“Now aren’t we ALL having more fun?”

This comic comes from an actual occurrence at an actual shopping man in actual America. The kids’ dialog is almost entirely lifted from the real life youths I observed. It just struck me as odd that Star Wars is alive and breathing in the lives of these pre-adolescent kids. I assume this is mainly due to The Clone Wars animated series (which I rather despise for being as boring and empty as the prequels).

Return of the Jedi came out in theater’s when I was only 3, and thus the only Star Wars I remember experiencing first hand was The Ewok Adventure (which came out a year later). I had nightmares about getting trapped under a frozen river for… well essentially forever. My point is where as I was at least alive during the decade that the final movie of the original trilogy was released, the Star Wars franchise is probably having larger impact on the lives of kids that were born 20 years after me. Practically as long as they’ve been alive Lucas has been pumping out prequels, CGI movies, cartoon series, toys, costumes, video games, etc. And don’t forget the Internet. THE INTERNET! When a kid signs on to the damned Internet these days they have to select “Star Wars” or “Everything else.” Even when they select “Everything Else” they still get a pop up of C-3PO saying “I have a bad feeling about this.” every 30 seconds.

I’m not complaining. As dry as the franchise is now it still gets kids interested in Sci-Fi and boost their imaginations. I guess I was just surprised at the realization that “my Star Wars” was 30 years old and “their Star Wars” was still being born.

NOTE: This will be the last comic this week so I can catch up on Artist Edition sketching and shipping.

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Don’t have a lot of time to post with… words… and….

So here’s the facts: Nic Cage owes a metric shit ton of money to the IRS and Johnny Depp stepped in to foot the bill. That’s a Hollywood bromance if there ever was one.

BIG FUN NEWS!!!
I will be a guest at the Dragon Lair Webcomics Weekend Rampage December 12-13 in Austin, TX with Jeph, Danielle, Kurtz, Randy and more! From what I know it’s just going to be a giant webcomics meat meet and greet for 2 days with extra awesome and a dash of good times.

Ever since Wil Wheaton tweeted about and bought the “Holodeck Is For Porn” shirt, they’ve been selling rather well (for the first time). Oh, you don’t know about it? Maybe you should buy one and be one of the cool kids.

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This could very well be my last Dollhouse related comic. Revisit the ghost of Dollhouse Comic Past HERE.
I think this comic sums up my feeling towards Dollhouse’s cancellation pretty well. There was definitely a spark of Whedon-Genius there, but it wasn’t enough to earn my devotion. I stand by the belief that Dushku was the ruination of the show. All of the supporting cast outclassed her at every turn and showed what a mediocre actress she is (I’m sorry, Eliza… I think you are pretty and probably a nice person).

I’m sure the show will pull another 180 in it’s final six episodes and only then will I realize my error in judgment, but as of now I don’t mourn the show. I only mourn the show that Joss saw in his head, that we will never see. For surely this was not it.

COME SEE ME AT DALLAS WEBCOMICS EXPO!!!
Saturday Nov. 14th, 11am – 6pm
More info HERE

I will be doing 2 panels during the afternoon. One on webcomic economics/marketing and the other on digital drawing with a Wacom tablet. My buddy Will Terrell will be doing a digital painting tutorial as well. If you have seen his art, you know you don’t want to miss this. I hope to see you all there.

If enough FB’s show up we can have a dinner meetup afterward.

• Whedon’s DOLLHOUSE Put Away For Good!!
• This just in: ‘Dollhouse’ axed
• Dollhouse’s Viral Marketing Brings the Apocalypse Ever Closer

[You know it's sad that they can't even say "Dollhouse Sent To 'The Attic'" since not enough people watched the show to get the reference]

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[Got a lot to do today so I'm posting the pencils for todays comic. I'll ink and color later tonight. Check back for the finished product.]

In a move that can only spell the end of all things, CBS is turning some dude’s Twitter account into a sitcom. I’ve read @shitmydadsays and it’s genuinely funny, but it works because of how it’s presented. Short snippets of abusive wisdom culled from the word-vomit of a crotchety, doddering old man. Anything charming or humorous about @dadsshittysayings will certainly be lost in translation if it ever makes it to TV.

I’m not kidding when I say this news does not bode well for humanity. When twitter accounts become TV, how far away can “Status Update: Ben is washing his gym clothes – The Movie” be? Is that a man with the head of an oxe standing on a raft hewn from the bones of the stillborn in a river of liquid damnation? I think it is, and I think he’s just waiting for a few more Twitter-based TV shows before he unleashes his unholy army of winged goats.

In the end it will be called “That’s Our Dad,” and star pretty much everyone from “Everybody Loves Raymond” except for the titular Mr. Romano. See? Armageddon.

DALLAS WEBCOMICS EXPO IS THIS SATURDAY 11/14
Read up on it HERE, and come see me! I will be doing a couple of panels about webcomicing and I expect you to have your questions prepared on 3X5″ note cards.

MERCH UPDATES
I’ve explained that sketched books are taking longer than expected because I don’t want to give everyone the same rehashed 30 second character face, but I want you to see what to expect when you order an Artist Edition. Check out some of the recent book sketches HERE in my twitpic stream. I’ll be posting them all to Flickr when I’m done.

Are you interested in “I’m A Snowflake on The Wind” holiday cards? Are you interested in giant sized “Snowflake” comic prints? Those are likely the next two things to be added to the store in the next few days. Extol your interest in the comments.

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REMINDER!!! Dallas Webcomics Expo is this Saturday. I will be there with books and shirts and furtive glances and some sort of advice about webcomicing which will be delivered via panel format.

——————-

Alternate Title: “In Space No One Can Hear You Cream”

If spaceship on spaceship slash exists (please please please), then I really only want to see the NCC-1701 D going to space town on a Star Destroyer (or maybe the Death Star if you’re into that kinky shit).

EXTREMELY MINOR SPOILERS BELOW… MOSTLY JUST OPINIONS

So… Battlestar Galactica: The Plan. There’s one thing wrong with that title and it’s not the part that denotes what kind of ship most of the movie takes place on (hint: its the PLAN part… there isn’t one). I would suggest fans of the series PLAN to be super frakking disappointed. The Edward James Olmos helmed “Plan” plays out like spare footage from BSG seasons 1 and 2 (that should have been left on the cutting room floor) randomly stitched together and run through the Boring-O-Tron 5000 a few times.

Before you shout, “CYLON!” and start checking my spine for a certain mid-coitus glow, hear me out. The reason this direct-to-DVD feature feels like spare footage is because at least 1/3 of the film is comprised of… stock footage from seasons 1 and 2. In fact, Kara Thrace, Lee Adama, Helo Agathon, Col. Tight and a host of others ONLY appear in the stock footage. President Laura Roslin doesn’t even show her face in rehashed footage or otherwise.

The concept was sound. I would actually like to see what the Cylons were doing leading up to and after the attacks on the 12 Colonies. The execution is just sloppy, disjointed and ultimately uninteresting. It’s extremely Cavil-centric and he is one of my least favorite characters. His “mommy issues/Oedipal complex drove me to eradicate humanity” just doesn’t resonate with me at all. That sort of motivation would be a great explanation for a single murder or perhaps a series of failed romances and an inability to connect with others on a deep level. As for a reason to exterminate all life on 12 planets? Let’s just say Galactus had a more convincing argument with, “because I was hungry.”

/END MINOR SPOILERS WHICH ARE MOSTLY JUST OPINIONS

If you’ve seen The Plan and have an opinion, share it in the comments. If you haven’t seen it and wish to remain unspoiled, read the comments at your own risk.

WEST TEXAS COMIC-CON in Lubbock, TX was a lot of fun and a big success from a “was it worth it/will I do it again” stand-point. Thanks to everyone that came out to see me and to those that discovered HE right there on the spot. Special thanks to cartoonist and organizer Will Terrell for being such a fantastic host and making me feel so welcomed. Check out his webcomic “Super Zeroes.” Will’s a very talented artist (his coloring and line work are superb), and he’s just started his own EXPERIMENT to try and make a living doing what he loves. He will also be at the aforementioned Dallas Webcomics Expo on Saturday 11/14 and I encourage you to give him some of your money (after giving most of it to me… assuming there is any left… there really shouldn’t be any left if you did it right).

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“Excellent work LaserTit. Megatron will be pleased. Now we can harness the Large Hadron Collider for Energon production… we should really work on getting you a new name.”

The most recent drama at the LHC has to do with a bird’s bagel bomb causing certain components to overheat. LAME! Get to smashing the shit out of some particles and sucking us all into a mother effin’ black hole already! Things are so bad that some of the LHC crew thinks they are being sabotaged from the future. I bet it’s that evil chick from Quantum Leap whose job it was to re-wrong all the righted-wrongs that Same Becket righted in the first place. If it isn’t her then we need to question Dr. Emmett Brown. He knows more than he’s letting on. Plus he’s a cowboy with a time-train.

TWITTER!
Is a thing I am on. I post all kinds of crap including book sketches as I do them, and secret inside jokes that only YOU and I will get.

WEST TEXAS COMIC-CON IS TOMORROW!

I hope to see some of you FB’s out there on Saturday. I will have books (with free sketches), shirts, buttons, stickers, partial hugs and awkward looks!

And a week from tomorrow I will be at The Dallas Webcomics Expo (11/14). I’m really excited for both of these events and I hope to see you there live and in person. Cons are a big part of The Experiment going forward, so please come out and show your support.

BOOK SHIPPING UPDATE
I’ve been getting a few emails and twitters about book shipment status. The deal is this: I still have about 120 UFE’s and regular AE’s from the preorders to sketch and ship. The reason it’s taking so long is that I had over 300 sketches to do and I’m not doing “quick recycled 30 sec sketches.” I am essentially doing custom illustrations for every book. I want it to be personal and memorable (and worth the extra $15). Thank you for being patient and for understanding. Once these preorders are all shipped, all orders will be going out weekly (non-sketched books are going out when they are ordered already).

Speaking of books and what you should do about them: HOW ABOUT BUYING ONE!?

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Does anyone else look at the contents of their DVR with a sense of shirked responsibility and obligation? Oh, that’s just me? I’m horrible.

I watched the pilot for ABC’s “V” last night and overall I was impressed. I LOVED seeing Alan Tudyk and Morena Baccarin back on TV, and Juliette from “Lost” (Elizabeth Mitchell) definitely held her own and my interest. The pilot cover a lot more of the “V” mythos than I thought it would or could in 1 hour. I would have expected at least a 2 hr installment before we got the “big reveal.”

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
If you saw the pilot you know the V’s are trying to convince the people of Earth that they’ve never encountered other intelligent life before. If that’s the case, then why do all of their city-sized ships have 40 mile while LCD screen public address systems covering their entire undersides? Seems that that would only be useful for addressing entire planets or select pay per view events.
Oh, and they just need to come right out and say that Obama is a “V.”
/END SPOILERS!!!

COME SEE ME THIS WEEKEND AT WEST TEXAS COMIC-CON in LUBBOCK, TX!!!

Serious Question: You know what is an awesome thing to buy for yourself or others or pets?
Answer: MY BOOK!

• Originally, V Wasn’t About Aliens At All
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• V Is Not Doomed, And You Should Still Watch
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• Ratings snapshot: ‘V’ arrives with a bang!

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If Edward James Olmos played the God of Abraham, would Jamie Bamber play Jesus and then eventually fat Jesus? Would Katee Sackhoff play Mary Magdalene? I’m fairly sure we all know who would play Judas in this scenario (though he would make a pretty good Jesus too).

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WEST TEXAS COMIC-CON!
Any FB’s in the Lubbock, TX area need to come out and see me at West Texas Comic-Con this Saturday from 10am – 6pm. I’ll have books and shirts and buttons and stuff and things.

CONTEST WINNERS!
The 3 contests are over and here are the winners:

CONTEST 1: Recreate an HE Comic
PRIZE: 1 Copy of Gearbox Software’s Borderlands for PC on Steam
WINNER (chosen by Joel): Chris K. aka NESDude
ENTRY: Check out his awesome video recreation of THIS comic HERE.
To claim your prize, email dopefish3d (at) gmail (dot) com

CONTEST 2: Hottest Fancy Bastard
PRIZE: 1 Copy of Gearbox Software’s Borderlands for PC on Steam
WINNER (chosen entirely by Josh and no one else): Dave L.
ENTRY: Josh didn’t share it with me, so…
To claim your prize, email dopefish3d (at) gmail (dot) com

CONTEST 3: HE Pumpkin Carving
PRIZE: 1 Copy of Terminal Reality’s Ghostbusters for Xbox 360 (donated by Eli)
WINNER (chosen by Eli and Denise): @CallMeSteam
ENTRY: The Elumpkin!
To claim your prize, email elivorio (at) gmail (dot) com

Thank you to everyone that entered. I would like to do more contests like this in the future. I would also like to give a Special Award to Jessica G. for her paper cutting recreation of THIS comic. The detail and effort that went into this is just extraordinary [I would actually really like to own this]. Email me (joel) and I’ll send you a signed print of any comic that you want.

ANOTHER THING FOR HE PODCAST LISTENERS!!!:

Fans of the HE Podcast may appreciate this poster Alex made of El Delorio. That shit is top notch awesome right there. He wanted to offer to runners up on the contests, but I think only the Podcast listeners will get it, so I am considering offering it as a print in the store. Your thoughts?

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That look in your eyes says “WTFCOMIC?” but that look in YOUR EYES screams “SERIOUSLYWTFCOMIC?!” Your reaction is understandable. This Halloween comic is really just a love letter from me to other hardcore Star Trek: TNG fans. I actually came up with about 100 even more obscure, 1(ish)-episode characters to use for costume ideas but in the end I settled on The Traveler, Lal and not one but TWO Captain Dathons. Dueling Darmok’s, if you will.

HALLOWEEN CONTEST UPDATE!!!
Almost no one entered the comic recreation contest so I have extended ALL DEADLINES for all 3 contests through the weekend. If you want to enter and win either Borderlands (PC) or Ghostbusters (360) you have until late Sunday night to enter. Winners will be announced Monday. For those that plan on entering the comic recreation contest, FEAST YOUR RIDICULOUS EYEBALLS ON THE CURRENT FRONT RUNNER AND DESPAIR!!!

EXPERIMENT UPDATE!!!
If you enjoy HijiNKS ENSUE at all, and you want to see it continue, or you support my EXPERIMENT to try and make a living from this comic PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take 60 seconds and fill out this marketing survey [LINK]. It’s 23 multiple choice questions and it shouldn’t take more than a minute. It would really mean a lot to me.

Thanks!

~Joel

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EXPERIMENT UPDATE!!!
If you enjoy HijiNKS ENSUE at all, and you want to see it continue, or you support my EXPERIMENT to try and make a living from this comic PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take 60 seconds and fill out this marketing survey [LINK]. It’s 23 multiple choice questions and it shouldn’t take more than a minute. It would really mean a lot to me.

Thanks!

~Joel

ACTUAL POST!

I was going to write a long post about how fucking tragic it is that America embraces lowest common denominator comedy but I think I nailed it with my early synopsis: Basically Jeff Dunham has a show where incredibly racist puppets do incredibly racist things. If he were actually funny, I wouldn’t be offended at all. It’s lazy comedy and it sucks.

I remember watching this guy in the 90’s when I was a kid and… yes, I admit I wanted to be a ventriloquist [dodges all the things you are throwing at my head place]. At the time he had his main fuzzy green monkey muppet, Peanut, and the jalapeno pepper-on-a-stick guy. When I was 11 the fact that the pepper character was sleepy and lazy and slow witted didn’t really register with me. Growing up in SE Texas the only Mexicans I knew about were cartoon mice with sombreros. The seeds of lazy racist comedy were there 15 years ago. Now his line up of co-starts consists of: Aforementioned green fuzz monkey guy, old guy, lazy mexican food stuff, black pimp with gold chains, dumb ass white redneck Nascar dude (psst… America, he’s making fun of YOU) and THE CORPSE OF A DEAD FUCKING MUSLIM TERRORIST! WTF!? I just… I have no idea.

It isn’t his racist, no-effort comedy that offends me. It’s the fact that it works; that America loves it. What a waste of LOLS.

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BOOKS!
Books are going out in the mail every day. Artist Editions are taking forever because I want the drawing to be personalized and good and not 400 sketched of Josh’s face looking slightly to the left.

When you get your book, post a pic on Twitter with the tag #hebook.

SERIOUSLY, IF YOU WANT BOOKS BY THE HOLIDAYS, ORDER NOW!!!

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