Monster Commute – a Traffic Novel

Sure, You’ve noticed it. Steam Crow (and Steam Crow Press) are undergoing some changes.
Basically, we’ve decided to do a webcomic. Not just any old webcomic either… our webcomic.
This is a test post, trying out the new system.
So relax, grab a corndog, and check back here sometime later.
- Daniel

I spend a lot of time on the road, and I see a lot of people’s individual “territorial” markings on their cars.
Turns out, according to a study from Colorado State University, that people who adorn their cars with such markings are more prone to road rage:
The number of road rage incidents — bouts of aggressive [...]

So, apparently there is this company called “zipcar” that you pay a monthly fee to have access to their fleet of cars. The fee includes gas, insurance, and reserved parking.
You can pull up in a zipcar city, and you can see exactly where and what kind of cars are available. Basically, they seem to keep [...]

So the stars aligned a month ago when I was approached by a local Phoenix Arizona billboard company.
Basically, they asked if I’d want my artwork up on a vacant billboard; as you might imagine, I jumped at the opportunity. The catch: none, beyond not being able to make it a pure branding piece.
It’s on the [...]

Last night we had another TINY ARMY meetup, this time focused on Life Drawing.
Kevin Hedgpeth of the Art Institute of Phoenix, graciously set up the event and the model.
We had about 10 participants, and it was a really calm evening of drawing. I only really got to see Jerry Salinas and Jason Cheeseman-Meyer drawings, and [...]

I discovered an passion for comics late in life. Well, late compared to most.
Sure, like most, I’d read and loved Calvin and Hobbes, Far Side, and Peanuts as a kid. I’d also read most of the others, like Hagar the Horrible, Beetle Baily, and Bloom County.
I often forget that I did a very awful comic [...]

I fixed the sign-up form for our Secret monthly newsletter, in the bottom right corner of the website.
So, if you tried it and failed, it’s ready to go once again.
Sign-UP!
Thanks,
Daniel

In preparation for next week’s LAUNCH, I’ve been doing all sorts of tweaking and fixing of the site. (And I’m not done just yet.)
Of note, the store was all botched in Internet Explorer on the PC. I’ve spent about a week finding the solution, and now it should finally be actually displaying product details.
It’s as [...]

Here are a bunch of new prints coming your way, September 15th.
If you end up coming to our show at Red Hot Robot, you can get them first. All are 12×18 film, with a pleasing satin finish.
I’ll be adding them to the store soon.

Well, I’ve unpacked my computer and got it all hooked up again, so I can make this report.
THANKS to all of our Steam Mates for coming out of the woodwork, and checking out the new comic, new prints, MNSTR Bags, and the acrylic panels.
Once it got rolling, the crowd didn’t really let up. I was [...]

So, my son Kaid has been watching me build my Monster Commute comic for the past several months.
The other day, he decided to get into the action, and do his own version. (With no coaxing from his old man. Who says “old man“?)

Anyway, I thought that it was pretty delightful, and funny.
I like how happy [...]

Steam Crow has a busy/crazy October ahead of us. (And I thought that September was crazy.) Oh well, it’s why I’m here.
Here’s what we’ve got on the plate, so far:

October 1 – TINY ARMY – Publishing Roundtable – 6-8:30 pm
October 2 – Bookmans “Got Milk” – Daniel reads “Caught Creatures”  6-8 pm
October 18 – 24 [...]

So, here’s what my daily schedule looks like, trying to keep up with a daily webcomic and day job:
Current weekly schedule:
4:45 am – Dawna wakes me up
5:10 am – On the road to work (My turn to drive)
5:30 am – Try not to die merging on the South bound I-17
5:45 am – Eating breakfast in [...]

I’ve not been able to do Illustration Friday of late, because I’ve been working on this here ole Monster Commute comic strip. (And enjoying myself, even!)
But, this week’s theme of “Packed” made me immediately think of the highways of Phoenix, Arizona (and by extension the monster world of Monstru).
So, here’s a “Packed” highway of my [...]

This weekend, I added a Forum to ole Steam Crow site.
As you know, a forum is nothing without your involvement. You’re invited to participate; it’s open to anyone who wants to talk about the comic, Steam Crow, or just vent about the horrible commute or gas prices.
It’s in the header under “Talk“.
I was going to [...]