12 Years Young

PC Weenies turned 12 years old yesterday.

I never imagined the date of October 21, 1998 to be significant to me – at least at the time when I posted the first PCW comic online. Back in mid-1998, I ordered my first Wacom tablet (an ARTZ II) and my first scanner (a UMAX Vista S6E), which came with a copy of Photoshop 4. My intention for publishing my comic online was simple enough – I wanted to share my art with the world and also learn more about website design.

The webcomic landscape back then was incredibly sparse. I worked in a vacuum for months before realizing that there were other online comics. At the time, the nomenclature “webcomic” didn’t even exist! I remember the first webcomics I came across in 1999 were User Friendly, PvP, and Penny Arcade. I was aware of these comics, but plowed away in my own vacuum, creating and making my own.

I didn’t know anything about Photoshop, resolution, digital inking and coloring, etc. at the time, but I didn’t let my complete lack of knowledge stop me. I guess in those heady days, I was more excited about being able to share the comics online than being cognizant of the quality of my work.

Compared to the plethora of sites and books on the subject today, the resources for making comics (let alone online comics) were practically non-existent. As I was learning my craft, I have made almost every single mistake a novice could make (and then some). I am very thankful for that. (What doesn’t kill you makes you a better cartoonist, right?) That’s why I think it’s really important for me to give back to the cartooning community by sharing whatever I know about the craft with others.

Reflecting towards the future, it’s my hope that some day I can create a perma-archive for the first 8 years of PC Weenies comics. What’s holding me back is the amount of work involved. In addition to creating a new site (which, in and of itself, is not so difficult), I need to rename all my files to fit a format that includes the date within the filename (very tedious). My schedule keeps me incredibly busy, so a project of this scope is on the back-burner until I can find an intern to help me curate the files.

So… what will the future bring for the PC Weenies?

I plan on producing a follow-up PC Weenies book (Volume #2) to have for release next summer. (Also on the docket is a forthcoming UNcubed collection.) I am also interested in creating PC Weenies T-shirts for sale. To that end, I am scouting out good quality T-shirt makers (recommendations are always welcome). Beyond that, I plan on continuing the blend between topical ‘toons and the storylines week in and week out. (I will be resolving the current Footle storyline soon…)

As always, Thank you for reading the strip!

-Krishna

Krishna October 22, 2010