Morning! Wow, it’s still warm in here. But, I promised I’d ramble a bit about our time at Anthrocon and so, ramble I shall.

First off, a big thank you to everyone who stopped by to see us! As I said last night, you guys are awesome! It’s been a few days now and I’m still blown away that people like what I do. I’m just like bubbly and blushy and then I start mumbling and talking fast because I get all shy and nervous. So, in case I didn’t come across coherently at the con, thanks so much for stopping by, reading the comic, and offering your support. This wouldn’t be possible without you all. So, thank you!

The con was a blast! This AC was very good to us sales-wise, which is always nice. Also, both Matt and myself had a great time, which is just as important. While my job is pretty flexible – being self employed and all – Matt’s isn’t. With his vacation time limited, we go to cons instead of taking vacations. So, being able to relax and enjoy a convention is always a bonus.

We visited the Toonseum which was so cool! They’re currently showing select cels and backgrounds from Akira which were breathtaking! The level of detail… just astounding. Seriously, if you’re in the area, stop by and check the Toonseum out.

Due to the table, Matt and I didn’t get to see too much of the con itself – we can’t both be away from the table and even one of us being away is best kept to a minimum. But, we did get to see Tom Smith’s concert Thursday night and I got a chance to go to Uncle Kage’s “Presenting Furry to the Public” panel, which was informative and gave me a few ideas for future things I’d like to try. We also got to hang out with friends in the evening, talk shop, and meet up with everyone we haven’t seen in a while. I’m not comfortable naming names because I know I’ll end up accidentally leaving some people out and that’s something I don’t want to do. So please excuse me being a bit vague.

I also did a bit of browsing this con. With CN:H bringing in a steady income and supporting itself, I’m now getting paid which means, I can shop! I picked up a few shirts, a lovely glass pendant from Foxfeather (I really want to commission her to do a puffin one for me, her art is so lovely), the first three issues of ‘Nightshift’ (which is an awesome comic), and two ‘Usagi Yojimbo’ sketchbooks and a Usagi doll from Stan Sakai! Squeeeee! So cool!

But yes, so much fun. Our annual January disaster permitting (because we seem to have something happen each year) we’ll be back next year. I’m so excited! I’ll get to see everyone again.

But for now, on to business… As I said earlier, sales were very good which means there are some changes in the store. Issues 1-4 and Issue 6 are completely sold out. They are out of print and will not be reprinted. At the moment, there are only five copies of Issue 5 and twenty of Issue 7 remaining. These will not be reprinted either. We’ve also sold a little over half of our first order of the Volume I trade, which means we’ve more than made back the initial print run cost! Matt has contacted Transcontinental, who we’ll be using for any future trades, for price quotes on a possible second print run of Volume I and other future volumes.

We did have a number of requests for a reprint of the prologue trade. What has stopped us in the past is the cost – with the prologue in color the cost of printing is quite high. While many people are willing to sell a 100 page trade at $20, I would really prefer to keep the cover cost a bit lower. We’re also in the process of getting quotes from Transcontinental for a prologue trade and should hear back in a week or so. If all goes well, we’ll have a new, edited edition of the prologue trade available for next year’s AC.

I’ve also been batting around the idea of a Ruby partial suit, mainly because I think it’d be fun and I’d like to have one made before someone else does. I’d also like to come up with some new give-aways for the table, like maybe a new mini-comic that’s con only each year. Matt and I are finding that we like giving things out. It’s fun and it seems to make people happy, which is always a good thing.

So yes, Matt and I have a few ideas for the future – new mini-comics, give-aways, contests, and such. We’ll say more as things develop. But for now, I have some catching up to do before I can start drawing for today. Thanks again and take care!

“Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from doing something worthwhile.”
– Pierre Coneille

Hey, guys! Matt and I will be heading out to Anthrocon early this Wednesday and should be back sometime late next Monday evening. We’ll be closing the online store down tomorrow like we usually do for conventions – it’s too easy to loose track of orders and shipping while on the road.

We’ll be in the Dealers Den at table F-09 and will be giving away the “Ruby Sunset” promotional print as well as a mini comic while they last. We’ll also have the remaining single issues of 2-7 for a $1 (there aren’t many of these left) as well as the Volume I trade, Issues 8 and 9, and some panels from the hand-drawn pages of Issues 2-4 cut into ATC (artist trading card) sizes for $3 each. They even come with a holder. So, if you’re thinking of going to the con, please stop by and say hi.

In other news, we have a little something extra to offer on Sundays… the original 2003-2004 version of the comic. Each Sunday a page from the old version will be posted. We’ve enough pages to keep a Sunday update happening well into 2012, so this should be interesting.

A little note, these pages are rough, old, and some things have changed in the series since they were done. CN:H went through its final development stage between the end of these old pages and the start of the current Prologue. So please, don’t take the pages in the original 2003-2004 archive as canon. They’re there as a glimpse of how things have changed – and hopefully improved – over the years.

I’d better get some work done. I want to get page twenty-one of Issue 10 done for the Supporters before we go (Supporters, your Monday update next week will be an extra “The Incident” page instead of page twenty-two of Issue 10. Sorry for the delay.)

Thanks for reading and take care!

“Oh, Harvey, Harvey, Harvey the Wonder Hamster. He doesn’t bite and he doesn’t squeal, he just runs around on his hamster wheel. Harvey, Harvey, Harvey the Wonder Hamster! HEY, HARVEY!”
– Harvey the Wonder Hamster – Weird Al Yankovic

Hey guys! We’ve had a number of new Supporters recently (Thanks, guys!) so I just wanted to remind everyone about something quick. When you sign up for a Supporters account, an email will be sent to you, usually within a few minutes.

The system was automated a while back to prevent down time while we’re at cons. Because the United States Highway Patrol kind of frowns on typing while driving. They have no sense of humor. *wink*

Unfortunately, the emails occasionally get caught by spam filters. So, if you’ve bought a Supporters account and haven’t received a message with your password, please check your spam filter. If it’s still not there, then an error’s occurred with the system on our end. Please email us at rcsi@rcsitravel.net and we’ll get you set up.

Also, please make sure you enter your email address correctly when signing up. Yes, this happens now and then and it will make your password unable to reach you. And no one wants that, right? Right.

Thanks, guys!

“A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.”
– Emo Philips