MAJOR NEWS: Ok, so this is the last regular comic you're likely to see here for the next 4-5 weeks. I didn't want to do this, but in the interest of providing you with the best comic possible I've decided to put the strip updates on hiatus.

Those who've seen what I'm working on can attest to the logic of this. It comes down to me either putting additional time into doing strips I know could be better, or putting that time into better permanent attributes for the comic as a whole.

It's renting vs. buying really. I was planning even up till a couple days ago to just continue as normal and update the new backgrounds into the strips once they were done. But it came down to me realizing that wasn't the best thing for the comic.

So I'll be working hard behind the scenes over the next few weeks, as I have been already. I wouldn't do this if I didn't think it was absolutley neccesary, and I apologize to anyone who feels slighted. But I ask you to realize I'm dong this because I love doing this comic, and I want it to be the best it can be.

As far as the book goes, everything that's been done up till now will theoreticly be going into one volume. I'll be working on that over the next month as well. We're looking at 100 pages, full color. There's other stuff in the works as well, including a T-shirt loosely based on part of today's comic.

I'll still be posting weekly updates with some of the new art, but don't look for too much of an unveiling till it's ready for full updates to resume.

So don't worry, I'm not leaving. And if I finish earlier than expected, I'll be back sooner.

Thanks all, see you soon.

Didn't get a chance to finish a comic for this week, with the closet-emptying that happenned this week. But so as to not leave you completely cold, here's a look at one of the background pieces I'm working on for Steve's workshop.

I've finally gotten around to fully designing the labs. There's going to be a regular set design for both mine and Steve's working areas, and both are going to be fairly unique. This should give me a few more toys to play with and more time to draw characters.

Keep in mind this isn't finished yet. There's a few things I still need to touch up, and the background wall hasn't been put in yet. There'll be several levels to the backgrounds when complete. I figure if I'm gonna do this, I might as well do it right.

Oh, and I fixed the link to that auction list. I'll be starting the first batch at the end of the week.

I saw some of the stuff that Eric is working on, and it does look good so far, so I guess I'll hold back from verbally abusing him. What he's doing should make things faster later, so it'll hopefully be worth the wait.

On an unrelated note...

I was never too interested in getting XM, with having close to 500 CDs and nearly 9GB worth of mp3s. But I borrowed a friends MyFi for a couple days and was hooked before the end of the week. I didn't get the MyFi, since I don't really care about recording, so I just got the Roady2. I'm a stickler for quality when it comes to music, but the built in FM transmitter works great. This thing goes with me everywhere right now, and I'm tempted to drop an antenna in the ceiling at work.