13 August 2007, 10:54am

100 STRIPS WOO (and oh yeah, time for another hiatus)

Well, as promised, I am in San Francisco ... but more to the point, as promised, here is the hundredth installment of Hilarity Ensues

I won't get too verbose here, but I did just want to say that this strip means a lot to me. These characters mean a lot to me. This story means a lot to me. And I just want to thank each and every one of you for supporting this strip and encouraging me and basically making this all possible.

I'd also like to single out the actors who have made this strip possible thus far. You guys have been amazing, with your patience and your humor, and your willingness to let me pose you in silly ways. I love the way the first hundred strips look, I couldn't have come this far without you, and if I could do another hundred, another five hundred strips with you guys as my cast, then I wouldn't hesitate for a second. Thank you so much.

Now, unfortunately, we're going to have to take another break. I knew this one was coming, but I'd actually hoped I'd be able to delay it until #120 or so. However, due to circumstances beyond my control, it will no longer be possible to create Hilarity Ensues with photographs. Starting with strip #101, we will be moving on to a more traditional hand-drawn comic strip.

Unfortunately, because, as I mentioned, I'd hoped to have photographs for strips #101 - 120, I don't have any hand-drawn strips ready just yet. I'm not sure when the next batch of strips will be ready, but I'm hoping to arrange things so that when we do start up again, we won't have any more of these obnoxious breaks, at least not for a good long while.

To that end, I am looking for artists! I'm not looking for one person to draw the strip alone; instead, what I have planned is to have a different artist do each story arc. This will take the pressure off one artist to keep up with a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule all the time, and it will also hopefully help maintain the unique visual style that I know so many of you have come to expect and appreciate from this site.

So, if you have artistic talent, or know someone who does, drop me a line! This is a non-paying gig, but if you're looking for some exposure and a chance to help tell a fun, interesting, and dare I say dramatic and poignant tale, then this is your chance.

Keep checking back here and at my LiveJournal (the "blog" link above) for details on when the strip will return. Also, if you want on the e-mailing list, drop me a line.

And please ... any artists out there, raise your hands.

Now, I'm off to finish the last Harry Potter book (for the second time), and then tomorrow I think I'm going to go down to the beach and write some scripts for Hilarity Ensues. Because Chapter One is far from over. This story is far from over. I'm not done with this strip yet, not by a long shot. No longer having the ability to do this strip with photos is not going to keep me from finishing the story I've begun, and I hope you'll hang in there with me. Have a little patience, and we'll be back before you know it.

Hilarity Ensues will return.