Ask me something

[rcmonroe]

Go ahead, ask me. I'm likely to answer, possibly even truthfully.

[cortland]

WOW. I remember when you plugged on the Cornstalker forums last month. You've been on Comic Genesis for, what, four months? How did you wind up on Keenspot so darn fast?

[rcmonroe]

WOW. I remember when you plugged on the Cornstalker forums last month. You've been on Comic Genesis for, what, four months? How did you wind up on Keenspot so darn fast?

Uh, coercion, hypnosis, blackmail, voodoo

[GrimTango]

I don't see any paypal box for donations on your page. Most of the best online webstrips have one, for good reason - there's quite a few of us readers that don't mind throwing a little tip in the artist's jar in appreciation of the work. I for one would like to throw a couple of coins in your.

[rcmonroe]

I don't see any paypal box for donations on your page. Most of the best online webstrips have one, for good reason - there's quite a few of us readers that don't mind throwing a little tip in the artist's jar in appreciation of the work. I for one would like to throw a couple of coins in your.

It never occurred to me until recently to do that. Something about it seemed a little tacky. But then I remembered that I'm a little tacky so it would not seem out of place here.

I'm working on it. I may have one up in the next few days, or it may take a week or so. It blows me away that people would want to donate to something they get for free, but that what you get for being cynical

[Cookie]

How old are you?



Yes, I went there.

[alschroeder3]

Who's your favorite character? Any of them based on people you know?---Al

[rcmonroe]

How old are you?



Yes, I went there.

Well, there's that old adage that if you can remember the 60's, you weren't there. And I do remember a few events from '69. So maybe I wasn't there.

Or, maybe I was five years old. Fine, Cookie, how old are you?

[rcmonroe]

Who's your favorite character? Any of them based on people you know?---Al

My favorite character is Miriam, for two reasons

[Cookie]

Uh, minus the dress and the makeup, that is.

...I was going to say...

Okay, here's another silly question. What is John's hair colour? Y'know, now that he, um, has hair.

I was in Berlin when the wall fell, and I don't remember it, because I wasn't very interested in whatever happened in the grown up world when I was six.

[rcmonroe]

Never gave it much thought; but judging by the color of the ink I use, I'd have to say

[Ruinah]

Go ahead, ask me. I'm likely to answer, possibly even truthfully.

How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop? (You never said it had to be comic-related. )

[rcmonroe]

How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop? (You never said it had to be comic-related. )

Okay, next time I'll be more specific.

And to answer the question, it depends on who's doing the licking.

[Cookie]

What made you decide to name the comic "Out there"?

[rcmonroe]

A man on a flaming pie appeared and said "It shall be called 'Out There', and it will be good."

I don't know, it just came to me. I thought it worked because the two main characters were "out there" both in the sense that they were traveling and also in the sense that they were a bit eccentric. Of course I've since discovered that there have been TV shows, comic books and even other webcomics with the same name.

Maybe I should have thought about it a little more.

[Braided Queen]

How much of the story do you have planned in advance?

[rcmonroe]

How much of the story do you have planned in advance?

A lot of events had been planned out before I started doing anything. I think I had written about 100 strips before I started drawing; once I started drawing, the writing slowed down. At this point, the next six weeks of strips are already drawn; and another three weeks of strips that come after those are already written. This is pretty much the schedule I'm going to try to maintain.

As to what happens after the most recent ones I've written, I have only a few vague ideas at this point, and I could always change my mind.

[WithLoveMaura]

Ummm... how did you get into drawing? And this strip?

Any advice for budding cartoonists?

[rcmonroe]

Ummm... how did you get into drawing? And this strip?

Any advice for budding cartoonists?

I've been drawing ever since I can remember. You'd think I'd be better at it by now, but I did take quite a few years off (I love that excuse; the truth is I probably "peaked" before that anyway). I started drawing comics when I was very young, influenced mainly by "Peanuts" and Mad Magazine. Later on new influences seeped in, but those two kicked off my interest in comics.

As for how I settled into doing this strip, that's a harder one to answer. I discovered webcomics pretty recently, like a year ago, maybe even less than that. Upon this discovery, and at the risk of offending any sensitive webcartoonists out there, I pretty much said to myself, "heck, I can do better than that (of course it's all very subjective so it shouldn't bother anyone; plus I did eventually find some webcomics that I think are really good).

I've always needed some sort of creative outlet. Right now that outlet is this strip. As long as I feel like the strip is challenging me creatively and allowing me to express myself creatively, that's how long I'll draw it.

Advice for budding cartoonists?

1) Keep drawing. Draw, draw, draw.

2) If you're going to be a writer as well as an artist, read a lot of comics, and read a lot of stuff that isn't comics. Practice writing. Force yourself to write. Becoming a good writer requires as much practice as becoming a good artist.

3) Don't copy other people's styles; use your influences to develop your own style. Probably the best way to do this is to study a lot of different styles.

That last one obviously represents a pet peeve of mine, but while a lot of cartoonists may say it's okay to imitate a style, most real artists would probably say otherwise. Which would you rather be, an imitator or an innovator?

Okay, that's enough preaching for now. Thanks for asking, though.

[biev]

*raises hand*
I have a question sir!

Are you planning to print these eventually? I would buy the book for sure.
And then I'd know what to give everybody else as christmas presents : )

[rcmonroe]

*raises hand*
I have a question sir!

Are you planning to print these eventually? I would buy the book for sure.
And then I'd know what to give everybody else as christmas presents : )

Oh yeah, books have always been one of the goals. Ideally I'd like to put a book out every year. The book would comprise a year's worth of strips plus some new material that's only available if you buy the book.

Of course, what I want to do and what I'm able to do may be two very different things. If Keenspot thinks it's a good time to print a book, then they'll print a book. If they don't think it's a good time I can still do one, but it wouldn't be a Keenspot book and I'd have to pay for the printing myself. Obviously I'd prefer to have them pay for it, seeing as how I can't afford to print a book.

Funny you should bring this up now because I just informed the powers that be here that I want to do a book, and I'm waiting to hear from them. I suspect that they're probably going to want to hold off on doing a book for a little while. I'm still the new kid here and my readership numbers are still very small compared to those of the big guns. I don't know how many readers they want you to have before they think it's worth their while to pony up the cash for a print run, but I'll bet it's more than I have.

But I could be wrong. Like I said, I'm waiting to find out. I'll definitely make an announcement if I get the okay.

[biev]

If they make you wait too long there's always comixpress, Lulu and the like v(' ')v

Hehe, at the speed my story is progressing I don't have to worry about this for another 2 years : P

[Halgarr]

I find it hard to buy a book of comics that I've already read. I thought of buying an Order of the Stick book from my friendly local comics shop, but I just couldn't bring myself to spend $30 dollars for stuff I'd already read online. Maybe if I thought someone else would really love your strip, I'd buy a book as a gift for that person.

--Scott

[rcmonroe]

I find it hard to buy a book of comics that I've already read.

I'm with you. That's why I'd want to make sure the book had some new material in it. What that material would be, I'm not sure. I'd like to do an extra 10-20 page story, with color maybe. I think that would be good value. I'm just not sure I have time to do it. My number one priority has always been getting the strip updated six days a week.

[biev]

See, I'm the opposite. If I spend money on something, I want to know that I'll be using it enough to get my money's worth. If I buy a book that I've never read, how do I know if I'll like it? It will probably just gather dust on the shelf after I've read it once. Whether it's a book or a videogame or a movie, I won't fork out the money unless I've read/played/seen it before, and I know I'll want to do it again. I've read through the entire archives many times already, so I know that this is a story I won't mind reading over and over