If you’re asking yourself who “Ryan” is, perhaps you might want to take a moment. Or two. Or three?

Please allow me to be sappy for a moment. I promise it won’t take up too much of your time.

First of all, this is the end of Chapter Nine.  Friday starts Chapter Ten, which is also our Season finale story arc. After that ends, there will be a week (or two) of awesome guest comics and then we begin with Season Two. I’m so so excited.

One year ago, I started this comic.  One whole year. I can’t believe it.  It seems as though no time has passed since I first drew Mot and Clue and yet looking over some of the archive today, it feels like a century ago.  Like they’ve been here all along.

This is the first time that I’ve grown to care about the characters I’ve created and it’s really a wonderful feeling.  And what’s better?  Many of you have grown to care for them too, getting emotionally invested in their black and white little lives.  Which is why I thank YOU, because you are part of the reason why I continue to do this.  Thank you to those of you who have been with us for the beginning and those of you who are just finding the comic.

I feel as though I’ve grown as a storyteller and an artist and we can only go up from here. I still have a lot of growing to do and, let’s face it, so does our cast of characters. Ladies and gentlemen, we’re at one hundred and fifty six comics and yet I barely feel like we’ve begun.

So enjoy the end of this chapter today and get ready for Friday.

Because like I said, we’re barely begun.

Oh and yes, David, that’s you.

We are two comics away from the end of this arc!  And then? The season finale of Eros Inc. Season one! Get excited! Also, I just realized Eros Inc. turns One Year Old on Wednesday. Wow, time has flown by, huh.

We had a pretty awesome weekend!  Shannon and I went to the Venice Beach on Saturday just to laze about and read.  I purchased “Usagi Yojimbo: The Shrouded Moon” (as my first foray into Stan Sakai) and “Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers” for a fun, Superhero comic.  The former was really good, although I admit the cartooning threw me off at first. But once it got going, I just loved the world and the simplicity of it. The latter comic was a lot of fun, and pretty funny (Frog Thor!? YES) but I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if I had a better understanding of who the characters were or rather, which Superheroes owned them. Overall I enjoyed it, and the cover was done by none other than the Abominable Charles Chrisopher himself, Karl Kerschl.

A few things I’d like to mention, most of them about Brian Carroll.  Actually, all of them are about Brian. First of all, he’s been attacking Instant Classic with full speed.  He’s finished the third chapter of it and is moving forward with the fourth. I’ve been privvy to information regarding what will be coming in future chapters, and let me tell you, you would be STUPID to miss it. So go over and check out the new updates.

Second: Brian is making a movie. Like, a feature FILM. And I couldn’t be prouder of him.  I’ve been friends with Brian since, gosh, sophomore year of high school?  Together we’ve made a lot of shorts, a ton of television episodes, and a smattering of theatrical productions.  He’s really the only writing partner I’ve ever had; the best collaborator someone could ask for.  We easily bounce ideas off each other without worrying about ego or pride - it’s all for the joke or the film.

After high school, we quite obviously took separate paths (although both headed to Upstate New York). He went to his school, I went to mine, and immediately we were on different tracks.  We were still able to help each other out on our own films, (he was wonderful enough to help me make my first “feature” “Nine Letter Word” but we have yet to be able to collaborate in the same, powerful way we once did.  And with me in Los Angeles, and he (now) in Florida, it’s just not easy to get together to work on something.

Which brings me back to the topic at hand. Brian is doing something incredible. He’s making a feature film.  And I think it’d be stupid not to support him.

As of this writing (11:41pm, Pacific, on Sunday night), Brian raised $19,000 in 24 hours to make the film. But because it got so big, so quickly, he had to postpone fundraising.  Hopefully by the morning, he and his amazing team (comprised of Power Producers Ren Caldwell and Kevin Erhard) will have a solution, so I can give you a more direct link to check out.  Until then, please go here and learn a bit about the film and keep your eye on this link.

We have to find a way!

Brian, Ren and Kevin, congratulations and good luck to you guys in the coming days.

Just to remind you, yes, she did lose it. Also, the attempted matching? Maybe because of this.

If you like awesome photos from etsy, you really should check out Nan Lawson’s (my gf) new store! It’s called Study and she has a ton of really amazing Silver Lake photos.  Here’s one of my favorites:

I added a few new things to the CommonnamePrint store!  First is a cool little sticker of the logo in black…

And second is my new mini-comic, “The Man at Grier’s Fountain.”

If you’re interested in the latter, I’ve put up a two page preview on my flickr.

Okay, on to other things.

I’m sure everyone has heard about Michael Jackson’s death.  I’ll admit, I made a few jokes about it.  But after watching a fifteen minute CNN life-cap, I felt kinda bad.  He was a twisted man, obviously dealing with a lot of psychological issues and ailments, could easily afford treatment but instead spent money to escape it.  At least, that’s what I’m assuming.  I can’t deny that he’s still a “former child molestor” (and I say that in quotes because it was never proven, one of the many rumors he’ll take to his grave), but he wrote some amazing songs and definitely had an impact on our culture. So RIP Michael Jackson.

Farrah Fawcett’s death was no less sadder, but it’s hard for me to comment seeing as she was not an “icon” of my generation. I do know that her story affected many, so Rest in peace as well.

Not to keep on this topic, but no recent death has affected me more than the death of SCAD professor Jeremy “Sweetwater” Mullens.  Full disclosure, I don’t know him personally.  I “know” him mainly through the Seqalab podcasts, which are fantastic listens.  He loved comics. Comic-making, comic-reading, comic-anything. The only thing he might have loved more were his students, but this is just based off what I heard on the ‘cast. And how did this affect me?  Well, he really got me to put the passion back in my comics.  That’s just how amazing this guy was - I don’t even know him and just listening to him speak pushed me to do better work, professionally.

So when I heard he has died, I felt sad. I felt worse for his students, fellow webcomickers (like Pranas, Brett, Martyn, Jarrett, Rashad, Kara and Kevin) whom I don’t know very well, but whose work I seriously admire and openly recommend and were very close to Sweetwater. So rest in peace, Professor Mullens. I’m sorry I never got to meet you. I heard his memorial was recent and really nice. My condolences go to his friends and family.

Anyway.

Can I just say I had way too much fun drawing Clue running? I need to do stuff like that more often.

Oh! I’m going to be at TWO CONVENTIONS in the coming months!  The Edge of LA Comic-Con, a pretty new comic convention in Claremont, Los Angeles and Alternative Press Expo in San Fransisco, beckons me.  I’ll be there with mini comics, stickers, prints (and maybe buttons!?), and also my smiley bearded self to talk to you.  So come on down and find me!

Edge of LA is on July 18th and APE is sometime in October, but I’ll mention it again when we’re closer.

Have a fantastic weekend y’all! Hugs and kisses and be safe.

I finally finished 100% reading “Pluto” by Naoki Urusawa and Tezuka  and now I can heartily recommend it to you all.  Urusawa took the Astro Boy world and gave it a film noir, murder mystery twist to it.  Expertly drawn, expertly written, with some seriously jaw-dropping moments. Even though I’m vaguely familiar with Astroboy (or Dr. Tenma, etc), seeing those characters show up did make me smile. If you’re looking for a comic to get you reasonably interested in Japanese comics, check this out.

I mentioned this on Friday, but I’ll mention it again, but I have a store now! There will be more in it, but for now you can purchase pretty cool prints.

This weekend was really, really awesome.  The trip to Disney can only be summed up in one picture:

(photo courtesy of Eli Selzer)

There are more pictures on his Flickr, just click the image.  Going to Disney is always a trip (pun intended) - it’s strange to go to a place where their only concern is to keep you entertained. I wonder if the place is powered by joy, similar to the ending of Monsters Inc.

I also made dinner for the aforementioned Jessica Lance last night (along with other awesome friends Monica and Michael) which was great.  I made Pasta with Lemon, Asparagus and Goat Cheese, and it was my first experience cooking something that wasn’t stuffed with a rich cheese. We ended the night watching Knocked Up and oh man, it was not good. Not good at all.

In other news, we are FLYING through “How I Met Your Mother” and we effing love it.  “Slap Bet” made me laugh so dang hard.  Youse guys should check it out if you haven’t given it a chance. Underrated to be sure.

The weekend is here! Huzzah! Before I get into my weekend plans, I wanted to offer this new print for sale!  If you’ve ever wanted to know what the proper Eros Inc. Cupid Procedure is, allow me to illuminate!

This print is 5.5″ by 8.5″, printed on hearty cardstock with rounded corners and a matte finish.  They’re ready for purchase for $5.00 at the new CommonnamePrint store.  I’m really pleased with how they turned out.

This weekend, Shannon and I are hitting up Disneyland with awesome friends Eli and Melissa, along with (hopefully) new friends Mike and Bailee.  The “two Mike” situation should bring plenty of laughs, in the style of old vaudeville. I shall bring my mustache and cane.

In non-going-outside-news, the new Woody Allen film is premiering in LA and I plan on hitting that up like a bad habit! It stars Larry David! C’mon! It already has my money.  I’ll probably skip Year One.

I didn’t talk about this on Monday, and I should’ve, but did you guys see the season premiere of True Blood?   Holy GODS was it good. Dark, funny, sexy, mysterious: pretty much everything you would expect from a drama about vampires.  Although I am kinda getting sick of Vampires. And Zombies. Bring on the Werewolves.

::sees trailer for Twilight: New Moon::

I take it back.

My cousin used to watch that show pretty religiously and would force me, FORCE ME, to sit and watch it with her.

My awesome friend, Jessica Lance, is in town this week!  I haven’t seen her in at least two years.  We went to Syracuse together (though she was an awesome grad student while I was a lowly undergrad) and her work is really fantastic.  It was so great catching up with her. If you check out her work, I’m pretty sure I have a cameo in “Optic Nervous,” a film I helped her shoot my last year in New York.

Speaking of film, if you guys are ever curious about some of the shorts I’ve produced, you may want to check out this site. Just saying.

I’m three days into my new job now and I like it.  The more responsibility (since I’m setting up meetings, calls, etc) is definitely more stressful, but I like that I’m actually helping in the company.  So that’s cool.

The lack of sleep? Ain’t cool.

Hey everyone.  I officially started my new job today!  HOORAY!  It’s going well so far, it should be really interesting once the meetings start.

My younger brother, comedian Dave Smith, has started a blog!  It’s a collection of funny poems, stories and well-crafted essays.  So go check it out!

I’m so sorry it’s up late you guys.  You see today was my first day in my new position in the company!  It’s a lot more responsibility and involved a ton of training, so I didn’t get to finish the comic on time.  It’s been an insanely busy day/week.  Between the job and my comicmaking 101 class project (which is now finished and printed), it’s been hectic.  So enjoy this comic and I’ll see you guys on Monday.

Also, I got this awesome fan-art from seph_hunter!  Go check out his art, it’s seriously fantastic.

Thanks man!