Ding! is far from dead. Please read the new post below for more details.

Ding will be back a little later today and will be on time every Tuesday and Thursday from here on out. This delay in new strips is all me, guys. It’s not Crispygamer.com’s fault in any way.

Just wanted to make that clear.

The next ten years of PvP starts today and I wanted to touch base with my audience about how I plan on moving forward.

Starting immediately, for an undetermined time, PvP is moving to Monday-Friday. There will be no weekend strips.

I had debated for a long time doing this on a permanent basis. It would be my 10 year gift to myself; my weekends back. Traffic is always low on Saturday and Sunday. Most people read the weekend strips on Monday.

Of course, the truth of the matter is that I could have my weekends to myself, and have strips running seven days a week, if I could just improve my workflow and get a nice big buffer of strips under my proverbial belt.

And after this weekend, I have a new productivity tool: The Cintiq. Talking to those who use it, including Scott McCloud and Steve Hamaker, not to mention DJ, Rich and Meredith, this thing is going to double if not triple my output once I get past the learning curve.

The problem right now is that I’m behind. On everything. I’m constantly working to get myself out of a deficit and what I really need to be doing is building a buffer. I’m a month behind on Ding! This is something that Crispy gamer has been kind enough to forgive me, but I need to guarantee that I can keep to a schedule from here on out.

Now that I have the Cintiq, I’m not sure I’m as eager to commit to no weekends forever. So I would like to at least commit to no weekends until I can get my shit together and build up a nice buffer of strips. I want to be like Howard Taylor and Paul Southworth and get a month ahead.

Once that’s done and I know how the Cintiq really affects my workflow it might be fun to introduce more color or grayscales into the strip. We’ll see. The bottom line is that you guys are giving me this wonderful life, the least I could do is have the new strip waiting for you at midnight.

So that’s the dealio. PvP is officially a M-F strip until further notice.

Thanks for your continued support!

A quick report on the incredible day we had at Cape 2008.

The 3 day event got kicked off with a very eventful, live art show. As is bound to happen when you get a bunch of crazy comic book people drunk, there was a lot of tomfoolery, and a lot of rambunctious fun.

Got to catch up with my good buddies Robert Kirkman and Val Staples. I didn’t get to hardly spend any time at all with Mark Waid or Gail Simone and her husband. Which is a shame. But I’ll see them in Seattle and Heroes con, so we’ll get a another chance.

Everyone who participated in the live art show did fantastic work and I heard we raised a nice chunk of change for the Ronald McDonald house of Dallas. Telling Lea Hernandez that I had planned to draw Jade in her wedding dress for my piece turned out to be ill advised as she beat me to the punch, stealing my thunder and doing her own wedding pic before I could ever touch a sharpie to poster board. Oh well.

Saturday turned out to be a gorgeous day for an outdoor event. We had cool weather in the morning and a warm sun in the afternoon but it was never unbearably hot. Clear skies all the way to the horizon and beyond. Great crowd, huge event. Just the best FCBD around.

Kris and I were scheduled for a panel on making webcomics back at the store around 1pm. What we didn’t know was that the panel was a ruse. There was no panel. It was a surprise celebration of PvP’s 10th anniversary. I was shocked when my entire family walked in the front door during our talk and then my brother appeared from the back of the store carrying a 3D cake he had made for me.

The cake was a seven layer top hat, surrounded by PvP covers and characters made out of sugar. It was amazing. When he started to cut into it people in the crowd visibly winced. “What am I supposed to do with it?” he asked the stunned audience? “You can’t keep it. it’s cake. Come have some.”

The big surprise came when I was presented with a 10th anniversary gift. A 21 inch wacom Cintiq. So Scott McCloud, I finally have one and soon I’ll have to eat my words about never getting one. I can’t wait to try it out and give you a call. I’ll be drawing with fire once I get back from Seattle.

We took plenty of pictures, and I’ve uploaded them all to flickr. So please take a look. This cake has to be seen to be believed.

On a more important note, I can’t thank the people at Zeus Comics and the volunteer staff for Cape enough. Richard Neal, the owner and operator of Zeus always makes a point to insist that I’m a big part of Cape. I’m not sure how true that is. The guys at Zues are the real heart of that event.

Richard, Chris, Barry, Sean, Stefan, Lisa and all the volunteer staff break their backs making this show something beyond just a simple store signing on Free Comic Book Day. This entire event comes straight out of Zeus’ pocket. Richard really wants to build a community of comic book lovers in Dallas and he’s actually pulling it off. Those of us who live in the area all benefit from the hard work they put in.

Gail Simone, Mark Waid, Greg Pak, Bryan Hitch…these are comic book creators who you’re lucky to see at big cons. Here they are under tents in a park. Why? Because they love what Zeus has done with this expo and the love for comics that’s present at every Cape. I hope you made it out this year and if not, I really encourage you to make time to be a part of Cape 5 in 2009.

Thanks, Zeus, for another incredible year.

Today is our tenth anniversary.

I never expected PvP to take me here. This wasn’t planned. It was just a temporary gig. It wasn’t supposed to be the idea that took me anywhere. When I posted that first strip, in May of 1998, I sincerely never dreamed it would inspire you to afford me a decade of this bliss.

And now, on a day when I should feel elation and contentment, I find myself desperately sad and frightened by the fear that I am now - officially - on borrowed time.

Despite knowing how rude it is to ask for more after being given such a generous gift, I find myself unable to do anything short of dropping to my knees and shamelessly begging you…

…may I please have another ten?

There are a substantial amount of outstanding orders still needing to be shipped from the PvPstuff online store. Namely, it’s artist editions of How to Make Webcomics books. We are ludicrously behind schedule shipping these books out to our very understanding and patient customers.

Normally, my 2 and 1/2 man operation here at the office is enough to handle our order volume, but we had some extenuating circumstances that put us more than behind on our workflow:

1) The book shipped late due to an issue with the printer.
2) We had a huge response to our preorders and I completely miscalculated how many books I would need in stock here at the office from Image.
3) My entire household (aka, my shipping staff) spent about 3 weeks away from the office recouping from a really nasty bout of illness.

We’ve shipped boxes and boxes of outstanding orders this week and looking over invoices I’m still looking at about 116 artist editions and 88 signed editions to get out the door. Before I leave for Seattle on Monday, every available book I have in my office will be out the door. While I’m gone, Image will be shipping me new stock to finish out my orders when I return after Emerald City.

Meanwhile, all other orders are shipping out regularly. We’re caught up on all orders that aren’t HTMW books. So if you ordered a tee shirt, PvP book or a plush, it’s already out the door.

PvP exists separate of a large entity like a syndicate or studio because YOU support us and keep us afloat. My readership has always taken care of us and we’re trying desperately to return the favor.

If you have ANY issue with an order, from needing a refund, to changing an address to just checking on the status, the most direct way to contact us is by emailing ashley@toonhoundstudios.com. If you are waiting on a HTMW book and you don’t receive it next week, know you’re one of the 200 people we’re desperately trying to “make it up to.”

Again, thanks so much for your patience and understanding. For those of you understandably frustrated, I only hope that I get the opportunity to rebuild your trust in our store.

-Scott