Meet the Staff

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Ok, well this one I was so not into doing. I hope you all find it funny.

This i my first strip finished AND posted while living in Astoria. Hopefully I will find time this week to finish Friday's post. And then hopefully I will find some time to update some real posts and get back into comic making, and not this time wasting B-S.

Freshman Facebook, Page 2

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Ok, well this is it for the student characters. Expect one more post like this with the staff of C-M University (which I am still editing, hopefully will get done over the weekend).

Nothing much else to say except contest and moving day is tomorrow.

Freshman Facebook, Page 1

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Well this is the first of the series which I am going to call "The Time Fillers". Plus it will give you a little insite to the characters I have created thus far (and in the next few, some you haven't met yet). I originally drew all of the upcoming "strips" as one picture (including the pictures above), but then decided to separate them so (a) you can see them each in their own "spot light" and (b) so you read them in the order writen/intended. I hope you like it. I added skin color to these pictures, not because that is what I am going to be doing from now on (it is a major pain in the ass to color around the hair of the cro-mags); but rather because I felt it important for even more understanding of the characters.

I also am going a little crazy here, mostly because I am moving this weekend (seems like it's taken forever) and I haven't started packing yet. Well that is not true, I packed my comic books. Why my comic books first? Pure coincidence. I was testing box sizes of the boxes I have, and they fit into one box perfectly.

I also am still getting no responce to the contest. I am not going to give up on it, however, I am thinking I might extend the deadline, see if I can pick up more fans, and then maybe get some contest entries. Or maybe you guys who are already reading just haven't had time to sit down and enter. If that is the case, take two seconds and shoot me an email, and let me know your idea, and submit your actual entry later. Either way, just think about entering. C-M University needs a mascot now more then ever.

Well at least you could finish chewing before you talk

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This one is the most popular one around my office. I like it too. It's actually an old joke written by my father for an old comic strip I had an idea for as a child. No cave men here, but that guy is practically one. Sorry for the late posting on this (for anyone who might have been checking all morning to see what I posted). As some of you may or may not know, I have been not feeling so hot all week, and today was no different, so I finally decided to use a sick day at work. Not exactly how I like to use my sick days, but it was very important that I get healthy.

Well the last of the syndicated strips. I need to bust my ass this weekend finishing up my character introductions so I have them ready to post by the time moving week hits. Otherwise, I am taking a temporary sabbatical.

And let's not forget about the contest, shall we.

Just be thankful he didn't do this on "Commando Thursday"

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I call this one "the triumphant return of Dr. Bill Deanofstudents". What a sleaze this man is...I love it. Only a school like Cro-Magnon University could have been founded by such a man. I am currently writing a story line on the actual creation of the school/finding the portal. Obviously it will feature a much younger Dr. Bill, and hopefully much hilarity. But don't expect to see that story-line any time soon.

So I actually got the spelling down on this one. Also, pretty into my defined style. There will be one more change, and that is the change of font, to a more legible and comic friendly one. Also, how about this new character huh? If you thought Dr. Bill Deanofstudents was a good name. Also, Professor Anonymousshadow will be coming back, as the arch enemy of C-M University and more specifically Dr. Bill Deanofstudents. I also wonder what the first Donald Trump lawsuit was that Dr. Bill encountered. Maybe we can have a contest for that too.

But I don't think a contest for that would work because we still have no submissions for this contest. Come on people, let's get a move on with this thing. I would like a new mascot by the 31st of May, and I would like my "fans" to pick one out for me. It can be simple, and I will add another prize to the winner, once I figure out what that could be. So write in, and be good all.

You know you'd have done the same thing

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I really like this one. I am really starting to get a more defined style. Plus the leopard print on the cro-mag, who actually manages to stay on model, is such a fun touch. This is also the first strip edited entirely on The Gimp. I also downloaded a mess of new fonts before editing this one, and had some fun using them (such as the "BAM!" and the dialogue font). The only problem I have with the entire thing is the two human characters, they are off model every frame, and for some reason, I gave the guy a neck. I assure you that will never happen again. One thing I am definitely going to be working on in future scripts is keeping the characters on model; something I am sure will come with time and practice.

I also better hurry up with my updates and edits, I have one week left of syndication. Not good, especially with my moving coming up at the end of the month and all the stuff I have to do for it. I also must apologize now for the early posting. I am heading up to Buffalo for the weekend for my brother's "graduation". Next week hopefully there will be no interruptions, and posting will be timely and funny.

Also, people seem to be forgetting about the contest. Please go here and read all about it, then make your submission. Don't make me get violent.

But who is to say he is wrong?

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Well here is your first glimpse of the main campus of C-M University. This also is the first comic partially edited with The Gimp, which will be my new default editing software over Photoshop. It allows me to do some great text effects, which is the most important thing to editing background anyway. I wish I had this program for this strip, for depth on the menu and signs.

This strip also marks the first joke that came to mind when I thought up this concept. Sure it stereo-types fraternity guys, but what ever, it's not like any of them read web comics anyway, right? This one was a fairly big pain in the ass to draw with all the "details". And unfortunately my scaling is completely off. Also, you may have noticed I didn't use a single ruler or straight edge for this piece. I hate rulers, just as much as I hate rules. I'm a rebel I tells ya, a rebel without a cause, just like in that popular movie I saw.

Last week's contest is still going on, you have all month to enter, and I still have only received one entry. If you notice, the banner being hung up on the union awnning is coving up what the mascot will be. All it says visibly is "Go". Please people, if you are planning on entering, enter as soon as possible, and if you are not planning on entering, plan on entering. Just do it, it should be fun. And I am adding extra incentive; when you enter your submission, if you enter it with a picture of yourself (along with, or even as the submission), I will add you to my comic (and if you are good enough, maybe a recurring role. Click here for more information.

I left it in a network folder

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What better way to celebrate Cinco Di Mayo with festively painted people. That cave man doesn't seem to be too happy about it though (at least not in the first panel). The title of the strip is an homage to a personal tragedy-turned joke. This also marks my 10th strip! And in honor of it being my tenth strip, I am making the last panel a contest (that was the intention, beyond the joke). So this is for all of you to stretch your mental muscles and come up with a new mascot for C-M University! It doesn't even have to be funny, you don't even have to draw it. Just follow these simple rules:

1. The mascot has to be relevant (or irrelevant)
2. If you submit a drawing, submit it in JPG format, with an explanation of why
3. Feel free to submit more then one, each with it's own explanation
4. If you are not drawing, you can send a photographic interpretation, with explanation
5. In lieu of drawing or photographing, send an in-depth description of what the mascot should be and why.
6. Submit all entries with your name and home town, in email to SpidErichMan@aol.com, with a subject line of: "Every College Needs a Mascot, Contest"

All entries must be received before May 31st, 2006. Then (depending on how may good entries I get) I will pick the top three and allow my readers to vote on who, or what, the new mascot for C-M University will be. This should be interesting. I will feature all submissions eventually on their own separate page.

As far as the artwork in this strip, I am pretty proud of myself. Not only is it entertainingly simple, but also the characters are actually ON MODEL in the first and fifth panels. I will admit that I had some fun coloring them in, picking the official school colors (blue and silver, in case you missed it). I realize that there are plenty of spelling errors in this strip as well. I completely forgot to run my dialogue through word, and I didn't notice until posting the strip, and I am too lazy to go back and correct it now. So look for a special edition of this strip before announcing the winner of the contest. I wonder what the Mascot for the Chronic Bed-Wetters would have been anyway?

He heard "Risen King"

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This one is one of my favorites, but really the joke doesn't make sense without the title. I had the idea while passing one of those Church Billboards, where it said something with "Risen King", and I thought, "Hey, Risen can sound like Raisin" and then I thought about the Futurama episode where Fry defeats the Brain-Spawn by writing a book about defeating them, and spells reason raisin. Putting all those together I whipped out my pencil and a piece of paper and got to work.

This strip also represents the first strip to have a character with a name that is not Dr. Bill Deanofstudents. Sure Paul is not as cool a name, but what you don't know is that his last name is Namey, because he was the first to have a name. I like how I managed to draw him really cool and mellow in the first panel, then all of a sudden in the second, he is drunk or something, and then in the last panel his arms are magically stick thin. Also this is the least hairy cro-magnon person EVER (both here and in real life). I figured there had to be hairless(er) people out there back then, almost as a mutation in evolution (much like blondes and redheads, that's a scientific fact, don't get all pissy). I also wanted to experiment with different noses for the cro-mags, hence the pig-nose. I actually really like the way this cave man looks, and you can expect him to stick around when the comic evolves. Same with Paul Namey.