NEW COVER!

I'm finally back at work on No Raccoons in Hell. I have started work on the next page! But before that, inn order to get back into the groove of drawing 1997-era Val and Tori, I decided to see if I could make any progress on the cover, and I wound up getting it pretty close to done!

Here it is, featuring Fort Satan in all its glory.

NO RACCOONS UPDATE

I am thrilled to say that as of last night, I have revised my script for No Raccoons in Hell to its "final" form. Issue two is going to be considerably longer than issue one, but I will still wrap it up in two issues rather than three. I think the story will be the better for the revisions. I have figured out what this comic is about now. I knew what was going to happen, basically, but I didn't know what it was about. I frequently find myself in this position with my longer stories.

With Where the Rent Went, I knew Val was going to solve the mystery of who stole the rent money, but I didn't know it was going to be her definitive origin story, or that Tori was going to be the heart of it. With The Divorce Party, I knew a lot of the beats I wanted to hit, but I didn't realize the climax of the story was going to be hinged on a frog metaphor until I was a long way into the issue... or that Tori would be the heart of it. And now, with No Raccoons in Hell, while I knew Tori was important, I didn't know... Oh wait, I'm just going to have to let you find out as you read it.

Now that I have have that figured out, it was easy for me to see what needed to be cut and what needed to be added, and I have a pretty detailed script (which will still change, I'm sure). I hope very much to be able to knock out a page this week, and again, I thank you for your patience.

STILL NO RACCOONS IN HELL

re: NO RACCOONS, I've still been figuring out what I want to do with the end of the story, having realized that I had crammed more detail than I can can actually fit in the amount of pages I planned. Normally when I find that I've done something like this, I think a lot of the detail is unnecessary and I can chop it away, but there's not much here that I want to lose.

I thought I was going to need to add a third issue, but the fact of the matter is, there's not two issue's worth of story here, so what I've settled on is making part two a long comic. The first issue was 36 pages, and having gone over my outline multiple times now, I think I can plan on finishing this one out in somewhere between 44 and 48 pages. I'm just going to let it be as long as it needs to be to get it done right, because I think 48 is the absolute outside.

I even made a little mockup to make sure I could physically staple together a 48 pager. It's 12 pieces of paper plus a cardstock cover.

NO RACCOONS UPDATE

Hey folks! Here's an update post since I've been away from patreon for a minute.

NO RACCOONS UPDATE

Every time I sit down to draw a page of this comic, I realize I've crammed too much into one page, so I'm currently in the process of reviewing the outline and seeing if this needs to be a three issue story or if I need to cut some stuff and keep it to two issues. I should have word on this soon. I think I'm going to be really happy with this story when it's all done, and I'm aggravated that I need to keep taking breaks, but que sera sera...

Hey folks!

Last week I dealt with both a mild yoinking of the back and a two-day stomach situation (was I sick, or was there something wrong with the blueberries? the world may never know). I spent the weekend mostly recuperating and am feeling great now. I wasn’t able to finish my next page yet, but I did finish the cover to my next book!

Tina and Ellie Take the Case will be the third collection of Meeting Comics by Andrew Neal. I actually started this cover in 2024(!) and finally figured out how I wanted to finish it this weekend.

ELEVEN TWELVE

(above heading to be read in the style of the Pointer Sisters Pinball song on Sesame Street)

I have finished pages eleven and twelve of NO RACCOONS IN HELL PART TWO! Here are panels from each of those pages. You might have seen the line art from the first panel shown in last week’s email!

NEXT PAGE UNDERWAY

Hey! I’m working on the next page, but I’m running slower than I would like on it. While my day job eating up considerably more than 40 hours this week contributed, I also spent a lot of time designing the living area seen in the background of this image:

I put more time than I intended into that, but I had fun, so I’m OK with it! Most of the page is done now, so I’m hoping to have it finished up in the next couple days.

Here I am again!

PAGE TEN

I usually just share one finished panel of a page outside of patreon, but I want to show off this whole page. Page 10 of NO RACCOONS IN HELL:

8/9

I have, in fact, continued on with NO RACCOONS IN HELL. Since my last email newsletter, I’ve posted two more pages at my patreon. Here are preview panels for both of them:

6/7

I’m back, folks. Over the last few days I posted pages 6 and 7 of NO RACCOONS IN HELL part two at my patreon. These posts are behind the $1/month paywall, but here is a preview panel from each page to get you interested:

Hey, folks. Everyone has been very patient as I've taken some time and gotten things in my life better arranged to get back to this comic, which I am still very excited about. Thanks for that!

First of all, above is the current state of the next page of NO RACCOONS IN HELL. I've tried to start it probably at least half a dozen times, and my brain has rejected it until now. I think it was telling me I needed to deal with some other stuff before jumping back into cartooning. I tried again last night, and this time, the layout flowed out, so I'm going to get to work drawing the thing for real this week.

COMMISSIONS

Hello again! My life has continued to intrude on my comic making, but things have improved so much in the last few weeks for me that I am now back to where I left off on NO RACCOONS IN HELL: reworking a page I had mostly drawn into two pages because it was rushed.

COMIC ARTS RICHMOND

Like the image says, my next appearance will be at Comic Arts Richmond, March 21, 2026 from noon until 5pm at Basic City Beer Co in Richmond, VA!

Comics! Books! Stickers! Original art! Perhaps more!

Hey folks! It’s been a little while! I got sick, I recuperated, I set up at my favorite comic show (NOICE in, Norfolk), I recuperated some more, and before that I didn’t update you for a while because I was just too dang busy in my non-comic life.

CHEAP COMMISSIONS

First of all, for a limited time, I am doing cheap commission drawings. $25 + tax and shipping gets you a full color drawing of one or two of my characters or your favorite corporate IP. My cat Babydoll just had a big ol’ dental procedure and I’d like to not be paying it off forever.

They’ll be on 5×7 cardstock, full color (maybe marker, maybe colored pencil, maybe both). Here’s a recent Zatanna drawing by way of example. There are more examples at the link!

WEATHER OR NOT

As I type this on Sunday night, I’m snowed in - well, sleeted in - at my house, but there’s power. There’s a good amount of freezing rain coming down right now, so I’m hoping the power situation continues. Hopefully you’re all keeping warm.

NO RACCOONS

Once again, a new page of NO RACCOONS IN HELL PART TWO! There is a post with a little bit of commentary at my patreon.

NOICE

There are a lot more pictures than words in this update!

NEW COMIC PAGE

This is the second page of NO RACCOONS IN HELL PART TWO! There is a post at my patreon with commentary and lots more images.

I’M BACK

It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you
Without a strong rhyme to step to

--Rakim, I Know You Got Soul

Back in the game
like Jack LaLanne
-- MF DOOM, Meat Grinder

HOLIDAY BOOK & ART PACKAGE

First, I just want to let you know that there is a holiday package available for order for BUY MY SHIT WEDNESDAY!

You know what makes a great gift? Well, I'll tell you:
• A copy of Meeting Comics: the Book (collects Meeting Comics issues 1-6) WITH A COLOR DRAWING INSIDE!
• A copy of Clocking In and Selling Out (collects Meeting Comics 7-12 and 320 Shades of Greg: A Meeting Comics Erotic Thriller) WITH A COLOR DRAWING INSIDE!
• Two pieces of art from the Meeting Comics Archives (could be an outfit sketch, promo image for a show appearance, or something else)

ZINE MACHINE

Hey, folks! When last we spoke, I was getting ready to exhibit at Zine Machine in Durham, one of my favorite shows.

Tables at Zine Machine are eight feet wide, and this year I decided to take full advantage of the space. I tried a new way of displaying original art - in trays rather than in portfolios - and more people flipped through the art since it was more visible. I sold a few pieces as well. Hopefully I’ll be able to work out how to do the same thing on standard 6 foot tables!

Hey everyone! I've been dealing with life outside of comics but things are moving along in a way that I'll be able to resume drawing comics in November. I am very happy about this. In the meantime, I have seized what moments I've been able to and done some drawings. I've put some of those drawings into a couple of new Style & Fashion zines, which I'll be debuting at Zine Machine this Sunday, so let's talk about that event first:

ZINE MACHINE

I've done a very small amount of shows this year, and unless something very convenient pops up at the last minute, Zine Machine will be my last show of the year. It's a fun event in downtown Durham, NC. I always enjoy myself at Zine Machine, and usually make pretty good money, too. I hope to see some of you who are local there!