What have I been up to lately?

Well, aside from starting a new job, I have been eating, sleeping and breathing webcomics.

I'm going to be heading to a con down in Calgary this spring, and since it'll be my first con I'm trying to pull together everything I would need for a con. You know, like actual physical merchandise, so I'm not just sitting at a table with a tiny sign scribbled in Sharpie that says "Weregeek - By Me", a stack of photocopied prints and that desperate smile that people always wear in British comedies when they are trying really hard to seem competent at something and failing terribly.

Last weekend Layne and I spent a bunch of time pricing out prints and picked up some of those plastic stands for brochures and larger pages. We also picked up some foam core board so that I can make a large cut-out of my logo that will stand behind the booth. I think it'll look sharp, but we will have to figure out how to make a good solid stand for it without any tool of our own. There's still lots to pick up - like a tablecloth and a banner, but it's nice to get a start on things.

The big hurtle has been the merchandise. I have enough strips now to put out a book, and I think that having a book to sell at a con really is necessary. Suddenly, you're not just a kid with some drawings, but a professional with actual work to show. Plus, people who have never read my strip before online can have something to look at right then and there at the con while they have money just burning a hole in their pocket...

So, I have to design a book. In three weeks or less. I'm one week in, and I've got the inside layout done, but I still need to write a bunch of extra blurbs, add some sketches and new drawings, and (ugh) write the introduction. Oh, and then I get to move onto designing the front and back covers.

If that wasn't enough of a project, we're also in the midst of moving my site over from Comic Genesis to my very own site!! I'm reaaaaaaally happy with how the page turned out!! Layne & Todd have both put a ton of work into the site - Todd by doing all of the coding, and Layne by doing everything from checking out ISP's to manually adding my entire archives to the new system. Wow. I really, really couldn't have done it without them. I just supplied the design and images, and they made it work. Yay!!

The new site should go live by Monday at the latest, and though I'm expecting to lose a few readers in the move, I think having full control over the content on the site will be more than worth it.

So, um. Yeah. Busy. Very busy.