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Do The BearCat 

News and Rants... (and other things people ignore.)

March 3rd, 2007: 

I am going to change the updates from every Monday, to when ever I can get them uploaded.  This will be a pain in the ass since I still have log in issues with the Comic Genesis log in server.  Thank God I can still get in to the FTP with out issue.

Oh, and a bit thanks to Jim Skunk for his continued support of our comic!  Thank you once more!

And as always, please drop either myself or Akeem (AEBL) an e-mail to let us know how we are doing.

February 20th, 2007: 

I want to get started on a few more portfolios soon, plus I want to start learning how to better colour my comic.  A friend of mine has offered to teach me, but he's been busy himself lately.  Breaking up with his boyfriend, looking for work, his birthday...  But I am hoping to learn some form him, as he did the entire art school thing.  With luck, I will improve enough to make the comic coloured full time.

Comments and what not?  E-mail myself or Akeem (AEBL)!

February 12th, 2007: 

This won't be just a whim;  I am actually consulting my fellow webcomic artists.  For now, I will keep things here, but I will say it once more, I REALLY miss KeenSpace!  I really shouldn't complain too much as this is a free service after all.

Comments and what not?  E-mail myself or Akeem (AEBL)!

February 3rd, 2007: 

For about 2 or so weeks, I was suffering form a nasty bout of insomnia, to the point that it was affecting my general health. My body was not resting so I started walking around hunched-backed because the muscles along my spine and shoulders were knotting and locking up. Add in the constant dizziness and the fact that at points of extreme fatigue which all left me feeling loopy and goofy feeling, almost as if I was drunk. Heh heh, I was even out at a local art jam and I started to black out for moments.. not good.

But I am once more sleeping again, and feeling better. I can move my back and neck, and I am not longer walking around like Igor. So I should start drawing again tomorrow to get started on commissions and comics.

And as always, please drop either myself or Akeem (AEBL) an e-mail to let us know how we are doing.

January 15th, 2007: 

But it was not all wasted art time.  I did get this done.  I ended up coloring this, sitting on a floor at a furry meet, during my birthday.  No real party, but I did buy a cake for everyone, though only one person there wished me a happy birthday.  But I am glad to at least this image finished, this taking me two days to get done as I am slow at doing my art.. and even starting it.  I really need to get my rear in gear though and actually do the update.  So, as soon as this page is done, I will upload it, then work on colouring this page and the previous.  So don't expect too many updates this month, but they are coming.

And as always, please drop either myself or Akeem (AEBL) an e-mail to let us know how we are doing.

January 7th, 2007: 

Comments?  Advice?  E-mail me!  AEBL too!

November 14th, 2006: 

Comments?  Advice?  E-mail me!  AEBL too!

November 10th, 2006: 

Apparently, the dealer's registration form I mailed to AEBL (Akeem) to mail out with a cheque, never made it to the convention.  So now we are paying the $40 each to get in and we will be setting up shop in Artist's Alley instead of Dealer's Den.  As such, I will not be bringing as much to sell.  So pretty much, I will be doing sketchbook art and con-badge.  I will bring a few things to show off and sell, even my new portfolio if I get it done in time.

Next thing to go wrong is the hotel.  They are jerking us around with our reservation.  Originally we were hoping to stay from the 16th, checking out on the 20th.  But for there are no rooms for Sunday Night.. they are 'sold out' or 'unavailable'.  On Sunday night...  How the hell does that happen?  Sunday night is the night everyone is usually LEAVING!  So now I am looking for other arrangements for Sunday night, maybe hopefully finding a Motel 6 or Super 8 or something of the like.  This just really pisses me off.  Because I have called, recalled, and recalled, and every time I think I have this fixed, something else goes wrong with them.. So f*ck it, I am going to check out on the 19th.  Their loss.

But all of this has had an effect on me.  I am feeling anxious and depressed now thinking about it.  As I feel now, I am ready to say the hell with in, crawl in to bed, and forget about the con all together.  But that's how I am and I know it will pass in about an hour or so.  So I am going to play video games for an hour then draw some more.

Some good news is that I will be having Thanksgiving at my friend's place.  He is returning home to Washington State, so when I come back form Chicago, he will pick me up from the airport and I will stay with him for a few days for Thanksgiving.  This was his MOTHER'S idea and she NEVER invites anyone over!  So I am definitely going to take advantage of this, my first American Thanksgiving!  

Because I am rushing to get my new portfolio done, there will probably won't be an update until after American Thanksgiving.  I will see what I can done, but I am VERY behind on EVERYTHING right now!

Comments?  Advice?  E-mail me!  AEBL too!

November 6th, 2006: 

One of the thinks I want to work on next month is a who's who page.  I really just wanted most of the guests to remain nameless, even though they are all currently friends or creations of our imagination and probably will not be seen again.  We shall see though how it plays out.  Also, I really need to work on a banner and title graphic for this comic as well.  Hmmm...

I leave on Wednesday, November the fifteenth for SeaTac to hop a flight to Chicago for the convention...  At this point, I have yet to receive full confirmation on the table or registration that AEBL paid for.  But I did get the room squared away for us.  Two beds for two people, and a shower to live in between bouts on the con-floor.  On the way back, I will be spending time with my friend in Arlington, WA, (just south or Marysville and Smokey Point in Washington State, along the I-5 which leads to home for me.)  My friend's mother has invited me for American Thanksgiving!  This will be my first American Thanksgiving.  (I, being form Canada, celebrate Thanksgiving in mid-October.)

I have also been putting up with the drama on my new art archive, and how it is quashing freedom of speech and blah blah blah blah...  To be honest, i am sorry I even spoke up even a peep on the matter.  It basically quashed my attempt to start pimping out my art in the form of Con Badges for Sale.  But if any of you are interested in having a badge done by me, please read this journal entry.  Because I need your money. :P

As always, if you have anything you want to question or comment on, e-mail me.  I will do my most to address your comments, even if not completely promptly.  Also, please send a line to AEBL and comment him on his art as well.

October 25th, 2006: 

Well, I was a day late on the comic again (not that it matters as it seems the updater does not seem to be working), but this time I have a valid excuse;  I was doing my mother's homework because she has gone back to school and can't operate a computer beyond using it as a glorified typewriter.  And because she is a procrastinator, and this is all due tomorrow, (big surprise) I have been spending the bulk of my time getting her ready to get it done, walking her through each step on how to do a spreadsheet, and how to create a presentation, even how to build a website.  I am so freaking tired right now, I could sleep right until the weekend.

Speaking of the weekend, its Howl-o-we'en!  That's right, once again I will be at the local mini furry con, which is more like a giant fur meet than a convention.  We all show up, have a bit of candy, have some soda drinks, dance, draw, chat, gab, and fondle those in fur suits.  (Last year there was this deer there.. a stag.. I was SO having a non-heterosexual moment drooling at him...)  Ahem.. yes, so I am looking forward to crashing there, if for no other reason, than to see a few people I never see, save at these events.  Having no ConiFur this year really hit me hard, more so as some of the people involved in replacing ConiFur live near by and are incredibly arrogant and smug about it.  ConiFur, despite a few inner political problems, was a fun time for us both.  Sadly, AEBL only made it to the last one (in 2005).  But we will both be at MidWest FurFest, this being my first time there, and Akeem's 2nd venture there.

E-mail me your comments and questions please. E-mail to AEBL as well to help encourage him and give him your backing.

October 9th, 2006: 

Today is also Thanksgiving... well up in Canada it is.  Happy Turkey Day for all!

I am really tired, so I am going to bed now.  I hope you enjoy today's comic.

And as always, please drop either myself or Akeem (AEBL) an e-mail to let us know how we are doing.

September 21st, 2006: 

Another contributing factor to my tardiness in getting the updates done and up on time is that I am having extreme issues with my sleep patterns.  I am not sleeping all that much and when I do get into bed to 'sleep' I find myself getting up a few hours later, unrested, feeling tense & stiff, and having a general feeling of depression.  All killers when it comes to being artistic.  I am also looking for a job, either part time work or full time but with a few days off for me to attend to some schooling as well as my conventions.  Job hunting is probably my weakest skill...  But never fear, I am still working on it, a bit each day, to get it done and in your hands.  

I have spoken to AEBL this past week.  He is going to start working on the next chapter, in which Hunni's father comes to visit... (I think.  Hell he could be doing a jello wrestling match for all I know...)  The point is that he is working on or going to be working on this once again so we will be a team once more.  Hurray!  Look for his return after the next intermission being worked on with my friend, Seth Triggs.

We are still on track for being at MidWest FurFest this November.  AEBL sent in the cheque for our table/admission, but we have yet to receive confirmation.  It's something I have to chase down still.  After that, we are not sure.  Before that I will be at Howloween '06 in Coquitlam, British Columbia, which is just an hour's walk from my place, or 45 mins on the bus...  (Oh, how I love our transit system...)  Aside form that, I don't have any other conventions planed.  For 2007, I might do MidWest FurFest again if it works out this year for us, as well as Further Confusion, which takes place just after my birthday in January.  Any other cons for next year is doubtful for myself.

And as always, please drop either myself or Akeem (AEBL) an e-mail to let us know how we are doing.

August 28th, 2006: 

I am sorry that this took me so long to do, and that it seems that I was neglecting not only this comic by my fans as well!  But I am back in the saddle.  Updates are coming, and they will be a bit erratic for a while, but I have this chapter to finish and the next intermission/chapter is almost 50% as well!  So there is more coming!  

Anime Evolution was a joke as far a conventions go.  Most people I talked to, including some staff agreed with me that it was a poor con and very disorganized.  I will be uploading some art I did at the convention this week coming onto my Fur Affinity account.  I am going to try and coax AEBL onto Fur Affinity as well as it would make things a lot easier for me when making up his business cards for him.  

My next event will be Howloween '06.  I am a little apprehensive about going form just visiting their website.  Some of the names involved in this are also the people involved to some degree in RainFurest, which I am also tentative about attending.  As it stands now, I am 80% sure I am NOT going to RainFurest, but 66% yes to go to Howloween '06.  MidWest FurFest 2006 is still very much a go for me, and I should probably start making plans on what all to bring and what not.

If you have any comments on this comic or anything I have in my 'rants' here, drop me an e-mail.  Be sure to send an email to AEBL as well!

August 17th, 2006: 

We have the first preview of what the next page will look like... I hope.  We will go with this for now, but as I said, nothing is going on until after I get back form Anime Evolution which is this weekend.  (Shit, I better get cracking on the promotional material and business cards.)  Hurray for printers and an hour in ether PhotoShop or Paint Shop Pro.  

I have personally booked our hotel dates for MidWest FurFest 2006 and I have my plane tickets already paid for.  So I am going to be there!  I just need to find a part time job to afford to be there.  Heh heh.

And I am going to cut this short.  I am still not feeling well.  Some of you might already know this, but for other's who do not know, I was in for emergency oral surgery on the 12th of this month.  I am still heavily doped up on pain killers and more than a little groggy.  Tonight, I am going to start to try to draw again, because I have only 3 images in the past month to show off and that's just sad.  One of them isn't even very good either. :(  

To keep better tabs of me (Michael), you can check out my Fur Affinity page.  I keep a journal there as well as most of my 'recent' art, though you can also see my more recent journal entries at my main website (which is in sad need of repairs) as well.  AEBL has almost fallen off the face of the earth, partially due to his new girlfriend and A LOT to do with his work and single-parent-ness.  Once he finds some artistic energy, he will start drawing again, and prey nothing else breaks.  :P

As always,  e-mail me your comments or concerns or ideas on world domination, and send an email to AEBL as too to let him know we miss his art.

June 21st, 2006: 

I will not be starting right away though.  At the end of this month, I have a convention I will be attending, Anime Evolution, and as such, I am gearing up for that.  It's convenient for me attend as it is just 2 busses away form me at Simon Fraser University.  I can see SFU form my front porch (almost).  SFU has been the filming sight for many movies and TV shows, including Star Gate SG-1 and the new Battlestar Galactica.  I am going to go there for promotional reasons, more just handing out business cards (which I still need to make up) as well as get some general feedback on the comic from a different fan-base's perspective.  This will keep me busy until the end of August 2nd.

On August 3rd, I will begin on this comic one more in earnest, doing all the pencils and lay outs and what not.  Something I should have done sooner, but held off on with the hopes that Akeem could find the energy to continue on.  Right now, he is absolutely wiped out and feeling pretty tired during his spare time.  Heh heh, he commented on how every time he goes to start drawing, something breaks and he is off to take care of the problem.  He's a busy guy these days.  The two of us are hoping to have done a new portfolio for MidWest FurFest 2006 (this November).  AEBL will be sending in our payment soon to secure our table, so that you all might come up and bask in our laziness. :P  

Oh, and if you guys get a chance, please pick up an issue of FurNation Magazine #7.  You will find Pet Shoppe published with in the pages there.  And I have finally broke down to get a Fur Affinity account as well.  I will be making semi regular updates there as well.  Also, if you like, I have my personal news and rants page, when I am not neglecting it.  I will even keep us all up to date on Akeem as well. :)

E-mail me your comments and questions please. E-mail to AEBL as well to help encourage him and give him your backing.

June 2nd, 2006: 

I was getting worried that this comic might be going on permanent hiatus like a few others I started getting into.  Because of issues going on for me in life, I has not been on this as much as I would have liked either.  But the show will go on!  The next chapter is already being worked on, a team effort by myself and Seth Triggs;  a cross-over comic involving the two main characters form his Buddies in Big Places.  Its going to be interesting once it is done.  

And now for today's image.  My artistic mojo had left me for a while, leaving me impotent in regards to doing any art.  In the past week or so, I have been drawing more, trying to get an image done a day at least, and a minimum of 5 per week.  Well, maybe 4 would be a better number.  I find it very easy to find reasons to do nothing.  Ah the joys of depression and anxiety.  But still, I push on with my art and try to get a few things done for those people who are special to me. 

Hunni and Mike will be at MidWest FurFest 2006.  I have just filled out our table application form and will be e-mailing it to the lovely Hunni to enclose a cheque.  Seems they don't take PayPal at this one, or at least I have not seen it offered.  A cheque works because that way I can pay Akeem what we have in the PP coffers.  It's not much at this time, but then we have not done much to earn any support!  Right now, we are 90% sure we can make FurFest, though as is the case with life, thing can't always be predicted with 100% certainty.  Depends on how much money I can make during the summer and if I can get the time off work if I do find full time employment.

Feel free to e-mail me your comments or concerns and send an email to AEBL as well.

May 27th, 2006: 

I have talked to Akeem again today.  Life at the hospital has been busy for him as well, plus he he trying to juggle being a dad and a lover again.  But he has more art for me, its just a matter of time to get it to me.  Having JUST hanging up the phone from him, we agree, he really needs to get his phone lines repaired so he can get back on the internet at his place, rather than scanning the art on to his computer then leaving it behind when he goes to spend a few days at his mother's place to use her computer to get on line.  Oy...

I would like to thank two people for their kind support totally $12.50 between them.  That brings our total up to $32.50.  AEBL is appreciative as well and expresses his gratitude.  I just hope we are ever worthy of your support.  I was in error when I said PayPay took off 9%.  What they do is they take off about $0.37 or so then a small percentile form the donated amount.  On the donated amount of $5.00 what is deducted is 45¢.  On $10.00 however, the amount is 59¢.  Sorry if I seem to go on about this;  having done taxes for many people and dealing with the federal government of Canada, I try to keep my totals to the penny for my official book keeping. :)

And now finally, here is a sneak peak at the hot action yet to come as you might have noticed by now.  Today's bit is again drawn by me and this will be used later on some how or given away as a gift to someone special.  This is Shane Graytail, the collie mentioned in prior pages, and a very good friend of mine.  Heh heh.  More art soon, I promise!

As always, please feel free to e-mail me your comments or concerns.

May 8th, 2006: 

As for this image here... Now as 'T-bear' will never leave his Hunni-Bear, this image does have my furry self kissing up to the lovely Sherri (who was dancing with Tamar a few pages back.).  This is more of a personal thing, where I the artist/player has more than a passing crush on the lovely young lady behind the bunny.  It's a dream though as we live too far from each other to have any from of serious intimate relationship, sadly.  I think she's perfect, but then I'm more than a little biased.  It gets a tad confusing when you use your 'main' character (or personal furry) to represent yourself in all things including wants and 2 comics.  (Yes, Mike Furry is the star of a second comic.)  I'm working on displaying UnHappy Valentine on line, but for now, you can find it in the pages of North American Fur.

 Feed back is important to us, so please feel free to e-mail me and I will do what I can to answer your questions and comments.

May 1st, 2006: 

Next week we will have a comic page ready or a new pin up.  I am hoping to do this until we are ready to pick this up again.  Akeem said he had more pages ready to go, but has yet to send them to me. (Yeah, he's bad for that I know, but we love him, right?)  So I phoned him up and left a message telling him to just put a damn stamp on the pages and mail them to me.  Email is faster, but only when he can have access to it, heh.  

And thanks again for another donation.  We are grossing $20 so far this year, and if we can keep this up, we will have a bit of funds for MFF this year, as it looks like it will be a deal with the devil to have ConiFur ready for this year.  This is a shame because I really loved attending ConiFur but c'est la vie.  

E-mail me if you like.  Comments are welcome as always.

April 23rd, 2006: 

We are up to about the 200 mark on the Web Comic List!  Hurray!

Akeem is currently doing more pencils.  Hurray!

That's the good news.  The bad news is he still has not been able to get the pencils to me yet, but we are working on that.  I am still jobless.  I did manage to get back into job club finally, but their big advice to me is to do nothing while they work on renewing my funding which expires next month.  Yeah.... I've done nothing, mater of fact, I am an expert in nothing as it has been a pass time of mine for a while now.  Trust me, it does not work for finding a job.  

Comments?  Advice?  E-mail me!

April 18th, 2006: 

But back to donation and now for a mini rant.  We love getting them, we enjoy the money we get to help support our comic.  What I hate is the current raping fee that PayPay charges.  9%!  Nine percent is taken off from each donation.  So that $10.00 we have on the year is the gross amount.  Our Net donations for the year is actually $9.10.  And why can they do that?  Because they can.  They are pretty much the only company that offers this service, and as you see, people with monopolies can charge more.  Oh well, grin and bite the cost.

There I had my rant, I feel much better now.

As for the next update.  It's coming.  Akeem has it drawn and done, just needs to get it to me for inking, but right now his internet is dead.  He has been getting on line at his mother's place, but has been forgetting to bring his ZIP Drive with him.  Heh heh.  But it is coming soon!

E-mail me!  Comment on what you see and tell me what you think

April 13th, 2006: 

One of the things that has been keeping me so busy on my end is trying to find a job.  The Vancouver job market sucks, despite what those in power stating a job growth.  There is job growth, but in sectors I am unqualified to work in.  There are few entry level jobs available, and of those few, the requirements employers are putting on them is ridiculous.  Everywhere wants multi-years of experience and a drivers license, both I don't have and can't get because I don't have a job, but I need them to get most jobs... and keep in mind these are the entry level jobs supposedly.  Oh well, back to work for me.

Please feel free to e-mail me or AEBL, we could use the encouragements.

March 28th, 2006: 

In this time of net-less-ness, he has not been idle.  Talking to him on the phone, he has told me that he has been hard at work getting to the more interesting parts of the current story.  This is good for me, because I am running out of pages to draw.  Heh, contrary to what some might think, I have a hard time drawing the naught stuff.  We just need to work it out so that the pages start coming my way.  

So there might be some delay, but more pages are coming.  I should have a new page up in the next two or three days myself.  It all depends on how quickly this flu bug leaves me and how much more sleep I will need.

And as always, please send me your e-mails.  

Starting to colour the comic at Chapter 3 might have been a bad idea.  It's taking me longer to get it done that I had expected.  It does not help that I am easily distracted by.. um, everything.  I have a problem with staying focused on one thing for any length of time, probably one of the reasons why I don't hold a job for long.

Send me an e-mail or AEBL, we would love to hear form you.

I have not been able to get in touch with Akeem via e-mail, phone, or muck, but that is not really all that uncommon.  Every now and then he gets busy with REAL LIFE.  After all, he is an over work, single dad, who has just come out.  With all going on in his life, he has more than a full plate at the moment so he will get back to us when he can which I hope is soon, because I feel he is the more talented one of our partnership.  

Myself?  I am feeling the effects of depression and lowered self-esteem once more.  My thoughts are turning to how worthless I am and how hopeless life is.  That's why it took me over two weeks to get this page drawn then inked.  I could have had it done in time.. well maybe, but I just gave up hope for a while there.  But I am making another shot at things.  I have to... it's expected of me to try and give it my best shot, even if my get up and go has long since gone and left.  I did manage one really great image since my last post though.  A project I started working on and that kept me focused on something (someone) important and give me a little dream to dream...

Anyways...  feel free to drop us a line...  Michael or AEBL.

Send us your e-mails, Michael or AEBL, and give us your feed back.

The comic is starting to run low on fuel as well.  I need to get more penciled art form AEBL.  And I have to work out a story with Seth Triggs of BiBP for a crossover idea.  That should be easy to do.  He is more than willing to sit down with me and do something.

And as always, we look forward to your comments, so send us your e-mails, Michael or AEBL.

Please feel free to e-mail me with your ideas or comments.

I have been having problems with ComicGenesis still.  No replies to my emails to date, so if this continues where I am not recieving support from them and I still can not access the server to make updates and adjustments, I will consider looking for a new host for DTBC.  To be honest, I miss KeenSpace, and I wish they had left it as it was.

If you think you can help, or have any other comments you would like to make, please e-mail me with your ideas.

I am still under the weather, but I am working on the next page, inking them up and getting them ready.  I only have the first few pages though, so I have to start harping on my partner to pencil up the rest.  Also, I am staring working on story ideas for Chapter 4. 

And as always, e-mail me with your ideas and comments.

Chances are, there will be no update tomorrow, I just don't have much left in me right now and I am taking another day to sleep.

First off, I am still recovering from Christmas and New Years, which in and of themselves were not bad, just strenuous as usual, and consuming.  Add to that, I have not done to much art in the past month or so, been too busy so I am feeling not very artistic.  Then drop a bomb on me.

On January 5th, at about 4:50pm, Jenni the Dog of the Thompson Family of 13 years, was put to sleep at the Alpine Veterinarian Hospital..  As you can imagine, this has left me feeling less than happy and with what little I have done, I am just not ready for tomorrow, though I will try.  Chances are I am just skipping this week and will work hard to get everything ready for the weeks to come.

I am going back to bed.  E-mail me if you like...

Because of recent changes at http://www.comicgenesis.com/, the host of this comic, Do the BearCat will be changing its URL from http://dtbc.keenspace.com to http://dtbc.comicgen.com as of January 1st, 2006.  Please, please, PLEASE update your FAVOURITES so that we might continue to have all you, our wonderful readers, enjoy our hard efforts between our bouts of artist's block.  Again, this comic is BEING MOVED to http://dtbc.comicgen.com as of January 1st, 2006!  (I just found out about this myself, folks.)

I was thinking of using dtbc.comicgenesis.com, but then I thought;  I want to keep this as simple as possible because I am a terrible speller and have mispelt this 6 time since I started working on the update.

 * * *

Half the fun of this is trying to update with the various web comic archives we are listed under.  The first one I listed DTBC with was The Webcomic List, to which we are back to being in the top 400 for favourites once again thanks to all of you and your hits to our comic.  The problem with The Webcomic List is that I can't find a way to edit the information and change the URL.  Maybe it’s me, and the current lack of sleep due to the holiday rush, and the fun of charging into artist block (heh, both me and AEBL...) that has my brain frazzled and I am just simply not seeing it.

The other location I registered Do The BearCat at was The Belfry WebComics Index.  Now I have made the changes there and updated just a few minutes ago, also editing the description of what this webcomic is about.  This is what I came up with:

It’s the ongoing story of a randy bearcat & his loving wife and their sexual adventures. Starring Mike Furry, TPF and the ever lovely Hunni, they continue to share their love (and lust) with each other as well as anyone near by.

Seems to need work, but its almost 5am and my brain gave out on my about the 14th of December, to be honest.  AEBL has been reporting that he has been tired and hitting creative snares as well.  We have 4 pages penciled, no cover and only a few ideas on what to do next for chapter 3.  I have 1 image for filler which will be posted on January 1st, if all goes well.  It WAS to be the DTBC Christmas card, but being over tired and under rested, I goofed up in PhotoShop and forgot to save 4 hours of colouring. >.<  I believe the term I used rhymed with, "Clucking Bells!"

But no worries please folks, you will get your next chapter, and on time, or at least to have it start on time...  I also have to start on Chapter 4 soon, where I hope to get some character development of the lovely Hunni and her origins as well as show off her ability to shape change.  Further more, Seth Triggs, of Buddies in Big Places has once again expressed interest in doing a 'cross-over' of sorts with us.  We are not sure how this is going to work, but sometime after my birthday (January 13th, Akeem's is January 8th), I am going to either call Seth up or sit down with him on MSM and hammer out a story idea or two.

And Finally, starting early next year (which is just a few days away, I am going to do an overhaul of this site.  Touch ups, link page, character update, and start a few auctions of the originals for the pages of the comics done to date.  Don't get us wrong, but really, we got into this to create a bit of pocket change for us.  You know, cover the cost of caffeine and the supplies used to draw with.  For 2005, we have raised a grand total of:  $63US (after all the fees that those hosers at PayPal are dinging us for.)  If there was a viable option for us we would take it, but not many other on line services like PayPal offer A) availability in Canada;  B) acceptance in foreign currency;  & C) don't over service charge us to death.  Right now, all the donations are going DIRECTLY into MY PERSONAL PayPal account as DTBC does not have it's own (yet?).  Why mine and not AEBL's?  I am more computer friendly than he is and well, I just basically manage everything.  He is too busy enjoying his new ride and busting his ass being a single dad.

So Happy New Year all, I am going to bed until then I think.  Have a suggestion?  E-mail me.

 * * *

We are taking a mini break from things for a while.  We will resume Chapter 3 in January, if not on the 2nd, then on the 8th for sure.  I have yet to do the cover and AEBL has reported to be feeling tapped creatively, having got 6 partial pages to me, and even he admits, they are not his best work.  But that's okay, we will get our rest in and get our shit together.

If you wish to email your Holiday and New Year's Cheer to us, please feel free to e-mail me or AEBL.  We could use the encouragements.

 * * *

Christmas Time is upon us all.  Its less than a week from that Joyous Time of year.  I have a love/hate relationship with this holiday time personally.  I hate the greed and selfishness that comes with this time of year.  I hate how everyone is fighting with everyone else to get their shopping done to help satisfy the commercialism of Christmas.  I hate how peoples use the there X-Mas instead of Christmas; this really offends me greatly.  I hate how so many start ragging on Christians for 'ruining' this holiday with their religion.  For those who don't know CHRISTMAS is a RELIGIOUS holiday that just happens to be celebrated by many others, including those not of the Christian Faith.  Myself, I try to be Christian;  I am a sinner, I lie, cheat, steal, swear, and get angry easily at other people sometimes.  Jesus is the Reason for the Season.

And yes, I also believe in Santa Claus.  I believe Santa is a spirit of giving and sharing, much like GOD did when he gave the world his Son.  I am not overly religious, nor am I overly condemning of those who are not.  To each their own, right?  Let each of us live our lives in peace and harmony with each other as our neighbours.  For me, I celebrate CHRISTMAS, which for me is jointly the sharing of gifts and time with my family and friends, as well as celebrating the greatest gift of all, the Birth of Jesus Christ.  For my friend, Mychael, who lives around the corner from me, she has Hanukah (which she is working, giving herself so that her patients might have care).  And there is Akeem (AEBL) who celebrates Kwanzaa.   I know others who also call this the Yule Time.  To each of us, we celebrate our own holiday, surrounded by friends and family, and end the year trying to feel good and warm to each other.

But that is not to say I don't have a want or 2 this holiday time.  My partner in this comic is also hoping for a bit more this year as well.  So here they are, our holiday wishes:

• For myself (Michael), I would love a small vacation away from it all to chill out and relax, lowering my stress levels, but I will be happy with putting aside enough money to go to night school at the community ed centre to learn how to better my inking and colouring (even if the school board has not updated to the current term yet.)  I really need some stress relief.
• For my dear friend Akeem, he want a female version of himself to date.  He has already met a girl who looks a lot like Hunni would if she were human, but she does not have much in common with Akeem, form what I understand.  So if you are black, single, and female, and live in the Chicago area, and like the idea of dating a hard working, single dad...  (Heh heh, playing Cupid is fun.)

Well that's my holiday rant for now.  Time for me to turn in and get some sleep, 1am and all and I have to get up at 8am to go to work to stand out in the cold wetness to bell ring for the Salvation Army.  And time willing, I will have one more post done before the end of the year, though I will probably post it on the 23rd or 24th of this month.  After than, I will be taking time off to recover from my current ailments, and we should be good to go for January on Chapter 3:  Spring Thaw.  (That will start either January 2nd, or 8th.)  But for now, everyone, have a Merry Christmas, a Happy and Safe Holiday, and a Prosperous New Year!

If you have any thing you would like to comment on, suggest, or just rant about, feel free to e-mail me.  I am always ready to take your letters in.

AEBL does not celebrate Christmas himself, he does Kwanzaa. So incase you were asking what we do for each other over the holidays, we generlaly skip it and go straight to our birthdays which are in the first half of January.  AEBL will be 32 on January 8th, and I am 31 on the 13th.  Generally, I send him a nice drawing and he um.. forgets. :P  But then, up to this year he has been VERY BUSY with nursing school.  

Always, e-mail me if you have anything about the comic or story or etc to comment or question about.  I am here to answer them as best I can.

Akeem has returned form Midwest FurFest 2005.  He met up with quite a few people, including my friend Shawntae Howard, who I think the world of.  Shawntae as been a mentor to me off and on, helping me on my art when I get into ruts.  ANYWAYS, Akeem has come to realize what I have been trying to tell him for years, that people don't know him by his artist name or his other names because he has been rotating through them so often.  Reala, A. Lofton, some screwy Japanese symbol, and AEBL.  He has finally settled on AEBL Lofton, his initials and his last name. 

AEBL has been feeling a bit low lately because he feels like he is till a virtual unknown in the fandom.  It does not help that he works long hours and does not always get his time off he wants.  New art has been post to his art archives at VCL and Leving Networks, including a blood line for Hunni and the rest of his creations.

I am hoping to work on fixing this site up more in the coming weeks.  I have been so tired and worn out, that I have been finding myself in bed more and more, trying to get the much needed rest I seem to be lacking.  As such, I am once again being lazy and procrastonating.  I am bad for that.  Very bad.

And as always, if you have anything you want to question or comment on, e-mail me.  I will do my most to address your comments, even if not completely promptly.  Also, please send a line to AEBL and comment him on his art as well.

This is my fault, I should have done this Sunday Night, 24+ hours ago, but I was just feeling blah'd out.  Not to mention I had a guest over and he was on my computer.  Yeah, that makes a good enough excuse.  That and I have just been so tired, I have not really thought about it or cared.  Ah the joys of depression and feeling despair.  But I have comics now ready to go to between now and Christmas.

Today.. or now yesterday (having reached the 12:02am mark here) starts the first intermission, Pet Shoppe, a solo effort on my part.  It was to appear in Fur Nation #7, but that was to happen a couple of months ago.  I did just finally get the first 2 penciled pages from Akeem and could have put together a comic in time if I had not been so tired, worn out, and busy with other things... and goofing off when I wasn't busy.  Heh, I'm bad for that.  

So in the next few weeks I am going to revamp this sight.  New Character page, New Artists page, and a new Links page so I can promote stuff like BiBP, which is drawn my our friend Seth C. Triggs.

If you have any thing you would like to comment on, suggest, or just rant about, feel free to e-mail me.  I would love to hear from you.

I finally got to meet Akeem LATE Saturday night after coming back form being taken to dinner with Seth Triggs (of BiBP, more on this guy later) by his two roomies, Joe and Jacq.  Poor Akeem.  He missed 2 flights, was half a day late, and to top it off, he got there like five mins too late and missed dinner.  Dinner was fun for me.  Seth and Co took the full hour to convince me I should ask Longtail (of Apollo 9) out on a date...  I won't bore you with the details, but no, I didn't ask her out.  

Well anyways.  As I was saying, we all had fun at the con, despite some fubar's and them loosing 1 of my 2 tables, and all 4 of my con badges for me and my crew, we all got a place to sit down and make money.  We found out that we actually have fans!  Seth Triggs being our #1 fan.. I know this because he was the first one to contact me and say he loves this comic!  His comic, Buddies in Big Places, is just being spun out in a record breaking pace.  He is SO far ahead, that he already has new comics lined up between now and 2017, putting one up per day.  He has expressed interest in doing a DTBC guest comic at some time, or maybe we can work on a cross over.  The thing is, Mike Furry (The male lead here) is also in a mini comic that I am doing for myself, being that he is my personal furry.  Some story working needs to be put into play for this.

Starting on Monday, I will being posting daily the art from ConiFur, then going back to the weekly schedule for Intermission 1:  Pet Shoppe.  Pet Shoppe should also be appearing in the next issue of FURNATION (#7 I believe) IF there is a #7.  But we need this time to prod Akeem to finish off the next chapter.  Currently, he only has 3 pages finished of Chapter 3.. almost..  we think.  I am working on Chapter 4 as well and other story ideas.  I am thinking of having Hunni's father, Skye Bluedeer make an appearance.   Another intermission idea that was tossed about is having a gender change, where Hunni becomes a man and Mike becomes Michelle...  Mrowl.  Strangely enough I have already have the last chapter laid out, taking place some 50+ years in the future.  Maybe more considering both Hunni and Tio have mystical power.  To date, Mike is the only mortal in the story.

But its back to slaving away at the last of the con books I brought back with me.  I still have books to finish drawing in and one commission to do, then its another commission for a local furry, PLUS I need to get my NAF trib in.  I am going to try to get Akeem in as well, as he seemed excited about that.  

And as always, if you have any thing you would like to comment on, suggest, or just rant about, feel free to e-mail me.

I am really looking forward to meeting Akeem as to date, we have not met in person, just over the phone and on line as our played out character (Hunni and Mike Furry).  He's flying in late in the con because he can't get Friday off, even though his original schedule had him clear for this coming weekend;  the powers that be changed it on him and no matter what, he can't get it off.  So coming in late is his only option.  Those of you coming, please stay until Sunday if you can, so that you might see him fully rested.  And if you are still hanging around Monday, we will be in the area until about 2pm-ish when he has to go to the air port to catch his 3pm flight home to Chicago.

I just notice that we are not sitting at JUST over the 35K mark on the ol' hit counter.  WONDERFUL.. now if only we could get some Donation.
   ^{Donations are good for the soul.} 
To date, we have only had just under $60us donated to help us produce more of this comic.  Or maybe buy some of our art.  We have portfolio's for sale and soon I am hoping to put up some more originals and a commissions page soon.  What would you like to see that would help you contribute to our cummy production?  Not that I'm begging.  (much)  Maybe a contest?  Win an original?  

Oh well... I should get going.  Lot's more to do, and I have to get packing.  I will see you all this Thursday to Monday at the convention!  And as always, feel free to send your ideas, tips, comment and what-have-you's to me via e-mail.

Akeem is up to 80% sure that he will be at ConiFur NorthWest 2005 for the Saturday and Sunday and a 25% chance he might show up for Friday.  So if you are going to be in the Seattle Area October 21st to 23rd, please stop by and say hi.  We could definitely use your donations and suggestions on how we can improve or expand our comic and add some fun to our lives.

Donations are not as great as I would have hoped.  I would love to have some input on how we can gain more funds to help support our costs.  Maybe a contest or a lotto?

I am working on putting together new portfolios for ConiFur NorthWest 2005.  We still have a few our our older stock kicking around.  Please view our Donations & Sales for what we have currently, and keep an eye open for up coming sales and commission info.

If you have any questions or comment, please feel free to e-mail me, Michael.

I have some bad news and some good news.  First, the bad news.  I have lost my job again.  I have been laid off due to insufficient hours;  too many employees, not enough work.  (Akeem is still working, and working hard in the field he actually schooled in, nursing.)

The good news is that I have all my debts paid off, and both and Akeem and I are going to be heading to ConiFur NorthWest 2005 in SeaTac, Washington State, October 21st to 23rd.  I will be there for sure, but Akeem is still only 50% sure.  He has put in a request to have that weekend off, but is still waiting for a reply.  I hope he gets it soon as its only a month to go.  Come by our table and say hi.

I have updated last weeks comic.  Photoshop for some reason, didn't save a layer when I used the SAVE FOR WEB command.  To view it as it should have been, click here.

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***comic_name*** Copyright © 2002 - 2007 Michael Thompson / Akeem AEBL Lofton.
Tio is Copyright © 2007  R. P. Moris and is used with permission.

This website is maintained by Michael Thompson.