Guys, I want to talk to you about STRIPPED.

Stripped is a feature-length documentary on comic strips that I've been co-directing for the last three years. It sits down with dozens of the world's best cartoonists to talk about the art form they love, and what happens to it as newspapers die.  Everyone from Jim Davis (Garfield) to Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes) are interviewed, and it's turning out to be a really special film.  Without exagerration, I think it'll be one of the greatest things I do in my life. Here, have a look at the trailer:

But we hit a wall, in editing the film. We realized we couldn't talk about the death of newspapers without showing how culturally massive they once were, and how famous cartoonists themselves were. And that means using footage we don’t own, like: Charles Schulz' TV specials, interview clips from Carson, 1930's newsreels and more.  It’s footage that improves the film so much...but it's expensive.  In recent months I've paid out tens of thousands from my own savings to cover as much as I can, but I need help for the last mile.

So I'm turning back to Kickstarter -- that amazing, distributed-fundraising platform that lets a bunch of people chip in a few dollars to make great art happen.  If you're someone just now hearing about the film, or someone willing to treat yourself to a copy of the film, it would mean the world to me.  More importantly, you'd be helping a really special film come into the world.

Please check out more sneak-peek clips from the film, here, and if it seems like a film you'd like to support...know you'd be making one cartoonist's dream art project come true.

Thank you!

I'm in Seattle all weekend at Emerald City Comicon at booth #1105! Come get a free Drive sketch!

This, folks, is the classic mistake. You don't get the mob boss' son killed when you're on a planet looking for pilots. That's just Exploring 101 kind of stuff.

For those who've been thinking of getting the DRIVE books: Good news! There's now a three-pack of the books in the store that save you money both on the books and on the shipping!

Walk, don't run, to the Drive store! (...safety first!)

Hey hey hey! In good news: Copies of the third DRIVE book, "Such A Lovely Species," are now available for gettin'!

You can either get the regular ol' awesome book, or get the limited-number Artist Edition, which includes a signed sketch!

We're back into it! Back into the guts of Slaughter's marketplace, back with the Machito crew as they look for pilots. I, for one, have missed this tremendously.

My project schedule is finally -- finally -- starting to lighten back up, and it looks like I can slowwwwly start returning to DRIVE. This means the world to me...as this story is one I'm very much writing as a gift to myself. And I've missed it.

The big detour, these past five months, has been the documentary film I'm making, STRIPPED. Turns out, feature-length films are immensely complex undertakings that require tons of time. Who could've guessed. WHO COULD'VE GUESSED. :)

Fred Schroeder and I have been pouring all our spare time into it, trying to get it ready for all our Kickstarter backers, and in time for the film festival season. Thankfully, we're nearing the promised land, and I'm proud of how the film is turning out.

Anyway! Over the next 2-3 months, as the post-production work on STRIPPED winds down, I should be able to slowwwly increase the number of DRIVEs I can produce, until we return to our once-a-week schedule.

As I have in the past, I'd recommend adding DRIVE to your RSS feed, or signing up for e-mail delivery, as that'll save you from having to check the site. The updates will be irregular for a few more months, so that's the least stressful option.

Thank you for your kindness and patience during these past few months! Even though DRIVE is a strip I'm drawing as a gift to myself, I know a lotta-lotta folks are getting into it, and have missed it as much as I have. So thankfully our long national nightmare is drawing to a close.

I'll be there all five days in booth 1228, with TWO new books (new Pugs books & new Drive book)! Here's what you need to know:

Here's the breakdown:

1.) New Pugs book is debuting at the show! The original Pugs book just went into a second printing, and the new book will be joining it at San Diego. It's called "Pugs: They Think They're People. Really Old, Retired People." Here's the cover:

2.) New Drive book! I'm really excited for you guys to see this one. The advance copy that I have looks sa-weet.

3.) There'll be a few posters new to San Diego, as well. Like the Batpug poster and the Wine Spectator poster!

4.) Friday night, please don't miss my panel for my documentary movie, Stripped! 7-8PM, Room 25ABC. We'll be screening over 8 minutes of the film, as well as sharing behind-the-scenes stories, and answering any questions you have for us! It's gonna be a pretty fun panel: We're pretty fun guys. (Aaaaand, we have one huge bit of news that comics fans are going to go nuts for.) Come on out! Friday, 7/13/12, 7-8PM, Room 25ABC!

5.) ONE LAST THING! If you're coming to the show, and want to snag a piece of original art at $25-off the normal price, please e-mail me. I can't bring all 3,000 strips to the show, so I really need you to e-mail me with the one you want. Thanks!

Librarians! I'm going to be at the ALA show all this weekend in Anaheim (booth #678).
Come on by! I'll have all the books, all the prints, free sketches, and copious amounts of high fives.

I'll be there all four days of the show, directly across from my friends at Unshelved. And maybe do me a favor, while you're at the show: Drag a friend over to introduce them to the strip. The last time I did the ALA show, five years ago, there were a ton of librarians that did that -- and I really appreciated it!

Hi all! As you probably remember from this blog post update, the production schedule on Drive is taking the hit while I finish the documentary film I'm making.

As expected, the film is taking up very large chunks of my work week. But happily, this should *start* to ease up right around San Diego Comic-Con in mid-July. My thanks for your continued support of Drive in the meantime. I miss the regular updates as much as you do -- maybe even more! And I'm really looking forward to diving back into with full force. We're just gettin' to the good parts!