I Don't Want ANY Publicity!

Today's Strip

Which brings us to the return of Richard Okubo, the Bruce Wayne of the Rhapsodies world, (minus the tights (I think)) He has been described, by Kate, as the one who can stick it to the man because he is the man. Kate first meets him at a state fundraiser. Since then he has appeared to have an interest in Kate

Ms. Jennersten?

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Perks of Being an Officer

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For a while I was worrying how to handle Conal. I had flat out said that his holiday leave ended at New Years and I wanted to spell out that he had shipped out. To a certain extent I probably shouldn't have worried. He's a secondary character and I probably would have gotten away with him just disappearing for a year of more but I think this covers things nicely.

Drinking Liberally Regulars

I'm a regular at the Seattle Drinking Liberally It's lots of fun banging heads with fellow policy wonks. For fellow Seattleites it's at the Montlake Ale House on 24th Ave E. Anyway back on the topic... A couple of weeks ago, when I had nothing to contribute to the conversation at hand, I started to sketching some of the regulars. Anyway I thought I'd share. The line up here consists of David Goldstein AKA Goldy of Horses Ass, Darryl Holman of Hominid Views, Joel Connelly of the Seattle Post Intelligencer, and Stephen Schwartz of Seattle Jew.

Enemy Territory

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I'm Socializing, Okay?

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Friday Museum Sketches

Okay, today we're back to the roman with two details from a first century frieze, "Relief Showing the Reading of Auguries and Declaration of Sacred Vows" from the Louvre. You can see a photograph of the original here.

Knock 'em Dead Ms. Jennersten!

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She's Wearing The Same Dress!

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Kate First met Mrs. Tully when she chose the wrong person to rant at at a state fundraiser. We quickly learn that Mrs. Tully was NOT amused (and probably isn't that pleasant a person to begin with.)

Last Time I Was "Guest"

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And when we say last time we mean this.

Martin Luther King Day

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Having done the "I have a dream" speech last year, I decided to go with a quote from his Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech. I quite like this one.

Friday Museum Sketches

Okay, for todays sketch we have a detail from Ghiberti's Adam and Eve Panel from his Gates of Paradise in the Florence Baptistry. As a cartoonist, I'm very fond of this piece. By the positioning of figures and angels, the sculptor does a masterful job steering our eyes accross four scenes from the story of Eden; the creation of Adam, Eve, the temptation and finally the expulsion from Eden. One could almost consider the Gates of Paradise as a renaissance comic books

D'ye Need Any Help?

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What Can I do T'... For Ye

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While Blossom has many problems subtlety is not one of them.

You're A Celebrity... Suck it up.

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Kate's met Okubo once before here... Later he appears to have an interest in her.

You See? Everything's settled!

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In Kate's defense it's hard to come up with good excuses at a short notice.

The Return of Kris

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It occurred to me recently that even though she's supposed to be a prime mover in the plot's background, and most of the cast is terrified of her, Kris has only appeared in twenty strips and nearly one third of these appearances were in assorted dream sequences. With any luck I can begin to rectify this.

Bussing Drama

Well I had a bit of unexpected entertainment on the way home. I had done all of those errands that had to be done before Seven before all of those stores closed and I was in one of those what do I do next kind of modes. All of the food of the dinner persuasion I had at home were all frozen solid so I was seriously considering getting take out. However whether I got something in the U-District or Lake City was very much dependent on when the next bus came. So I walked to the nearest bus to see when the next 72, my usual bus back to Lake City, would come. I found that there would be one in a minute and another in a half hour. While it occurred to me that a half hour was the perfect ammonite of time to run over to my favorite teriyaki place but I was tired and wanted to get home. Anyway the first half of the ride went as normal as I tried to think which was better logistical choice teriyaki, fried chicken from QFC, or Wendy's which was when the bus stopped. THe bus driver said that there was another 72 stopped in front of them and she would see if she could help and then nothing. After what felt like ten minutes people started getting off the bus. I held out thinking if there was nothing the bus driver could do to help she would have to move on. Finally the bus driver announce that she might be stuck there all night and it would be best for us to move to the nearest stop. As I got out I saw that the other bus was stuck all right and blocking the entire street. In a bit of snarkiness it occurred to me that the bus driver could have mentioned this a bit earlier. I walked from the bus to my apartment, a walk that took about 45 minutes, i played the if game; if i had taken the bus that was a half hour later they would have been detoured around the other bus and would already have my supper. Two other 72s passed me on the way home. I'm ashamed to admit that I flipped one of them off. At that point I saw no need to wait for another bus. I was mad and it has always been my experience that after you loose your temper it is best to burn off as much residual adrenaline as possible if you want to get to sleep that night, a brisk 45 minute walk to get home is perfect for that. THough I did finally stop for teriyaki on the way.

Friday Museum Sketches

Okay, today's sketch is a detail of one of the centerpieces of the Seattle Art Museum's collection; a Thunderbird mask by Kwakwaka’wakw artist Calvin Hunt

We're Bigger Than The Noise Of Can Openers

Today's Strip

For a little while I wondered if the punch-line "bigger than can-openers" would be enough. While obviously it's sometimes necessary to spell things out, I prefer to keep it down to a minimum because it can make certain phrasings come off as stilted and unnatural.

Also it's nice to make it clear the band doesn't spend ALL of its time lounging around the practice loft.

She Was Bragging About Her Kids

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Now That The Holiday is Over...

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You Think I Should Trust Him Outside of a Submarine?

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I was a little worried about this one. Annie may dote over her younger son but that shouldn't mean she's delusional. Also I finally managed to squeeze in some extra exposition regarding Conal's background.

It Can't be Worse Than The Next Half Hour...

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Friday Museum Sketches

Okay we're back I've been very lazy lately, sorry. This week's sketch comes from the RISD Art Museum in Providence Rhode Island. I always enjoy spending a couple of hours there whenever I'm visiting my parents. It is a small collection but has a very general and very good selection. This is one of my favorite paintings there; The Salon d'Or, Hamburg by William Powell Frith. This one was a fun challenge as it's one of the first times I'd tried to copy a crowd scene and I'm afraid I was more than a little rushed doing it. But all in all it was a rewarding exercise.

Careful what you wish for

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Happy New Year Everyone

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Yeah what she said.

In case your wondering who the background Party goers are... The man talking at Lisa is Enrique Dunham we last saw him when Brian was helping with the taxes at the local homeless shelter. He's active in a lot of the causes Kate is and Kate couldn't think of a good excuse to not invite him. Behind them we have Kestrel who's nearly a regular character now standing behind her is Barbara Haley, a friend of Kestrel's who hasn't appeared in the strip yet. They are talking to Lydia who owns the Toile de Peau Tattoo parlor accross the street. She hasn't appeared in the strip yet either but I have my hopes.