and commentary! Look for it soon at my on-line store on Cafepress!

Along with info about my cartooning life, I will also offer up movie and DVD reviews and some other cool stuff that I haven't thought of yet!

I hope you'll check back often! And happy holidays to you all.

----Doug