Though it was written, what, four months ago, I’ve only just found this. I’ve not heard of Associated Content before, and I don’t know who Lindsay Lauters is, but it still kind of makes me feel all giddy inside.

Top 5 Web Comics by Female Comic Creators: Online Comics About and by Women

Check it, Holmes. Why on earth is Random Assembly listed with Girls with Slingshots and Octopus Pie? Weird, and totally unexpected.

So a while ago, for some unknown reason, Señor Lesnick decided to take requests for fanart. Check it out!

I’m so excited! Wheeeeeee!

So I got another one of those wild hairs up my butt to make something I’ve never made before. Today’s experiment: spicy red cabbage soup.

It’s a good thing when I say I cook like my mother. She’s the best experimental chef, like, ever. If you have a pretty good idea how something will taste, how flavors will blend together, and how a dish will unfold in your mind, then your experimental cooking, uh, experiments will turn out pretty ok most of the time.

Back in college, I remember coming home after a long, long drive to a kitchen filled with the most awesome smells. Mom was attempting a sort of Thai infused cabbage soup, and the whole thing ended up being delicious, all be it purple. Red cabbage will do that. I think I ate that soup for a week back at school.

Anyway, I needed to see if I could recreate this soup, but all I could remember her putting in there was red cabbage, chicken broth, beef broth, and red thai paste. When that’s all you can remember, you have to improvise. And when it really gets down to it, no matter what you put in a soup, if you have a killer spice rack, you can make anything delicious.

I think the soup turned out pretty tasty. It was just the right amount of spicy for me, and not nearly spicy enough for Lee, but you can always add stuff to make things hotter.

So I’ve got a lot of things going on right now. As is usual Sam fashion, I’ve got far too many commitments, and I’ve got to cut back on some things in order to get other things done. I am definitely not giving up on the comics, they just, you know, might not be right up on time every Wednesday at the crack of 1:00am.  Take this week’s comic for example… I’m almost finished with it, but it will not be up until Thursday morning. Such is the busy life of the easily frazzled.

Once things finally get settled down, which will probably be near the middle of the summer, I’d like to start drawing Assembly Required strips again. They might not be straight-up journal comics, like THIS IS WHAT I DID TODAY ONOZ, but might take a bit of a different turn. They will still continue to be hand drawn, though.

In the meantime, it’s ridiculously cold out there! You should put on a hat if you know what’s good for you.

I ran away and got my hair cut. A little devil on my shoulder told me I needed fringe.

So I’ve had this sore inside of my nose for a few weeks now. It started off as nosebleeds that just wouldn’t quit, but eventually lessened in severity. Lee likes to describe it as a seeping wound. I finally got my ass to the doctor to take a look at it, and maybe prescribe something to ease this sinus congestion.

Because of my persistent sinus problems, and not really being sure if it’s an infection or if I’m developing allergies, I get to have my head CAT scanned next week. In the mean time I’m on antihistamines since the Advil Cold and Sinus I’ve been eating like candy hasn’t been doing much.

Also, I’ve been off of caffeine for two weeks. It’s not because I believe caffeine is bad for me, lord no, but that everything I drink with caffeine in it contains copious amounts of sugar, and I believe the sugar is what’s bad for me.

I do miss my coffees and red bulls, though. Also, I miss having nasal cavities that aren’t swollen all of the time.

It’s been raining all day, but it’s not like a downpour or anything. It’s just drizzling and spitting here and there, just enough to make everything wet and to start forming puddles on the ground. I know this from looking out of my home office window.

Today I stayed inside, partly because of the rain, but mostly because I woke up with a fever, a sore throat, and a painfully phlegmy cough. Most of the day was spent going back and forth between the couch and my computer. I mean hey, if I’m stuck sick at home all day, I might as well make use of those precious few hours of consciousness on Photoshop, right?

I did get a lot done today. I’m almost completed with something I’m working on for Ubercon, which is only a couple of weeks away. If I have any left afterward, I’ll put them up for others to get. If it goes well, I may do a second order.

A while ago I decided to put together a book of some of my work to take with me to conventions. Well, Lee and I are going to Ubercon next weekend, and I have something. I have something for you! If you click on the image above, it will take you to a preview of TEASE, a little full color comp of the latest Random Assembly comics and weird little illustrations I do occasionally. I will have a stack of these at Ubercon, so if you’re in the area you can grab one from me there. I might even draw in it for you if you ask me nicely. The leftover books from the con will go up on Etsy, and since they will be here with me, they will come with a personalized drawing on the inside cover… but you’ll have to wait two weeks for those, ok?

I will be doing a proper book with all new, never before seen content in short story form (rather than one-liner comic form) soon in the future, and when that’s all good and ready you can expect another post about it here. In the meantime, enjoy my first experience with Lulu and have a little bit of Random Assembly on your bookshelf.

The comic will be posted this evening. It is nearly finished, like 90% complete… I am spending my day at an InDesign seminar, learning hard core awesome things to make me better at being awesome. 

Update: InDesign Seminar was a blast! Here’s your comic! Wheeeee!

Work has been stupidly hectic lately. With people deciding they need lots of jewelry and jewelry related services and us being short staffed, I’ve been pretty overworked. This hasn’t left much time for comics, as you could probably tell. So, short term solution, I’m going to switch to the black and white bristol board comics for a while. They take a lot less time to do than the digital comics, and dang but don’t I have fun doing them. Also, I can work on them practically anywhere!

So, Monday you’ll get another sketch from Ubercon, and Wednesday will be a new Assembly Required. Also, my leftover merchandise from Ubercon is now up for grabs on my Etsy store. Ordering straight from me guarantees a sketch in the front cover. Get them while you can! I’m not sure when I’ll have the scratch to place another order for backlog.