You wouldn't know it from the amount I've been posting on the blog here lately, but the past few months have been the busiest in terms of visitors/site traffic/etc. since the comic started! So I'd like to say hello to all the new readers, and thank everyone for reading! (Hello! Thank you!)

Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day (or today, depending on when you read this) - In previous years I'd sometimes bring a photocopied and stapled Station V3 mini-comic to Comics on the Green and Unknown Comics, and they'd be nice enough to let me put it out on the table with the other free comics. However, since a good number of you don't happen to live in Northeast Pennsylvania, this year instead you can download the PDF version of An Experimental Space Pod Visits Station V3 for free!

In other news, coming up on May 6, Station V3 turns 7! In addition to the (virtual) cake and ice cream, the annual guest strip week will be coming up the following Sunday to celebrate!

And finally, there's a new bonus strip up to see when you vote for Station V3 at TopWebcomics - by request, the station's original Plant is back for revenge!

Labels: comics, milestone, voting bonus

The Cameo: A Rumormonger recently put in a brief appearance in AA Vrooman's comic a2alien (along with a few aliens from some other comics)!

The Wallpaper: Kent Paul Dolan recently sent some very nice desktop wallpaper he made from this Sunday strip:



(Click to see the full-size version!)

The Bonus: I recently found a page of strips sketched out for the Escape Pods in the Swamp storyline from last year - some used, some not. One of the sketches is now up as the new bonus at TopWebcomics - vote and see!

Labels: comics, fan art, voting bonus

It's been a while since I put up a new bonus strip, so there's a new one today - the Floyd Dimension discusses Alternate Floyd's visit to V3. Vote for Station V3 at TopWebcomics and see it now!

Labels: voting bonus

Here's something that hasn't happened in a while... Station V3 and all three spinoffs have new strips up today! (Ebb's Children updated for the second time this year... I really should update that a little more often.)

And if four new strips in the V3 universe isn't enough for you, vote for Station V3 today at TopWebcomics and see today's fifth strip - a visit to the Floyd Dimension!

Labels: comics, voting bonus

The Bonus Archive has been updated - all the bonus strips, bad translations, sprite strips, alternate versions, Rumormonger Idol contestants, etc. that have gone up as voting bonuses for the past year and a half are there now. So if you're a new reader here, there's some stuff you haven't seen - and if you're not, there's some stuff you probably haven't seen in a while!

And for a new voting bonus, vote for Station V3 at TopWebcomics for a closer look at the evil dangerous weed Linton tried to arrest the other day!

Labels: site update, voting bonus

The Webcomic List Awards 2009 are now open for nominations! But you can't nominate Station V3 (or Z7, Ebb's Children, or Silence in the Darkness On Q16), because I'm one of the judges. If you're interested in nominating some of your (other) favorite comics, you've got until December 13th!

You CAN vote for Station V3 at TopWebcomics - and if you do, you'll see the "Meanwhile, in the Alternate Universe..." strip I wound up not using last Saturday!

And if you're not interested in any of this voting stuff (or even if you are!), you can get 10% off a copy of An Experimental Space Pod Visits Station V3! this month by using the coupon code GREATBOOK when you order.

Labels: books, voting bonus, webcomic list awards

Happy Halloween!

New voting bonus today... A rumormonger photo in which they're getting a treat. (Or is it a trick? One way to find out!)

Labels: holiday, voting bonus

I bought the new Hitchhiker's Guide book on Monday... For whatever reason I haven't finished it yet (ordinarily I would have read the whole thing that night), but I suppose maybe it's a good sign that when I picked it back up I noticed I had stopped at page 42? I don't think it's going to be my favorite Hitchhiker's Guide book (which is actually So Long And Thanks For All The Fish), but it's not bad so far.

In other news, there's a new voting bonus up today! It's a sprite strip in which Neap tries to get Linton to rescue Violet and the Plant.

And there's also a new PodWarp 1999 episode up now! (Or at least one you haven't heard before!) Mark Mekkes and I discuss holidays in science fiction (last December).

Labels: books, podcast, voting bonus

It's a little late to be putting up the first bonus of the month... So let's call this one next month's first bonus, posted a day early! It's a bad translation of today's strip - fed through Babelfish from English to German to French and back to English again.

(And it's the usual reason for not posting any blog entries lately... Busy, the comic time I do have is spent on the actual comic, etc. But I'll let you know if I think of anything interesting to say!)

Labels: voting bonus

The pirates aren't doing so well at the moment in the Station V3 universe - one of them was last seen with his cousin Linton, running from the trees - but take a look at Gilbert and the Grim Rabbit and see what they're up to there!

In other news - there's a new sprite strip voting bonus up today!

Labels: comics, voting bonus

Well, Station V3 did end up in the top 40 on the Topwebcomics list in March - so there's another new bonus (a bad translation of today's strip) up now! And since the one before last was in December, I guess this does qualify as "sooner" like I said last month! (I would have had one up "even sooner," but things have been busy lately.)

Some comic milestones - Z7 turned 5 earlier this month, and Silence in the Darkness on Q16 turned 2! And next week Station V3 turns 6 - time for another guest strip week, starting Sunday! (If you're interested in drawing one, there's still time to get one in for later in the week!)

Labels: milestone, voting bonus

I haven't updated any of the voting bonuses in a while (since December, actually), but since this is the beginning of the month, it seems like a good time to do it - so when you vote at TopWebcomics, you'll see a bonus strip with a very unlikely rumor. (And if Station V3 ends up in the top 40 this month, I'll have to update it again a little sooner next time!)

Labels: voting bonus

There's a new webcomic rating site that started up recently - Is It Funny Today? Instead of voting for a site as a whole, you see individual strips, and vote on whether not you think they're funny. You can vote from a list, or browse through random strips. Station V3 is one of the comics on their list (in the story comics section), so if you think any of the strips on their list are funny (today and the past few days), you can vote yes. Or if not, vote no! (I'm trying for "yes," of course, but there's always a chance my "yes" is someone else's "definitely not.")

Another new site (though not a webcomic one): The guys behind Star Pirates have come out with another game - Spy Battle 2165. If you liked Star Pirates, give this one a try!

And since I titled this post "New Sites and Things," here are two Things: an alternate, more stand-alone version of today's strip up as the new voting bonus at TopWebcomics, and a bad translation of today's strip up at buzzComix!

Labels: other things, voting bonus

It's been a while since I've updated the voting bonuses... So there are two new ones today!

This month's first (and last) voting bonuses are a bonus strip at TopWebcomics in which two rumormongers discuss some less than successful Black Friday shopping, and a bad translation of today's strip at buzzComix. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

After drawing the first version of today's strip, I decided the four panels could be condensed into three, and a new last panel added - so I drew the version you see above. But the original version won't go to waste... It's today's first voting bonus! The second one is a bad translation of today's strip. Thanks for voting!

Labels: comics, voting bonus

It's been a while since I put up any new voting bonuses... So there are two new ones today! At TopWebcomics, there's a bad translation of today's strip, and at buzzComix, a "Silence in the Darkness on V3" sort of counterpart to today's strip. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

I've been a little quiet here so far this month - mainly because most of the time I have to work on the comic has been spent on the actual comic! (Not all, I'll admit - but most!) But I'm still here. PodWarp 1999 has also been a little quiet, but we've got a couple new episodes that'll go up as soon as they're done being edited. In the meantime, you can listen to some other webcomic podcasts, such as the Sequential Artists' Pub (you can hear me contribute a bit to some episodes there), the Gigcast, the Webcomic Beacon, Webcomics Weekly, and Digital Strips. (And of course any others you find! But check back in with Podwarp 1999 soon.)

In other news, Ben Gordon mentioned in a recent post on The Floating Lightbulb that he wouldn't be surprised if Station V3 is a "break out" comic in the coming year, "as more people discover the great color choices, wild cartoony art and reliable humor." Sounds good to me! If you've got a website and want to link to Station V3 to help out with that, I've got a page with some banners and buttons you can use.

I'm always working on that sort of thing too, of course, and one way is by advertising on other sites through Project Wonderful. I've had some nice comments on some of the ads I've been using recently with sample comic bits in them. If you haven't seen the ads (or even if you have), I've got two versions of a comic I drew for them up as today's bonuses, here and here. And of course, voting for the comic is another way to help promote Station V3! While the effectiveness of voting lists has been the subject of some debate, I will say they do bring at least a few people here. So thank you to everyone who's been voting - and thanks for reading!

Labels: comics, podcast, voting bonus

Happy Labor Day!

It's time for some new bonuses - the first one is an alternate version of today's strip, with the seemingly-required Labor Day comic theme of exploding barbecues. (Also tripe.) The second one is a Rumormonger Idol sprite strip, with a rumor going around about a new judge.

On a different note, Station V3 has been invited to join the sci-fi section of the Palace in the Sky comic group - and so it has!

Labels: comics, holiday, voting bonus

V3 reader Daniel Ellingson has created some interesting things with the Spore Creature Creator - including a very nice version of Julius the Rumormonger!

In addition to Julius, today's comic reveals that one of the other rumormongers is named Marco, and yesterday's revealed that one of them is named Kyle. (There's a little trivia question about Kyle on the forum!)

Silence in the Darkness on Q16 recently had its 500th strip go up! (Still dark - but not always silent.)

Two new episodes of PodWarp 1999 have gone up recently - a short Episode 22 with just me, Mark Mekkes, and guest Aaron Lewis, and a regular-length Episode 23 with the regular PodWarp crew!

And finally, I've updated the voting bonuses - there's a sprite strip up at TopWebcomics, and a bad translation of today's strip up at the all-new redesigned buzzComix. Thanks for voting!

Labels: milestone, other things, podcast, voting bonus

If you've joined Star Pirates (or you're going to) and now you're looking for a fleet to join, the Rumormongers fleet is the one for you! In addition to being the "official" Station V3 fleet, its abbreviation is "RUM" - and how much more appropriately pirate-y can you get?

For today's new voting bonus, there's a sprite strip in which one of the Rumormongers is considering joining the fleet while he waits for the next round of Rumormonger Idol to start!

And on a completely different note, the fifth episode of The Sequential Artists' Pub is up! I was there again for this one - lots of interesting topics covered, like a cartoonists' public persona, pen names, mirror sites, the use of RSS feeds (Station V3 has one) and blogs on comic sites (like this one you're reading right now).

Labels: other things, podcast, voting bonus

Yesterday's Peanuts rerun had Linus posing with his blanket and saying "I am Count Dracula from Transylvania" - I saw that one translated into German, in the book "Linus - oder: Wo ist meine Schmusedecke?" There he says "Ich bin Graf Dracula aus Transylvanien" - I think in that case the translation made it even more effective!

For a translation to German (and then back to English) that's much less effective, there's today's first bonus! And the second one is a sprite strip in which one of the contestants is trying to get the judge to start the second round of Rumormonger Idol. Thanks for voting!

Labels: Rumormonger Idol, voting bonus

Last night I attended another Sequential Artists' Pub podcast. This week's main topic was books - preparing things for print, where/how to have them printed, where/how to sell them, etc.

In case you're wondering, I save the full-size 300dpi scans of my strips before I resize them and save them for the web, and I used those files when I put the first book (Get Yours Today!) together. I took the print-on-demand route for publishing, with lulu.com, so it's printed (and sold) through them. I'll most likely put out the second book (which I'm currently working on) that way too.

And in unrelated news, today's voting bonuses are the rough drafts for yesterday's strip, today's strip, and tomorrow's, and a bad translation of today's strip. Enjoy!

Labels: books, podcast, voting bonus

Today's strip is one that went through a few changes from the original rough sketch to the final one that actually went online - today's first bonus is the original rough draft. The final panel is the only thing I wound up using from the original idea. I think the changes improved it... but if you disagree, enjoy the rough draft! Or for another take on the strip, try today's second bonus, which is a sprite version of the strip. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

TopWebcomics was having problems for the past day or so, but it's back up now - so for today's first bonus, there's a bad translation of today's strip. And for the second bonus, there's another look ahead, with a rough draft of tomorrow's strip. Of course, I am putting them up a little late, so by the time you see them, they may be yesterday's strip and today's strip. But enjoy them anyway - Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Today's new bonus is a sprite strip in which Ebb wants to know when the next round of Rumormonger Idol is going to start.

(But don't worry... The answer is most likely not the one the judge gives!)

Labels: Rumormonger Idol, voting bonus

This month in the comic: V3's crew and the rumormongers get settled in their new universe (more or less), and contact is (re-)established (sort of) with the Station Authority.

This month on the site: A new site design should be appearing some time this month. (I'd say "will be," but I think I'm safer with "should be!")

For another look into the future (but not very far), today's first bonus is a "rough draft" of tomorrow's strip. (For "rough draft," substitute "idea scribbled on a scrap of computer paper so I wouldn't forget it.") The second one (by request) is a look at the cover of the "What's Wrong with the Universe?" book that's been the topic of this week's strips. Thanks for voting, and if you have a bonus request, feel free to post it here!

Labels: comics, site stuff, voting bonus

Since there seem to be a lot of people reading at the moment, I thought I'd take the opportunity to welcome any of you who happen to be new readers coming in from StumbleUpon, what appears to be the most successful ad campaign I've run on Project Wonderful, and of course anywhere else, too...

Welcome!

Make yourself at home, check out the three spinoffs, tell a friend about Station V3, say hello on the forum, get a copy of the book... Or (most importantly) just enjoy reading!

And for anyone who isn't a new reader (and has read this blog post this far anyway), thank YOU for reading, too!

In other news, the 'official' version of the latest episode of PodWarp 1999 ("Dial F for Frankenstein" - the call-in show episode) is up on the site now. I was using the same headset as on the past few episodes, but on a different computer, and that seems to have worked much better. (So now you get to hear what I actually sound like!)

Finally, in voting bonus news, I finally closed the Rumormonger Idol round 1 poll - the results are up as today's first bonus, and some parting words from the loser are up as the second one.

Labels: comics, other things, podcast, voting bonus

I was all set to end the Rumormonger Idol Round 1 poll and reveal who's getting kicked off - but the poll is tied! We can't have that... So for now, the poll is still open, and today's new voting bonuses are a sprite strip in which Ebb suggests Rumorbot could cast the tie-breaking vote, and a bad translation of today's strip instead!

Labels: Rumormonger Idol, voting bonus

The Rumormonger Idol Round 1 results are coming soon - so if you haven't voted yet (and still want to), now would be a good time!

Meanwhile, there are two new voting bonuses up today - a sprite strip in which Ebb discusses his Round 1 performance with Rumorbot, and a bad translation of today's strip. Thanks for voting!

Labels: Rumormonger Idol, voting bonus

The votes are coming in for the "Who Gets Kicked Off" poll, but there's no clear "winner" yet!

For today's voting bonuses, there's a sprite strip in which Rumorbot gives his reason for dropping out of the contest and becoming a judge, and there's a bad translation of today's strip. Thanks for voting!

Labels: Rumormonger Idol, voting bonus

The contestants are done for Round 1 of Rumormonger Idol - now it's voting time! The "Who Gets Kicked Off" poll is up now on the forum.

On a related note, there are two new sprite strips up for today's voting bonuses - At TopWebcomics, Contestants 5 and 6 discuss Round 1, and at buzzComix, they find out what contestant dropped out before Round 1 even started. Thanks for voting!

Labels: Rumormonger Idol, voting bonus

Following the discussion of Station V3 in Episode 13 of PodWarp 1999, I'm planning on making some changes - some to the site, some to the comic. I'm not planning anything too drastic, but next time Emmit appears in the comic (whenever that turns out to be), he will most likely not have his hands in his pockets. That'll probably be after they get out of the time loop. (So yes, they will be getting out of it - but what then? Keep reading and see!)

Following up on Episode 12, where Dino Andrade was on as a guest, one of the SoulGeek webcomics he mentioned has launched - Legend of Bill by David Reddick. Only a few strips up at the moment, but it looks good so far!

And in other (unrelated) news, Contestant 5 and Contestant 6 finish up Round 1 of Rumormonger Idol for today's voting bonuses!

Labels: comics, podcast, site update, voting bonus

That "Idol" TV show is done for the season (the contestant I preferred out of the final two actually won, which was a bit of a surprise), but Rumormonger Idol is still going on! Contestant 3 and Contestant 4 are up now as today's voting bonuses.

Labels: Rumormonger Idol, voting bonus

So, that "Idol" show on TV is winding down for the season... My prediction (really going out on a limb here) is that someone named "David" will win.

But as that one winds down, season 3 of Rumormonger Idol gets round 1 started with the first two contestants, up as today's new voting bonuses: Contestant 1 and Contestant 2!

Labels: other things, Rumormonger Idol, voting bonus

I hope you all enjoyed the guest strips last week! This week things are back to normal. (Here on the site, anyway... On the station is another matter!)

There are two new nice, normal voting bonuses up today - A bad translation of today's strip, and a sprite strip in which the Rumormonger Idol contestant situation is resolved. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Guest strip week continues! Yesterday's strip was from the Fuzznuts crew, and today's is from Andreas Gustafsson of Invincible Jeff. More to come tomorrow!

PodWarp 1999 also continues, with two episodes posted this week - Episode 11, which is the last one with Tauhid Bondia joining us as a regular (fortunately we got to the Good Ship Chronicles discussion before he left!), and Episode 12, where we're joined by voice actor (and founder of SoulGeek) Dino Andrade, and we discuss Ben Paddon's Jump Leads. (And in related news, there's now a PodWarp 1999 forum!)

And finally, the Rumormonger Idol story continues in today's new voting bonuses! At TopWebcomics, there's a bonus strip in which two rumormongers discuss the reason the show has been delayed, and at buzzComix, there's a sprite strip in which two other rumormongers (wearing hats) discuss a possible solution to the problem. Thanks for voting!

Labels: guest art, podcast, voting bonus

On PodWarp 1999, we recently discussed drawing starfields (and we will again soon). My way of doing it is pretty basic - I leave the area blank when I draw, then when the strip is scanned, cleaned up (if necessary) and colored, I blur the image, then bucket fill the area the starfield needs to go with black. (The blur leaves an outline around anything I've drawn, so the lines don't just become part of the starfield.) Then I put in some white dots, sharpen the image up again (so it doesn't look blurry, but the outline will still be there), and reduce it to the final size for uploading. Probably not the best way of doing it, but I'm used to it, and I get the results I want!

Since the podcast, we've had a couple people point us to this tutorial on making a starfield with Photoshop, and I've given it a try. (I'm using The GIMP, but the same steps work there.) It's probably not something I'd use in the actual strip, but the results do look nice!

Today's first bonus, which I'm sure will come as no surprise, is a starfield picture (with the out-of-gas alien in it, too) - and the second, which has nothing to do with starfields, but does have something to do with the title of this blog post, is a bad translation of today's strip.

Labels: drawing, podcast, voting bonus

I've updated the bonus archive - apparently the last time I did that was in October, so there's a lot of stuff to see there, up to (and including) the current two voting bonuses. I think the next thing on the list to update will be the art page, since the last time I did that was early 2006. (And there'll be more stuff to add there soon, since there's another guest week coming up on Sunday for Station V3's fifth birthday!) Then there are some more changes to come after that, so stay tuned.

And in PodWarp 1999 news, Episode 10 is online - possibly the only sci-fi webcomic podcast to ever mention "Mr. Turnkey," the followup to "In The Year 2525" by Zager and Evans!

Labels: podcast, site update, voting bonus

Sometimes I have ideas for strips that don't quite fit in the current story, and I put them aside to use later. Sometimes instead of putting them aside for later, I decide I'm never going to use them. And sometimes I draw one of them anyway, and put it up as a voting incentive!

(If I do wind up using this one someday - unlikely, but you never know - then think of this as a preview!)

And since I put up bonuses in pairs, here's a sprite strip in which Linton has a few things to say about Rumormonger Idol.

Labels: voting bonus

Two new bonuses today - a sprite strip in which two rumormongers (with hats) return from the Rumormonger Idol tryouts, and a bad translation of today's strip. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Today's first new bonus (at TopWebcomics) is an unused alternate version of a strip from last week (this one) that I drew before I decided it made more sense to give some of the lines to Mr. Green.

And since today is April 15th, today's second bonus (at buzzComix) is a sprite strip that involves Linton's somewhat less than successful attempt to collect a security tax.

Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Somehow I managed to forget Z7's birthday again - a couple days ago (on the 5th) it turned four.

Station V3 will be turning five next month (on the 6th), and once again, the planned birthday festivities include a guest strip week - so if you're interested in drawing a guest strip, let me know! (Or just send one in!)

In other news, today's new bonuses are a bad translation of today's strip, and a sprite strip in which a rumormonger with a hat plans to try out for Rumormonger Idol. Thanks for voting!

And in other other news, another new episode of PodWarp 1999 is up!

Labels: milestone, podcast, voting bonus

Rumormonger Idol continues with today's bonuses - a bonus strip in which the judges give their opinions of what they've seen so far, and a sprite strip with a rumormonger who missed the tryouts. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Two more contestants try out for Rumormonger Idol in today's bonuses (here and here - thanks for voting, and if you have a bonus request, you can post it here!

Ebb's Children updated today. (First time this year!)

And the latest installment of PodWarp 1999 is now online for your listening pleasure! In this episode, we discuss sci-fi sub-genres, the Deus ex Machina, parody/homage/plagiarism, and continuity.

Labels: comics, podcast, voting bonus

A year ago, I put up the first strip for the latest Station V3 spinoff, Silence in the Darkness on Q16. And we all know how that turned out, right? Strip #366 went up today.

In other news, there are two new voting bonuses up today - Today's strip translated into Violet's language, and a new style of sprite strip for people who think the old style had too many words and sprites with too much detail.

And if you're looking for the "green fuzzy thing crawling on your shoulder" joke, try today's Z7!

Labels: comics, voting bonus

Two new bonuses today - at TopWebcomics, a bad translation of today's strip, and at buzzComix, another contestant tries out for Rumormonger Idol. Thanks for voting!

In other news, it's "I'm going to make a few changes to the site" time again. So if you see anything strange, it should be fixed soon enough! But at the moment, all I've done is add a few new things to the links page.

Labels: site update, voting bonus

Time for some new voting bonuses! At TopWebcomics, a sprite strip in which Ebb considers trying out for Rumormonger Idol, and at buzzComix, an alternate version of today's strip, showing how it would have gone in the "regular" V3 universe.

And in other news, the latest episode of PodWarp 1999 is now up, in which we discuss (among other things!) the process of creating an individual page/strip.

Labels: podcast, voting bonus

There are two new voting bonuses up today! The Rumormonger Idol tryouts aren't getting off to the best start, as you'll see today when you vote at TopWebcomics and/or buzzComix. (I recommend the "and.") Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Since there's an extra day this month, we can end it on a happier note - here's a Leap Day voting bonus sprite strip.

Happy Leap Day!

Labels: holiday, voting bonus

I haven't had too much to say here this month! (But there might be something soon enough.) I did renew the stationv3.com domain name for another year, and this time the comic paid for the domain name itself (and is now working on the hosting) through sales of the book - so thank you to everyone who bought a copy so far, and I hope you enjoy it!

In other news, there are two new voting bonuses today - A sprite strip in which the past/present/future Ebb/Neap situation is (sort of) resolved, and the third season of Rumormonger Idol begins. Thanks for voting!

Labels: books, site status, voting bonus

Two new bonuses today - A bad translation of today's strip, and a sprite strip in which the past/present/future Ebbs/Neaps are still trying to sort themselves out. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Happy Groundhog Day!

(Depending on how you feel about the groundhog seeing his shadow, which groundhog, which shadow, whether or not it makes any difference, whether or not you get stuck in a time loop and wake up every morning to the sound of "I Got You Babe" on the radio, etc.)

For today's voting bonuses, there are two new sprite strips on the subject! Since the station doesn't have a groundhog, who makes a better substitute - a rumormonger with a hat, or past, present, and future Ebbs and Neaps? (The strips may not settle the matter, but feel free to vote anyway!)

Labels: holiday, voting bonus

It's been over a week since the last ones went up, so it's time for some new voting bonuses! Two new sprite strips are up today - In the first one, part of the past/future Ebb/Neap situation is figured out, and in the second one, it gets a whole lot more confusing. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Two new voting bonuses today - A bad translation of today's strip, and a sprite strip in which the rumormongers try to sort out the past and future Ebbs. Thanks to everyone who's been voting and keeping Station V3 in the top 100 on the lists, and if you've got a request for a future bonus, you can post it here on the forum!

(And if it's past bonuses you're after, most of those can be seen here.)

Labels: voting bonus

There are two new sprite strips up today (One at buzzComix, one at TopWebcomics), both with Ebb from the Future. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Bonuses from the future today! (I was going to put them up a couple hours from now, but here they are at lunchtime instead...)

The first one is a sprite strip with Ebb from the future, and the second is a bad translation of today's strip. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Time for some new voting bonuses (I hadn't updated them since last year!) - A sprite strip in which a rumormonger reappears after a New Year's Eve party, and a bad translation of today's strip. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Two new bonuses up today - The first one is a sprite strip in which one of the rumormongers isn't ready for Holiday #11, and the second one is a very bad translation of today's comic. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

It's been a week since I changed the voting bonuses, so it's time for some new ones! The first one today is an alternate version of today's strip (alternate versions are still leading in the favorite bonus poll!), and the second one is a sprite strip in which Floyd still has some glitching left to do. Thank You to everyone who's been voting, and if you have a bonus request, you can post it here on the forum!

Labels: voting bonus

Two new bonus strips are up today - At TopWebcomics, a bad translation of today's strip where what Floyd says makes even less sense, and at buzzComix, a strip that appears as though it might be defective, since all it is is the ship that's been flying around the planet lately flying around the planet. (Oh, and it also goes beep.) Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Two sprite strips are up today as this month's first voting bonuses - the first one is an alternate version of today's strip (in sprite form), and the second one has some further thoughts on the current rumor! Sort of. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Two new voting bonuses today - an alternate version of today's strip, and a sprite strip with a rumormonger giving his NaNoWriMo update. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Sprite strips just got a vote in the bonus preference poll, so there are two sprite strips up as today's voting bonuses. In the first one, Linton and Ebb discuss the Chef's special. But "alternate version of a strip" also picked up another vote, putting it in the lead, so the second one is an alternate version of today's strip, with the Alternate Universe rumormonger sprites. Thanks for voting!

Labels: poll, voting bonus

Happy Thanksgiving to all the readers in the US today! (And according to the logs, that's most of you - but not all of you, so everyone else at least have a nice November 22nd!)

Today's new bonuses are a sketch with the Chef's Thanksgiving Special, and a bad translation of today's strip that manages to mangle pretty much everything except the "Here we go again..." Thanks for voting!

Labels: holiday, voting bonus

So far in the bonus preference poll on the forum, "alternate version of a strip" is ahead of both bad translations and sprite strips. But... What if they were also alternate versions of a strip? Vote for Station V3 at TopWebcomics to see a bad translation of a slightly alternate version of today's strip, and at buzzComix to see the sprite version.

You can see how it might be hard to interpret the poll results! (And also that it might be just a bit early to even try, since there aren't that many votes in...)

Labels: poll, voting bonus

I wound up with two slightly different ideas for today's strip - they start out pretty much the same, but go off in different directions from there. I drew both of them, so one goes up as today's strip, and the other becomes today's first voting bonus (in color!) - vote for Station V3 at TopWebcomics to see that, and vote at buzzComix to see a bad translation of today's strip (in black and white!) in which even the line "Morty, you're fired" doesn't quite make it through intact. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Today's first bonus is a sprite strip in which two rumormongers discuss novel writing, and the second bonus is a sketch in which Morty tries writing a how-to book.

As for my own progress, I've got a couple hundred words written and a vague idea of where the story might go. Which is probably about as far as I got last time I tried the NaNoWriMo bit, but this time I got there by the middle of the month instead of the end, so maybe I'm getting somewhere... And as for the other book (the first collection of Station V3 strips), I'm putting the final bits together and checking to make sure all the pages look right.

Labels: books, voting bonus

Two new voting bonuses today - a bad translation of today's strip, and a sprite strip in which one of the rumormongers explains what happened to the Rumormonger Idol Reunion Special.

If you have a bonus request, you can post it here. If you'd like to share your opinion on what kind of bonus you like to see without having to say anything, you can vote in the poll here. If you don't have any requests or opinions, but would like to see the list of search strings that led people here last month, that's here. And if you'd like to visit the forum without doing any of that, you can do that too! Lots of options. (Which are all, of course, optional!)

Labels: poll, voting bonus

You may have noticed it's been a little quiet here lately, apart from new strips still going up every day. Due to some computer problems last month, I've switched operating systems (to Linux), and put in a new hard drive. Fortunately, this hasn't affected the update schedule here (or at the other strips in the "V3 universe") - the first thing I did was get the scanner and printer working, and the GIMP works as well as any of the programs I was using before. Also fortunately, I didn't lose any data along the way, but it did delay work on the Station V3 book, which is a little frustrating, since it was very close to being done. At this point I can start getting back in to finish work on it - It looks like I may have a few formatting issues to work out with the different program (OpenOffice) I'm using now, but hopefully it'll be ready soon.

In other book news, The Kid's Book Project is almost done, with all the pages in.

In other other news, November is National Novel Writing Month - I've signed up at nanowrimo.org, since what's one more thing not to have time for? :)

And finally, I've put up two new voting bonus sketches today - in the first one, a book is being written, and the second one is a preview of what might happen once V3's crew gets their new replacement station. Thanks for voting!

Labels: books, computers, site status, voting bonus

October has ended, and November is now here. More news as this story develops.

To get things started on the comic toplists (Station V3-wise, that is), today's bonuses are a bad translation of today's strip, and a sprite strip in which two rumormongers discuss their Halloween. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

I've now heard two members of the Grass Roots sing their 1968 hit "Midnight Confessions" - just not at the same time. Rob Grill came around with his current version of the group for a concert a couple years ago, and Creed Bratton sang it last night at the Office convention going on this weekend. (And both versions were good!)

On a not-exactly-related note, today's first bonus is the return (sort of) of the Rumormonger Idol Reunion Special, and the second one is a sprite strip in which two rumormongers discuss the special (but one of them may have been watching something else). Thanks for voting!

Labels: other things, voting bonus

Two new voting bonuses today - a sprite strip in which the rumormongers discuss some changes to the Rumormonger Idol Reunion Special, and a bad translation of today's strip, in which what Floyd says in the fourth panel makes even less sense. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

It's been a week since I put up any new ones, so it's time I changed the voting bonuses - today's first one is a bad translation of today's strip, and the second one is a sprite strip with some rumormongers discussing the problems with the Rumormonger Idol Reunion Special. Thanks for voting, and if you've got a bonus request, let me know!

Labels: voting bonus

The Oh No Robot transcription buttons seem to be working again, so if you see any comics in the archives that need transcribing that you'd like to transcribe, feel free!

In other news, I've updated the bonus archive with everything up to (and including) the current two bonuses, so if you've missed any, you can see them now. (And Thank You to everyone who's been voting so far this month!)

And in other other news, that KeenSpace sampler comic book (with my autograph) from the 2004 Free Comic Book Day that was up on eBay wound up going for $4. So much for my plan to get rich by signing any copies I might have and auctioning them off... :)

Labels: other things, site update, voting bonus

Well, hopefully the motivational poster bonus the other day DIDN'T motivate any of you to enter any strip transcriptions for Station V3 at Oh No Robot, since the transcription entry seems to be having some technical difficulties right now, and all the transcription buttons have disappeared. (Fortunately, the transcriptions already entered haven't, so you can still search them.)

Speaking of technical difficulties, in today's first bonus strip, the Rumormonger Idol Reunion Special comes back from theirs, and today's second bonus is a bad translation of today's strip. Thanks for voting!

Labels: other things, voting bonus

Two new bonuses today: a bad translation of today's strip, and another rumormonger motivational poster.

I don't know how motivated any of you might be feeling after seeing that poster, but just in case you are, there are only around 300 strips in the archive that still need transcribing! Or you could just tell all your friends about Station V3! Or have a look at Z7, Ebb's Children, and Silence in the Darkness on Q16! Or if you've got your own comic, get a rumor for it!

But if you're not motivated after seeing it, thanks for voting, anyway. :)

Labels: other things, voting bonus

Today's first bonus is a sprite strip in which two rumormongers discuss a rumor, and the second bonus is a motivational poster made from that rumor. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Today's bonuses are two sprite strips (here and here) following up on the bit on the last Rumormonger Idol Reunion Special bonus about the judges hating contestants who wear hats. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

An interesting eBay auction was pointed out to me today - an autographed copy of From Pixels To Paper, the 2004 KeenSpace Free Comic Book Day book. What I find interesting is that it's my autograph! And yes, it's genuine. (As if someone would fake that!) I'm not sure how much of a selling point that's going to be, but I'll be interested to see how it does.

In semi-related news, the bonus archive (where you can see my page from the book and the picture of Ebb and Floyd from the back cover) has been updated with the two dozen bonuses that went up since the last time I updated it, not including the current two.

Labels: other things, site update, voting bonus

The Rumormonger Idol Reunion voting bonus story continues with today's installment, in which the rumor that the judges hate contestants who wear hats comes up. And the bad translations also continue, with a bad translation of today's strip, English to German and back to English again by way of Babelfish. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

The Kid's Book Project is close to being done - 50 webcomic artists (including me) making a story where they only see the page before theirs (working from the front) or the page after (working from the back), and some lucky artist gets to tie the two parts together. It's down to the last 10 artists, and should be coming out in December. It's £6 plus shipping (US price with shipping currently works out to $17.50 or so), and the proceeds go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

In completely unrelated news, today's bonuses: A bad translation of today's strip, and a sprite strip in which two rumormongers discuss the Rumormonger Idol reunion.

And speaking of rumormongers - for any webcomic artists reading this, Get a Rumor!

Labels: books, voting bonus

The first Station V3 book will be available this month. (Not last month, as I'm sure some of you have noticed...) I'm making a few more changes to it, and adding a few more pages of new material. So when it does come out, it'll be that much more enjoyable!

To get the month started on the voting lists, there are two news bonuses up today: At TopWebcomics, the Rumormonger Idol reunion special continues, and at buzzComix, a rumormonger discusses the simulation tournament with one of the monsters. As an added incentive (bribe?), if V3 makes it to the Top 40 on either list this month, I'll add another desktop image to download to this page. Vote early, vote often!

Labels: books, voting bonus

Getting to some more of the stuff from the bonus requests on the forum, today's voting bonuses are a followup to a bonus request from last month (an unfriendly fleet arriving to refuel) where Floyd asks them to pay, and starting today, a Rumormonger Idol reunion special!

Thanks for voting, and feel free to add more requests to the list!

Labels: voting bonus

Some variety is good to keep the voting bonuses interesting, so today's new ones are a sprite strip in which Ebb has a rumor to share, and a bad translation of today's strip.

See that? Variety! Nothing like yesterday's bonuses...

Labels: voting bonus

Today's voting bonuses: A bad translation of today's strip, and a sprite strip in which Ebb has a rumor to share.

And in other news, Silence in the Darkness on Q16 has its first guest strip today!

Labels: comics, guest art, voting bonus

There's a new social bookmarking site, Comicsby.us, which, unlike the social bookmarking sites I've already got buttons for, is dedicated to bookmarking comic strips. If you'd like to try it out, I've started adding the button for it to the archives here.

In other news, there are two new sprite strips up as today's voting bonuses - in the first one, Round 4 of the simulation tournament finally ends. In the second one, they try to figure out who won. Thanks for voting!

Labels: comics, site update, voting bonus

A sprite strip in which Round 4 of the security simulation tournament continues and a bad translation of today's strip are up now as today's voting bonuses. (But don't just take my word for that... Vote and see!) :)

Labels: voting bonus

It's Talk Like A Pirate Day - not much pirate talk going on in today's strip here, but someone's doing it over at Silence in the Darkness on Q16!

In today's two new sprite bonuses, round four continues, and Linton... talks like a pirate. Thanks for voting!

Labels: talk like a pirate day, voting bonus

Two new sprite strip voting bonuses today: In the first one, one of the rumormongers tries to convince Linton to let him take his place in the next round. And in the second one, the next round. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

Not only are the rumormongers in today's Station V3 strip, they're also in today's strips at Z7, Ebb's Children, and Silence in the Darkness on Q16.

And if that's not enough, they're also in both of today's voting bonuses: A sprite strip in which they discuss the simulation tournament, and a bad translation of today's strip.

Pretty busy day for them!

Labels: comics, voting bonus

Two new voting bonuses are up: a bad translation of today's strip, and a sprite strip with Round Three of the simulation tournament. Thanks for voting! If you have a bonus request, let me know.

Labels: voting bonus

Apparently stationv3.com isn't pointing to the new host for everyone just yet (and the server at the old host finally went down), since I've been told there were some connection problems here and there this morning. So if you couldn't connect today and were wondering what was going on, maybe you'll see this message in a few days and get the answer to your question!

In other site news, apparently the bonus archive reverted back to where it was before I updated it earlier this month, since my backup of the site was from before I did that. So I've re-updated it, and also added in all the bonuses so far this month except for the two new ones that went up earlier today.

Labels: site status, site update, voting bonus

I see in the site logs that people are visiting here looking for information on Jatol.com - unfortunately, I don't have very much. The server I was on stayed up, so I probably wouldn't even have noticed they were down except it was time to renew a domain name with them! There's a discussion about them on the Web Hosting Talk forums, and another on Slashdot. And apparently their registered agent in Kentucky (where the company was incorporated) just resigned.

Now, for those of you visiting for the comic (no longer hosted on Jatol) and not interested in any of that, there are two new voting bonuses today! A sprite strip in which Linton discusses the possibility of losing every round of the simulation tournament, and a bad translation of today's strip. Thanks for voting!

Labels: site status, voting bonus

Two new bonuses today: The first one is a sprite strip where Linton's in the second round of the simulation tournament. And how did he prepare for the second round? By releasing a new record, of course!

Labels: voting bonus

Everything seems to be more or less straightened out now - I've got new hosting (Vexxhost), I've got comicostrich.com and stationv3.com pointing at it, and it looks like most of you are seeing the site up and running here now. (And those of you still seeing the site on what's left of Jatol aren't reading this message...)

Today's first bonus is a sprite strip in which Linton finds out the simulation server crashed, and the second one is a very bad translation of today's strip (though the third panel came out okay) - thanks for voting!

Labels: site status, voting bonus

All the talk about hosting and domain problems made a change from posting about new voting bonuses... So now posting about new voting bonuses makes a change from the site problems, right? Today's new bonuses are a sprite strip in which Ebb discusses Linton's security simulation tournament performance with one of the tournament's monsters, and from a (ComicGen) forum discussion, a recent strip re-drawn left-handed. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus

The bonus archive has been updated with all the voting bonuses from the past two months (apart from the two new ones that went up yesterday), so if you've missed any (or want to see any of them again!), you can see them now starting here.

Labels: site update, voting bonus

August was a pretty busy month here - a lot of people reading through the archives lately. New readers? Looking for answers for the trivia quiz? Going back and re-reading some of your favorite strips? Whoever you are and whatever the reason, thanks for reading! And point your friends here if you think they'll like it! (If not, maybe some new friends...?)

So, about the Station V3 book, and that trivia quiz... Since this is September 1st, I can tell you someone has posted the right answers to the quiz, and will be getting a copy of the 'prototype space pod' version of the book. And since September 1st isn't over yet, you can go see those right answers, post them yourself, and win a copy of the photocopied-and-stapled Station V3 mini-comic I put together for this year's Free Comic Book Day, featuring a slightly revised Third Planet story. Do it now! Or if you'd rather wait for the book, it'll be going on sale later this month. (Of course, you can always get both... That's allowed!)

On the technical side of things, the host I'm on seems to be having a couple problems today - which fortunately aren't affecting things here at this point, but if the site is suddenly gone, that may be the reason. (Of course, if it *is* gone, you most likely aren't reading this.) The LiveJournal feed should be unaffected even if it does disappear, though, so you can always check that. I'll try to get everything back up and running as soon as possible if it does go zap.

And finally, a big Thank You to everyone who voted for Station V3 last month and kept the comic in the Top 100 on TopWebcomics and buzzComix - it does seem to help bring in at least a few new visitors, according to the site logs! I've got two new bonuses up today to get this month started: A sprite strip in which Linton is not especially pleased with how he did in the first round of the Security Simulation Tournament, and a bad translation of today's strip. Thanks for voting, and if you have a bonus request, let me know!

Labels: books, contest, site feed, site status, voting bonus

You've got a couple days left to get your answers in (or copy somebody else's) for the trivia contest and maybe win a copy of the first version of the first Station V3 book or this year's Station V3 mini-comic!

If you're not interested in that (or even if you are, I suppose) there are two new voting bonuses up today - A sprite strip with Linton at the first round of the security simulation tournament, and a bad translation of today's strip. Thanks for voting!

Labels: contest, voting bonus

By request, the station has some unfriendly visitors stopping by to refuel in today's first bonus strip, and in today's second bonus, Linton is discussing the first round of the upcoming security simulation tournament with one of its organizers. Thanks for voting!

Labels: voting bonus