I’ve been reading many different discussions and books about the art form of webcomics lately. There seems to be a tendency among so many of us to imitate the form (if not the content) of printed newspaper comics and comic books. There’s nothing wrong with that, as we tend to bring the mindset of the form over from the comics and creators that inspired us to make our own stories and jokes; however, in keeping ourselves in that mindset, we tend to limit ourselves and not take advantage of the opportunities that being on the web affords us. Some are making great efforts to expand the form of their art to match the online medium (i.e., infinite canvas or animation). Others keep the same physical form of newspaper strips or comic book pages, but prefer to expand the possibilities in terms of content (this tends to find expression in mature-themed comics that could never be published in a newspaper, for instance).

But what I’ve noticed is that almost all webcomic artists are stuck in the mindset (as I’ve been for the most part) that they have to choose a standard page or strip size and stick to it day after day, as if they were still trying to vie for limited space that’s been doled out to them by an editor of a comics page or comic book publisher.

Why are we doing this? Are we trying to make people feel comfortable, like somehow they’re still reading a newspaper strip every morning over their coffee as they’ve always done? Are we planning on eventually publishing our work into a printed form, and making our comics a standard size to match? For many, it’s the latter, but I don’t think that will be a concern for me.

So I realized: if I want to keep Cooties pretty much exclusively online, why do I continue to limit my strip sizes to a standard form when I really don’t need to? And furthermore, would varying my strip sizes enable me to change my update frequency? I’ve done some reflecting and experimenting, and decided that Cooties needs to be more or less a daily strip (I’ve been on my first story for almost 3 years now!) and that by varying the size of my updates I can make it happen. So starting Monday, May 11, Cooties will now update 5 days a week. Here is the rundown, so you’ll know what to expect.

Mondays - short 1-2 panel strip; these may or may not be colored.
Tuesdays - newspaper style. Probably will color, but I may experiment with some new black-and-white techniques
Wednesdays - see Monday
Thursdays - random sketch, drawing, guest art, etc. Separate from the story
Fridays - the big, full-color Cooties strips you’re used to seeing.

So yeah, it won’t be a giant colored page every day, but I think it’s better than what I’ve been offering up until now. I want to make stopping by the site every day for something new a part of your routine, and hope not to disappoint! See ya on Monday!

I’ve recently joined a neat little drawing social network called Sketch-Out. An exercise is assigned every week, and we all do a drawing or sketch to practice our stuff. You can check out my first couple assignments here. I think sticking with this group will really improve Cooties over the long run! Enjoy!

The unannouned hiatus I had is now over. Sorry I never posted anything about my lack of updates; it’s been extremely hectic, or at least it felt that way. Things are falling back in order now, and regular updates will continue for the forseeable future. They may be small ones like today’s, but I will at least keep plugging along with something on schedule. Thanks for putting up with me, folks!

Do you have a webcomic featuring kids or adolescents in a school setting? Cooties wants to request some guest art from you in which you can feature your own characters and promote your own comic!

Imagine your characters’ town or school has been invaded by the Q’utees! Would they fight back? Flee? Surrender? Or something entirely different? I’d love as many as would like to to participate! See my forum post for details.

Comic is going up later today, possibly tomorrow. Guys, lot of stuff going on recently. I am going to a Fridays only schedule for the next month, maybe two. Sorry, but it has to be done…

If you are regular readers of my other weekly comic, Dadmocracy, you should go on over there right now because I’ve changed the update schedule. There’s a new strip every Monday now instead of Thursday. If you’ve not seen Dadmocracy yet, go on over! FYI, I sometimes use it to vent some of my political frustrations that I keep out of Cooties, if you’re sensitive about that sort of thing. However, there’s a lot of good geek and parenting humor all around. Give it a try!

I finally went and joined Twitter; you will occasionally see lil’ updates from me right up ‘bove my shoutbox. I don’t know what the deal is, but about an hour after I joined, I got an email saying that the National Taxpayers’ Union was following my tweets. Alrighty then!

Also remember to vote today on the Frumph’s button over on the right and get a peek at Tuesday’s comic!

Everyone, today actually marks the first time that I updated on time every day with a full-page, full-color comic for the entire month! Yeah, it’s sad, but I did it! You can all congratulate me by clicking the little Frumph’s Webcomic List button at the right and getting a peek at this Tuesday’s upcoming strip. Thanks, folks!

Everyone, I’ve joined up with the Palace in the Sky collective! No, I’m not leaving SpiderForest; in fact, a bunch of my fellow SFers are already over there, too. It’s got a good collection of fantasy & sci-fi comics.

Also, you fantastic readers of mine have gotten me up to #24 on Frumph’s list! Click on the vote button at the right to see a panel from this Friday’s upcoming strip. I appreciate all your help!

I’d like to direct you all over to a great webcomic I’ve recently discovered called Urban Jungle. It revolves around one man in an office populated with animals; but hey, he was raised by wolves, so he does okay. Go give it a look!

Also, I’m up to a #29 rank on Frumph’s. I appreciate all of your votes. There’s a new incentive image up with a panel from this next Tuesday’s strip if you click that little Frumph’s Webcomic List button to the right! Remember, you can vote for me once a day.