This is one of those strips I can easily point to as an example of the character taking over a bit. I knew I wanted to Thrice Evil and Jerry to meet, but it wasn't until I started scripting it that Jerry's cheery greeting came out as absolutely how he confronts our Big Bad. It just fits. And it's a great lead-in to Friday's strip. Some fun stuff in that one.

See you on Friday with 678 - "Call Him Bruce"

The as-finished-as-it's-gonna-be version :)

I don't think Friday's comic will be done early enough for me to post a patron's-only preview here.

I'm a little late with this post (as per usual lately) so there's already quite a few comments on this strip and more than a little confusion. Jerry is by far my favorite character to write simply because his psychology is so complex. He constantly surprises, but at the same time I don't think his motivations are ever a great mystery. Jerry is Jerry. We know his deal. And yet... stuff like this.

It surprises me, too.

See you on Monday with 679 - "The Design of His Life"

Loved the great responses to last Friday's strip. This is my favorite sequence in this chapter and it looks like it's yours as well.

It's a tricky thing, writing a villain. You've got to make them a credible threat, but at the same time you've got to believe they're an actual person. You've got to humanize them a little or they don't seem real and, thus, not a threat. But it's a fine line. You want them to be relatable, but not too relatable. You want them to be monstrous, but not too monstrous or they're just EEEEVIL and not believable.

I like to think Thrice Evil doesn't have very many friends. He has followers, but not friends. The idea that, for a moment, he'd found someone--someone he knows very, very well who has every right to be repulsed by him and who knows a thing or two about evil and manipulation himself--and that THAT person would enjoy his company... I imagine that would be a very attractive prospect for him. I think he would like to sit down and have coffee with that person. It's unexpected, but it's a very human thing to do.

So, of course he gets a coffee pot smashed over his head.

A NOTE TO OUR PATRONS ON PATREON

Thanks, you guys, for being so supportive of this chapter! To show our gratitude, Marc and I have decided to cook up something extra special and cool--call it a deleted scene from this chapter, if you will--that will be EXCLUSIVE to you, for free.

Still not on the Patreon train? Want to see the deleted scene? There's still time to sign up!

See you on Wednesday with 680 - "Thrice Evil is Not Pleased"

Do we make our own choices are we subject to the whims of fate? And, anyway, what is fate? 

For Jerry, fate might be described as a three-pronged orange evil from another dimension. You might call it God. Or karma. Or whatever. But the question is, even with the influences and the influencers in our lives, does our free will still exist? Are forced into our roles or do we opt in? Is the "design" our lives something we create, or is it largely created by another?

Jerry certainly knows where he stands on this issue. Is he right?

See you on Friday with 681 - "Man Child"

Finally! Not perfection, but I like how it turned out.

I'll catch up on some email replies shortly :)

And now with all the greys in place.

Felix is liking that tunic a lot less than Damon and Persephone are enjoying the toga.

Monday's comic.

I think the story loses its urgency when the updates run late. I'm going to spend this afternoon working on next week's comics so they can post regularly, on time, and keep that pacing going.

Wednesday's comic.

Maybe he'll just case the joint, then.

If you find they're speaking too softly, here's a link directly to the image (full size).