Lots of Darkness

It took a little while to do this strip. Since I didn't want to waste too much black ink, the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th panels' black were done in Photoshop. Those outlines (and colors) in the 8th panel weren't originally in my mind. But I put it in because I thought it would look like they were coming "out" of the blackness. Comment when you have a chance and tell me what you think of the story so far!

Have You Seen Star Wars?

I like this one a lot. The original idea for the middle panel was to have Merlin and Bob hold their front paws out, but then I thought, "That might make Thidwick a little suspicious." I'm not sure if you know what I mean, and I don't blame you. I can't describe it myself. So I decided to just have them be sitting there normal, to sort of make it better. I'm practically making the story up as I go! (I hope you believe me.)

Maybe the Stick IS the Only One There!

Whoa! Thidwick's right arm (his right, not our right) is too fat in the second panel! It makes him look strong, doesn't it?

Is He Dreaming? Find Out Now!

I love the way his tongue looks in that last panel! And you can see his tongue! What do you think of the little "whack explosion" (that's what I like to call it) in the second panel? That panel looks as if it's full of action, doesn't it? Did you notice that little "http://moeattention.blogspot.com" in the second panel? For about a week, that's not going to be in there. (This strip doesn't count.)

Moe, Out of Nermia...at last.

Merlin and Bob going

?

wasn't originally in my sketch.

This Time, Thidwick, and Not Moe, Faints!

I had to think for a while to think of a good pose for Thidwick in the middle panel, because in the original rough, it was darkness, and we couldn't see Thidwick. I changed it to this because I didn't want to waste almost all my ink in my fat "Sharpie" permanent marker just for this.

It Just Got to His Head.

This is one of the rare times I had to fill up almost the entire panel with black. Comment whenever you have a chance and tell me what you think of the story!

Lots of Teeth!

Roughing out this strip, this was the only idea I could think of. But since it was a rough, I put fewer of the tooth fairy's teeth in there.

I Thought He was Behind the Hydrant!

To keep the sizes of Moe-tooth fairy consistent, I actually traced over the first panel of this strip. Close up, the words that the tooth fairy were saying would say:

"Boy, that kid's teeth will make a great addition to my collection."

You can See His Tongue!

I think all the little kids think of the tooth fairy as a small little lady with wings, so that's the way I drew her for the story. (Who knows? Maybe some kids think of the tooth fairy as a pretty normal lady. Oh well. We all have different points of view.) By the way, since Moe looks big, I drew him with my fat marker. Why? Because all my cartooning books say that "when a thing gets up close to the 'camera,' make the outline fatter. When a thing gets farther away from the camera, make the outline thinner. Well, I'm afraid I can't make it thinner, but I can make it fatter.

Return of the Stick

"Automatic Stick Translation"
Panel 1: "Look out! Here comes the tooth fairy!"
Panel 2: "If you don't look out, she'll pull all your teeth out!
Panel 3: "Run for your teeth!"

Ahh, Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!

That "WAAAAAAH!" thing in the last panel was added in last.

Nermia is Real, Moe

The little black thing at the edge of the first panel is the end of his closet. The little "spinner" at the left of the second panel is the way back into his closet. In my original rough (this is the first panel), Moe's arms were pointing down, instead of left. I changed this to get the feeling of speed. And Moe's eyes were looking at us, half open. I changed this because he thought he was going to hit the wall, and he didn't want to bump his eyes. And, the dialogue for the first panel said:

Oh, great, I'm gonna bump into the wall...3...2...1...

I changed this to make it seem like it was longer. If Nermia wasn't there, he would have bumped into the wall long ago...probably about a half-second ago, in the first panel.

Thidwick Throws Moe Into his Own Closet!

I love the little thick "smoke" I draw when a character is mad. Ahh, here goes Moe into Nermia...

By the way, I've got the first month's worth of strips planned out by now. I'm going to start roughing out the October Nermia strips soon...

This is where the Story REALLY Starts to Happen

Notice that the colors of the sleeping bag, sign, sign stick, and Moe's closet door are the same color as they were last week. And, Moe has his clothes on because I thought he'd have gotten dressed by now. Oh, remember my posts "This is where the Story Starts to Happen" and "Welcome to Nermia?" Well, notice that, in the first one, Thidwick has his pajamas on, but in Nermia, he has his clothes on. I apologize for my inconsistency.

Oh no...

Thidwick dropping his jaw wasn't originally in the rough. It was him making sort of a gasp noise, but the talk bubble said:

!

So, now that he mentioned the Tooth Fairy, you know why the words "Tooth Fairy" is in the title.

That's Pretty Obvious!

"Automatic Stick Translation"
Panel 1: Well...
Panel 2: This place is called Nermia.
Panel 3: It's got trees, it's got a sky, and...

In the second panel, it looks like Thidwick's going to step on the stick.

Hey Thidwick, Ask Him why He Carries That Leaf!

"Automatic Stick Translation"
Panel 1: "Oh, that?"
Panel 2: "Why do you carry that blanket?"
Panel 3: "That's why I carry this leaf!"

That Wasn't Very Stuck!

Okay, stick's translation:
"Hep me out of the muck!"
"Yay! Someone is helping me!"
"You saved me! Thank you!"

Hee Cant Tak Veree Wew.

Wat doo yoo tink uv doz kweschun mawks in da secund panew? It wuz fun twy-ing to tink uv diffrnt ways to wite dem.
HUH?
Translation: What do you think of those question marks in the second panel? It was fun trying to think of different ways to write them.

Oh, and the translation in the title: "He can't talk very well."

Translation in the panels:
Panel 1: "Help me! I'm stuck in the muck!"
Panel 3: "Did you come here to help me?"

Hep Me! Hep Me!

The strips from today to September 17 are going to be of Thidwick and this guy in Nermia. You'll find out who "this guy" is tomorrow.

Welcome to Nermia!

Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm posting early this time.Okay, we finally get a glimpse of what Nermia looks like. I like the first two panels; the really-fast spinning around of the sleeping bag, but Thidwick's head remains at rest. After all, "an object at rest tends to stay at rest." And, as I recall, "...stay at rest until an outside force reacts on it." Not in this case! If this was real, Thidwick's head would be spinning around to. But if I drew this, it would be hard to tell which way he was looking, if he was talking or if the sleeping bag was, what his facial expression would be, etc.

This is where the Story Starts to Happen

That second panel ("Thidwick?") wasn't originally in my rough. I liked trying to think of different Z's for Thidwick.

Now You Know What Kind of Pajamas Thidwick Has!

Ahh, Thidwick has plaid pajamas! Specially for this post, I updated the post of "Introducing Mom" so it says she's good at sewing.

This Is Related to Yesterday's Strip...

I put in a "Meow" and a "Ruff" (I'm now considering I should have put "bark") because I wanted everyone to know that they were in the same house. Of course you should know that, but I still wanted to do it.

Where are Moe's Eyebrows in the Last Panel?

If you're wondering why I put Bob in the second and third panels, it's because he had to find some place to rest, didn't he?!

Woo-Hoo, the Nermia Story Begins!

On each strip, by the way, I'm going to write the word "Nermia" somewhere. Hey, I had to think of some way for Thidwick to come to Moe's house! And if you're wondering why Thidwick brought Bob with him, there's a reason for that too...

From September 4 to December 16...

Ahhh, the Nermia story. As my mom quote, "the un-magical land next door to Narnia." But I said, "If it has the tooth fairy in it, it has to have some magic in it! The only way I could keep the story a novel was to have it go until December 16. Now, I don't have the entire story planned out yet, just the first month's worth. I'll sort of make it up as I post.

The End of the Thunderstorm

Unlike all the other Moe's Dad strips...this did not come from my dad.
Okay, this was just a three-day story. Now we're going to have a 4-month story! It's going to be like a novel! This is because it came from a novel.

Whoa, I'm Glad This Didn't Happen to Our Computer!

Due to a baseball game I'm watching around 7:15, I'm posting really early.

When it came time to draw the strip, I wasn't sure how to have lightning fry the computer. The only way to solve this, I thought, was to ask Mom. Her answer was too complicated to draw in a single panel, so I made it funnier by doing this.