Saturday, December 24, 2011

Rerun under the mistletoe!


Hey guys, have a holiday rerun from the Christmas Krampus!


Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Getting the last laugh


Okay, folks, this is the last one for a little while. I'm not going away forever, but I'm taking a brief vacation to work on some new projects that I'm very excited about and that may, if I ever get the chance to even start them, be publishable. Once I get some other things squared away and have some more time, I'll be able to return to the comic. In the meantime, how do you feel about reruns?

Happy holidays, everyone! And hey, if you miss the comic, say so, and keep voting for it! Knowing you care keeps me going.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Answers to your Snap Ask!

Last week I opened up questions to all the characters of Snap Crackle Pop, not just here on the site, but also on my DeviantArt, Tumblr, and Livejournal! The response was bigger than I expected and the guys had fun being interviewed. Here are your answers, folks! Grab a a cocoa and enjoy, it's a long one!

foreverstrange: I want to know what Stephen does in his spare time?
STEPHEN: How thoughtful of you to ask! I spend much of my time in quiet meditation. A useful zen practice is to breathe in all the bad energy of the universe and then to breathe out all the good, clean feelings I can produce. I like to study the teachings of the Dalai Lama, a most compassionate and marvelous individual. And, of course, I dance like a fiend.
KIT: He does. It’s like Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo up in here.

Abiogenisis: What percentage of that character is actually you?
KIT: Oh, 100%, for sure. This is no joke. The comic was started as a way for me to vent my spleen, so to say, and be a total egotist at the same time, and all the other fun crazy characters just started showing up for some reason along the way. Now they won’t leave. But the comic me is all me, except that I may be a little uglier in real life. Can’t be too candid.

DoctorMo: Where do you sleep?
FINN: Kit tells me to sleep on the couch but I always creep up on the foot of her bed by her feet. Her cat is there. She doesn’t like me. We fight over bed space sometimes. Kit’s feet are warm. I’m a dragon, so I should always win, but Suki... there’s something about her... she gets scary. So I made a hidey-hole in Kit’s closet.
BACON: The idiot tends to forget that we’re beings of supernatural power. I opened up a wormhole to the Hilton.
STEPHEN: I have a lovely temple in my tank.
MORDAK: I NEVER SLEEP!
RANDALL: Mordak, you and I sleep on the windowsill. You remember? When it’s night-night time? Remember, Mordak? I get Blankie for you. Remember? And I get out Mr. Stuffy. We sleep there, Mordak, remember? On the windowsill. That’s where we sleep. I’m sure we’ve been through this.
MORDAK: Silence, brother.

inulover1993: Did Kit ever notice that Finn took all of the bunches out of her cereal?
FINN: Demonology is a subtle art. I’m sure many of you cereal-earting humanoids have long suspected doings of a similar nature.
KIT: He did WHAT? I KNEW it!

OnlyThen: Will Finn ever find a lady demon/fall in love with someone?
FINN: There’s a girl I’ve had my eye on for many years, but that’s... not gonna happen. Somewhere out there, there’s a girl for me. Somewhere, one day...
BACON: You start singing, I’ll punch you in the neck.

ElectricGecko: So are you really canning the strip? If so, how can we stop you?
KIT: Look, kittens in cups!


KIWIGIRL1: Will Finn ever achieve his dream?
FINN: Sadly, I don’t think they make Hammer pants in my size anymore...

pump-kin-pie: What do the little buggers do other than bugging the main character?
FINN: Do? There are other things to do?
BACON: Shut up. You eat chips and watch Discovery Channel. Kit makes you stick to edutainment.
FINN: She says other TV has swears!
BACON: Dude... oh dude...

gingerhaole: I badly need to know Finn’s full name. Bacon’s too, if he has one, but I KNOW Finn has one. Also, where does Kit put all the house imps she has to shoo out of the kitchen?
FINN: My mom named me after my unfortunate uncle, who I messily devoured upon the event of my hatching. My full name is Phinneas Wormwood Bojangles Beowolf Smith.
BACON: Smith?
FINN: It’s a family name!
BACON: Yeah, anyway. I was named after meat.
KIT: You were not. I thought your name was Philip or something.
BACON: Are you fielding this one? I don’t think so! Moving on!
KIT: Sooo... My house imps usually get skooshed with a paper towel and flushed if they’re the small kind, y’know? But I have to admit, I feel bad for them. I mean sure, they’re gross, but I try not to kill them. I also have this empty peanut jar. I’ll try to catch them in that if I can and then just put them outside, but if their little hands get on me, oh man, it’s all over. Cootie dance to the max.

fenmere: How well does your boyfriend enjoy being in the comic? What does he think of the way you draw him?
KIT: Weeelll, technically, it’s not The Boyfriend in the comic strip. Adam is a character that’s got some qualities that are similar to The Boyfriend, but he’s very different. I did it that way deliberately because I wanted someone like my boyfriend in the comic, but not the exact same guy. He’s rather camera shy, and I’ve had bad experiences in the past with including friends in my comic, so it’s better to just make characters. Adam is similar in a lot of ways -- he’s a bit nerdy, he’s into comics and Trek and all the good stuff, but he’s also quite sure of himself, he’s not afraid to talk to girls and say how he feels, and that’s a quality that’s rather unique. Also he can put up with the strange monsters without raising a brow. We haven’t quite figured out why that is yet. Might be the boy’s not right.

muffinpoodle: How long have you been doing the strip now? How long does it take you to finish a strip? What do you do when you get stuck for inspiration or motivation?
KIT: Golly, it’s been (wow, I went and looked it up!) since November 24th, 2006! So five years, now. Gad, that’s a depressing long time. I usually spread out my work on a strip over a few days since I do other things in between -- I spend an hour or so penciling it, a few hours of inking and a few more hours on the grayscaling. It’s all quite boring, but done by hand, so it takes longer. The truth is, I’m never really stuck for inspiration because crazy things are always happening to me and so I can always find a way to stick it in the strip. Either I have a issue I want to talk about and try to make funny -- like body images or fear of creepy crawlies -- or actual funny stuff happens in my life and I think, this would work in the strip. I have a notebook crammed with ideas and my biggest fear is that I’ll honestly never run out of them.

Scarfia: What is Mordak up to? Any evil schemes?
MORDAK: FEAR ME, puling mortal of annoying largeness, for I am ever scheming! Do not be lulled by my diminutive stature, for I have plots galore, GALORE I SAY! Only the other day I was showing Randall a brilliant invention that would have annihilated every iPhone on the planet, thus bringing Earth to a BLISTERING STANDSTILL! Had he not spilled his cocoa on it... well.... DO NOT PESTER ME NOW, HUMAN!

Scarfia: Will Finn ever realize his dream of churning butter?
FINN: I... I don’t know how you know about that... Look, don’t tell my mom, okay? The family is obligated to feed weaker dragons to the hatchlings and... well, this kind of thing would break her heart. Let’s just say I sometimes just stir Kit’s Country Crock with a spoon when she’s not looking. It helps.

LuneLeclercVallois: How do you manage with your personal demons?
KIT: It’s a struggle, for sure. It’s like living with really needy cats. Every day it’s a battle to ignore their bad advice and remind myself that it’s actually NOT okay to throw things at the kids outside, that I actually DO need to pay my bills, that kind of thing. Lucky for me, they’re really lazy demons, and they spend most of the day just raiding my fridge and watching Julie Andrews flicks.
FINN: Do not! Take that back!

MimiLynch: What do personal demons do on their days off?
BACON: Smuggle Cuban cigars.
FINN: Fact is, demons don’t really get days off. We have to be ready at all times, poised like a panther, ready to strike. Evil never sleeps.
BACON: You’re like a cat, you sleep constantly.
KIT: Yeah, on all my sweaters, too.

veddabredda: To duck: Are you friends with the Duck Man from Terry Pratchett's Discworld universe?
DUCK: Quack.
KIT: I’ll translate for Duck. “I’ve never met the man, though he sounds quite the character. I’ll be reading my first Pratchett book this weekend and do so hope to encounter him!”

SinfulDeviant: I wanted to ask Adam a question; Do you like your girls curvy, if so call me!
ADAM: I do like them curvy! Frankly, I like them curvy, skinny, pale, dark, befreckled, any way at all as long as they read, think and are nice. And I may call you, since Kit has made it clear she’s a dead end.

smolderingremains: To Mordak: what's your kinkiest fantasy?
MORDAK: FOR ALL THE PITIFUL HUMANS OF EARTH TO COWER AND CRINGE AT MY MAGNIFICENT, DESTRUCTIVE BRAIN, FOR THE DIASPORA TO FALL TO THEIR KNEES IN HORROR AS I OBLITERATE THEIR PATHETIC LIVES! AND ALSO I LIKE TENTACLE PORN!

Lucasgelati: Trains?
FINN: Sure, I love trains! I... what?
BACON: D’yeah, I don’t get it.
MORDAK: It is a trick!

Roxanna Fortenberry: Will Finn ever get a girlfriend?
BACON: You mean outside of a dirty massage parlor?
FINN: Hey! Well Roxanna, I think the right girl is out there for me somewhere. It’s a full-time job, being a demon, of course, but once I’ve tucked a few souls away, I can see myself one day coming home to someone who’d cook for me... massage my feet... but this wild horse can never be totally tamed.
BACON: Hey Wild Horse, that reminds me, I borrowed your copy of Tits Ahoy.
FINN: Aw dude...

Roxanna Fortenberry: Where in Hawaii do you live anyways?
KIT: The cold part, currently. I live on the island of O’ahu, up on the north shore, the very country, surfer side of the island. I have a little shack (often overrun with bugs and beasties) which I love, but I still find it freezing because, having lived here for six and a half years, I’ve turned into a total baby.

Roxanna Fortenberry: What other comics are you wanting to work on? Will you ever take guest comics? What is your favorite comic?
KIT: I have several different plans for books, actually. A few illustrated picture books for children, and a few graphic novels. Many of these include pirates, monsters, bad poetry and heroic young folk, in my own whimsical and ridiculous style, and I hope that it translates into something vaguely publishable in the future. I’ve taken guest comics for SCP from :icon:The-Savage-Ape-Man before, who does great work in a style completely different to mine so it’s refreshing to see, but I have a very personal relationship to SCP so I would have to know and trust the guest artist completely, and understand their style, before I submitted any guest comic as a part of my regular lineup, though folks are ALWAYS welcome to do “fan art” as egomaniacal as that sounds! As to my favorite comic, I have a few that have always inspired me. Calvin and Hobbes, like many people, is the reason I’m here, and Bone by Jeff Smith completely changed my artistic life. It was Jeff Smith who turned me on to Walt Kelly’s Pogo, a fantastic vintage comic strip that I eat up just like candy. I also love Sherman’s Lagoon, Pearls Before Swine and Get Fuzzy. A great indie webcomic, of course, is my friend Isa’s Namesake,http://www.namesakecomic.com/ which, for fans of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, or anything good at all, is a treasure trove.

Roxanna Fortenberry: Hey Finn! For someone who has a crush on Kit, you sure are mean to her! WTF?
FINN: WHO TOLD YOU I HAVE A CRUSH ON HE––––err, Miss Fortenberry, you’re clearly confused. Perhaps you bumped your head. Or perhaps I should bump your head. Anyway, I have to be mean to Kit. Not only is she a ninny, and she deserves it, but it is one’s job. if one does not do one’s job, one loses it, and then one does not get to see one’s ninny ever again.
BACON: You are such a lurchburger.

secondlina: Why two demons? The traditional number is one or three. Also, why a winged pig?
BACON: Why a French Canadian? That’s like saying you’re a cheeseburger pizza, it’s like, pick one!
KIT: Bacon, if you don’t shut your piehole, it’s gonna be full of my fist. Anyway, I never actually gave much thought to the traditional number of demons because they just sort of appeared and stuck around. I hadn’t intended on having Bacon be a regular character when I introduced him, and he went away for a while, but came back when I introduced Finn. They worked so well together, it just seemed right. I guess Warburton kinda makes three, when he shows up, but for me, it was just an accident that the characters worked out the way they did. As to what Bacon is, his first appearance in the comic was a reference to Hell having frozen over and pigs flying, sure signs of the end of the world because I was in an unnatural happy relationship (all the more unnatural because I had invented the boy myself, and Bacon was there to make me destroy him... ah, the early days).


Dahlia-Mockery: Question for all the demons: what is your idea of the perfect woman?
FINN: Oh, someone uncomplicated. Someone sensitive and compassionate who enjoys the simple things like... corrupting the souls of the living... setting small creatures aflame with her breath... reading Pablo Neruda on a beach...
BACON: I like spanking. And big jugs. And naturally I prefer vegetarians or at least Kosher gals.
WARBURTON: Xena.

alexajaye: Finn: When will we see the softer side that keeps creeping in on occasion on a more permanent basis?
FINN: Sorry, babe. Doesn’t exist. I live on the edge, see? I’m a DRAGON, mujera, I breathe hot fuego! Yeah, that’s right. Know who my boss is? I can’t even say his name, that’s who my boss is. Ask Gotti’s people if they could say THAT. Softer side? I’m covered in red scales. I got armor on my armor. Smaug was a milksop pantywaist, homie.
BACON: You just made a Hobbit reference while sitting on your unicorn needlepoint.
FINN: I BROKE IT! YOU MADE ME BREAK IT!


Thanks for your questions, everyone! Hope you enjoyed the interview!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

One way to get a vacation


I posted this a while ago on several other websites, but forgot to do it here: I'm doing this thing just for fun where, if you like, you can send in questions to any character in the comic strip, any question at all no matter how weird, personal, mundane or bonkers, and I, or the character, will have it answered by Saturday. (Unless the question is "Are you really canning the strip?" in which case I'll probably change the subject to kittens or something.)

All questions from all the collective websites will be posted together with the answers on Saturday. If you can think of any for me or my characters, ask me here or shoot me an email! mambo_lotus(at)hotmail.com!