Archive for October, 2009
9 items.
There is a lot of speculation in the historical and religious community about just how and why Halloween came about and what its symbolism means. I am here to tell you that they are all terribly mistaken. Lil K has, in his childish wisdom, solved that problem.
Albeit, with some unfortunate casualties.
I’ve always felt a bit bad for severe diabetics at Halloween, I imagine it must be like being Jewish around Christmas here in the States. Assaulted by imagery and foods that could very well destroy you for at least a day every year can’t possibly be fun. And yet, they persevere, a clear indication of tremendous constitution: both physical and spiritual. I salute them.
To everyone, I hope you have a very enjoyable Halloween, La Dia De Los Muertos, or whatever Pagan Rituals you may subscribe to. If you happen to see any cryptozoological creatures (perhaps a Sasquatch?), do forward your photographs to me: k@10km.org.
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This comic is one small step for happle tea and one giant leap for all mankind. That is right, I am talking about the inclusion of Necromancers in web comics. Sure, people toss the word around, some might even include a poorly drawn character that they call a necromancer, but is it really? I submit that these people have failed. That said, I have taken up the mantle of responsibility and given the fans what they clamor for: dudes in capes that create and command the undead.
Expect to see more of Jonathan P. Necromancer, my friends. He is just too funny as a character to let him go. Why is he running for Selectman of all positions? Poor guy clearly has no ambition. I know that if I had necromantic powers, I would take nothing less than absolute control of the entire earth. After that, I would probably get bored and draw silly pictures and let somebody else do all the work. Ruling the world is just too much responsibility, I suspect. Perhaps that is the true wisdom of J.P. Necromancer.
I have been absolutely swamped with work lately from school but I carry on, fueled by your comments, your laughs, and your tears. Thank you, good happle tea readers, your support is delicious.
Nanook, bear god of the Inuit people, seems to be pretty lazy these days. You would think that with shrinking ice for the polar bears and destruction of habitat for grizzlies and black bears, he would be laying some extinction on humanity. Turns out, he’s been sleeping. Leave it to Lil K to wake him up and destroy us all in his zeal.
How old is he anyway? A few strips back had him saying he was eleven and now he says he is eight. I guess that’s what you get for not having real parents and living with a Sasquatch.
I recently fixed my computer and started using Photoshop’s 32bit edition rather than the 64 I had been using and it is a lovely experience. Everything runs so much more smoothly for some reason. I have been feeling better about the art because of it, lately.
Also, we here at 10km are doing a group comic soon! To fill in the days of the week when neither Happle Tea nor Para-Ten are updating, we will be featuring a sketch comic done by William, Jessica, and myself. Pages will be done on a rotation (probably Jess -> Me -> William) and we will have no prior knowledge of what the previous person has done until they are finished with their page. Sound interesting? Sit tight, we will try to have it on the site in a few weeks.
As humans, we have a tendency to romanticize certain aspects of our history. Our mythology is rife with stories of great deeds and supernatural events, but the reality is that even if a fraction of these tales are true, there remains certain aspects that we know were not awesome. Take, for example, the legends of King Arthur. There are so many variations on the tale that glorify the deeds of the man and his knights, the most important of which is how he actually became king. This is not the most important question, however. What we should ask ourselves is, what, exactly was that kingdom like? I have magnanimously provided you the answers to that particular question in today’s strip.
In my ongoing efforts to improve the strip and the site in general, I have decided to ease up on random personal ramblings in this news space. It is my hope that people will read the news and find interesting information relevant to the strip and, possibly, some additional amusement. This is it. For reals.
Besides, we have forums for that now. Also, the 10kM sketch blog.
However, I would like to say thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday on Friday and, once again, thank everyone telling their friends and helping to promote Happle Tea on the web. It is not easy starting a web comic and getting noticed so to every single one of you I say, “Thank you so very much!”
Yesterday was my birthday. Er, actually, today is my birthday. I am writing this on my birthday. Essentially, I am hoping that by writing this on Thursday, my birthday powers will somehow continue into Friday in a shower of gifts and good wishes. I figure that if that happens, the weekend will just give in and continue the celebration.
And if that happens, what then? Perhaps every day will be my birthday. That would be great.
My real life birthday was quiet and pleasant in the ways that I love best. I got wonderful gifts from people I love and a fantastic cake with Sasquatch on it that read, “Have a Birthday”; a capital idea that I followed up on.
Some news to repeat in case you missed it:
There is a charity event TOMORROW, that is, SATURDAY the 17th. RPGamer.com is doing a 24 hour gaming marathon which my good friend Victor (who worked on Happle Tea with me before it was Happle Tea) is taking part in. If you can donate, they would appreciate it. All proceeds go to the Texas Children’s Hospital.
The forums are now up. They are, however, in their infancy and, like an infant, they don’t know or do very much. It is up to us to teach them and fill them with interesting things.
The store is also up but the selection is limited. Right now there is a 10kM illustration and you can acquire any HT strip in print for $5. There will be a new print up this weekend, most likely, that will have the same design as featured on the newest wallpaper I posted.
The dramatic conclusion of Don’t Pawn the Ring is here! Don’t miss it! This is, technically, only the third Happle Tea strip that does not feature Little K. How odd it feels to do a strip without him in it.
In keeping with improving our websites and our studio page, we now have forums. I am not sure what unsavoury characters will one day come to inhabit this zone of loose morals and communal horror. Perhaps it will be you?
The forums along with many other things are in their infancy. I plan to work on them a bit more over the course of the week and organize them nicely for everyone to use. I am also going to have a new print up in the store by this weekend, I think.
Thursday is my birthday. How exciting!
IMPORTANT:
Saturday marks a 24 Hour Charity Gaming Marathon from the folks over at RPGamer.com. My good friend, Victor, who’s name rests forever engraved on some of these very strips, is among them. Please think about donating to their cause, this is a 24 Hour gaming session for the Texas Children’s Hospital. ALL OF THIS MONEY GOES TO HELP KIDS WITH CANCER. If you can not donate, please tell your friends and family. It is a wonderful cause.
Around Christmas, I believe that William and I will be doing a charity comicing marathon. 24 Hour comics for Child’s Play is the current thought, but we have not quite worked out the details. Keep it in mind!
Rings of Power, priceless though they may be, are a difficult sell to any discerning pawn shop owner. This strip is a direct product of my strange subconscious mind and the unintentional misquoting of a movie line coming together. Hilarity ensues, or at least I hope it does, for you.
I recently reread The Hobbit, something I have not done since I was about 13 years old. Growing up, my mother read me very interesting books like The Lion, The Witch, and Wardrobe, as well as The Hobbit and other such fantasy classics. It is something I think has inspired me to be such a weird person, hell-bent on creating things and writing stories. I could be a great argument for or against reading to your children. Do you want your child to grow up to write and draw incredibly ridiculous comics? If yes, read to him or her. If not, skip it entirely.
Maybe I am extrapolating too much. I suppose my peculiar experiences and lifestyle can not be used as a measure for other lives, but I do honestly think that reading to kids a great deal at a young age can produce some strange results. Most of the people I know that were read to have a desire to create, at least at some fundamental level, even if it does not enter into their daily or working lives. It is an interesting thing to think about.
Maybe someone will read Happle Tea to their tiny children some day.
Maybe those children will be completely traumatized.
One can dream.
Oh yeah, I made you some nice new wallpapers for various screen sizes. I hope that you like them. In case you missed it, the store is now open for print sales. You can buy any Happle Tea strip on high quality paper for 5 dollars right now. Also, if you have any Happle Tea fan-art, please email me so that I can add it to the new fan-art section!
I watched the television show, The Nostradamus Effect, while visiting home last weekend and it got me thinking: “What must his other jobs and his life been like?” And then I thought, “Probably very awkward.” I imagined him a comedian telling horrible prophecies as punchlines and as a therapist traumatizing his patients. Then I thought about what his friends must have thought. I do not imagine they were too keen on his weirdness.
Of course, the real Nostradamus was probably nothing like the person people nowadays like to imagine, but it is funny imagery. I, honestly, never understood the obsession with the man. His “prophecies” were so vague that they could apply to just about anything if you tried hard enough.
By the way, those are actual quotes from the man in the strip. Real portions of his ridiculous quatrains. They are excellent, are they not?
ADDENDUM
Make sure you email me if you have any HT Fan-Art you would like me to display on the site! We have a section for that and it only has a couple of pieces so far!
Update:
The 10Km Store is now live! The button at the top works, so you can check it out if you so desire and I will alert everyone to any new things being offered. Right now we only have Prints available, but we are looking at getting buttons and shirts made. Unfortunately, shirts are rather expensive so until we start making more money from prints and donations, we can not print any just yet. I guess it gives us time to find the best place to get them printed.
I have also added some new links to the side bar! Feel free to utilize these to access the Ten Thousand Masks sketch blog and the new Fan-Art section. I am trying to get William and Jessica to update the blog as well, but there should be more frequent updates now in general.
Regular News
Mathematics tells us that the statistical probability that a person driving from Point A (anywhere in the United States) to Point B (Some ill conceived destination within the United States) will give or receive “the bird” is through the roof. In fact, I think we should change the old adage that the only things one may count on in life are death and taxes. We should be saying death, taxes, and the middle finger.
Needless to say, driving is nearly always a miserable activity for me. It stands to reason that there must be some horrifying overseer spreading misfortune, rage, and disgust across the highway system of America and, perhaps, elsewhere.
Addendum:
Do you have some Happle Tea fanart that you are proud of? Do you have some that you are deeply ashamed of? If you do, please drop me an email and let me know where I might find it. I am putting together a fan art section here on the site and would love to show off all the weird things people have done for HT. Please include your name (or alias, if you prefer not to have your name given out), your email address (if you want people to email you and say how much they love your work), and a link to your website if you have one (I will include it with the thumbnail and your name).