Regarding the bit in Scots-Gaelic: Càite or "Càit" is not "Kate", as I've seen a few guess so far.

The line is repeated in English when Jeremy's on the beach. There's no important information in Scots-Gaelic that isn't delivered in English, we promise.

This one might take a little longer to load, so make yourself a cup of tea while it's loading. I upped the image quality since the episode is so dark, so it's a bigger file than usual. Just in time for Christmas! Nice!

For those of you so inclined, you can now follow us on Twitter.

Handy for updates and episode progress without needing to subscribe to each episode-progress thread on the forum! Also good for random news, when random things of newsworthiness occur.

Also: Ep 20 inking is done, and I'm now onto the scanning and toning bit. Second last step - getting ever so close now!

Only 4 more pages to draw and I'll be over the long bit.

Teaser pic!



I'll be interstate this coming week, but will get back into those final pages when I get home. Then onto the much faster inking stage!

I tend not to do personal posts, but I'm so outraged I have to.

I am not an Australian who thought that was "just a joke" - why do I feel so isolated in feeling this? I did not actually watch the show (you couldn't pay me to watch the return of a show that was shit back in the 80's try to reanimate the stale remains of their lost youth), but on finding out about the "Black Face" sketch, I took one look at the footage photo and could not believe what I was seeing.

Add to that  the sickening number of people who didn't feel horrified. Now I get to read the desperate diatribes of fellow Australians trying to rationalise their way out of admitting their ignorance. 

For the record, because I saw it brought up - Black Minstrel shows DID air in Australia in the early 70s. I remember it as a very small child. We are NOT that fucking isolated down here that the racism of the "Black Face" somehow escaped us.  As a child of the 70s, it never occurred to me at 4 years old that the gollywog toy I had was supposed to be a black person. A golliwog was like a unicorn or a fairy - a creature of make-believe. I distinctly recall, however, finding out what it was actually supposed to be later on in my childhood and growing into adulthood knowing that it was, in fact, a symbol of racism. I'm not about to go out and buy a golliwog for my little nephew in 2009, so why the hell rehash a skit from so long ago and air it on national TV containing that same racist symbol? Hiding guilt behind the "we didn't know, it's just a joke" attitude is bullshit. 

And why do I get the feeling this has turned into some twisted issue of patriotism? Other countries are offended by an offensive skit on Aus tv - let's form a protective Australian barrier and argue our way out of it by claiming no one understands our sense of humour! Our nationality is being attacked somehow!

Fuck off.

Horrified and ashamed.

Yep, crossed that halfway mark!  Had a work caning since the last update which has meant slowed progress on Grit, but hopefully that'll ease off a bit next week (without of course easing too much. Oh the delicate balance!). Apologies for a less that thrilling teaser panel, but once again anything other than Kate and André is way too spoilery, especially Jeremy. So you'll have to wait for the whole ep to get the OMG bits, and believe me, there are OMG bits.

FREALZ.



...Just that that's not one of them. Too bad!

And before I forget AGAIN (I've seriously been meaning to mention this since before ep 19 went live): THERE IS A NEW EMAIL ADDRESS! If, in the last year or so (yes, I know) you've emailed the old address (the platinumgrit.com one), you might not have had a response from me because spammers got hold of the domain email addy and we couldn't fix it. Our SP was cracking the shits and I have zero computer savvy, so we ended up leaving the old addy to the cobwebs. Instead, there is a new Grit email address:

clanmacconnor at gmail dot com

Again, apologies for any unanswered emails, and for forgetting to mention this earlier (memory of a goldfish, I swear).

I was asked to do a guest strip for Menage a 3 which is up now. The more I look at it the odder it gets, though despite its WTFishness, her readers were remarkably kind! Every time I've done a guest strip, I wonder that perhaps I shouldn't have and someone ought to have told me so (Friends don't let friends do guest strips!). This is not because I don't enjoy it, but because I seem to resort to mauling at least one cast member.

In this bracket of guest strips is one by the incomparable finkenstein , which you should go back and look at because it is beeeautiful. <3


Anyhow, Menage a 3 is a ribald farce (think Three's Company in Montreal with waaaay more gay sex) penned by Gisele Lagace and Dave Zero. Gisele was also the artist for Penny & Aggie, though she's since moved on to Ma3 and her other strip Eerie Cuties. Gisele has awesome art skills that tread a mix of Archie and anime style with her own unique signature. Really, seriously delightful on the eye. I don't think I've ever seen Giz get lazy, her lines are crisp and her form is solid. Anyhoo, to the links with you!

I'm third of the way through the art on ep 20, and thought it might be time for a teaser glimpse. Apologies for the munted quality, I may have to have words with the scanner:



Any teasers are pretty much just going to be André or Kate, lest things be too spoiler-ed.

The Lulu editions of collected Grit are no more. Why? Because Shadowline is publishing us! Woohoo!

A brand spanking new Grit volume 1 (collecting episodes 1 - 5) is being published by the wonderful folk at Shadowline. Unlike the Lulu volumes, it'll be swanky lookin', with nice crisp printing!

You'll be able to find it in the March solicitations in Previews (January edition) in the Image Comics section:



So now you can buy Grit from your local comics shop or bookstore (wherever in the world you are!), or Amazon - ask your comic shop of choice to order you in one!

 

ETA: If anyone's been trying to email me over the last couple of months, my apologies. Our 'net computer has been hit hard with viruses, and we're still battling with the dying thing. I will sort out the "Buy" link on the Grit website as soon as I can. 

And yes, poor ep 19 is still coming. Promise.

Still alive, still crawling along. Only 6 more pages to draw of this 65 page nearly-killed-me-numerous-times behemoth. Here's the last preview pencil before I commence inking:



Lots of stuff. Part of the reason we're so late is that 2008 didn't actually happen.

More reasons next time!  : D

If you like the idea of Grit, but have found yourself thinking: "Why don't you just put it up a page-at-a-time like a normal webcomic, you pair of wankers!" -well now it's yours!

No, we're not changing format, we've joined Shadowline's webcomic lineup. And we've gone live! Even if you've read it all before, do pop on over to enjoy the splendid recapping of episodes 1 to 5 before the old-skool extravaganza begins with episode 6. Updated Monday to Friday until Shadowline has caught up with the current book, at which point the updates will ease back to weekly. You might also like to visit Image Central to scroll down to Shadowline's press release and click on that shiny pic that's beside it. There you'll see the other fine webcomics in the collective, for your viewing pleasure.

If you're mildly confused at this point, I shall just explain that Grit at www.platinumgrit.com won't be changing at all. Each ep will still go up as it always has in the usual format, and the archive isn't going anywhere. It just means that Grit has two homes on the web now, and anyone who hasn't seen the full pages, or prefers the page-at-a-time format has that option now. 

And what about the status of the current episode? Ah, have another teaser:



Up to page 50.

I was asked to do a guest strip for Wapsi Square, and mine was yesterday (Thanks Jon!).

LINKY.

Double The Fist season 2 begins TOMORROW NIGHT!


WOOT!

I keep forgetting to post this.

My art is on the front cover of CSN this week (unless I am too late posting this) from my part in Comic Book Tattoo, published by Image.  It's a huuuuuge book full of the work of a whole pile of people, including Alice Hunt and myself.  Our bit was written by Alice, and drawn by me.  It's a rare thing that I draw something I haven't at least had a hand in writing (in fact I can only recall doing it once before), but Alice asked and she's a gem.  And we made the cover! Woo! 

 I think it's coming out next week...?  My vagueness is due to a) being sworn to secrecy the whole way along the project...and it's become so second nature now that even I'm hazy on the details, and b) I now have my mind back on Grit and assorted other things.

(patrick, shush.)

Plugging along, where the gaps in my workload allow.  Up to page 34 of 65, for anyone keeping count. 

Another teaser panel (yes, it's a kate-centric ep this one)

Especially with teaser panels like this:



No stunning vistas, laboriously detailed backgrounds or action shots - you get an eye.  

Plugging away when I can...about a third of the way through...  But moving steadily forward! That's the important thing.

*Slinks off to have at it*

Arse arse ARSE has it ever been a frustrating start to the year.  Slammed with work - both paid and not, all of which has forced poor Grit onto the back-burner.  I've been watching the calender in despair.

But finally...FINALLY...everything that isn't paying bills is DONE and out of my face, and out of the way of poor languishing episode 19.  This week has been BLISS as I've finally been able to get cranking on it again.  So, after a long looooooong radio-silence from me (seriously, there was nothing to update beyond cries of despair), I give you a teaser panel from the pencils thus far -



Did I mention this ep is a 64 page behemoth?  It is.  But plough through it I will!  Watch me.

I'll be back after I've done a bunch more pages, with another teaser and (if I'm feelin' good about it) which page I'm up to in march towards 'done'.

Ben Hutchings is one of the funniest bastards I know.  I've loved his stuff from the moment I first picked up a copy of "You Stink And I Don't", many years ago.  I can't even explain why his stuff is so funny - which for me is the mark of genius.

He's got a new comic out called "The Lesson Master".  It's awesome, and you can find it here.

(Also highly recommended is a perusal through his music section.  I have no useful words to describe the joy within.)

Anyway, he asked me to draw him a pic for his Lesson Master book, and so I did -



Ben Hutchings.  Either you already know and love him, or you're about to discover him, and realise that he is what's been missing in your life.