An open letter to everyone I know and everyone they know, as well:

Hi everyone! Matthew Bowers here.

As you may or may not be aware, I'm the creator of a webcomic called Hilarity Ensues (www.HilarityEnsuesPDX.com). You can visit the site and check it out for yourself if you haven't yet, but it's basically about two young men moving to Portland and trying to figure out their lives. It's a very personal project for me, one that's close to my heart and that I'm very excited about. It's visually very different from most webcomics out there, in that the art (up to this point, anyway) is produced with actors and photographs, rather than a pen and a piece of paper.

There are currently one hundred strips online, but after #100 was posted last summer, the strip went on hiatus. This happened for a number of reasons, but without going into all that, let's just say that we're trying to get the strip up and running again. The artwork is now going to be split half and half -- that is to say, half the strips will still be photographs, and the other half will be drawn by a rotating cast of artists.

I currently have the next three story arcs in production, through #150. #101 - 120 were photographed over several weekends in Beaverton and Hillsboro, and now just need dialogue and word balloons. #121 - 139 are being drawn by a gentleman from California who offered his services when I posted an open call for artists on the website, and #140 - 150 are being drawn by my dear friend Ashley.

REGARDING ACTORS / MODELS

The next arc following Ashley's is going to be another photo-arc. And here's where I start to need your help.

See, the actress who played one of the main characters, Nadine, no longer lives in Portland, and I need a replacement. The "new" Nadine doesn't really need to look much like the "old" Nadine, but I am hoping to find someone with the same general look -- that is: tall, slender, and pretty. My circle of friends is pretty small, unfortunately, and I don't know anyone who fits the bill.

And so I turn to you. If you, or anyone you know, live in the greater Portland area and would be interested in playing Nadine, please e-mail me (bowersensues at gmail dot com). Keep in mind that this would be a semi-long-term commitment -- I'm not asking for you to sign a contract or anything (nor will you be paid, although you would get a bio on the site and a link to your own personal site, should you have one), but I'd basically just like someone who isn't a flake, and who isn't planning on leaving Portland anytime soon. I know life intrudes and the unexpected can happen, I'm just saying that if you're planning on moving to Albuquerque in six months, you might not be the best person for the part.

Some general info: The photo shoots typically take a few hours and tend to be scheduled on the weekends. I've simply used natural light in the past, although that MAY change in the future. I tend to take way more photos than I need and I ask for a lot of "takes" to get the right expressions and body language (not to mention light, framing, exposure, etc.). We have a lot of fun on the shoots, though. We're all friends, and the atmosphere is very relaxed. There's a lot of laughing and joking and general tomfoolery. I also tend to get made fun of a lot, so you'll have that to look forward to.

REGARDING ARTISTS

I'm also still on the prowl for more artists. If you'd like to draw an arc or arcs, drop me a line. I'll give you a sample script or two to draw, just to get a feel for your style and make sure you're a good fit, and assuming you are, I'll get you started with some real scripts. This would also be gratis, just so you know, but obviously like the actors, you'd get artist credit, a bio on the site, and a link to your own personal site, should you have one.



I really hope you can help! I love writing and producing Hilarity Ensues, and I hate that it's been on hiatus so long. I have a lot of plans for these characters. There's a lot left to the story I have to tell, and if you can help it see the light of day, I'd be forever in your debt.

Feel free to re-post this or forward this wherever / to whomever you like.

I like this shot a lot.

Now that Elisabeth is no longer in the strip, we needed some fresh, Ashley-less cast shots for the banner at the top of the site. None of the below shots are really banner-worthy, but there are some fun shots that I thought I'd share with you.

Enjoy!

I've got a guest strip up at Girls With Slingshots, for one day only! Check it out!

Here's an unused shot from #65. I like it because Madeline looks like I just told a really dirty joke, or possibly asked her to take her shirt off.




Unrelatedly, do what you can to spread the word about this douchebag, would you?

(Not Liz, the dude who ripped her and countless others off)

This sort of thing really burns my ass. People work hard, are creative, come up with their own ideas, and then some asshole sweeps in and takes credit for them. And because said asshole is rich, there's nothing the injured party can do ...

Hm, it's been a while since I posted in here, eh? Now that the prologue is over and we're on this mini-hiatus, I guess now is a good a time as any for an update!

I was seriously concerned about the fate of Hilarity Ensues for a while there (well, about a month, but it seemed longer). I'd gotten a new job, and the hours were extremely wonky -- late nights, with my "weekend" taking place on Wednesday and Thursday. Scheduling shoots had been hard enough previously, but I was worried that this would make them impossible.

Luckily, an opportunity for a more reasonable shift came up at work, and I snagged it, so I am once again a member of the Monday - Friday world, which means I can still pester my actors into doing shoots on the weekends.

When the comic comes back from it's break, you're going to notice a rather dramatic change to the look. It's still going to be photos run through Photoshop, but I'm going for a slightly more realistic look, for a couple reasons. One, I was never that happy with how the old look for the strip tended to eliminate all but the most exaggerated expressions on people's faces, unless the shot was a close-up. Two, the old look took fucking forever to do. Yeah, it's just a Photoshop filter, but there's a LOT of clean-up involved with using that particular filter, and I was starting to hate doing the strip because of it.

The new look still looks vaguely cartooney, but it's a lot more detailed, and so my actors' expressions (not to mention their pupils) will be visible. Plus, doing the strip will take about a tenth as long as it used to, which leaves me more time for writing and shooting. Boozing and whoring, too.

On the writing front, I've just finished the script for number 102, which, believe it or not, isn't even making a dent in what I've got planned for Chapter One, let alone the rest of the comic's run. I have a pretty detailed outline for Chapter One scribbled on various sheets of paper, and a rougher outline of Chapters Two and Three. I have ideas on where the strip could go after Chapter Three, but if I need a stopping point, the end of Chapter Three is as good a one as any.

Now all I need to do is actually write the scripts. And since I'm sitting here updating my LiveJournal, rather than crafting witty dialogue, I'll give you two guesses as to how well that's going.

Ah well. Back to the grind!

(I'll be updating this thing more often from now on, I suspect)

Remember how I complained about what a pain in the ass the Denny's scene was? With all the glasses and ketchup bottles and utensils and whatnot on the table? THOSE WERE THE GOOD OLD DAYS.

Note to self: No more scenes in the car. Especially not twelve-part scenes.

That said, I got some work done today, and it felt good.




Here, so this post isn't just me bitching, here's a picture from the cast shoot:



I told them to "look sexy," and this was what I got.

Who is this lovely young lady with the short hair, though? A new character, perhaps? Time will tell.

It might be time for me to put up some new flyers.

IT'S LIVE.

www.hilarityensuespdx.com

First things first: welcome to the new blog. Blogger felt too sterile for some reason. I feel like I can better keep in touch with you guys here at LiveJournal.

Second things second: THE COMIC IS LAUNCHING ON MONDAY. THIS IS LESS THAN THREE DAYS AWAY.

Third things third: There's a new image up at the site. Point your browsers towards www.hilarityensuespdx.com and check out the promo art I slapped together. I love that photo, mainly because my cast is so awesome.

I will be taking a little drive down to the Ashland area tomorrow in order to get some shots for strips #46 - 57. You don't need to worry about that, though. All you need to worry about is checking out strip #1, this Monday.

It's a good one, I promise.

Well folks, we have an official launch date, one that I'm sticking to, come hell or high water.

So, mark your calendars. Hilarity will begin ensuing on Monday, 20 November, 2006. That's 27 days from now, which, coincidentally, is the same number of strips I have left to complete in order to have a full five months worth of strips in the can by the launch date.

I'm nervous, but I'm excited, too.

Fliers should start going up around town sometime this week. If you want to help with putting fliers up, e-mail me and let me know -- even if you don't live in Portland. I'll happily mail you some to plaster up in whatever city you happen to reside in.

27 days. Less than a month! It's hard to believe.

I can't wait to see what you guys think of it.

In order for the comic to launch by Thanksgiving (I'm shooting for the Monday before Thanksgiving, actually), I need to complete 43 strips in 35 days.

I think I can do it. I truly do.

This is going to happen.

Play time is over. Time to get to work.

I'm making progress, bit by bit, inch by inch, panel by panel. It's coming along, and I'm still really happy with how it looks. Although I'm not so thrilled with the quality of the photography in the scene I'm currently working on. It's making things difficult, and this particular sequence of strips may not look as good as the others.

I'm not getting any work done this week, though. I just finished five days in a row at my part-time job, and I'm moving on Sunday, so the rest of the week will be spent packing and ferrying boxes of books and DVDs and accouterments over to the new place (and can I just jump in with an aside about how happy I am to be leaving the boondocks??). However, once I'm settled in, I am thinking that my second job will become a thing of the past, which will leave me more time for reading and writing and socializing and yes, webcomicing as well.

I'm still hoping it'll be ready by Halloween. If not, expect a Thanksgiving launch AT THE VERY LATEST.

Wow, it's been over a month since I last posted. I guess I haven't had any real news to report. I still don't, but I thought I'd check in anyhow. I'm still working on the comic, fear not! It's looking really good. I've left the Denny's scene behind, and while I'm glad to be done with it at last, I haven't gotten much faster at churning out the panels. That's just something that will come with time, I suppose.

Anyhow, I'm shooting for a launch date of 30 October. We'll see if I make it.

Keep watching this space for details, of course. I'm still really excited about this webcomic, and I hope the rest of you are, as well.

Peace!

I wouldn't go so far as to say the site is live, but at least there's something there now.

http://www.hilarityensuespdx.com

Set your bookmarks. Tell your friends.

'Cause this fall, hilarity really is going to ensue.

I promise.

Can't really use it for the comic, but I love this shot, so I thought I'd share it with all of you:



It's amazing how much more animated the guys got once Ashley joined the scene.

Really, though, can you blame them?

Got a lot done tonight. Three whole panels, in as many hours! That's damn good for me. I trust I'll get even faster.

Only two and a half strips left in the Denny's. I can't wait to be finished with this scene. I am so sick of removing that knife, and of keeping the ketchup and mustard bottles from bleeding into one another.

Hooray for progress! I have finished strip #5, wham bam, thank you ma'am, and moved on to strip #6. I've become convinced that once I finish the current scene (with #9), in the Denny's, that things will speed up considerably. I don't know if this is true or not, but it's all I have to cling to at the moment, so allow me my delusions and fantasies, please.

I really do like the way these are turning out. Pleasing to the eye, and witty writing, to boot! You are all going to be blown away by just how awesome this strip is. And by extension, me.

Not to mention these good-looking folks:



They really do put the KICKASS!!! in "awesome." And what's awesome without a little KICKASS!!!?

NOTHING. That's what.

I am in a good mood.

I only did one panel tonight, instead of the two or three I had planned. BECAUSE I SUCK.

Now my next chance to work on the strip will be Saturday. I have all day until six, though, so hopefully I'll be able to get a lot done.

Working two jobs SUCKS. No time for art!

I'm not making nearly as much progress as I'd like to be, or as I'd HOPED I would be, but I thought I'd make an update, all the same.

Yesterday I was all geared up to finish an entire strip, #4, in one night. Who knows if I would have succeeded, but I WAS on a roll and feeling pretty good, when my second job called. Turns out the shift I thought I'd switched for THIS Monday was NEXT Monday, and they needed me in, pronto. Obviously, I wasn't able to get any more work done last night.

Tonight I had the evening to myself, and I made SOME progress, but still not enough to satisfy me. I've just started on the third panel of #4, and I doubt I'm going to get any more done tonight. It seems I haven't yet gotten to the point where I can do a strip per night. I trust I'll get there eventually, but right now I seem to be averaging one strip per TWO nights.

Part of the issue is the scene in question. It's two guys sitting at a table at a Denny's, and the table has got a TON of stuff on it. Glasses, mugs, dessert menus, tablecloths, condiment bottles ... and it all has to be cleaned up and re-colored. Plus, one of my actors was wearing a patterned shirt, which takes a while to clean up as well. PLUS almost every shot is the same, which doesn't really affect how fast I go, but DOES affect how long I want to sit there, staring at what's basically the same image, over and over again. I'm hoping that when the scene shifts locations, it'll be (a) more interesting for me, and (b) less time-consuming to edit.

Don't get me wrong -- it's not going to be boring to LOOK at. But what will take you maybe thirty or sixty seconds to read is taking me four or five HOURS to put together. If you stared at the finished strip for five hours, you'd be sick of it too, and wanting some variety.

So, notes for future shoots: avoid cluttered tabletops unless absolutely necessary, and avoid patterned shirts. Solid colors, that's the way to go.

I AM happy with how the panels and strips are looking. And I AM getting faster. I'm just so impatient, not only to get on with the story and start shooting the next segment, but to put this thing out there, and see what you all think of it. To build a readership. To have a webcomic!

It'll happen soon, I know. JUST NOT SOON ENOUGH.

Ah well. I'd best get on to bed. We'll see if tomorrow I can finish strip #4, and maybe even get a start on #5. They're only in the Denny's through half of strip #9, so I don't have THAT much further to go.

I'm really quite excited about this strip, if you can't already tell. I can't wait to see what you guys think of it.