Rupert & Me

My wife and I have been watching Smallville lately, much to her chagrin. We’ve worked our way up through the first four seasons and just  started season five last night. It’s a remarkably uneven  show and you have to  wonder how it’s managed to stay on the air as long as it  has(Smallville just  got renewed for it’s tenth season). It’s a frustrating show that plays it fast and loose with the Superman mythos(Clark Kent and Lex Luther used to be best friends before becoming  mortal enemies, Krypton has a long history with Earth, and Clark meets  virtually everyone he’ll eventually work with as teenagers). But it hasn’t made the biggest and most obvious change.

Newspapers are going out of business. This is no longer a rumor or distant concern, it’s happening right now. In ten years time, or less, the newspaper industry is going to look drastically different, if it exists at all. So, my question is: Without the Daily Planet what is Clark Kent going to do for a living?

Superman has been around for almost eighty years. And in all that time he was always been portrayed, with one or two exceptions, as a mild mannered reporter for the Daily Planet. He took the job so that he would be at the central hub of information. Back then, everything got filtered through newspapers. In that newsroom Clark Kent would get reports from all over the world and know immediately where his help was needed.

Newspapers aren’t that central hub of information anymore. By the time something gets printed in a paper it’s been available online for at least twenty-four hours, and that’s probably being generous.

Clark Kent, mild mannered reporter, is almost as synonymous with Superman as Truth, Justice and the American Way.

Superhero’s are constantly having their origins updated. They existed in a kind of flexible timeline that’s designed to bring in new  readers on a regular basis(and fails miserably, but that’s another story). Iron Man originally was born out of the Cold War, then it was Vietnam War, then it was Gulf War, and Afghanistan/Iraq. Peter Parker was bitten by radioactive spider, nowadays it’s a genetically altered spider. And even in Superman’s story, Lex Luther started out as a mad scientist, then a crazy billionaire and is now the distinction of being the one-time, highschool best friend of Clark Kent.

But Clark Kent has always been a reporter for the Daily Planet. In his seventy-seven years in publication he’s had a short stint as a TV reporter and an even shorter stint in unemployment. But he always returns to being a reporter for the Daily Planet.

I wonder what kind of Superman my son will read about.

Clark Kent, emo and angst ridden blogger?

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Remember, Fruitbasket from Hell is now available as an audiobook from Audible and iTunes for under $10.

The audiobook version of Fruitbasket from Hell is now available from iTunes for $3.95! Go buy it now leave a great review when you’re done reading it!

You know, yesterday morning I was talking to God and asking for His help in getting some projects going around here, seeking guidence on how to better monetize the stuff I do, and, wouldn’t you know, when I got home that night there was an email letting me know that it’s finally here: Fruitbasket from Hell for your ears!

That’s right. The Fruitbasket from Hell audiobook is now available from Audible.com. It’ll be available through Amazon and iTunes by the end of month. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know when it’s up in those stores. But, for now, you can get it from Audible for the low, low price of $6.96. That’s cheaper then most paperbacks. Go on, treat yourself and then tell all your friends how awesome this book is.

Here’s Chapter 1 for free:

Fruitbasket from Hell: Chapter 1

And people say God doesn’t answer prayers.

When you have eaten and are satisfied,
praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. (NIV)

Deuteronomy 8:10

Well, I had hoped to have two good things to share with you, but I guess I’ll have to settle for one.

Back at the beginning of February I submitted Fruitbasket from Hell into Amazon’s Breakout Novel contest. I didn’t really expect to win, given that last year’s winner was “serious literature,” but I had hoped to at least make it through the first round. But, I didn’t. Yes, it’s sad, but I still get the last laugh every time I sell another copy of Fruitbasket from Hell and I do sell them. Every day.

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My second bit of news is actually another entry in the Krumbine’s House Hunting Adventures.

After looking at almost fifty different homes and placing bids on six, we finally got a house!!!!

Except, maybe not.

We’ve been under contract with this house for last two weeks and it has been an emotional rollercoaster. One minute everything’s great and the next, everything’s falling apart. The rules keep changing on us from minute to minute. I want to say that we’ve probably almost lost the house at least twice. It is draining.

Our financing has been the biggest hurdle that we’ve had to overcome. Not that we can’t get it, but it’s that people aren’t sure if we can’t get it for this house. Thank you, Obama, for making this process as complicated as inhumanly possible.

As of this writing, we’re on an upswing. Our financing does finally seem to be locked in and we’re waiting for the home inspection to get done. If all goes well we’ll be closing at the end of March. Don’t worry, Rupert & Me is done far enough in advance that there won’t be any noticeable break as we move.

Fingers crossed, everything’s smooth sailing from here on out. Now that I’ve said that, I’ve probably jinxed us. A giant dinosaur will undoubtedly rise up and crush our house, leaving it in a billion, tiny pieces and we’ll still be forced to buy it.

And it is a nice house. Completely remodeled. 1400 square feet. Secret passageways and hidden underground tunnels. It’s everything I could hope for in a home.

I’m sorry, my wife’s giving me a look. I have to tell the truth now. There really aren’t any hidden passageways.

I have no doubt that this entire experience will be documented in great detail in future Rupert & Me strips. I foresee Jason and & Alice having to move….

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Speaking of Rupert & Me, I reached two hundred strips! This may not seem like a big thing, but it is. A lot of start up webcomics don’t reach two hundred this quickly, without missing a single update. That’s right. Not one single update missed. Go on, check the archives. I’ve actually increased my update schedule. Plus, Rupert & Me has been consistently improving every month. I mean, go back and look at the early strips and then look at today’s. April’s strips are even better looking.

Sorry to toot my own horn, but I’m very proud of myself and no one else is giving me a pat on the back.

That last sentence sounded more bitter than I intended it to. Allow me to elaborate.

I started Rupert & Me back in June of last year. I didn’t know anything about drawing, writing a comic strip, character design or website design. I have been literally learning everything on the go(Quick sidebar, shout out to my former boss Tammy Fuzz Face who thought learning by doing was retarded. Well, Tammy, you’re retarded. And fat. I’m sticking my tongue out at you.) I haven’t gotten as far as I would like, but looking back at where I started, I’ve come a long way.

So, yes, I’m feeling very proud of myself.

I’m totally taking tomorrow off.

I should have good news to share next Tuesday. Please keep us in your prayers. Till then, another book excerpt. Toodles.

Explorers of the Unknown

About the book:

Explorers of the Unknown, the fan-favorite comic book from underdogs Matt and Nathan Roman, is about to hit its 100th issue To celebrate it’ll be switching from a monthly release schedule to a weekly one The only problem is, nobody told Matt. This is the situation Matthew Roman finds himself in upon returning from his honeymoon. This and his brother sleeping around with half the town’s female population. He’s, at best, agitated, and that’s putting it mildly. And thus begins our tale of two brothers, comic books, and newlyweds. . .

CHRISTIAN FICTION

Chapter 1 after the break.

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