Sunday, September 21, 2008

Brick House Turns Two

I should have mentioned this back on Thursday, but it completely slipped my mind.

September 18th marked the two year mark on the Brick House comic strip.

I didn't make a big deal out of it for a few reasons. First, there was a big ol' hiatus in the middle there, so it hasn't been a solid two year run. (Although I've done enough "catch up" episodes to fill the gap) Second, well, like I said,I got busy and didn't even think about it.

You may be wondering about the fan art contest mentioned in the strip - well, I only received one entry, and it was of a bat-man universe character who's never appeared in the strip. So that was canceled quietly and without fanfare. (heh)

That didn't stop Ian from making a very nice Saturday-Special tribute, though. Go check it out. Thank you, Ian. I like it muchly.

On Thursday I also received my first real critique of the strip - not the daily abuse I put up with/encourage here in the blog, but a well reasoned letter from a fan who didn't realize there was a blog. (I guess I need to tweak the site design a bit, eh?)

The fan took issue with the lack of direction things have had since strip 371 or so. He missed the more "plot driven" story arcs of the past, and the characters who (apparently) were left behind.

I think most of the disappointment sprang from the "episodic" approach I was trying out. When Whiskey "walked off the set" back in the day, I wanted to see what sort of strange adventures the characters would get into without the "man and frog on the run" plot to keep pushing them around. That lead to last year's advent madness, the return of the Brick House, the death of Donut I...all good things, I think, but more random plot lines than any overarching "story".

Well, as I move into year three I think we'll see more of a return to a plot-driven storyline. I have things marked out through early 2009, and all through that span the characters have firm goals and work towards them at a fairly steady pace. Sure, there are the usual distractions and throwaway jokes, but overall it's a much more coherent storyline.

And, yes, you'll see the return of many "abandoned" characters, in some very unexpected ways. There are new friends on the horizon as well. Good thing the Brick House is bigger on the inside - they're going to need a lot of guest rooms.

Anyway, thanks to all of you for reading so far. I hope I can enourage many of you to stick around to see how year three unfolds.

-Chris

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8 Comments:

Blogger Nick said...

Can't wait to see what new adventures you have planned. Congratulations on 2 years!

September 21, 2008 6:13 PM  
Anonymous dave the rave said...

Thanks for making the comic, Chris. :)

I can't wait how Fox and wash are going to return. =D

Also: does anyone wan to see my LEGO Universe creations?(and yes,my username is dave11754)

http://us.universe.lego.com/en-us/CreationLab/DisplayCreationList.aspx?memberid=20ffa58b-a1d2-454c-815a-89639257397f

September 21, 2008 7:34 PM  
Anonymous Sophie said...

i wanted to do the fan art thing! darn didnt have the time waaaa

September 21, 2008 9:03 PM  
Blogger Geoffrey said...

Am I the only one thinking the Brick House TARDIS was a storyline in and of itself? Without that plot device, Donut and Whiskey would've been stranded back in the Advent universe, and would've been snuffed out of existence when it went poof.

I suppose it is good that we're getting down to the 'nuts and bolts' of how the BH TARDIS works, and how it will traverse space/time.

I do, however, quite often find myself wishing that they'd get to this robot rebellion storyline instead of it 'hanging in the wings' and waiting to start off.

Chris even had a new set design he was going to use in the storyline, yet we haven't even got around to that. I suppose it will happen, eventually.

I congratulate Chris on his 2-year anniversary, and on Ian's special strip, good one Ian, didn't see that one coming.

I really wish the BH TARDIS and it's crew will go on bold new adventures, RSN. ;)

September 22, 2008 3:08 AM  
Anonymous Na said...

Happy birthday!

September 22, 2008 8:25 AM  
Blogger Nick said...

I noticed you mentioned old friends. What about old enemies? French Chef? :D

September 22, 2008 1:49 PM  
Anonymous Papaya said...

French Chef please?

And Pina Colada.

September 22, 2008 4:59 PM  
Blogger Uncle Servo said...

Wow... Two full years. Congratulations!!!! I've throughly enjoyed reading and I hope you're a long way from done. Heck, I hope you're a long way from even getting HALFWAY done!

I can kinda see where the fan who wrote the critique would be disappointed, but to me it seems that the BH overall has evolved into a more character-driven endeavor more so than plot-driven. It reminds me of Ben Edlund's The Tick -- it begins as a parody but builds upon itself more and more until it becomes its own continuity.

Having said that, however, I would like to see the return of over-arcing metaplots... and soemthing tells me that when they finally get to Scotch's homeworld that'll be back in full swing... or hop...

One question has always bugged me though: if the Cola siblings were unable to resist the overwhelming urge to lick the meteors back in Episodes 8 & 9, why hasn't Whiskey licked Scotch ONCE so far?

Or has he sneaked in a lick or two in an Episode I don't remember or when I otherwise wasn't looking?

September 25, 2008 11:34 AM  

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