Comic: Back of the Envelope – #37 – Batman Planned for the Slow Dance

Mr. and Mrs. Wayne would have loved to have seen Batman in his prom dress, but, you know, they were dead and all.

Comic: Hollow Oak University – #23 – Need a Bigger Test Tube

Be careful what you say around Chester. A turn of phrase may become a turn of the screw into a new and horrible creature. Inspiration is 2 parts perspiration and 3 parts taking things out of context. Let us all just be happy that Chester’s intentions were a giant failure. Get it? GIANT failure? As in, he was trying to create a giant and he failed. So, a giant failure.

My world travels continue, if you mean “East Coast” by world. I am currently in South Florida, for a celebatory weekend with the family. People getting bat mitzvahed, my graduation, I am sure someone will pipe in with a birthday or two. It is good to be back in my homeland for a happy occassion for once.

What more can I say about Sean’s art? Other than he has put in the same number of strips for this property as he did for his previous work, Arrogant and Lazy. Considering the art is more intense for HOU (Backgrounds! Feet! Eyebrows!), this is a great accomplishment. I am glad I am a part of this. Mainly because I feel like my motivation techniques for Sean (threats of bodily harm) have given him the right amount of drive to get these done.

-Beerman

Comic: Back of the Envelope – #36 – Sanest Man in the County

Dancing has been used to solve all the great conflicts in our history: World War II, The 100 Year War, whatever needed to be Stepped Up to.

Comic: Hollow Oak University – #22 – Demonstrable

A little peek into the history of Berkeley and Chester. Apparently Lil Berkeley loved demonstrating his little invention even back in grade school. I wonder what Mr. Rutgers would say to Dr. Harvey about their common friend. That is, if Mr. Rutgers isn’t in an asylum somewhere, rocking back and forth, dreading what next Lil Berkeley pulls from his backpack. Chester is somewhat shocked to learn about the possible real reason Mr. Rutgers left the teaching profession. He was probably told that Rutgers went to a teaching farm upstate, where he could run around free, teaching.

Landmark day today: I am graduating. So I have that going for me, which is nice.

Sean’s art this week is both subtle and obvious. The “Under Construction” sign is a great little sight gag, but I like Chester’s expression in the final panel more. Very rarely to we get to see Berkeley or Chester shocked. They are usually the ones shocking other people (both literally and figuratively). But I think Chester’s face says it all. I might frame that panel one day, when I have enough money to waste on such friviloties.

-Beerman

Comic: Back of the Envelope – #35 – Can’t Be a Redneck Without a Defined Neck

I actually find the homespun, country musings of Mr. Jeffrey Foxworthy funny sometimes.

Comic: Hollow Oak University – #21 – Chester’s Loophole: Part 5

Chester to the belated rescue! He finally sees the error of his ways. Of course, his ways, apparently, led to all of HOU to being “infected” with the floating. At least, a large portion of HOU, enough to fill an auditorium. No word on whether it was standing room only. But Chester has a plan to fix all of that. Even if it means that he cannot publish his findings in a journal. But those are the ropes in research sometimes. Sometimes you can’t publish because you don’t have anything unique to show, sometimes it is because your avoidance of the rules led to an outbreak of “Defying Gravity.”

I am going to be in NYC this weekend, visiting my sister (who runs Reading For Robin) If enough people are interested, maybe I’ll do a signing at a local bookstore. Which would entail me picking up random books off the shelves and scribbling in the margins until I get thrown out. But if that is what the people demand, that is what I will give them. As long as they give me bail money.

Sean and I are moving at a quick pace now with these strips. Word on the street is if we past 100 hits on a day when these are posted, a new website, solely dedicated to HOU, will be formed. The legends foretell it. So tell your friends, your friends’ friends, your neighbor (even the one you don’t like), and assorted strangers on the street about us!

-Beerman

Comic: Back of the Envelope – #34 – Blind and Breathless

Sadly, this is almost true to life.

Comic: Hollow Oak University – #20 – Scenic Campus

So now Harvey, the overlord, excuse me, boss of Berkeley and Chester, is affected by Chester’s float spray. That is not exactly good news for Chester as Dr. Harvey is less than thrilled that he can touch the ceiling. And Berkeley and Bryn are now threatening to become whatever version of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade balloons the Dirigible universe has. Things have gotten out of hand for Chester, though he is woe to admit it. In his mind, unitended consequences are as good as planned results. Especially if it means a paper is in order.

Talking of papers, I am currently writing one. Well, two actually. Writing a scientific paper really combines my creative side (which you may know I have) with my technical side. The creativity comes in handy when I have to describe the results, not when I come up wth the results, by the way. The papers are a really good way to organize and sum up my activities over the past year or years. Plus, I can say I am a published author!

Sean proposed the unusual layout of the strip this week and I have to say it really works. It gives a spatial reference for how out of control the effects of the spray are. Plus, again we get to see what the world is like outside of the labs. I also like the visual gag of lines of string tied to Berkeley and Bryn to keep them from floating off. Of coruse, with Harvey’s feet off the ground, the frame of reference of what constitutes the “ground” may be greater than what Chester may refer to as the ground. There is a lot going on in this strip, visually, and Sean captured it brilliantly.

-Beerman

Comic: Back of the Envelope – #33 – Pick a Card

This is a slightly reheated joke from the shooting script for the landmark film, The Tenacious 3