Hey kids! It’s been a crazy two weeks, bouncing from the Long Beach Comic Con over Halloween weekend to the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival this past weekend. I really appreciate all the people who came out to both, especially those of you who stopped by the tables, and even more, those of you who bought some silly comics.

If you’re the type who’s been waiting for the final chapters of The Utopian in printed form, well, your wait is nearly over! This Saturday, at MaximuM Comics at 520 S. Marks St. in Henderson, Nev. (in the Wal-Mart center), I’ll be officially unveiling the final issue, as well as signing copies, doing sketches, kissing babies, breakdancing, jousting and solving world hunger from 12 to 3 p.m. The store will be giving away free stuff in a raffle, as well as offering snacks and beverages, and maybe even a chair for me to sit in!

Of course, that day is ALSO the grand re-opening of Alternate Reality Comics (4110 S. Maryland Parkway), so I recommend preparing yourself for a day of comic book awesomeness. Stop by both shops and show your support for the magic of four-color fantasticness!

If you don’t live in Las Vegas and still need your copy of The Utopian #4, you can order it online anytime from our friends at IndyPlanet. Or, you know, demand your local shop-keep carry the thing!

Hope to see you all this Saturday. Excelsior!

Hey folks! Miss me? OF COURSE YOU DID.

So things are going pretty well over here in Utopian world. Even though you haven’t seen new page updates (and, well, after page 109, why would you?), I’ve been working on all sorts of behind the scenes stuff, not the least of which includes ensuring copies of issue number four arrive in time (you did pre-order yours, right? No? GET ON IT.). We’ll be doing a release party for that in Vegas in November, but let’s talk about that later, eh?

Primarily, I’ve been prepping for a few different upcoming comic conventions, the first of which most concerns us now, because it starts in just four days: Long Beach Comic Con (in Long Beach, Calif., naturally). Though this is only the second year for the event (held at the Long Beach Convention Center), it’s kind of huge already. You can find me all weekend, from Friday, Oct. 29 through Sunday, Oct. 31, in Artist Alley, at table #2104. Where might that be? Check out this handy map!

Yep, so somewhere in the back corner. I’ll have all first three issues of The Utopian, other anthologies with my work in them, and nifty extras, like these awesome Utopian paper dolls created by the charming and talented Tiarra Wantz:

So, if you’ll be there, I’ll be there. Bring me a pretzel or beer money or something and I’ll even draw you something.

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.

Edit, 9/9/10: Let the confusion end! Image and Guggenheim have renamed their new series “Halcyon.” Check it out at Image’s website. Best of luck to Marc and his new series!

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.