So this spring is going to be super busy for me convention-wise, so even though I've updated my convention schedule (which is on the mainpage of TRHOnline and sprinkled across my comics), I thought I'd take the time to break down exactly where you can find my traveling artist alley table over the next few months.
Because, y'know, Conventions are fun.
So here's where I'll be over the next few months:
 Karoshi Con
Mar 28, 2015 / NIU / DeKalb, IL
So to kick off my Spring, I'll be at Karoshi Con in DeKalb, IL. It's being held at Northern Illinois University and admission is free... so you should totally come down.
And hang out with me.
Also, I have it on pretty good authority that my Nerd & Tie co-host Nick Izumi will be there too, so you can hang out with both of us.
For free.
Seriously, what part of this sounds bad? Usually we charge for that kind of awesomeness... y'know, except for when we don't.
 The INDYpendent Show
Apr 19, 2015 / Wyndham Indianapolis West / Indianapolis, IN
On April 19th I return to the INDYpendent Show in Indianapolis. I did the spring show last year, but had to skip out on their Fall event.
This spring, the INDYpendent show is actually folded into the Sunday of Who's Yer Con, Indianapolis's annual free gaming convention. So yeah, another chance to come to a con for free to hang out with me.
How could you possibly pass up an opportunity like that?
 No Brand Con
Apr 24-26, 2015 / Plaza Hotel / Eau Claire, WI
So hey, you know how I co-founded a convention? And even how I don't actively staff it anymore, I still go every year? That's this con. If you thought I wasn't going to No Brand Con, well... I feel sorry for you ability to deductively reason.
Anywho, I'll be there -- as will Nick and Pher. And with all three of us, that means Nerd & Tie LIVE is totally happening. You'll be able to join us for a live version of the podcast... which is neat, right?
Right.
 Anime Central
May 15-17, 2015 / Hyatt Regency O'Hare / Rosemont, IL
Every year people ask me "When are you going to do a bigger con again?" and every year I tell people "I don't do big cons."
Well... I changed my mind. This year you'll find me at Anime Central. You can't really get bigger than that in the midwest now, can you.
I don't have much else to say about it other than "holy crap, I haven't been to a con this big in over a decade," but I think it'll be a good time.
I have some summer announcements, but those aren't concrete enough to post. This is going to be a busy, busy year for me though.
And I hope a fun one.
- Traegorn
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So today I'm happy to announce that UnCONventional Book 5 is now available for purchase for $24.99! Are you excited? I'm excited. You should be excited. Why aren't you more excited?
Anywho, the book collects the entire fifth year of UnCONventional, ending with the "You Can't Go Home Again" storyline. Like some of the earlier chapters, it contains exclusive bonus material and commentary. Unlike the earlier chapters, this one has been published in 7"x 10" format. The earlier books were 6"x 9".
Now, you may ask "Why is the book a different size?" and the answer is simple: I felt like it. Truthfully, with how the comic has been flexible in size, it's been harder and harder to fit into the smaller format. I know for you bookcase-perfectionists this may be frustrating, but Books 1-4 are really one story, with Book 5 the beginning of the new one... sort of... so just go with it, okay?
You can buy the book right now in my personal store (and earlier books are here), and it should be available on Amazon.com in a day or so.
- Traegorn
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This weekend, for the third year in a row, I'm going to head up to Milwaukee for Nezumi Con. It's a small, one day convention held downtown at MIAD, but it is a heck of a lot of fun. They're currently merging into Anime Milwaukee's parent organization, which also means this will likely be the final year of "old" Nezumi Con before we get "new" Nezumi Con.
It's not a value judgment - it's just that odds are the event will be different once the show has a bit more funding.
I'm excited about it -- because I get excited before every convention -- and as always for most of the event you'll find me in the vendor area selling print collections of UnCONventional and The Chronicles of Crosarth.
But not the whole time.
This year I'm also doing a panel on Podcasting. Most of you know I act as the producer on Nerd & Tie, so I'm taking my year and a half experience and pouring it into a panel called "Podcasting on a Budget." Why? Because I've seen a lot of beginner podcasters spend a ton of money on stuff they don't need, as well as people who get too intimidated to start their own shows because they think they need to put a lot of cash they don't have into it.
Neither is the case. We launch Nerd & Tie with zero dollars originally.
So yeah, that will be in Panel Room A at 1pm. You should come. I have to update my con schedule pretty soon, as I've yet to add ACen to my official calendar - and I'm looking at a few other events in Illinois and Indiana that I might end up at this spring as well.
It's hectic, but fun.
- Traegorn
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Since Friday is going back into her full uniform (which we haven't seen her in for literally years and over 300 pages) in The Chronicles of Crosarth I had to update her in-uniform character model.
I pulled out the 2011 version and... Well... It hurt my brain. In 2011 I hadn't drawn anything but stick figures in years.
And it really, really shows.
Comparing Friday's current design to the way I used to draw her boggles my mind, honestly. Small details like how inconsistant I used to be with the bag on her hip jump out at me -- as well as big ones like "having room for organs."
That's kind of a big one.
- Traegorn
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So one of the issues with working on two ongoing projects (UnCONventional and The Chronicles of Crosarth) is that I don't have any time to work on the twenty million other ideas that pop into my head on a daily basis. Most ideas I just let pass into the night, but some of them keep popping back into my head. And I end up coming up with casts. And plots. And complete outlines.
None of which I have the time to do anything with.
So I thought I'd talk about a few of them in detail though, as these are the things I'd be working on if I wasn't already working on the things that I'm currently working on. Or something. That mostly made sense.
The Fifth Guardian/Legend of the Gauntlet
 For people who know me, this is probably the least surprising thing to find on this list. I did a detailed write up of the concept along with a comprehensive history last March. As a refresher though, The Fifth Guardian (as I'm now calling it) is a superhero story about a young woman who has to unexpectedly take over the super-identity of her late father.
The idea would be to do a realistic take on the realities of being a superhero without going grimdark. Because grimdark is boring and overdone.
Also it would be fun to draw superheroes jumping off of buildings.
Small Galaxy
 So some of you may remember that for a while (about a year) I was putting out a serialized novel online called Small Galaxy. Then, one day, it just sort of disappeared.
This is because I hated it.
The idea was to do a schlubby-take on a Flash Gordon-esque story, but I don't know if it ever came through. Mostly it ended up with a boring male lead, a female lead who ended up as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and the only character I cared about was the Zarkov-analogue George.
Because of this I want to rework the whole idea. I feel like I've let these characters down, and want to take another shot with it. Mostly I would completely rework the leads so that they are, frankly, interesting.
And not weird.
And no Manic Pixie Dream Girls.
Speaking of which...
M.P.D.G.
 One of the newer ideas which popped into my head recently started out as a dumb joke that many have thought of before: Maniac Pixie Dream Girl.
I even did a random image about it, because I needed a break. But then the idea kept sitting in my head. And the idea of a serial killer who modeled herself after the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype kept getting more interesting.
What if there was someone obsessed with teaching people to "live in the moment" who, upon success, would kill them so the "moment would last forever."
And then I started thinking about an article I wrote back in college. What if a college town had a series of disappearances, and a cop was convinced they were connected... but no one would believe him or her.
Then said cop encounters our killer - and starts to fall down the rabbit hole.
I think it would be a pretty fun, dark story.
Anywho, that's what's popping around my head at the moment. That's what I don't have time to work on.
- Traegorn
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So I've been really terrible about updating this blog this month, but that's sort of how it goes.
It's the holidays, and stuff is hectic as hell. Crysta and I are rushing around trying to get ready to hit the road -- and of course we had to get our hot water heater replaced today as it decided to spring a leak.
It's all a mess.
But I hope you're having a wonderful holiday yourself, whoever you happen to be and whatever you happen to celebrate.
I don't know really where I was going with this...
So yeah.
- Traegorn
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So it's December. Thanksgiving is over, no more conventions until January (when I'll be at Nezumi Con), and I'm not trying to breakneck a whole bunch of extra comics every week.
Seriously, November UnCONventional storylines are very difficult to churn out with my hectic schedule.
Tuesday starts a new chapter in UnCONventional, of course, so I find myself having to plot out a new year. And while that is work, the twice a week schedule is a lot easier to keep up with.
In real life, both Daisho Con and Thanksgiving went very well - at the former I had a lot of fun because I got to see most of my con friends, and the latter because of my Great Great Aunt Ostrid's Pumpkin Pie recipe. No one's sure where she got it from, but it's the only recipe anyone in my family is willing to use at this point.
It is just that good.
While visiting my parents in Milwaukee for Thanksgiving, I also did some of the normal stuff I do there - like help my dad hang up the Christmas lights and get dinner at least once at a George Webb's. If I miss one thing about living this far from Milwaukee, it is being able to just being five minutes away from a George Webb's no matter where I go. I mean sure, Steak N Shake is great, but it always feels like an artificial re-creation of a diner. George Webb's is the real thing.
But it's not like I have strong opinions on the matter.
- Traegorn
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So this weekend I'll be at Daisho Con in the Wisconsin Dells. I've done this convention every year since its inception, and I'm happy to be going there again.
Like the last few years, I'll be attempting to sell my wares in the artist alley, so if you want your chance to get a copy of an UnCONventional or Crosarth book straight from me, this is one of your best chances -- as this is my last con until 2015.
I'm still sorting out my schedule for 2015.
I'm still getting my stuff together for the convention - I have my actual merchandise packed, but I haven't printed signage yet nor really thought about my table layout. That's stuff I need to do before I load the car and hit the road.
Of course, I'll also be doing a live episode of Nerd & Tie with Pher and Nick, so that promises to be a good time. Other than that I've decided to not really do any other panels this year because, frankly, I didn't feel like preparing anything. Mostly I want to go to this convention, sell my stuff, hang out with friends, and have a good time.
We could all use a good time.
Yesterday was the 30th birthday of UnCONventional's Lynn Baxter -- and while you may think it's strange to mention the real world birthday of a fictional character, I... don't? Apparently? This is the person I am now.
Anyway, I posted a collection of Lynn art spanning 11 years (as she predates UnCONventional as a character), so you might find that interesting. The current storyline is a bit bleak over in the real comic, I know - but I've been really happy with the way it has been turning out (and with the response its generated).
So yeah.
That's where things are right now. To cap things off, here's one of the aforementioned pieces of Lynn art for really no good reason besides the current weather out my window:
- Traegorn
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So November is upon us, and that means (like it has for the last three years) that UnCONventional is temporarily going five days a week for a special story event.
When I first did this, it was the serious character piece I Hate November. I like to say that these characters lead full, normal lives, and we just get to see the funny moments in the comic. Knowing it was a risk doing a storyline without jokes, I still tried it - but thankfully people stuck with it and seemed to like the story.
In the two years that followed though, while I did special November storylines ( In the Beginning, The Election), they ended up being just standard arcs that would have fit in at any other part of the comic. Originally I was planning on doing that again this year, with an extended version of the Max/Veronica story that we saw this last month...
...but a few months ago I had another idea. I decided to return to the spirit of I Hate November and do a character piece, this time focused on Megan. As we learned back in I Hate November, Megan's father wasn't the most progressive person in the world. I decided that I didn't want to write her coming out story, but if you payed close attention you might have noticed a phone conversation which implied it happened back in Chapter Four.
And based on what Lynn said to her co-worker Jeff in early Chapter 5, it didn't go that well.
So with this last Thursday's comic, we're finally going to deal with this head on. I know this may not be everyone's cup of tea, as the comic is normally about convention jokes, but I think exploring the characters like this is worth it.
And if you don't like it, the good news is the comic returns to normal come December 2nd. Until then though, please enjoy "You Can't Go Home Again."
- Traegorn
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So some of you may remember that for a while (about a year) I was putting out a serialized novel online called Small Galaxy. Then, one day, it just sort of disappeared.
