Natal Incept Date

Today is my birthday. I'm having dinner with some friends, but otherwise, it's just another day. I hope someday to be able to afford to have hobbit birthday parties...

I decided to do a bit of figuring. As of right now, I've been alive 15,706 days (including the 11 February 29ths I've seen). Without getting too crazy with the exact hour of my birth, that means that I've been alive roughly 376,944 hours, or 22,616,640 minutes. If I have a normal lifespan for a male, I have just over 11,000 days left in this incarnation. That's roughly 1571 weeks, or as Flynn would put it, it's about 3142 plot comics and 4710 Trinities.

That's right - I've got to go; I have 7852 scripts to write.

My Friends Know Me All Too Well

This was in my Email recently...

Thanks, Max...

I Return

Like so many ideas, it sounded reasonable at the time. I had the funny, he had the pretty... joining them would be easy. We began with light hearts and a very random posting schedule, and for a time we just amused ourselves and our friends. It seemed there was always time for a good sermon, no need to worry about continuity, and plenty of apple butter to go 'round. We bathed in the comments of our readers, who laughed and cried with us, and slowly named themselves "fans."

And there it began to change.

You see, the fan is to the internet creator as the faithful are to the preacher. If they come to your little church, and maybe bring others with them, it proves to you that all of your pulpit pounding is not in vain. For that vindication, you must give them something in return. You have to offer up what they seek - be it guidance or salvation or an example or protection - in the proper doses to keep them coming back for another hit. In short, you now have a responsibility to your flock.

Although the comic rolls along, the blog has not. I have failed in my responsibility. I was called away to the mountaintop (well, a mountain of paperwork, but still) and I left you to your own devices. Although I was given no stone tablets with commandments to bring back with me, I did sort of expect to find you all dancing naked at the feet of a golden calf. Apparently, in my absence, cooler heads prevailed (which is comforting and disappointing at the same time).

Please understand that I am sorry, and to make ammends, I intend to begin a frenzy of posting that will rival the Great Comment War of '04. There will be religious posts, funny posts, sick posts, clever posts - hell, I might even talk about Harry Potter's wang again...

It's good to be back.

Papal Edict

The Black Vatican website is now a LIVE beta!

His Sinfulness commands all of the faithful to go there NOW! Do not read your email. Do not answer your phone. Do not visit with coworkers. Go - go now, or face the wrath of the Sable Primate - he's like, fierce, or something.

We are still adding stuff to it, but it is finally there, and the cover art for the next chapter is up as well (one of my favorite single frames so far). The podcast is also there for those foolish enough to listen...

Something New

A recent conversation at the Black Vatican...
HSBP: Oh come on! How hard could it be? The computer does most of the work for you anyway!
Flynn: Right... and your part is soooo hard - steal a few jokes from Apple Geeks and Penny Arcade...

So, we decided to shake things up a bit, try some role reversal. Flynn wrote the script and I drew it.
Click to Enlarge
We're very sorry. Won't happen again. (But I do think I captured Flynn's hair pretty well.)

Black Vatican #12

Artist's comments:
In this comic, I am especially happy with the first frame. The blurring I put on the back BCPs gave a solid feeling of atmospheric perspective, which is good because I wasn't sure how to accomplish that look with just the solid colors that I use to shade the characters. The last frame in this comic was tossed in well after the comic script was completed. Linus and I had talked about dividing the comic into chapters, and this comic being the last in the introductory series seemed the best place. We talked over a few ideas, and I ended up putting together a kind of 2001 door-of-light cliffhanger. It took some doing; the original frame had a close up of Flynn with the light in his face, but I had some trouble getting it to look just right. Luckily, Linus had the solution, and we ended up using a Neo from the second Matrix look, which I'm very pleased with.

The next few comics will be current events and cover art as we prep for Chapter 1, and we have just recorded a special Pod Cast of the Pope and I discussing how far we've come. In the meantime I want to know what you guys thought of chapter 0...
Comments Go Go Go!

Reverend's Comments:
Chapter 0 has been a growth experience. Like Flynn's hair, the comic is taking on a life of its own...

As for the podcast, I am afraid of what will make it into the final cut. Our conversation ranged from how the comic gets made to cross-dressing in Islam to UFC fighting... I hope Flynn is judicious with his editing.

BCP Preview!

Artist's Comments:
It should be noted that the comic was, in fact, finished on time. However, in his infinite wisdom, HSBP has declared that the comic requires more panels, reverse angle shots, action shots, perhaps a money shot... I'm not entirely sure. What I do know is that I've been sent back to the drawing board for some tweaking. Version 2.0 will premiere on Thursday... mostly because by Wednesday, for better or worse, I'm moving on to the next exciting adventure.

Reverend's Comments:
I warned Flynn that using cheap Asian labor might cause problems... he helpfully pointed out that if we don't employ them, they will have to go back to making soccer balls by day and giving handjobs in alleys by night. My conscience was assuaged.

He is right, however; the comic was completed on time, and it was quite good - but our fans deserve the very best. That's right - the delay is for YOU, the loyal reader.

In fact, I think we can blame this whole thing on YOU. If you would all just tithe properly, we could afford to hire more assistants for Flynn...