Thats right, this is the start of a new storyline… which may surprise you, since right now we’re just in some one-off art gags, but we’re going somewhere interesting. This storyline is actually going to end up to be pretty long, we might break it into chapters or something… I’m not sure. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants with these plotlines…

I realized that although we established that Sandy was an art major a long time ago, I’d never showed her really dealing with it, and actually doing anything artistic. And seeing as how my art classes were always ridiculous, I realized the humor potential.

I think this point in today’s strip is pretty accurate. Sketchbooks show a lot of things, but sometimes they can be a window into your emotional state. I remember some days in High School where I just had horrible, terrible days, and filled like 5 pages with harsh, angular lines and angry abstract designs. In this way, sketchbooks are not only an emotional tracking system, but they can be a great therapy device as well.

Here we go. Hopefully some happier music will help Sandy’s art not be quite so dark and violent. If you don’t recognize the song, it’s “Sell Out,” the smash hit from ska-geniuses “Reel Big Fish.” If you were cognizant of the mainstream music scene in the late 90’s, you probably heard it all over the place.

It’d be easy to say that this strip is really self indulgent, and it kindof is, and it’s partly that I’m excited that RBF is finally coming to my town for a show (ska shows are legendary in awesomitude) but this is actually more than that — it’s setup for a storyline! Imagine that! See, there’s a (sortof) spoiler for this story, aren’t you glad you read the blog today?

In the meantime, Happy Birthday America! (It’s pronounced ‘MERICA!!!) I do so love this country and I’m gonna celebrate it real hard. I hope you do the same, and if so, be sure to enjoy it, and maybe throw on some ska. Nothing says “America” like some very danceable ska tunes. Except maybe… lots of other, much more American things… but still, it’s fun.

Happy Independence Day!

Ah, nothing better than seeing people brought together by common interests. This is one thing I love about ska, people who like it will often find friends in each other. And people who don’t like ska find those who do to be socially awkward, and slightly offensive, if not just silly. So, in a lot of ways, being a fan of ska is like being a fan of super-heroes, or science fiction. And if you love all three… well, then, lets just hope some of those new geek-themed dating website work out for you.

For those that like to know these things, the band name “Million Miles From Nowhere” has some significance to my past, but don’t worry about it too much. The real point here is that we have the thrust of our storyline kicking off. My biggest downfall in writing this story is that I’m going to have to figure out how to draw cars. I’ve never been able to do it.

I do feel somewhat bad for Sandy here, although she said something mean, I doubt she meant it as hurtful. I’ve been dismissive before and said things I just shouldn’t have, and I always feel bad about it. Luckily, tragedy and comedy are hard to tell apart.