— Baroquen —

A friend of mine, Mr Pedersen, will be performing in the Southern New Jersey area as a completely different Duke of York, as well as the Duke of Clarence, in a series of Shakespeare plays chronicling the Wars of the Roses.

If you’re in the region, as I will be to see Richard III, give them a look and get an injection of high culture.

Until next time, I am,

Your most honourable plugger of events,

-S

In case you were wondering, that was The Big Strong Man, a traditional song, or so the internet tells me.

And as we all know, it must be true, for the Internet tells me so!

I first heard it perfomed by these dapper gents and encourage you all to give them an ear!  Or maybe two.  But perhaps you only have one ear?  In that case, I suppose, lending them one ear is acceptable.

Until next time!

I am, your illustrative artist,

-S

The other day, I thought to myself, gee, I haven’t been sick in quite some time.

Well, guess what?

Yesterday I awoke ill, and unwilling to move.  Same today.  Just not feeling it.

My nose has been rubbed by tissues so many times it now has similar consistencies to that of large-grain sandpaper and causing my thoughts to move through a sort of mental sludge akin to molasses on a cold day.

So, my apologies, readers, there will be no comic today.  As satisfaction to my readers, I invite you all to watch this point-by-point how-to on how gentlemen should go about dueling.

General Etiquette:
How To Fight A Duel

Many apologies for a lack of illustrated japery last week.  There were some personal things that arose and are currently being taken care of.

However, the primary reason for a lack of web-comics was that I was snowed in at my lady-friend’s house for four days.  Which, isn’t so bad!

What is bad is the state of the weather in my location, Maryland.  Since the month began, there has fallen nearly sixty inches of snow.  Wrap your mind around that.  Sixty.  Inches. 

And, for whatever reason, Mother Nature has deemed it necessary to drop more snow upon us Monday evening.  I, for one, am thoroughly sick of this meterological absuridy.  The levels of snow have officially crossed from “pretty” to “thoroughly obnoxious.”

That is my take on the weather, in any case.

Until next time, I am,

Your mostly frozen Artist,

-S

Dear Gentle Reader-

Before diving into the meat of this post, allow me to direct my fellow chaps and chapettes to a dandy of a band I had the pleasure of watching this past Friday:  The Two Man Gentleman Band.  And dandy they were!  They played a most amusing set of Ragtime-inspired tunes!  I humbly suggest my readership to give them a listen.

Now, on to the meat.  Today’s comic was inspired by the recent release of Star Trek Online.  A game I may acquire.  I wasn’t always drawn toward MMORPGs, as they seemed the stuff of cheetoh-munching basement-dwellers, and I often mocked my sister for her WoW addiction.

Now, it seems, the tables are turned and my inner dweeb cries out to be heard.  Several times, I have already gleefully perused Star Trek Online’s web-page, clicking away with baited-breath.

If anyone wonders, if in some point in the near future, the quality of this cartoon should decline for, say, a period of five months, blame the game.

Until next time, gentle reader, I am,

Your humble cartoonist,

-S

No, Baroquen is not going on hiatus, nor are we becoming a gaming comic.

And yes, Baroquen will continue to be 100% ninja free.

However, the bad news is this:  the basement where my computer is kept was visited by a flow of water.  As in, a pipe burst.  The idiots that built my home also though it a brilliant idea to wall over the shut-off valve for the outside tap.

Fortunately, my computer was not damaged, nor were any of the archives.  Although, the basement is in a bit of disarray, making it difficult to make comics in that atmosphere.  Everything being unplugged and all.  However, I have utilised A’s, Bamboo tablet and made the above drawing for your amusement.

The tablet is an interesting piece of technology, and I’ll be tinkering with it more, at least until I have the computer and scanner up and running again.

Until next time, gentle readers, Keep Calm and Carry On!

-S

Is up!  It contains valuable information about this website.  In addition to priceless contact data.

I advise you to treasure this page.

Your gem of an artist,

-S

Self-taught Promoter

Today’s comic (August 10) is a victory for me over deceased 19th century British caricaturist John Tenniel.  Tenniel is most famous for his illustrations in Lewis Carroll’s Alice stories.

In looking on my victory, it feels hollow.  Its not entirely fair to have a contest with a man who’s been dead nearly a century.

In any case, today’s comic references a famous lost Alice story.  The legend goes like this:  In the lead up to his publication of Through the Looking Glass Tenniel sent Carroll a letter regarding the chapter “Wasp in a Wig.”  Tenniel said that drawing a wasp in a wig was “artistically impossible” and that the chapter didn’t “interest [him] in the slightest.”

So, with the deadline for the book coming up, Carroll scrapped it, locked it away in a secret vault in the darkest parts of British East Africa, protected by numerous jungles, beasts, and a chap named “Jabber” MacBarcobb.

Needless to say, the story of the wasp was thought to be a myth and that anyone who sought it out was destined for a slow death in the belly of the Jabberwocky.  That is…until 1974.

Yes, 1974, an eventful year.  Nixon resigned, the “Rumble in the Jungle” between Foreman and Ali took place, ABBA won Eurovision, and the “Wasp” flew again!

And so, to you, my beloved twenty-or-so readers, I have bested Mr Tenniel!  Only 138 years later, the Wasp and his wig has been ILLUSTRATED.

Below the cut is the missing chapter.

Read the rest of this entry »

First of all, allow me to assure all of my readers that there will be a comic today!

Father’s Day was nice in that I spent it with my dad, eating and drinking.  Which inhibited my ability to write, much less draw, something remotely funny.

In addition, the consumption of beer makes it difficult to draw something worthy of putting on this website.

In any case, do expect to see a comic today after five in the evening, EDT.

Until next time, I am,

Your most faithful and obedient humourist,

-S

Artist and lazy bones

As all twenty of you may have noticed, there was not an illustrated caricature on Monday.  This is because my mind is blown and the creative gland is dry.  I’m hoping to get started back up soon and I promise there will be a comic next Monday at the very latest.

I’m proud of where this comic is going, and I’m looking forward to advertising.  I’m most proud that this is the first deadline I’ve missed in six months.  Many webcomics, even the more famous ones have difficulty making any deadlines!

So, to you, the Gentle Reader, I apologise for not providing quality humour with an eighteenth century twist, and am working hard to massage my broken creativitiy gland.

Until then, I am,

Your most Obedient and Humble Dude,

–S

Artist and Exuberant Amateur Scholar