It’s all about the journey, man.

By the way, a HUGE THANKS to the bunch of you who donated to help me fix my computer! Together, you raised over $200, which covers most of the $310 bill to get it working again. This wound up being extra crucial, as my job’s pay schedule is screwed up and has left me with no money until October 1, so I actually couldn’t have done it without you (or the help of a loan shark). That custom comic I mentioned is in the works, and when I get my comp back in a few days I will be sure to send it out.

Hobbies are funny that way. They have a way of turning around on you, and the joy you start getting out of them is replaced by how bad you feel when you let them down. I’ve had this happen with going to the gym, drawing, biking, and just about every website I’ve ever run. Consider this some comic-therapy.

Am I the only one that goes through this? Share your stories and possible solutions in the comments.

To those of you at Connecticon, THANKS SO MUCH for making me feel missed all weekend! It was great to hear all the updates on Twitter and via email. I’ll be there next year of course, and back to hosting Super Art Fight. In the meantime, I’ll be at Otakon in a few weeks, so hopefully I’ll see some of you there.

Thanks to all who came to Super Art Fight in DC this past weekend! We had a great show. The highlight for me was rapping on stage. As I mentioned on Twitter, I sang a fair amount of Partners in Kryme’s hit T-U-R-T-L-E POWER. And luckily for you, there’s video evidence:

Comicsgirl also posted what’s probably the best recap of what it’s like to attend a Super Art Fight show. Check out her review here. My favorite part was how she described the commentary. It’s not my favorite because it’s about me, it’s my favorite because I think she nailed it:

Nover, along with fellow host Marty Day, kept the action moving. They have a teasing and affable rapport with each other and are always willing to just keep making jokes. Their reactions are part of what make the show so great — they have the perfect combination of quick wits and bafflement about what they’re seeing being drawn and really pull the audience into the action. (Nover also treated the audience to a rendition of Vanilla Ice’s “Ninja Rap” from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle II. I would love to tell you it made sense at the time — although, it almost did — but mostly, it was impressive he remembered as much of it as he did.)

Unfortunately, it was actually from TMNT 1. Still a great review.

A cyclist in NYC got a ticket for riding outside of a bike lane, and then decided to make a video about what it was like to try and JUST stay in the bike lane. All this without a helmet. You can see the BoingBoing post here, but it just links to Consumerist, and anyway that gets to the guy’s actual YouTube page.

Some posts on my site have led to debates for and against cyclists and drivers. Truth is nobody’s perfect on both sides of the equation, but I am in favor of cyclists having rights just like drivers, and lots of that these days means simple awareness. That being said, plenty of cyclists take these rights and go outside their bounds, running lights and things that they wouldn’t dare do in a car. Anyway, it’s a funny video. Enjoy!

I was walking around London, seeing all the bicycle commuters go by (way to go, UK cyclists!) when this thought occurred to me. Bikes would be really handy for the zombie apocalypse. In movies you always see people with cars that run out of gas or won’t start, or on foot. Bicycles would be a great compromise! You could dodge around all those cars that get left in the road, the trash cans and boxes that wind up in every scene. You’d be quiet (as long as you avoided the bike bell) and with relatively little maintenance. Sure, there’s the thought of the occasional flat or your chain coming loose, but then you wouldn’t be that worse off than being on foot. The bike could even make for a makeshift weapon to give you some distance from a few brain-guzzlers that won’t leave you alone. If not, the U-lock definitely could crack some heads.

Which led me to my next thought: bike messengers would survive the zombie apocalypse. They’re fast, well organized and let’s face it, look like they’ve already survived the apocalypse. I’d love to see a movie about a few bike messengers working to make their way out of the city, all talking on their walkie talkies and using poster tubes to knock some heads. The ones on fixed gear bikes would be the first to go, zombies walk up hills and don’t care if you can “hover” at a red light.

Oh, and I must say! I did a quick bit of research, and I’m not the only one to think of this idea:

• http://onelessindenver.blogspot.com/2010/12/bikes-for-zombie-apocalypse-part-1.html
• http://www.irontowerstudio.com/forum/index.php?topic=1471.0
• http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/05/maker-faire-highlights/?pid=1940

See also: The Hipster Union.

Speaking of the Hipster Union, it’s now on a t-shirt! American Apparel, of course. If you want girls sizes, they are ONLY available in preorder SALE (only $15), which will run for the next week. Get ’em before they sell out! And by that, I mean to a record label. It’s preorder, I’ll order as many as you guys tell me to. PREORDER HERE »

Oh, and don’t say “hipster-jack” three times in a row. If you don’t get that, don’t worry about it.

A couple weeks back I did a comic entitled Road Sage, all about how cyclists can deal with the people in cars who yell at them. Skipping the comments I might have on the commentary that has ensued on that post, the Quirky Nomads Podcast kindly has produced an audio version of the comic. Yes, my work has been adapted!

It’s a great listen, and just a few minutes long. If you have a few, listen to the dulcet sounds of this little “radio opera”.
Full QN Podcast post here »
Subscribe in iTunes to their podcast here »

This one goes out to all those people that seem to think I like fixies.

What is a fixie? Check out the article on “fixed gear bicycles” on Wikipedia »

And if you like that, you may like this shirt that is on sale (since it’s being reordered) for $15.00 plus shipping:

UPDATE: The Quirky Nomads Podcast has made this comic into a radio production! More info here »

ALSO: Now avaiable as an 11×17 print! Check it out here.

This is a followup to one of the more popular comics in the archive, famously featuring “figure out purple”.

Hitting conflict in the face with more conflict never seems to help, as both sides immediately identify the other as the enemy and shut off any ability to listen to reason. But confronting conflict with the unexpected produces unexpected results. This works not only while biking but on forum “flame wars”, on the phone, and hell, maybe even in times of war.

I’d like to point out where this comic starts, “when someone yells at you from their car”. People piss each other off on the road all the time, cyclists and motorists alike. Both, when breaking the law, are wrong. This is NOT about breaking the law (see this comic if you wanted it), it is instead about when people are angry at each other. Feel free to debate in the comments as you will.

UPDATE: Thanks for all the love on the comic! If you like it, you can buy it as a signed print in the HilariAwesome.com store. BUY A PRINT NOW »

You can also buy this t-shirt about biking:

Another “terms” comic. I haven’t done one of these in a while, but I love working on them. They always turn out well I think. Today’s comic is actually based on a true story of biking to work last week, where a guy zoomed by me, leaving only inches to spare, only to get pulled over a quarter mile later. Serves him right in my mind, as I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Makes you wish everyone just wasn’t in such a hurry all the time. Has this kind of thing ever happened to you?

To those that have stuck around since “chart-okalypse”, thanks! Hope you like what you’re seeing around here. As a recap on the chart, we’re working on a “PG” version of the chart as well as some more items that feature some of the artwork, including Professor Internet. Stay tuned to the site for more.

Another comic on Wednesday. To those in the US, hope you’re enjoying MLK day. To those outside, hope Monday isn’t sucking too hard.