Most days while I’m drawing the strip, I’ll open up the webcam and broadcast the process using a free service over at Ustream.tv.

Usually I don’t post about it on the site, I just twitter about it (you should really subscribe to my twitter feed btw). But today I recorded a part of my broadcast so that those of you who never get a chance to see me draw live can get a taste of what I do during the day.

Click here to check out today’s strip being inked and colored.

First let me say that I am very aware that a lot of people hate LOLBAT. I don’t think I’ve created any character that has polarized my audience more than he has. People either adore him, or loathe him to the point that they send very, VERY angry emails about it. Nobody feels “meh” about the LOLBAT.

My problem is that I adore my time with this character. And I try to keep those moments limited to special occasions. I understand how important it is to ration out his appearances in the strip and I’ve done my best to manage that. For those of you who hate the LOLBAT, I’m sorry. For those of you who love him as much as I do, please continue with me for another couple of paragraphs, because I’ve been excited about today for a very long time.

I’ve always known that Butler was the LOLBAT. In fact, that idea came first. We were sitting around one day and I said “You know what would be awesome? If all this time Alfred was really Batman. If anyone started sniffing around or got on the trail of his secret identity, it would lead back to the playboy millionaire with the cave under his mansion. No one would suspect the Butler. And once the gig was up, he could move on to a new city, a new millionaire, create a new persona and start fighting crime there.” And then I thought, hell. I have a Butler character. I should do that in the strip.

I love writing Butler. And I love writing LOLBAT. We really know very little about either of them. It’s always just seemed like so much fun that there’s this whole other side to both characters. I always smile whenever it’s time to draw Butler or LOLBAT because I knew their secret. And man, did I want to let you guys in on the secret. But I was really afraid to do it.

Since LOLBAT has always been an aside to PvP canon, and Butler is a part of the continuity, I didn’t know what to do. Mixing them seemed like a bad idea. Especially considering how much some people DESPISE the LOLBAT. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. And the more I realized that it worked. Butler is his life IN continuity. LOLBAT is his escape out of it. The two don’t mix or interfere and it’s fun to all be in on the secret. And the reveal is so much fun.

Anyway, I just thought I would give you guys a glimpse behind the creative process on how this character came to be. I hope that you guys enjoyed this week’s strips. It was SO much fun to make them. I had a ball.

Big thanks to Enigmanaut for the awesome LOLBAT fanart.

KKTHXBYE!

Hey, are you someone who can program for the iPhone? I am looking to hire a developer for a personal project. If you are interested and qualified to create custom apps for the iphone, please email me directly at kurtz (at) pvponline dot com.