First off, I want to say welcome to anyone who is visiting us from Real Life. I did some advertising with Greg this week and I’ve been seeing a lot of referral hits from you guys. So, welcome! Feel free to check out the archive or take a trip in the Wayback Machine and check things out from the beginning!

Second, I need to call your attention to a new comic that is going to set your brain on FIRE!

Does everyone remember Aikida? Of course you do! It was an awesome comic. Well, Fenris is back in the saddle with a whole new comic, a brand-spankin’ new site and a renewed lease of life! Well, at least the first two. He’s back with a great new comic called Pepperwood.

I sent Fenris a note the other day tell him that I really liked the new direction his art and writing was taking and asked if he might be interested in a little cross promotion. He beat me to the punch with the blog currently on his site, so I’m sitting here kind of reacting to that.

Fenris said some really nice things about our little operation and I want to publicly thank him for that now. He also said some stuff about Theater Hopper being on the way up while he was on the way down. To this I say, “Fenris, throw that idea out the window RIGHT NOW! You’re on the way back UP, baby!”

Pepperwood is a comic that takes some of the best elements of Aikida and pushes them to the fore. Now, instead of a four-panel gag, Fenris is developing real continuity and character relationships from the get-go. I am already WAY involved with the people depicted in the strip. You get the sense that there is already a grand back story and history to them. It’s a real thrill to watch it unfold in front of you. 10 extra points for making one of the main characters Irish.

Another real gift Fenris possesses is his dialogue. His characters have honest conversations that sound like things you and your friends might talk about. He’s like Kevin Smith in that respect. Great back and forth dialogue is a quick way to endear you to these creations.

Does it help that Fenris also draws his women super-sexy? Yes. Yes, it does. (Don’t tell Cami! Shhh!)

Check out Pepperwood now before it becomes so super-popular everyone will call you a poser for not checking it out earlier.