I Want Moe Attention: February 2012

2/29/12

Look at Lily!

Happy Leap Day, everyone! I would do a special Leap Day strip if it weren't in the middle of my February-March story. Grr...

Well, I will be putting up a Leap Day-related Flashback Comparison relatively soon!

2/28/12

2/27/12

Hey, A Thinner Pen!

That's right, I finally got a thinner pen! And I have absolutely no idea why, but when it comes time to start a new pen, I write this at the top of the page:

2/26/12

2/25/12

2/24/12

This second Flashback Comparison shows the six days immediately following the previous one. I only have one copy of each strip, rather than three as in the aforementioned previous one. There were two strips for each "original" page, so I duplicated this in my "new" versions. Also, instead of the "original" dates, I put in a newer style of "date," showing that these strips are Flashback Comparisons. I didn't duplicate the "original" dates because I already had strips from those dates.

In all of the "originals," I've had to edit out my last name for privacy. That's why, if you look closely, the background pixels don't exactly match up in those spots.

I decided to put Julia in the second and third panels because I thought it would help explain the scene. Also, I'm not exactly sure why the spot where Moe's hiding is "top secret." Maybe it's a birthday present. Or maybe it's just because I wanted to use the phrase "top secret" in a strip.

Plus, I think I've really improved my sick speak, don't you think?

I had a hard time scanning the third "original" page, which is why there's a page curl on the left side. Also, I decided to change Julia's lines in the first and third panels so that (for the first) it would make a bit more sense, and (for the third) so that it would seem less rude. I also decided to change the camera to make it more like today's digital cameras, not the giant Polaroid-size cameras of yesteryear (and make it the standard color, too).

More Flashback Comparisons to come! Stay tuned!

From Three Thousand Years Ago to Seven Minutes Ago

I put in the floating images as an afterthought; since he's magical, it seemed fitting.

Also, I think I nailed it with their expressions in the last panel. These are the small (ish) touches that make the strip.

2/23/12

The History of Iikutaat, Volume One

I've had the name of "MagiMiss" for almost as long as I have the name of "MagiSir."

2/22/12

She Really IS a Super Genius

With an IQ of 152, Lily would be classified as a "genius" or "very superior." So if her IQ was bigger than that, it seemed only fitting to change "genius" to "SUPER genius."

2/21/12

The Next Generation of the Jones Family

Originally, I was considering making Merlin be a pug. But then I found out about chugs, a chihuahua-pug hybrid. I decided to make Merlin one of those instead, and had already written that into this strip, when I looked through a magazine and found out about the beagle-pug hybrid. I thought those looked a bit more Merlin-y, so I had to white it out and make Merlin a puggle.

2/20/12

Hmm, Clever Misdirection!

2/19/12

Hey, Who Forgot To Split Up The Double Post?

I put in the last panel later on, because I thought it would add a sense of foreboding to the strip, changing the mood of the end from "Ha ha!" to "Ooh..."

It's getting harder to think of double-post titles! Here are the past ones I've done:

Psshhhh! The Double-Post!

Another Double-Post

Yet Another Double-Post

Here's Another Double-Post

Double Post...Again Again

Here At I.W.M.A., We Commonly Create Double-Posts.

I'll Take the Late-Double Post Combo, Please.

Who Ordered the Double Post?

I've Got Another Double Post, Ready For Bids! Any Takers?

There Has Been a Flight Change; This Double Post Will Now Depart from Gate 6A3.

Funding For This Double Post Has Been Provided By Viewers Like You
Hey, Who Forgot To Split Up The Double Post?

2/17/12

A Male and a Female...But What For?

Originally the first panel was a little too wide, and so it squashed the last panel. I had to redraw the whole strip when I realized this.

Moe's original first line was "what's this behind the shrine?" I changed it to this line after I wrote yesterday's strip (yes, I wrote today's strip before I wrote yesterday's).

2/16/12

Now the MagiSir is all Bug-Eyed!

2/15/12

Eight Meters from the Shrine

2/14/12

Well, Hello, Little Miss Hypocrite!

The title is a repeated title of Well, Hello, Mr. Hypocrite! and Well, Hello, Mrs. Hypocrite!

2/13/12

She Has Quite A Lot Of Spare Time, Being Only One Year Old

The name of the shrine is, capitalized, the MagiSir (magi-sir).

Just FYI.

2/12/12

It's The Shrine of Iikutaat!

I had to start using a new pen (the same kind as the ones I bought a couple of months ago) for this strip, as you can see in the logo that the pen is starting to wear out.

Originally the last panel had Moe saying "Oh, sure, NOW you turn on your Thought Translator!" and Lily says "I don't exactly WANT my secret out, if you don't mind!" But there wasn't enough room for that, so I changed it to this.

2/11/12

Flashback Comparison #1

This year marks the ninth year since the predecessor for I.W.M.A. was conceived. To celebrate this (yes, it's not an early 1900th post celebration), I have looked through some copies of my older strips and picked some of the ones that I think were "turning points" of I.W.M.A. history. I will be posting these on the blog, and drawing all-new, upgraded versions for comparison reasons.

This first Flashback Comparison shows the first Moe strip ever created. Ever. It wasn't exactly funny, but it was the seed for this ginormous webcomic tree (okay, that may not have been the best metaphor). It was created in late 2003 on the back of a notebook. The characters have evolved quite a lot since then (both in looks and in personality), so brace yourself...

Wow.

This was way back when Julia and Moe were not brother and sister. Moe was seven early, and Julia was eighteen. Julia was Moe's friend who just happened to be living in the same building. (Maybe it was an apartment...) Moe was an extreme prankster back then, and Julia had a bit of a temper issue (some things never change...).

When I showed this to my dad yesterday, he joked "Why the long face, Julia?" My brother said Julia's head looked like a hot dog, and compared the shape of Moe's head today to this strip. Also, I have no idea why I dated the strip January 1, 2121.

Now, here's an updated version of this same strip I drew just earlier today, with the same overall plot, dialogue, and setting (or lack thereof); only the style of my strip has changed:

I put in the opening row to flesh out the strip a bit more. Originally it was going to be a message introducing the strip, but after I finished the strip, I realized it should be more funny and drawing-filled.

I'm referring to Moe and Julia as "you rookies" because this was their first strip, and Moe's rubbing his eyes because he's going to need to have his eyes wide open for the entire strip.

Also, between 2003 and 2012, I made two other versions of this same strip; one in 2004 and one in 2005. Here's the first (from 2004). I made a book of some of my earliest Moe strips, and this was the first one. Apart from the date being from the 21st century, and the size and shape of Julia's head, not much has changed:

Back in 2005, I was thinking about making copies of my strips and sending them to some syndicates for preparation in case I was still doing this when I was older and more experienced. I figured I'd do this strip again, but I realized it needed a bit more "oomph," so I updated it a bit. Also I realized that Moe's voice was more like a robot's than an alien's, so I changed it to a robot instead of an alien (I'm not sure why I changed his "home planet," though):

Now, with the newest version of this strip, this makes four different versions of this same strip over eight or nine years.

More Flashback Comparisons to come! Stay tuned!

Which is your favorite Nermia story so far?

Mentally Capable? Find Out Now!

Lily's talking about this conversation she had with Moe.

And, yup, there's another "Find Out Now!" in the title!

Plus, the fainted Julia was at a slight angle in my original sketch of this strip (the same angle she's facing when she's standing), so we could see her face, kind of like this strip. I changed it to being face-on (or...maybe not "face"-on...) because I thought it was a little funnier for some reason.

2/10/12

Preposterous

Originally Merlin's phrase said "...invisibility spell," but I changed it to "ignoring spell" because I thought it sounded more accurate.

2/9/12

So The Shrine is the Epicenter?

Like yesterday's strip, Lily's comment about the name being of the shrine wasn't in here. But since I added it in yesterday, I figured I'd add it today as well.

2/8/12

Iikutaat

At first, I wasn't going to have Lily say the thing she said in the middle panel. But I added it in as I was drawing it.

2/7/12

Carbon Dated

2/6/12

Downtown Again

Moe's referencing this strip.

2/5/12

And So Begins The 2012 February-March Story

Normally I try to vary the shades of the characters' clothes (one day Moe will wear an orange shirt, the next a red-orange shirt, the next an orange-red shirt, etc.), but when I do a long story like the Feb-Mar story, I standardize the color scheme (my orange-est orange for Moe's shirt for the entire story).

I've had a lot of fun making this story, and I'm not even finished writing it!

2/4/12

Hypnotized Again

The title is a repeated title of "(((( )))) (((( )))) (((( )))) (((( )))) (((( )))) Hypnotized".

Also, in case you didn't see yesterday's strip, here it is.

Sorry about the double-post and late strip this week. I promise I'll do my best to stay up-to-date for the rest of this year.

Also, I'll try to get a new poll up next week.

2/3/12

I Guess She Could Be Talking To Herself...In A Way...

I'll be honest. When I said that today's strip would be a little late, I didn't expect it to be this late.

Today's strip is actually the third in a line of ideas for Julia's Secret Friend. The first was a "Mystical Disembodied Voice," and the second a ghost.

2/2/12

That's One Big Basketball!

I'm not feeling so hot today, so tomorrow's strip will probably be a little late.

On a more positive note, the new February-March story begins soon!

2/1/12

Funding For This Double Post Has Been Provided By Viewers Like You

I was going to have Heidi be the person Moe was talking to, but I changed it to Mike here (I'm not quite sure why). Also, here are the other double-post titles: