PIPE DOPE #180

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Thanks as always for taking the time to follow along. Today's post is going to be the last for 2011, but there's another month's worth of Pipe Dope still to come, with the whole story coming to an end on Friday, February 3. Look for #181 somewhere around January 2 or 3 (I hope), and in the meantime, have a happy New Year's!

Oh, yeah--thumbnails!

PIPE DOPE #179

 

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PIPE DOPE #178

 

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PIPE DOPE #177

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Even General has a soft side. And he doesn't look half bad in a crown...

PIPE DOPE #176

 

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At long last, we've got some good ol' fashioned silliness with General and the AAF. Enjoy the zaniness, and enjoy the holidays!

PIPE DOPE #175

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That's right--at long last, it's time for some more madcap ridiculousness with General and co. Sorry they've been gone so long, but the story kinda demanded it. This coming week looks to be pretty hectic with work and the run-up to the holidays, but I'm hoping to post #176 by Saturday (Christmas Eve) at the latest.

In the meantime, here's a look at the thumbnails for the past five posts. (Things stayed pretty consistent this time around.)

PIPE DOPE #174

 

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PIPE DOPE #173

 

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PIPE DOPE #172

 

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Seriously, things really do start to lighten up tomorrow.

PIPE DOPE #171

 

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I promise the story starts to lighten up again soon. Very soon. With #173, in fact.

PIPE DOPE #170

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Here's a look at this week's thumbnails, which, you might notice, look significantly different than the final product. My first thought was to just echo the captions with the images, which I would then cross-hatch over to create a sense of the fog my mind was in during these events. I was ready to move forward with that plan even though I wasn't convinced it was good, but then, I woke up in the middle of the night with the idea I finally decided to roll with--and which I roughed out in tiny detail in the upper right of this page:

With a bit of luck, Pipe Dope will continue with #171 on Thursday. Otherwise, Friday.

Comics!

PIPE DOPE #169

 

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PIPE DOPE #168

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PIPE DOPE #167

 

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Congratulations to Alec Longstreth on completing the fifth and final chapter of "Basewood" (soon to be available for sale as Phase 7 #009). Three years, four months and 10 days ago, Alec vowed not to cut his hair until he was done making Basewood; yesterday, I watched via Livestream as Alec, at long last, got his celebratory haircut. I realize that probably sounds creepy, or at least a little bit weird, but I know I'm not alone in thinking yesterday was a bona fide Event, and I'm proud I'll be able to say, years from now, that I watched it live. Again, congratulations to Alec; his tenacity, enthusiasm and endless passion for comics is a bigger inspiration than I know how to put into words.

PIPE DOPE #166

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Thanks, all, for your patience as I took a few days off. The break gave me a chance to refine the next few weeks' worth of content, which clearly will be posted on a somewhat wonky schedule. (Friday through Tuesday for #s 166-170; I don't believe I've done that schedule yet.) More tomorrow!

PIPE DOPE #165

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More Pipe Dope still to come. I'm out of town this weekend, so the schedule's going to get a bit wonky, but #166 might be up by Wednesday. Or maybe the following Monday. In the meantime, thumbnails (whoops! Forgot to actually post this pic last week):

PIPE DOPE #164

 

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PIPE DOPE #163

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PIPE DOPE #162

 

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PIPE DOPE #161

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PIPE DOPE #160

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Pipe Dope will continue on Monday with #161. In the meantime, thumbnails!

PIPE DOPE #159

 

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PIPE DOPE #158

 

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For everyone in the States, have a happy Thanksgiving! For everyone else, I hope it's a terrific Thursday!

PIPE DOPE #157

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PIPE DOPE #156

 

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See what I did there, tying this week into the Thanksgiving holiday? My original plan for Pipe Dope, even before I had a title, was to consistently align my dad's story with the date I was posting throughout the year. This isn't the story for that strict an approach, but on occasion it does make sense to tie things together.

In other news, I'm thrilled to note that the Harvey Pekar Library Statue has met its funding goal! Many, many thanks to anyone and everyone who contributed. And if you haven't yet, there are still 12 days left to pledge a donation. Once the statue has been built and installed, any leftover money will go toward buying more comics for the Cleveland Heights Public Library, which Harvey frequented on nearly a daily basis. For more info, just click that Kickstarter button on the left-hand side of this page.

PIPE DOPE #155

 

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And so concludes a week of formal experimentation. Look for Pipe Dope to continue this Tuesday!

Lest we forget: thumbnails!

PIPE DOPE #154

 

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Sorry to be posting a bit late this morning. Weekend's always have a way of throwing me off my regular schedule. However, I did manage to finish #155 early, so expect that tomorrow right at 6 a.m. PST.

PIPE DOPE #153

 

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I finally started reading Terry Moore's Echo. Terry Moore is a genius, a true cartoonist, and I envy every line he's ever committed to paper, whether it be with lead or ink.  And I totally cribbed the hatching along the bottom of today's panels from him. There's an elegance to the way he uses it that I know I don't have, but after all, this is my first time trying the technique. And, you know, Pipe Dope's all about giving me a chance to try new (for me) things.

In other news: In support of the Occupy movement, Whiskey & Fox, the "journal of poetry, theory, and queer-heterotopoi," is publishing a series of zines under the banner "Parks & Occupation," and the second issue features a one-page comic by yours truly. I'm thrilled to be included, and humbled by the company my comic keeps. Please click over to Whiskey & Fox's website, where you can download the issue in PDF format.

PIPE DOPE #152

 

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I know times are tough and money's tight, and I hate harping, but I'd be thrilled if the proposed Harvey Pekar memorial becomes a reality, and it can only happen if the comics-loving (and Harvey-loving) community can chip in. Alan Moore seems to agree, and he's shared a few words on Vimeo:

Alan Moore on Harvey from Estate of Harvey L. Pekar on Vimeo.

PIPE DOPE #151

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And we're back! Sorry for the delay, but things have been mighty busy. However, I've hopefully built up enough of a running start that I'll be able to work with only one day off between weeks for the next couple of weeks. Keep your fingers crossed--it's pretty important that #s 161-165 are posted the week of November 28, starting on the 28th...

PIPE DOPE #150

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Holy moley--I've done 150 of these. For a guy who spent way too many years thinking about making comics without actually doing anything about it, this landmark--minor as it is--brings with it a certain sense of satisfaction.

55 more to go...

But first: this week's thumbnails!

PIPE DOPE #149

 

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That was a G.I. Joe submarine that could fit one action figure. It was really, really awesome.

And yes, I have referenced G.I. Joe two days in a row (at least in my comments, if not directly in the panels).

PIPE DOPE #148

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I also remember finding G.I. Joe: Special Missions #4 at that flea market. That was a good day.

PIPE DOPE #147

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Catching word of the efforts to raise money for a Harvey Pekar Library Statue (info available here and through that Kickstarter widget at left) has got me thinking a lot about my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. Adding fuel to the fire was this terrific Cleveland Scene Report that Kevin Czap wrote up for Frank Santoro's column at the Comics Journal's website; as Czap makes clear, Cleveland's got what's shaping up to be a terrifically inspiring comics scene. And while I haven't been there before and I know I can't make it this year, I'm really hoping to someday participate in the city's Genghis Con Underground Comix Expo. I suspect that show would be just my speed.

PIPE DOPE #146

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Every summer's trip to Illinois would include a run through the Kane County Flea Market. And if ever there was a place that had something for everybody, that was certainly it.

PIPE DOPE #145

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Thanks, all, for hanging in through another week. This time out, I was back to figuring out the entire week's thumbnails before getting to work on the actual panels. I'm not yet sure how next week's process might go, but no matter what, I plan to be back on Monday with #146...

PIPE DOPE #144

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PIPE DOPE #143

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Laser eyes? Check. Stretchy arm? Check. Sword? Check. Now run.

PIPE DOPE #142

 

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PIPE DOPE #141

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Happy Halloween, friends! When I was first planning Pipe Dope, I was hoping to consistently tie the images to the date they were posted, which I'm sure would have made today's a picture of my dad taking me trick-or-treating. As the story evolved, though, I realized there were only three dates I had to specifically hit, and beyond that, the stories shown might fall roughly according to season--although even that hasn't been a hard-and-fast rule. One of the specific dates came way back during Pipe Dope's first week of going online. The last two have yet to arrive...

PIPE DOPE #140

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I realized today that there are only 65 more installments of Pipe Dope remaining. Suddenly, it feels like the end is approaching...

This week marked the first time I approached the thumbnails one day at a time, roughing out the idea in the minutes before I set to work on the actual panel (which would then go online the next morning). This method cuts things a bit closer than I'm usually comfortable with, but hey, it's Pipe Dope, and experiments are always welcome. Here's a look at those thumbnails:

I hope you come back on Monday for #141. Have a swell weekend in the meantime!