Tim Dempsey, creator of both today’s guest strip, and the true-to-life family comedy My Life in the Trenches (at mylifeinthetrenches.com), struck a definite nerve in me with this strip. Being the father of two young boys, I’ve finally found up what “they grow up so fast” really means. The idea of my little Sprout suddenly sprouting into teenagerhood is a very real nightmare for me

Also, I am forever wishing I could take a long nap.
You got me twice, Tim.

Speaking of nightmares, here’s one of the latest Trenches comics. Good timing, that.

And while you’re at it, check out some of the many other projects in which Tim’s involved, via his blog at: http://dempseystudio.blogspot.com/

OP reader Andrew Rider graciously shared his take on the Easton family for today’s guest strip, exploring the private life of a mommy crab. Andrew says he’s working on putting a comic strip together, and for the time being, his artwork can be seen at: creeper23.deviantart.com. It was an awfully nice surprise to get Andrew’s strip, and awfully disturbing to think Arisa was practicing her crab walk for over an hour before the family got home… Thanks, Andrew!

George Ford, today’s guest cartoonist, and the prolific creator of Addanac City, was one of the first to welcome Odori Park to the Web, and remains one of its most constant supporters. In fact, he seems to be everyone’s supporter, gracing comics with comments around the Web like a webcomic ambassador of goodwill. If you’re a reader of comics online but you haven’t read Addanac City, then I’ll presume you’ve been hibernating for the winter. George’s tale of the luckless residents of Addanac City, and Hank–the prepubescent terror who keeps them under his thumb–has been a rolling juggernaut of funny.

Thanks for the very funny guest strip, George, and for the continuing support! (I’ll see if my wife knows Mrs. Greer’s size.)

Today’s mega-sized guest comic–and the last of the 2010 “Guest-a-Versary” strips–comes from Adrean Clark. Adrean is the former creator of the Comics Bento site, and now posts her comics at her blog www.adreanaline.com/blog, including the excellent story currently running: 8 Ways to Be Deaf. Adrean’s art and writing has a clear and fun tone I really enjoy, and I absolutely love the new perspective on Colin and Arisa that she’s opened up in this guest piece. Having worked with a deaf colleague in the past, and knowing that my wife’s cousin is also hearing impaired, I find a special relevance in Adrean’s comic. And get a load of not just the Japanese text in this piece, but the Japanese Sign Language, too! Thanks, Adrean, for going above and beyond with this strip!

And one more thank you to everyone who sent me a guest strip, everyone who read them, and all of you who visit my site and enjoy Odori Park–I’m eternally grateful!

New strips from my pen start on Monday

Toward the beginning of the year, I did a guest comic for Brock Heasley’s The SuperFogeys. Brock was kind enough to invite me–much to my pleasure–to try my hand at a SuperFogeys Origins story, which I’ve been working on, slowly but surely, the past couple months. So, needless to say, I like The SuperFogeys.

Brock has something big up his sleeve for his comic next week, and I wanted to help him spread the word. So, please take note of the following:

“If you’ve never read the SuperFogeys or it’s been a while since you have, now’s the time to check it out! Launched in September of 2006, the SuperFogeys has steadily developed into a hilarious and dramatic saga that’s far and away from its gag-a-day roots. Throughout its nearly four-year run, one villain has loomed over the residents of Valhalla-Home for the Supertired more than any other, the Third Man. We now know he’s secretly Dr. Klein, the founder of Valhalla, but what does he want? Who is he, really? And how do Spy Gal, Captain Spectacular, Swifty, Dr. Rocket and all the rest fit into his plans?

“Everything has been leading up to the bomb creator Brock Heasley will be dropping on Thursday, August 19th. Early reactions to the revelation (by those lucky few) have varied from “That’s a total mind screw” to “Holy Sh—!” (Okay, so that’s not a lot of variety. Reactions are pretty much the same across the board!)

“To celebrate, SuperFogeys will be running four updates August 16th-19th, Monday-Thursday. Then, in the week after that (after everyone’s had a chance to calm down!), seven consecutive daily updates August 23rd-29th, Monday-Sunday. 

“It’s time to catch back up with SF. What are you waiting for?”

www.superfogeys.com

For the past several months, as some of you know, I’ve been working behind the scenes–catch as catch can–on the artwork for a story set in Brock Heasley’s SuperFogeys Origins universe. Today, at last, the fruits of our labor begin to unfold. Please head over to The SuperFogeys to see the first page of Spy Gal & Friends in ‘Operation: C.O.W.!

For the uninitiated: The SuperFogeys is Brock’s comic tale of a group of aged superheroes and villains living together at Valhalla, Home for the Super-Tired. He enlists other artists periodically to draw Origins stories about the days before Valhalla, when these supers were really super. In our case, Brock and I put together a tale of intrigue, suspense, and super-powered bickering, following the mysterious SpyGal as she struggles to uncover who–or what–is C.O.W.
The story will be updated weekly on Tuesdays for the next eight weeks, so please visit often, and if you’re not already familiar with the world of the SuperFogeys, spend some time in the archives. Please leave a comment, too, to let us know what you think of the collaboration!