Hi there! Based on what my web stats are telling me, a number of you have arrived here over the last few days searching for the term “Utopian comic” via the search engine of your choice. I’m guessing the reason for that is the announcement of Marc Guggenheim’s forthcoming Image title, “Utopian.”

Yeah, I’m as surprised as you are that you’re here, because this comic — the one you accidentally found right here — has been publishing on the web since April 2009 and in print since July 2009, and yet, no one bothered to check to see if that title was already in usage prior to, I dunno, launching a new, high-profile comic with the intention to possibly sell it to Hollywood?

Obviously, Guggenheim and his team meant no harm, and are probably quite clueless to this flub. But I’ve had friends and readers already confused by the announcement of the other “Utopian” (I only heard about it because of their links to articles about the announcement), and that’s why there’s this thing called “trademark,” to protect the dilution of a brand’s distinctiveness in the marketplace.

So, while it’s very obvious the two Utopians are completely unrelated, it may cause some consternation when it comes to marketing our respective titles in the same marketplace. If you came here by happy accident, I hope you take a look around. This is a comic strip that has grown and developed in unexpected ways over the last 15 months and you’ll see that as you browse the 100 or so pages. And if you’re a regular reader, well, you know I love you and appreciate your continued support.

And if you’re Marc Guggenheim? Hi.

For the first time in the history of this webcomic, I think I’m actually going to miss posting on schedule this week.

I might be wrong, and I might be able to pull it off, but I was waylaid this week by one of those weird 24-hour flu bugs, which thankfully didn’t render any symptoms until after driving back from Santa Barbara Sunday night. I spent most of that night and Monday morning puking out my guts, and then most of Monday sleeping and slowly trying to regain my strength by eating a little bit of toast here, a little bit of banana there.

Those two days lost, in addition to the three prior for vacation, pretty much killed my productivity at a fairly crucial time (you don’t even want to know what obligations related to other business I’m way behind on now). So … you may not see the next installment of The Utopian until Thursday, maybe even Friday.

But the good news? Issue Two of the print collections is coming to your mailbox next week. What? You haven’t pre-ordered your signed copy yet? For shame.

Just a little notebook sketch I found to tide you over as I work on next week’s new Utopian strips. ‘Nuff said.

No, I’m not kidding.

Pre-order The Utopian #2 TODAY ONLY (Nov. 30) for HALF-OFF.

Yes, HALF-OFF. That means $1.50 for the standard or $2.50 for the deluxe version. Come on, you can’t beat that. And they will come to your house SIGNED (by me). You can stay in your underwear.

Do it up, share the link, buy extra for your nephews and neices. CLICK CLICK!

A few weeks ago, I was on Maryland Parkway and stopped in one of my favorite Las Vegas eateries, Yayo Taco, to pick up a few copies of the Rebel Yell issue featuring that lovely profile of yours truly. The manager was curious as to why I stopped in just to pick up the paper, so I explained what I did that earned me a page and a half inside the college newspaper. He suggested I do a release party for the first print issue of The Utopian. At Yayo, of course. I thought about it for a few days, putting out feelers whether there was even an interest. Apparently, there is. And so …

Yeah … the day after we make our (mini) con debut at the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, we’ll be celebrating The Utopian’s print debut with tacos, tequila and … tormented comic characters at Yayo Taco (4632 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas) at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8. There will be giveaways (comics & swag, natch), $5 Corona buckets and … me. Yep! And it’s free! So tell your friends, come on down, and have a beer with me. I’ll sign your cast or kiss your baby or whatever too. Yayo has the yummiest tacos ever, even vegetarian stuff for non-meat-eaters like me, so make a dinner out of it. Oh, and if you’re on Facebook, please RSVP to the event so Yayo knows for how many of you suckers to accomodate.

But wanted to let you know the first batch of The Utopian #1 has been received and I’ve sent out all the pre-ordered, hand-signed copies today. Here’s what my home studio looked like last night:

Thanks to everyone who pre-ordered the title (which helped pay for the initial print run and supporting materials). If you missed the pre-order, no worries: Visit the “Buy” page, where you can still order the deluxe and standard editions of issue one directly from IndyPlanet. If you want to get signed copies, you’ll need to track me down at a convention. Like maybe the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival on Nov. 7 or Emerald City Comic-Con on March 13 and 14, 2009.

Of course, if you’d prefer to just nix the shipping nonsense and pick one up at your favorite comic shop, please click the image below, print out the coupon and put it in the hands of your local shop owner:

Thank you for your support. Stop back next Wednesday for the start of Part 007, “Odyssey.”

I couldn’t help myself. Sorry.

After some careful consideration (as careful as “hey, f*ck it, let’s do it” can be), I’ve decided to change the posting schedule of The Utopian to both accommodate my ability to produce the best quality webcomic possible and the requests of readers who may have been confused by the presentation of two pages on one day spread across two days of posts.

I’m not going to elaborate more on the technical reason behind the second part of that explanation, but I will say this: You’ll still be getting two pages a week of The Utopian, but you’ll get one page on Wednesday and one on Friday. I’m tweaking the way each page is laid out into order to make the last panel of each its own “cliffhanger” type ending, but otherwise, the only change is the scheduling. I think it makes more sense, rather than being forced to make a self-contained scene out of every two page grouping, and it also spreads out your enjoyment (and my site traffic) across the week.

So check back on Wednesday morning for page 021 of The Utopian saga, and Friday morning for page 022. They’re both going to be pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. Make it easy on yourself and SUBSCRIBE.

If you are a comics fan of any reasonable tastes, then you likely are familiar with The Invincible Super-Blog, Chris Sims’ awfully awesome blog about, um, comics. He is also one of the forces behind Action Age Comics, and the writer of the recent three-part Action Age web series, The Chronicles of Solomon Stone.

Because I really had a lot of time to fill while vacationing at the girlfriend’s parents’ house in the middle of Michigan, I did a sketch of Solomon, his lady friend Minxy Flatbush and, um, Tyrannosaurus Hex. Yeah.

Well, more than a month later, I finally got around to finishing the sketch with some digital inking and coloring. And now, you get to suffer with it while I stall working on this week’s installment of The Utopian.

I don’t know how many people actually bother reading these blog posts that are buried beneath the fold of the actual comic display here, but I’m going to pretend SOMEONE is reading this anyway.

The Utopian is going to find itself collected for print twice this year courtesy of Pop! Goes the Icon, and I’m looking for a few good artists to provide the cover artwork. I’ll be providing the conceptual layout; said artist(s) will provide the finished badassery.

One version will be a 16-page sampler (covering parts 001 and 002) that will be distributed exclusively at San Diego Comic-Con in July. The other is the actual No. 1 issue of the print comic, collecting 32 pages of story plus extras such as sketches, character designs and other unpublished work. That will debut at the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival in November, and will be available for purchase on the web and stores thereafter.

If you are, or know, an artist who might be interested in illustrating the cover for one or both of these books, drop me an e-mail. There is financial incentive, though it will probably be just enough for a nice dinner at Applebee’s. ‘Nuff said.