December 28th, 2018

Hey guys! Guess what: this is the 100th colored Billy the Pop strip, meaning it's the 700th strip overall! It's hard to believe I've made 700 of these comics now. Heck, it's hard to believe I've made 700 of anything. It really is neat to look back and see how far this strip has come. I mean, compare this to the first colored strip, posted nearly five years ago now. I like to think Billy has improved with all this time. 

That's probably a good way to end off 2018. Thanks as always for sticking with me and this comic strip, even as its output has slowed. Your readership means more than you know. Here's to a new year to come!

December 24th, 2018

We are nearing the 700th Billy the Pop strip, which would explain the idea behind this one. Sure, milestones are arbitrary, but you've got to celebrate your work at some point, right?

Also, merry Christmas, for those of you who celebrate it!

December 20th, 2018

It was a fun experiment to draw the plants overlapping the borders of the first and third panels. And I think it looks pretty good, too!

December 18th, 2018

Aaagh, I made a mistake. I scanned this strip a while ago, but somehow I never got around to posting it. This strip was actually supposed to come out before the one on the 16th. I feel terrible that I had this just sitting on my computer all this time and never posted it, especially since my posting schedule has been less than satisfactory lately. It's not even a particularly good strip, but do forgive me on this one.

December 16th, 2018

People look at friendship in different ways. I'm constantly trying to reassess what I want in my friends and what friendship means to me.

November 11th, 2018

I often think about how I'll only see a tiny fraction of the art that's out there in my lifetime. This can be discouraging, because it means I'll miss out on probably thousands of masterpieces that have been made (not to mention the ones that are going to be made after I'm gone). But of course, it's just more incentive to get out there and see as much art as possible, while you still can!

October 12th, 2018

I knew I had to post today, because it's my birthday, AKA National Billy Day! It's hard to believe it's already the fourth Billy Day. The time has just flown by (hence the theme of time in this strip)! As always, I appreciate all the support I've been given over the years. Just knowing that people are reading these is deeply comforting. Thank you, and happy Billy Day!

September 20th, 2018

Well, here we are on the last day of summer. And here's my obligatory yearly summer strip! I just barely finished this one in time for summer to end, but luckily squeezed it out at the last second. I usually have these kind of strips take place at mid-sunset, so this time I wanted to try a different time of day, after the sun has mostly set but there's still a glimmer left in the sky. It made for a wider range of value for the colors. I think the fireflies add a lot of interest visually.

(Although I guess it's a bit late for there to be fireflies out anyway. Oh well.)

Another reminder that the second Billy book collection, Just Us and the Elements, is now available! Purchases are greatly appreciated. Thanks for all your support!

September 6th, 2018

I realized it had been a while since I had Billy do one of his characters, and I wanted to do that again, so I came up with this strip.
Also, I've now entered my senior year of high school. Here's to another chaotic and exciting year!

Just another reminder that the second Billy book collection, Just Us and the Elements, is now available! It's already been selling quite well, and I've seen a few people getting the first Billy book while they were at it! Thank you all so much!

August 29th, 2018

Big news! The second Billy the Pop book collection is now here! It's called Just Us and the Elements and it contains all of the Billy strips posted from mid-March 2015 through December 2016. Additionally, I made several watercolor illustrations for the main storylines that take place throughout the book. These storylines are some of my favorites in the run of this strip, such as:
- Harley takes the gang fishing 
- Agent Billy at the pool 
- The return of Thomas 
- Billy and Pete's nature adventure 
- Blunders at the beach

Here's a taste of what the book looks like!

 

I'm quite satisfied with how it came out; the colors look great in print, and it's nice to have a physical collection of these strips. When putting this book together, I was surprised at how many strips I had completely forgotten about drawing, and it was an interesting experience to see the art progress and (I like to think) improve over the nearly-2-year timespan of strips.
The book is available in paperback for $20 on Amazon, and will soon be on Kindle as well. If you are interested in supporting the strip, want to own these strips in physical form, or just need a gift for a nephew who likes comics, I would really appreciate any purchases this book gets. I had a lot of fun compiling this book, and drawing the strips inside of it. Thanks, guys!
Buy the book here!

August 24th, 2018

Recently I've been interested in the process of detective work and the means by which crimes get solved, so I thought I'd have Pete provide a (slightly simplified) take on that.

The second Billy book is almost here! Just a few more days!

August 18th, 2018

I like how the first panel turned out. Forests are always the most time-consuming, but most rewarding, thing to draw.

Also, work on the second Billy book is in its final stages! It should be available within the next week or two, assuming the proofs look right.

August 13th, 2018

For every bug you see in your house, there are several hundred you don't see. Just think about that.
I liked drawing all those jars, also.

August 6th, 2018

I'm more on the ignorant side when it comes to these things. Heck, they very well could be preparing those moon gem mining operations and I would have no idea.

July 26th, 2018

Hello, everyone! Yes, it's true; I, indeed, still exist and am still drawing this comic strip. I'm dearly sorry for leaving for so long unannounced. The truth is, due to an abundance of things popping up for me to take care of (largely school and college-related) over the last 2.5 months, I haven't had the motivation I need to maintain a regular posting schedule, and unfortunately drawing Billy strips has fallen to the wayside for me. Don't worry, the strip isn't ending or anything. I still intend to draw and post Billy the Pop throughout this next school year. But I'm going to have to abandon the every-other-day posting schedule I've kept up since 2014. Now I'll be posting on a more when-I-am-able basis, although I'll try to publish at least once a week. I'm sorry to so drastically lower the output of strips like this, but I don't ever want this strip to become a chore for me, and I need to draw when I have the time and enthusiasm for it to make sure it's not a source of stress. I really appreciate y'all for sticking with the strip for this long regardless, and I'll try not to let you guys down!

In happier news, I've been working on putting together the second Billy the Pop book collection! It's going to contain more strips than the first, as well as some nice watercolor illustrations I've been making just for this. It should be available by the end of the summer, so get hyped!

Lastly, happy birthday to my dad and my brother, Leo!

May 10th, 2018

Poor Pete.

May 2nd, 2018

It's been so long since I'd done one of these "Billy mentoring Pete" strips that I forgot what Pete's best time was. I didn't feel like looking though the whole backlog of strips to find the last time Billy stated a time, so I just guessed that 9 minutes would be a safe bet. If any of you die-hard fans feel like looking back and discover that Pete has already beaten that time, feel free to let me know and I will change this one.

April 23rd, 2018

Actually, early humans could live well into middle age. The reason that the average life span was so low was because of infant mortality; once a person lived past their teenage years, they could usually reach their fifties or beyond. That's a fun fact for the day.

Also, "Waft of the Untamed" is the name of my new brand of cologne.

April 21st, 2018

I don't have anything to say about this one, so here's a picture of a frog riding a goldfish to make up for it: link

April 19th, 2018

This is one obnoxious punchline. Jeez. I'm sorry.

April 17th, 2018

I can barely use these remote control cars. I imagine it must be even harder to control one when you're riding in it.

April 9th, 2018

I'm starting to get tired of watching superhero movies and other franchises at this point. Even Star Wars is beginning to wear on me. While I'm not quite at the level of pretension that Billy is, I do wish we saw more fulfilling works of art seeing mainstream success.

Also, happy birthday to my brother, Grant!

April 7th, 2018

It's usually Billy that has to learn a lesson after these mishaps, so I figured it would be an interesting change of pace for Pete to be the one this time. This was a pretty fun story for me; I hope you enjoyed reading it!

April 5th, 2018

And so, Billy got exactly what he wanted, and no real lesson was learned. Except for Harley, who learned not to take Billy & Pete in public anymore. Unfortunately, that's going to put a restriction on the jokes I can make now, I guess. No more taking Billy to the beach, to the pool, to the store... I kind of regret writing myself out of those sorts of scenarios (although I don't mind losing stores, because stores are a pain to draw).

April 3rd, 2018

If any of you missed that the last post was an April Fool's joke, you may not have seen an important point in the storyline. If you go back to that post and scroll all the way down, you'll see the real strip for that day.

Well, Billy has messed things up once again. When will he learn?

April 1st, 2018

Hey guys! Big news. I'm making a major change to the Billy the Pop formula. As you may know, all my Billy strips are drawn by hand with traditional pen and paper. At least, they were, until now. See, drawing like that is hard and time consuming, not to mention boring. That's why, from today onward, I've switched to drawing entirely on the computer! By drawing digitally, I'll be able to increase the productivity of this blog tenfold!

Below is the very first Billy comic to be drawn completely digitally. Drawing like this is far more efficient than the dated and obsolete traditional method (and looks pretty darn good, if I say so myself). Check it out:

I hope you guys appreciate this new shift in the Billy blueprint. From now on, no more silly pen-and-paper business! A new epoch in Billy the Pop history begins today!
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April Fools!
Don't worry, I would never replace the art of this strip like that. Plus, we're in the middle of a storyline! Let's get back to it now, shall we?

Uh oh, the jig is up! Will Billy get his snacks home safely?