Instead of making resolutions at the beginning of a new year, I frequently find myself looking back at all the changes brought forth by the previous year, and what I would like to accomplish in the coming one.

2009 was, for this comic at least, quiet an interesting year.  Being that Strange Gods is still so relatively new, I am often surprised at it’s continuing evolution. Looking back at the first comic of 2009 really hammers that notion home.

January 2009

December 2009

For me, personally, I find the difference in those two comics shocking. I am still surprised that my art could change so much over the course of a year. I am not a cartoonist, and am more or less figuring out how to be one as I go. This comic was started as a small side project, just as artistic outlet to give myself something different to work on once a week. I never imagined that it would continue to evolve, or that I would end up loving working on it so much.

2009 was the year I began producing the comic three days a week, making it officially, in my mind at least,  a “real webcomic”. Within the last few months of the year I left the world of digital inking, and returned to pen and Bristol for the comic. Inking with real pen and ink has lost me my safety net of infinite undo’s, but in return, is forcing me to be a better artist.There is something very rewarding about having a finished physical comic in front me when I am done. I suppose the only downside is the stacks of comics accumulating all over my desk and bookshelf. At this moment though, I honestly cannot fathom returning to digital inking. I am simply having too much fun.

This year also saw the introduction of Dogu the groundhog. Surprisingly enough, he was actually one of the first comic strip characters I ever created. He was one of several characters whipped up years ago for a comic that ultimately never materialized. I would occasionally doodle him and debated whether or not to add him to Strange Gods for quite a while. But here he is and here he will remain.

I hope that 2010 will see the same continued evolution of both the comic and my art. And I thank everyone that stops by to read, regardless of how frequent, or infrequent, those trips may be.

josh