So I’m not really a fan of winter, but I live in the north. It’s definitely a thing. Last Thursday, the weather decided to go from lovely spring preview to winter in about five hours. Sure, it was raining at first, but I just grabbed my umbrella and all was good. No need for gloves or a hat… or so I thought. While I was having dinner, the rain turned into hail and sleet. It was painful to walk through it and the temperature dropped. I had walked over to the movie theater and after Black Panther (I liked it, but this is no surprise), the weather had changed to snow, covering everything in a few inches. I looked down at the umbrella I brought into the theater with me sadly. It was now useless and I had no gloves for brushing off my car.

Driving home was then a nightmare because of how slick the roads were with the water and snow mix. On the freeway, all drivers were lucky to get up to 20 mph and visibility was horrible. No worries, I’m quite used to driving in the worst so made it home safely; if not slowly.

This took forever, but I’m very happy with the results. I’ve always wanted to try this the moment I saw it floating around the internet (sorry it’s a bit late and no one’s really doing it anymore. I’m over it). It ended up being good practice with both sketching and digital painting, since I’m still not ready to just create stuff entirely born digital. That’s ok, it’s baby steps!

For all those who may not know, I am an Irish dancer. A lot of my family has Irish ancestry and we’re pretty proud of this. Cleveland also has a strong Irish community, which is nice. There are actually two Irish American clubs: one on the east side and one on the west. We haven’t always gotten along, but now we do. Side note: I’m from the east side (*cough* better side *cough cough*… kidding).

Now, as a member of this community of Irish enthusiasts, turns out that means St. Patrick’s Day lasts a whole month. I did not do this on purpose. It’s just how the world works sometimes and I realized it this week because on February 18th, I went to see Riverdance’s 20th anniversary show. Then I saw Gaelic Storm later in the week who is an Irish folk band and are really amazing if you haven’t heard of them. Last weekend, I went to my Irish dancing school’s annual fundraiser which is essentially dinner and a show that we call the ceili. Ceili is a  fancy (Gaelic) word for party where Irish music plays and we do traditional dances. This ceili also gives the students a chance to show their families what they’ve learned over the year so it’s a very fun event.

On top of just this past week, I’ve got more planned and definitely ending with the St. Patrick’s Day parade downtown. All of which is very exciting and I do love celebrating my family’s heritage this way. My family may be Americans (I’m at least 3rd generation American, we’ve been here a long time), but we will never forget where we came from. I appreciate understanding how my ancestors struggled so I may have the life I have now. Even though they’re gone, I would not be who I am without them. The beauty of the States is how we all have history defining us from around the world and such cultures deserve to be celebrated. All of them.

I made some Valentines! I hope you have a great day!

So, Cleveland weather’s a bit drab…

Anyway, I feel my comics are coming along nicely, which makes me happy. I think I’m getting the hang of it, which is pretty awesome. I also really like spending this much time on Gray. He actually had no back story in the original. I have no idea where he came from or when I thought of him, so I’m happy he’s got more going on now.

The next character will be Pink and then Purple. As much as I would love to introduce Purple next, I’ve got to get some more plot out of the way. I’ve also really re-vamped Pink’s character, which I’ll mention more later. She’s pretty awesome now. I don’t really remember liking her in high school, so now she’s changed and I’m calling it: we’re besties.

I’ve got a soft spot for the globe. I’m happy to say it’s from one of the first comics and probably my favorite running jokes through the comics. That and then the action figures, which I’ll hopefully be getting to soon!

Right now, I’ve just been limited by the lack of characters I’ve introduced, but I’ll be fixing that soon! Just wait, Gray is coming!

So. I’m not sure how clear my play on words here is, so I thought I’d write a quick blog post to ensure it. Just in case… Maybe it is obvious and I’m just being silly? I’m not sure. You see, I’ve been calling Black the Right-Paw Bear since the beginning, so to me it’s just normal at this point. Is it normal? Have I gone crazy? Go ahead and let me know; I’m just a person writing comics about gummibears taking over the world.

Anyway, in the land of gummibears, there are no humans so they don’t really use the term “hand” or “man.” Ergo, right-hand man is not a thing. Right-paw bear–which literally just changes these words to gummibear culture– does. That’s it.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Well! January’s going fast. I’m at least scheduled enough that comics are still coming along smoothly, but I have also been in hibernation. It’s freaking freezing where I live with crazy snowstorms. Also, it’s dark. I don’t know about you, but I’m more of a day person and sort of am controlled by the big fiery mass in the center of our solar system. When the sun is up, I’m up. When the sun is set, well, I’m set for bed. Works great in the summer, but makes me almost useless in the winter.

That aside, obviously I still need to be productive through the winter, so hello caffeinated drinks! My new best friend for the time being. I suppose we’re more like frenemies…

That’s enough rambling for one day. Enjoy the new comics!

Ooh, we’ve made it to 2018! How exciting!

This past year has been rough, but it did have some wonderful moments as well. Not only did I get my cat, Guinness; go to a lot of concerts and plays; travel to visit amazing friends and family; and just have awesome adventures overall; I have also started this webcomic series. It would not be possible with the support of my family and friends.

I have high hopes for this year and I’m excited to share it with you as well!

Adventure is out there!

I probably shouldn’t admit this took a couple attempts, but it did. When I first attempted to create the account, I wasn’t really paying attention and just did a lot of other things for the comics. As a technologically-advanced librarian, handling social media and software is usually easy. I’m ashamed, but also over it.

Personally, I don’t think of much to say on Twitter, but Blue Poisonous Gummibear begs to differ. Want to hear his thoughts? Follow him here.