I'm way behind on getting the comic printed. I just haven't had time to do the cover and I'm looking into possibly getting the work for it commissioned. I do, however, have some art I'd like to use for Vol 2. If the art idea for Vol 1 doesn't pan out, I may use the vol 2 art instead.

I was thinking I might print the downtime storyline as a trade but I realized it's only 31 pages. Not really enough to do as a trade considering Vol 1 will be 114 pages. Guess I'll need to wait until the second story is done (which shouldn't be too long anyway.)

Vol 1 will probably be $20USD when it is done. I know, expensive, but they are not cheap to print and ship sadly.

I'm also going to Anthrocon again this year. Hadn't originally planned on it but why not. Friend of mine booked a hotel room already for us so we're good to go. Just need to book my flights.

Years ago I read an interesting article about two straight men who fell in love:

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-149.....st-friend.html

The article stuck with me primarily because it challenged the definition of a loving relationship and of course the requirements for such. Two people can come to care enough about each other that they miss each others presence and want to spend their lives together even if there is no physical sexual attraction involved. It's an interesting dynamic.

It stuck with me so much that I found it greatly influencing my thoughts about Lex and Toby's relationships. Yes, Toby is queer (I use that term mainly because I'm not entirely convinced that he's 100% gay -- I think he leans somewhat bi) but Lex is not. Or at least he leans heavily towards the straight end of the spectrum. Still, in my mind I can see Lex worrying about Toby often. I can see him being happy to see Toby enter the room (even if he doesn't always show it). I can see him enjoying cooking dinner for Toby. The same is true for Toby.

Although they are not in a traditional romantic relationship, the two are in a loving relationship of some form. They don't even know it themselves. In my mind I think Lex finds that very difficult to wrap his head around. It's going to come up again down the road in a few different ways.

I realize I pat myself on the back a lot for my comic. I realize that's probably a little arrogant but really, I'm just so damned proud of myself. A year and a half of Space Pawdyssey now! A year and a half of me doing a full color, full page bi-weekly story! I'm so proud of my myself. I'm happy to start working more and more on backgrounds and getting better and better at the actual character art. I'm pleased with the story so far (although I know the action has slowed) and I am very happy with how characters have developed.

Two more weeks of the little downtime story I have on the go. I have one more thing I want to touch on (what happens when Rose meets Toby), some wrap up and then we jump into a new storyline.

I'm still eager to get Volume 1 printed I just need cover art. The artist I was hoping to commission is really busy at the moment so I probably won't be able to use him. I may just need to make time to do the cover myself.

If you are looking to catch up on the comic, the easiest way to read it is probably at the home site:
http://spacepawdyssey.visualvoodoo......in-the-jungle/

I love Lex and Rowan. I was working on #140 yesterday and I'm really pleased with how it came out. Two characters who, at first, didn't trust or like each other and end up finding out that there's more to each other than they expected. That realization has them both suddenly talking and, well, learning that they enjoy each other's company.

That said, don't expect any characters to magically "pair up". *IF* any of these characters end up in any significant relationship it won't be a magic, overnight thing. The Lex and Rowan thing just felt good for some reason. I loved exploring these two so much and page #140 has really made enjoy Rowan. I'm thrilled that I've found my legs with her. I've been desperate to do her justice as she was for a time the only female character.

Not sure yet what to do with Rose. Rose was a happy accident but she's not Alliance but I do want her to remain part of the cast in some capacity.

Oh, and Rose's glasses? I HATE DRAWING THEM. So... *poof* they went. No other reason for their disappearance.

Seemed like it could be interesting.

Ask me "Too Much Information" type questions and I'll try to answer.

I'm going to try to get back to streaming. I used to do it fairly regularly but just haven't of late.

I'm going to try to get back to a Tuesday / Thursday streaming schedule or at least stream more often while I'm drawing. (Around 6:30/7PM Atlantic - 9/9:30PM Atlantic)

I stream at:
picarto.tv/frostclaw

So I'm almost a year an a half into Space Pawdyssey with 135 pages done.

I'm still hoping to get the first story published but I need some cover art. I've contacted someone about it and they hope to have commissions open mid-January. I can't find the time myself sadly and this is an artist whose work I adore and whom I respect a great deal. I'm hoping he'll take me up on it and draw the cover.

Currently I'm in the middle of the "Downtime" series of strips. I wanted to show the characters interacting in different ways with different combinations of characters. This has gone a bit longer than I expected and will still go for a bit yet but it has been pretty fun for me. It's been a chance to be cute, funny and sweet with these guys. Etzel has come on his own as another member of the primary cast which makes me really happy. To think he was a one-shot character designed solely for a joke about cafeteria food and then got promoted to murder victim and now ended up not only not dead but a regular member of the cast.

The next storyline is also planned out. It's very Lex-centric. It also showcases Rowan heavily as well with, of course, a some Toby and Felix. It will kick off once everyone's back from their little field trips as part of this storyline.

It's no secret now that Lex is probably my favorite character. He's got a big heart but he also has the potential to be a huge asshole and this comes out in spades in the coming story. Rowan is finding her ground too of late and I'm excited to showcase her more too. They do continue their friendship going forward especially after Lex reveals some of his worries. We'll get to see angry Toby again and a very resourceful Felix. That's all in the works.

So more fun comics ahead I hope! Thanks for reading through 2017 and I hope you continue to follow the comic in 2018 and going forward!

Hi folks,

I'm leaving for Tennessee on Dec 18th and staying there for 10 days to spend Christmas with my partner.

With that said, there will probably not be any comics published during that time. Timing is unfortunate as it will come just a as a new little storyline kicks off but it can't be helped. I should be back at it in the new year!

But yeah, Christmas in Tennessee! First time I've ever spent Christmas away from my close family. It's also a bit intimidating spending it with my boyfriend's family for the first time.

~Frost

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Felix is such a lovable little goofball. He's grown on me a lot.

I do hope to eventually grow him into a very capable character as he gains confidence.

A new character shows up this week. She was just created initially to move Felix's little story along but I think she's going to end up being more. She's a cat (despite how rare they are) and eventually I plan to have her meet Toby.

I need to finish designing a character real quick for Felix's storyline. I know *what* she is and have a mental picture of her, I just need to sit and finish drawing her. I'm working on a Persian cat named Rose. I want to give her a nerdy "average girl" look as I don't want to fall into the tropes most female feline characters tend to fall into.

Felix's current story is based slightly on my adventure in Paris years back. I got lost. This was 15 years ago (holy crap I'm old!). I was following maps but ended up going North instead of South. Eventually I found my way to a subway but not before almost losing my card in a bank machine -- my only source of funds. I had also managed to crush my glasses and fry the power supply on my laptop in that same trip. (I still had fun)

Unrelated -- work/life/comic balance has been rough mainly because work has been super busy and life has been very engaging. In a long distance relationship and frankly couldn't be happier. That said, each time we get together has just made the time apart more difficult. I don't think I've ever been this fond of someone. :3

I'm really, really excited for the upcoming storylines! While they don't emphasize the "Space" part of Space Pawdyssey much I like the idea of doing a bit of downtime with these guys and getting inside of their heads a bit. It's also a chance to mix up characters a bit.

- Felix's solo adventure
- Rowan and Lex's outing
- Toby and Etzel's cooking class

They all take place at the same time but I'll be going through each of them one after the other instead of bouncing between them.

Done visiting  fredrykphox in Tennessee and now in Nova Scotia for training. Home Friday and then back to working on comics!

Will be nice to be home! Looking forward to picking up my dog from the kennel.

So I'm taking a vacation soon (Oct 7th) and heading down to Tennessee to visit my boyfriend. Looking forward to it but for obvious reasons I won't be able to work on the comic (my gear is all up here in Canada). So there will probably be a bit of a gap while I'm away.

After I return I'll be heading to Halifax Oct 15th for training for work. That leaves me in a hotel for a week and again without access to my tablet and gear.

So a couple of weeks without comics. I'll try to still post some interesting pics and such to tide you over.

I'll try my hardest to get a comic done before I leave for Oct Oct 9th but that will be heavily dependent on how everything else goes and looking at my workload I don't know if it's doable. :\

But hey -- visiting the boyfriend! Yay!

At some point, Space Pawdyssey is going to feature a cooking class attended by two character and leading to wacky hijinks etc.

The question is, what do I want to have them cook that could lead to disaster.

"Tisp? What's a tisp?" - Toby

Drawing Lex, Toby and Etzel in swim trunks for the next comic and I can't wait. I get a kick out of drawing fuzzy tummies as evidenced by at least two occasions where you see Lex's tummy in the comic (go head, look for them! hehehe)

I really want to do more with Etzel. He's gone from the source of a cafeteria food pun to a well developed character in my head and I want to see more of him in the comic.

When I look at someone's art I sometimes get that feeling "gee, I wish I could do that."

After this past year though, I've started realizing that it's not a matter of "I can't do that" -- it's a matter of "I haven't learned to do it *yet*"

The original ending to Space Pawdyssey had Etzel being shot and killed. The ambassador and Connor are meeting with Avians when the attack happens and the ambassador dies. Murphy pins the blame on the Space Pawdyssey gang and Felix is implicatd in Etzel'a death. They are force to escape the Alliance and ene up on the run. In that same script during the first confrontation with Murphy, Felix gets into an argument with Rowan and states something along the lines that she thinks she's his mother. Rowan gets understandably pissed after and refuses to speak to Felix.

In the end, Felix alienates one friend, loses a other and is on the run from the very organization he admired. He loses everything.

A bit of a bummer ending and I didn't like how dark it got.

Also in an early draft Connor dies. At one point I had a script where Toby dies. The goal with each death was to act as a catalyst to Felix and Lex's development. Neither on stuck around long.

The "Etzel dies and Felix get the blame" was the real ending for a long time.

Page 112 will be the last page of this particular Space Pawdyssey story.

So now what? Is this the end of Space Pawdyssey?

Over the next month or so Space Pawdyssey will continue as a once a week comic. This gives me time to do the cover of the Space Pawdyssey trade paperback and get it sent to the printers. No big mass printing yet -- I'm just trying to get a feel for costs. I'm hoping if the cover comes out okay that I can also do it up as a stereoscopic 3D print with the help of a friend of mine who did the 3D conversions for the Madman 3D Spectacular and the Madman 3D Trading Cards. (Heck, I may even do a limited run of 3D Cover trades)

As for the comic, there's still a lot to tell. You didn't think Lex was just going to get off with trying to sabotage an Alliance ship did you? Rowan, Connor and Felix are all carrying around some baggage too from the ordeal that they need to unpack. The gang will be grounded for a bit and given some time to cool there heels so expect some comics about their day to day when they aren't flying around on a ship.

This also gives me a chance to tweak character designs and uniforms. Overall I don't mind how these guys are looking so I don't think I'll be making any huge changes (it would be too jarring if I did) but I do intend to give them new uniforms down the road. I just need to come up with designs that are simple enough that I don't lose my mind drawing them, evoke the same general look as the alliance ones and allow each character to show their personality through what they wear.

Etzel and Figgis (the Chihuahua) will likely stick around in support roles. Another character will show up soon too -- Sara, an old colleague of Connor's who treats him like a younger brother. I've been working on her design. I have an idea of how I want her to act and her general build (burly and boisterous). She'll be playing a more prominent role in the story. That said, I've been trying to figure out what *species* she should be. I've been looking at the possibility of making her a boar, wolverine or badger. Thoughts?

So yeah, more stories yet to come!

The first Space Pawdyssey should end at page #112.

After that, I'll be taking a break for a bit to work on the cover art for the trade paperback and designs for the second story. There will be occasional pages in between though so you'll still get some comics but they will not be quite as frequent (1 a week I hope). These comics will talk a lot more about the gang's downtime and their day-to-day so expect it to be more character driven.

Once everything is done and Vol 1 is off to print, I'll be working on the second story. It will be a lot shorter than the first but it should still be fun.

Well, after a few weeks of worrying about missing a comic this week it has happened -- no comic today! We'll have to wait a week to find out what happened to Toby and Rowan!

Meanwhile, it's off to Fundy Fan Fest for me!

Come visit me, Fredryk Phox/Matthew Gafford, Arcane and MXC at Fundy Fan Fest Aug 25-28 in Saint John, New Brunswick! Catch Kevin Smith's podcast! See artists, animators and celebrities!

Also, due to preparations for Fundy Fan Fest (and my company) comics may see some delays over the next two weeks.

We're here! The big "end" to the first story!

Murphy and his associate have the drop on Connor.
What happened to Toby, Rowan and the Ambassador?
Will Lex and Felix show up in time?

You'll find out some this week, and some next.

I'm quite proud of myself for getting this far. This coming month is going to be rough going due to some other commitments and company I have visiting but I'm going to try my hardest to stay on schedule, especially given the content. It's going to be a series of cliffhangers.

Have fun! This week will mark the 100th comic too!

A year ago yesterday Space Pawdyssey #1 was finished and tossed onto the interwebs!

Well, that was my first AC. I don't think it will be my last.

I didn't do any panels or anything. Instead I hibg out with people, did some sketches, visited The dealer den and artist alley and saw a bit of Pittsburgh. I'll be honest, I spent the first 30 minutes in my room feeling overwhelmed. It took a bit for me to head down and mingle.

I had someone approach me and tel me they were fans of my work. That made my day :)

My next trip out will likely include setting up an artist alley table if possible and bringing Space Pawdyssey with me. I may bring it if I can finish it and print it in time for MFF. (Should be doable)

I'll be at IR as well this year. Gonna be busy.