Episode 023

Here it is, everyone! Thanks for your patience!

I am very excited to present this episode to you. Not only does it complete our first day with Gary, but it also completes a very satisfying personal effort that took just shy of two years (22 months) to complete! Whew...

I'm going to dedicate myself to getting future episodes out at a faster pace, and I've made some new changes (and purchases) to help me reach that goal. It will likely take me a while to implement these new changes, but I'm confident they'll pay off soon. More on that later, maybe. : )

(And, no, these changes didn't involve acquiring a perfect immune system or an adamantium skeleton, though that would be nice...). : )

But, for now, thank you so much for taking the time to read Knights, no matter where you came in along the way, and for sharing your comments and support! I look forward to the future of this project and hope you're there to experience it all with me!

- Trevor

(More) Some Not So Great News

While at the doctor's getting a follow-up x-ray this morning, it was discovered that I had actually cracked the radius in my right wrist - a totally different bone than they originally believed to be broken.

So, I will now have a cast (blue) on my right wrist/forearm for the next three weeks! Hooray!

My fingers are free enough so that I might be able to draw, but nowhere near the level of quality I want for Knights. Maybe I'll post some of my attempts. : )

So...don't forget about me over the next month or so, alright? I'll be back soon... : )

-Trevor

Episode 022 Thumbnail Script

Not that great news

Well..I injured my drawing hand while playing indoor soccer earlier this week. As a result, I have to wear a splint\brace on that hand until October 15th. : (

So, it'll be a while longer before I'm able to resume work on the next episode.

Episode 022

Thanks for checking out the new episode! Hope you enjoy! : )

Just one episode left until the conclusion of our first day with Gary...

(Oh, and be sure to check out the birthday cake below!)

Happy Birthday, From Gary

I thought I'd share with you the awesome way my Dad personalized my birthday cake last week. Neat, eh? (It can't be copyright infringement if it tastes good, right?) :)


Later, I'll show you something MORE AWESOME my Dad made for me that's helping out with the strip...

Episode 021

If you took the time check out the new episode: Thanks very much! I hope you enjoy it! : )
If not: You are already here, so...might as well?

Episode 020

Thanks for checking out the new episode! Hope you all enjoy! : )

In Limbo

Episode 019

OK. You may have heard me complain about blogger shrinking the size of episodes that are larger than 18 or so panels. Well, episode 019 is 22 panels long...and blogger displays it at a size in which the dialog is unreadable. So, I've used a file storage site to temporarily store episode 019 until I can figure out what to do with really long episodes. : )

So, I ask that you please click here and download (bottom of the page) the episode to view it at a readable size.

Sorry for the inconvenience! I'll look into a better solution as soon as possible. (Or, please let me know if you already have a better idea!).

Thanks for checking out the new episode! I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know what you think! : )

-Trevor

Episode 008 Thumbnail Script

Here's an example of a script with thumbnail sketches I put together for Episode 008. These give me a better idea of character placement and help me break up the dialog and associate it with individual panels. I try to do these for every episode, but I usually end up with sketches for each panel scattered around my notebook. : )

Episode 018

Hi everyone! There are a few comments I have for you, so be sure to read on below the strip after you're done:

First of all, thanks for reading the episode! I hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know what you think! :)

Also, please take note of the Twitter feed I added to the side bar. If you're ever interested in my progress on the current strip or want to see what I'm up to, check it out for updates.

And finally, I'm always excited when I have the chance to expand on my artistic abilities, and I try to stretch myself with something new in each episode. With that said, I am proud to share with you that I've finally managed the upper hand in a battle with one of the more devious facets of "real world" artistry: the mysterious physics of MIRROR TECHNOLOGY. Quite obviously, as you may have noticed, I had no such knowledge of this new technology prior to this episode. What a buffoon, was I! Such ham-fisted hackery! Frankly, I'm surprised you're still here... Yet thankfully, after many hours spent pouring over tomes of scientific knowledge, I am now able to present, I hope, a more pleasing rendering of this exciting new phenomenon.

Many thanks,

Trevor

Twitter

I'm trying out a Twitter feed on my sidebar. I'll be using it primarily to update on my progress on the current strip throughout the week(s). I'm hoping it will keep me from letting a day go by without working on the comic in some manner... :)

Episode 017

Whew! What a challenge it was to get this episode out! Thanks so much for your patience, and please let me know what you think!

-Trevor

Episode 017 out this week

I had a busier weekend than expected and this episode is taking longer than I planned. I hope to have it out this week.

Stumptown Comics 2008

Hello all,

I wanted to tell you about my trip last Saturday to the 2008 Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, Oregon. From their website:

"The Stumptown Comics Fest was started almost on a whim in 2004 by a small group of Portland-area cartoonists lamenting the lack of local convention-style outlets. While there were certainly other comic book shows in town, there weren't any that gave much attention to the artists themselves. The dream was to design a festival with the creators as its focus, rather than dealers and work-for-hire publishers."

So, most of the people sitting behind the booths were the creators themselves, which I thought was really cool. There were a wide range of talents displayed, as well as many different levels of production. (I saw several people that had simply photocopied pages and stapled them together to make a comic book!).

Besides meandering through the convention hall, I attended three "spotlight" talks given by some of the special guests invited to the convention:

*Nicholas Gurewitch of The Perry Bible Fellowship showed off a fancy "robot" that created comic strips for him when he was in a creative slump. If only I had one of those. :)

*Comics theorist Scott McCloud, whose books I've learned much from, was also there with some interesting things to say.

*Mike Richardson, president and founder of Dark Horse Comics, gave a fascinating talk about the history of the company and their central goal: to create the best publishing environment for creative artists, and, most importantly, let them keep the rights to their work! How awesome is that?!? I've been a fan of the Hellboy series and thought I'd attend just to hear more about the company, but I never thought it would be the best "spotlight" talk of the three!

After giving their talks, all three guests graciously fielded questions from the audience (and Nicholas even answered one of mine!).

The whole experience was very fun and informative, and I came away with one realization: I know very little about comics. I'm encouraged by this fact, though, and am looking forward to learning much more about the world I caught a brief glimpse of over the weekend.

I'll definitely be attending next year...and maybe even exhibit this time? Who knows? :)

-Trevor

Oh, and also, my friend and I saw a bearded lady. He says he saw three altogether. Apparently I wasn't as attentive. :)

Episode 016

Thanks for checking out the episode and please enjoy! -TK

P.S. You may notice I'm really not doing a good job of remembering to sign my work! This episode and at least one other haven't been signed since I started... *Sigh* Mayhaps the forgetfulness of today will become the easter egg of tomorrow?

Episode 015

Here it is! (A week and a half hour late, I know :)) Thanks so much for your patience! Enjoy!

Episode 015 Update

Episode 015 will be up tonight, so in the meantime...

Episode 015 Delayed

Hi everyone,

Episode 015 is going to be delayed, probably until next Monday. :( I think you’ll really like this episode, so the delay will be worth it. In the meantime, I’ll try to put something else up for you to look at…

Thanks,

Trevor

Episode 014

Well, it's been two weeks...and it's still Monday...technically. :)

My goal is to get the strip out on Sunday night or Monday morning so it's viewable by more than just night owls during the last few moments of Monday. Thanks, and please, enjoy!

Episode 013

Thanks so much for your patience!

Battling the Corpse Worm

Well, today is two weeks since my last post...and Episode 013 is still not done.

Turns out, I underestimated the amount of work needed to draw, ink, and finalize the new panels. This is mainly because the battle with the corpse worm is requiring very detailed and action heavy panels, more so than in the past. Ugh. Fun, and rewarding, but still ugh. There was a point on Sunday morning where I felt like I was back in college, studying for a final the next day and suddenly realizing I only knew 60% of the material. It's been almost two years since I've been out of college, but boy was that an uncomfortably haunting feeling*.

Rather than rush to get it out and fail, I'm going to take an extra week to make sure the episode is done right. So, in the meantime, I present to you an intimate overview of our special guest: the corpse worm. Below you'll find nine pages of sketches I did of the jerk. Since he's the victor this week, I think it's the least he deserves.

Turns out Gary isn't the only one fighting this thing!

Thanks for your patience!

Trevor

*As opposed to a comfortably haunting feeling.

Knights of Nine to Five is One Year Old!

Quite coincidentally, my posting of episode 12.5 tonight comes exactly one year after I posted the first episode of Knights of Nine to Five! In the year that followed that first post, I went through some trying times, both in my personal life and artistic life, but overall I have undergone tremendous growth in all areas and am a better, happier person because of it!

So...after twelve months I have completed just over twelve strips. One strip a month is not that bad, in my own opinion...save for the fact that poor Gary is little more than halfway through his day! My plan this year is to adapt to a regular schedule that gets a new episode out every two weeks. I think this schedule is definitely doable, and over the past month I have been making some good steps to help me achieve this goal.

All that's left to do at this point is to give my thanks to all of you that have supported this strip (especially through the spotty updates!). Thank you!

I have lots in store for Knights in the coming year, and I hope you choose to stick around and see what happens!

Trevor

Episode 012.5

Signature Significance

Beginning with episode 11, I've started to sign my strips for a personal reason. The unique signature I'm using comes from my grandfather, who likes to work with wood and create all sorts of things with it. Whenever he finishes a piece, he signs it on the bottom. I've always admired his signature, and have decided to start using it in my work as a way of carrying on the Kellogg creative name.

Episode 012

I don't know why the longer strips (2, 5, and 12) are displaying at a smaller size when opened fully. I'll split them up and repost them soon...

Episode 011

Episode 010

(What in the world is a familiar?)