Happy new year all. The lateness of this post this week should tell you what kinda week I have had. It started with a stomach virus, detoured at an oven catching fire, and most tragic of all, I couldn’t find my Wacom Pen Stylus.

Fortunately everything is set to rights now. I am well, we have a new oven on order from Home Despot, and as the presence of color on this week’s installment indicates, I found the stylus. It was under the dog’s bed.

It’s like 2009 wasn’t done with me yet.

The last page of the year and of the decade. Which means something. I don’t know what. There’s another page coming next week, so it’s not like it’s a huge event. Still, glad the page is here. Glad it could make it in this horrible weather. For those of you trapped by snow and wind, do what Ma Pig has done: grab a polar fleece blanket with a funky pattern, bundle up and stay inside.

See you next week. Happy new year!

The least light-hearted Wanderlost page ever. But still some slapstick.

If you have ever been to the ocean on a winter evening, you may recall just how thrilling and dangerous and wild the waves and the wind can get. That’s kinda what I was trying to get at with this page. Narrative necessity has subdued it a bit, but I think the last panel captures Ma Pig’s mix of emotions.

Currently listening to “King Kong” on Frank Zappa’s live lp, Make a Jazz Noise Here.

Did you see what I did there? I used the word “lp.” That’s a good sign that I am old. I turned 40 over the weekend. Sure, some of y’all may be older, and might think, “Aren’t they still called lps?” No, grandparent, they are not. In fact, organizing music into collections of albums or mixed tapes or discs or even flash drives is an antiquated concept. Please report to the central authorities for termination.

Killer trumpet solo right there.

Anyhoo, here is the new page. Obviously I have nothing to say about it. I like drawing winter scenes. Expect the beach setting to get stormier.

Until then, here’s Zappa with the Mothers at the BBC twenty years before the live recording I am listening to.

Hey, look! A new page. It’s true. Your eyes do not deceive you.

I know I have said this before, but dang it, this time it’s true! I am on a regular schedule now. So expect to see another page next Wednesday.

Two days late, but in color. My apologies. After the Stumptown Comics Fest madness over the weekend, I got a bit behind. Had a wonderful time with Little Dee creator Chris Baldwin, as always. It’s good to spend the time with an equally sick mind.

My apologies for the delay — but hey, it’s still Wednesday! So that’s something.

Production notes?

Sure. It’s 12:30am on the North American West Coast and I am a little bleary. But I am happy that I put up a new page in a timely manner. Time for (yawn) beer. I mean sleep. Maybe I’ll have the beer for breakfast.

Update: How tired am I? I just uploaded yesterday’s In Contempt strip. It’s corrected now. G’night.

Yep, another black and white page. But I like how strong the lines are in the last panel, so I can live with it. And given the action portrayed, the stark B&W seems appropriate. But it will see color by the time this story gets printed, so no fear.

I will be in Texas the rest of the week attending a funeral for my father-in-law. He was a good man, though I have never met him, sad to say. I have heard good things about him. Wish my wife the best.

There might be a delay in next week’s post, due to the trip this week. But it won’t be too late. Stay tuned. Hopefully most of y’all are down with RSS.

UPDATE: Colorized page added November 5, 2009.