Hey everybody! First, apologies for not posting this news sooner. I know many of you have been scratching your heads wondering what happened to the updates. Good news first– they’re still going! Please visit us at galaxioncomics.com for your usual Tuesday pages. In fact, I’ve been posting there continuously, so if it’s been a few weeks since you’ve seen the comic be sure to check the archive for anything you may have missed.

The bad news, which you’ve probably figured out by now, is that I won’t be continuing to publish on Girlamatic. Mostly this is a time thing– I no longer feel the need to keep two sites going. But since I’ve really enjoyed the community here I plan to leave the content here intact, with all the associated commentary. Girlamatic was certainly an important part of Galaxion’s webcomic history, and I have many fond memories.

So please do continue to read Galaxion at galaxioncomics.com! You can jump in with the most recently posted page, or if you want to continue from where I left off at Girlamatic, you can begin here.

I had a really great time this past weekend at Penguicon! I plan to get a full report, with photos, up in the next few days, but the short version is this: I met a lot of neat people (including readers and fellow webcomickers), the panels I was on went well, and I didn’t make a complete fool out of myself in front of Patrick Rothfuss (at least, I think I didn’t). So I guess that’s a win!

This weekend, May 8th and 9th: TCAF! I will be in the large upstairs room this year with most of the other webcomickers, and I am told a site map will be available on the TCAF website very soon. When it goes live, I will post a link. I’ll also be participating in a panel on Sunday: Webcomics and Serial Storytelling; that’s May 9th from 12:00-1:00pm, and it will be across the street from the Metro Reference Library (where all the creators are set up) at the Pilot Tavern (see map).  Here’s what it says on the website:

Comics have a long history of gag a day and serialized storytelling in comic strip culture… but as the medium has moved to the web it is the gag-a-day strips that seemed to find immediate success. We talk to a number of comics creators doing long-form, serialized comics on the internet to see the challenges they face, and how serial storytelling works when it’s online. Creators include Ananth Panagariya (Applegeeks), Meredith Gran (Octopus Pie), Spike (Templar, Arizona), Jonathan Rosenberg (Goats), Tara Tallan (Galaxion), Cameron Stewart (Sin Titulo), and Ramon Perez (Kukuburi). Moderated by Holly Post of Topatoco.

That’s some pretty good company to be in, so I’m really excited! And nervous. But mostly excited!

The sad news is, with all this back-to-back con prep– I’m rushing to get a new Galaxion minicomic completed in time for the show– I’m going to have to miss the usual First Friday of the Month update this week. But rather than skip it altogether, I’m going to aim to post an extra page next Friday, by which time I’ll have had an opportunity to catch up . Sound OK?

To keep you all entertained until then, I wanted to share the hilarious blog Good Show, Sir, which is described as “Only the worst Sci-fi/Fantasy book covers.” I have several of those books with atrocious cover art sitting on my shelves…

Links for easy reference: the first group and the second group to which Darvin refers. Also, Hettal (mentioned briefly in Chapter Three) had a supporting role in the short story Fusella Vs. Interplanetary Patrol. As you may recall, Zan was brought in to fill his place when they suddenly realized they needed a complete Survey Contact Team.

I’ve been busy folding flyers and assembling buttons for Penguicon this weekend! I’m really looking forward to getting a chance to meet some of my fellow webcomic creators, such as Kez of The War of Winds and Darc and Matt Sowers of Code Name: Hunter. Plus– and I was so excited when I read this– I found out that fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss will be there! The Name of the Wind was one of my favourite books from the last couple of years, so I expect to go all tongue-tied fangirl when I have a chance to get my copy signed. Based on his blog, I expect he’s a really entertaining person to listen to. Can’t wait!!

Hey, stranger! Haven’t seen you around these parts in a while. What was your name again? Fusella something?

Yes, it’s been a heck of a long time since we last saw our poor beleaguered Captain, Fusella Mierter (not to mention the rest of the crew waiting patiently aboard ship), while the Survey Contact Team has been busy on the planet below. Nearly a year, although in fact it’s only been 57 pages (I know, I know, draw faster, Tara). I certainly enjoyed working on this scene. It was like returning to an old friend!

Hey, folks! As some of you have pointed out, today is Aria Schafer’s birthday. Everybody sing! In honor of her special day, I’m taking this opportunity to announce the new edition of GALAXION Book 1: The Jump! Because look, there she is on the cover, in colour and everything. I don’t actually have the book in my hands yet, but I expect it to arrive from the printer very soon. Can’t wait can’t wait can’t wait!! For those of you who may already own a copy of the first edition and are wondering if you’re going to need to buy this one too… well, obviously the answer to that is “yes, buy lots and lots”, but just so you know, the content is exactly the same (except for some minor fixes and cleanup). But this one is offset print, which means the art will look sharper. And hey, pretty new cover! We’ll be selling them at upcoming conventions (Penguicon! TCAF! Toronto Comicon! Kids Read Comics! Baltimore Comic Con!), but if you aren’t able to get to any of those, we’ll be setting up to sell through the website very soon.

Happy Birthday, Aria! Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the regular Tuesday update.

If you’re new to the story or just otherwise scratching your head over this page, that’s OK! I totally understand. Try starting from a few pages back, or if you’d like a little more, from the beginning of Chapter Five.

This past weekend was full of awesomeness, as I spent the majority of it at the Toronto Spring Thaw Contra Dance, dancing to foot-stomping jigs and reels by bands Rumblestrip and Relative Harmony. Here’s a video I took of one of the dances. It can be a little difficult to explain to people who’ve never danced at one of these things before what actually makes it so much fun– I think for a lot of people my age it calls up unpleasant memories of being forced to do Square Dancing in high school or something– but it’s the energy of the people around you, the good music, and the movement, which when done well can feel a bit like an amusement park ride. I’ve often thought that more people from comic fandom should give Contra Dancing a try (I can almost guarantee there is a group somewhere near where you live; go ahead and Google it), since the common rules of behavior in Contra Dance (change partners at every dance, always accept the first person who asks you to dance, if you are an experienced dancer then seek out the new dancers to help them learn the figures) makes it the perfect kind of social interaction for the socially inept (like me! ^_^). Also, the dance community is extremely tolerant of all kinds of weirdness! See, it’s like a match made in heaven. And I guess that’s enough proselytizing from me.

But the capper to the weekend, the fine accompanying dessert to a wonderful meal of dancing, was getting to see Oysterband in concert on Sunday night. They’ve been together as a band for 30 years now, and I’ve only really known about them for the last three. I saw them for the first time, at the same venue, two years ago, and  became an instant fan after their first song. It seems my lot in life in recent years to discover I like a band only as they are on the brink of retirement (actually, I have no reason to think Oysterband is retiring anytime soon, but the fact of the matter is they are all grey haired), rather than when they are in their prime. Oh well. I suppose it’s better than most– there have certainly been lots of performers I’ve discovered I liked long after they’ve already retired, or worse, passed away.

Well, that was my weekend! I expect to have a completely different kind of awesome weekend on April 30th-May 2nd at Penguicon in Troy, MI, and on the heels of that will be the boundlessly awesome TCAF in Toronto, May 8th and 9th. If I find out my table location at these shows I will post that info as soon as I know it. Hope to see some of you there!

Well, this just goes to show… er, something. Probably that writers can be nasty, nasty people. Heh heh heh.

Here we go again…?

I hope all of you who are celebrating have a great Easter weekend, and we’ll see you back here on Tuesday for the shocking conclusion to this scene!! (Well… no, I suspect most of you won’t be shocked at all.)

(Oh, and in case you missed it, Darvin made a guest appearance yesterday. )

Well, it seems like Vessa agrees with some of your comments on the last two pages! I’ve really been enjoying reading all the thoughts you’ve shared– thank you.

I honestly don’t know how it happened so fast, but somehow we appear to be reaching the end of March already. The good news is, that means this Friday will be another First-Friday-of-the-Month bonus update! Please join us April 2nd to find out what else can possibly go wrong for our heroes.

Happy Passover to any and all who are celebrating!

Holy cow, talk about a great debate! Last week’s page elicited a huge number of comments, and I really didn’t see it coming. If anything, this week’s page is only going to add fuel to that little fire…! Amusingly, I noticed an article had been posted last week on the blog Boing Boing about exploring the ethics of space science.

And now, I want to share my cool news that I mentioned previously– Galaxion has been nominated for a Joe Shuster Award for Outstanding Canadian Webcomic! I’m still picking my jaw up off the floor. My fellow nominees (among them are Kate Beaton, Karl Kerschl, and Rene Engstrom) are a pretty amazing bunch, and I am honoured to be in their company. Winners will be announced June 5th, in conjunction with the Toronto ComiCON Fan Appreciation Event (no website yet) held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, June 5-6th. So it looks like I’m adding another show to my list of appearances this year!