Boyfriend Week 2012: Day One

Boyfriend Week starts today! Everyone at People I Know is trying to find Toby his 500th boyfriend so he can be dumped 500 times in time to celebrate the 500th webcomic... I promise it made sense somewhere along the line.

I asked you all to send in some potential boyfriends for Toby and was overwhelmed with the amazing submissions. Each day of Boyfriend Week will feature one of the above boyfriends too - I wanted to suggest some boyfriends too.

So, without further ado... bring on the boyfriends! (I think you can click on them for a larger image)

This is Jeremy - as drawn by Pandora. Here is what we know about Jeremy:

Jeremy is a vegetarian Sagittarius who likes romantic strolls along the beach, Gilbert and Sullivan, and yachting. (Or rather hosting parties on his moored yacht, as he's rubbish at nautical things).

Jeremy was the first boyfriend in my inbox so it only seems right that he gets to go first. Plus he has a nice smile. You can follow Pandora over on Twitter. Thanks Pandy!

 Next up, it's Cosmojoe as created by James. Here is what James wrote about Cosmojoe:

This is Cosmojoe, self-acclaimed 'Psychormorphic Lover' who comes from outer space. He (also potentially a she) is some form of stellar matter beyond the comprehension of Earth's basic scientific knowledge. Cosmojoe is capable of changing shape and nature and after establishing a telepathic link with someone can appear and morph into whatever form they desire. This is why I figure he's ideal for Toby - he's a willing lover who will be whatever Toby wants. Plus he's a bit spacey, offers potential for constant spontaneity and excitement and there's no other guy quite like him on Earth.

Spacey! You can follow James on Twitter over here. Thanks for introducing us to Cosmojoe! I hope him and Toby get along...

Next up, it's THREE BRAND NEW BOYFRIENDS from the brilliant brain of Darren! It's Paul (the sinister balloon), Phillip (the happy faun) and Francis (the melancholy robot boy)! Personally, I couldn't go out with Paul because I hate that balloon-rubbing noise. It drives me crazy and hugging would be out of the question. Phillip seems like a decent guy and being happy is (almost) always a good thing. And Francis. Oh Francis. Someone needs a hug, don't though. To be honest, I'm not sure which one I would choose. But this isn't about me - it's about Toby. I'll have to ask him. Anyways, thanks Darren! These are great. You can follow Darren on Twitter here!

Hello! Who is this dreamboat? It's Garyton Delicious St. Hat as sent in by the lovely Ben! Garyton came with this description:

He has a lovely fruit hat, who could resist?!

It's true - fruit is good for you and tasty so the only people that cold resist such a hat would be...uh...people allergic to fruit? Maybe? But even then, Garyton seems like such a nice chap that they'd have to be pretty tough to say no to such a lovely chap. Thanks for sending him along Ben! You can follow Ben on Twitter if you want.

I'm getting in on the fun too. Here is Bandit from today's drawing! I don't know what I was thinking when I drew him/them but here is the blurb that went along with the drawing:

Bandit might be the man or he might be the monkey… no one is really sure. What we do know is that Bandit is a cool dude that works in accounts and loves bananas…

*ahem* Moving swiftly on...

Say hello to Angus! Everything you might need to know about Angus is included in his handy drawing by the lovely David. He even included the following introduction:

Hey, this is ANGUS! He's a Paleontologist who got bored of digging so took up Baking! He's lovely, a great listener and he's hot! 

Totally perfect for Toby. He'd make cakes and, because of his Paleontological background he understands the needs of Dinosaurs like Toby. Wonderful.

I pretty much wish I was Angus... I bet he isn't scared of breaking eggs and can cook more than just beans on toast. Sigh. But yes - thanks so much to David for sending him along. You can follow David on Twitter too!

Do not adjust your monitor. You aren't seeing double. You aren't drunk (well... you could be). This is Hutch, as sent in by the lovely Nat! Here is what Nat has to say about Hutch:

Please find attached an image of Toby and his new boyfriend Hutch. It's an homage to my favourite Groening characters, Akbar and Jeff.... Toby is very happy now that he's found someone who really understands him. I called his boyfriend Hutch because I could easily photoshop his name out of other letters you'd drawn. Ha.

I'm so thrilled that Nat thinks that Toby and Hutch would get along so well. I hope that one day, Toby really will be happy. And also, that I'll get to wear a fez... Thanks for sending this in Nat. I'll pay you back one day! You can follow Nat on Twitter too!

Wrapping up the first day of Boyfriend Week 2012 is the lovely Böbbi Debonair - as drawn by the sassy lassy Kristyna! Here is what she had to say about this roller skating romeo:

Böbbi is an innovative young starlet of the French biochemistry scene. Lonely and longing for a companion to join him on his scientific odyssey, Böbbi has used his radical new discoveries and pioneering techniques to adapt his svelte physique into a figure tailored for affection.
Non-smoker, good sense of humour, own home and laboratory. 

When I first saw Böbbi Debonair, I was a little taken aback as I have that exact same top! I'm even wearing it as I type this. However, I don't have pincers or two hearts so I guess he's cooler. Sigh. Either way, I hope that him and Toby could find happiness together! Thanks for sending him along Krikri! Oh! You can follow Kristyna on Twitter!

That's it for Day One of Boyfriend Week! Swing by tomorrow for more handsome hotties! And thanks to everyone that has sent one along so far.

Questions and Answers #1

Today's drawing has some questions in it... so I made this quick survey in case you have any answers...

500th Webcomic and Boyfriend Week

Hello Hello!

I’m sorry I’ve been so lame with writing blog posts. I am a terrible person… but that can wait. I HAVE AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! Prepare yourself!

The comic that I upload on Monday the 30^th of April will by my 500^th webcomic!

500! Webcomics! That I have made!

That’s a pretty big deal (for me at least) and I’ve been having a think about how to celebrate. I cast my mind back to how People I Know started with a print comic I made at university about a dinosaur named Toby.

Considering how much fun last year’s Wizard Week was, I thought it would be nice to do something similar for Toby.

For those of you unfamiliar with Toby, here is what you need to know:

Toby is a gay dinosaur who starred in my early print comics - #1, #4, #9 and #11. One day, I will upload them onto the Internet

• He loves to eat cake
• His best friend is a sassy piece of toast called Christina
• He has terrible luck when it comes to dating
• He was once transformed into a human (click on ‘next’ to read all of this story)
• Recently, he was dating a giant cake named Jake (click on ‘next’ to read all of this story)

So yes. That’s Toby and I think we can all agree that what he really needs is a nice boyfriend. And who better to find him one then people like YOU!

That’s right! What I’m going to do is declare the second week of May as Boyfriend Week! All you need to do is draw the perfect boyfriend for Toby. You can give them a name, a back story or even super powers! I don’t mind as long as you think they will bring some happiness to Toby’s life. Oh – although I should say that they can't be rude or too saucy – I wouldn’t want to make Toby blush.

I’d like to start Boyfriend Week on Monday the 7^th of May so I’ll say the deadline for submissions is Friday the 4^th of May! May the fourth! Send the boyfriends over to me and I'll put them on the blog across the week. My email address is timothy (underscore) Winchester (at) yahoo (dot) com.

UPDATE: I ended up making too many 500-themed comics so the dates have changed. The deadline is now Friday the 11th of May! I hope no one is angry with me and that everyone will still get involved!

I’ll plan out some boyfriend-themed comics too so it will be a proper thing. Everyone can get involved. I’ll ask my pals. You can ask your pals! And if it’s anything like Wizard Week or Angela Lansbury Week then it will be pretty good fun!

I really hope you can take part! If you have any questions then let me know.

TL:DR – Send in a drawing of a potential boyfriend for Toby the dinosaur by Friday the 4^th of May!

I hope you had an ace weekend!

Stay out of trouble

TW

EDIT: This post looks boring because it is all words. Here is a drawing to liven it up:

Real Life: Last Night (and some other things)

Hello!

In today's drawing, a pal asks me what I got up to last night...but as you see - you don't find out because it's all a bit of a blur. Terrible pun aside, I wanted to put the un-blurred version up so you could see what I've been up to... Here you go!

So, there you go! I've been trying to be very sociable. It's a bit of a new adventure for me but I'm enjoying myself which is a good thing. PLUS! I went to All Tomorrow's Parties and had an amazing time. I saw some bands I'm crazy about...and I saw some I'd never heard of. There were a lot of drumkits. I think one band had five on stage at once. Maybe that's why I enjoyed The Magnetic Fields and Joanna Newsom so much? But that's for a different blog post.

Oh! I did some drawings as well!

This one is for my pal Dan (who was poorly)!

This is some fan art for Kieron Gillen's Journey Into Mystery. It's Little Loki! Awwwww!

 And here is my pal - riding a caticorn!

I think that's it. Well done for making it this far! Have a lovely weekend!

Frobisher Says!

Hello hello!

A while ago, I was asked by some delightful people whether I would do some drawings for a computer game on the fancy new PS Vita. Obviously I wet myself and screamed "OMG! YES PLEASE!!!" and that's where this story begins.

The delightful people in question were HoneySlug and Mr Richard Hogg and they were working on something that would eventually become Frobisher Says. The game is a series of exciting mini games that cover everything from winking at badgers (or not winking at badgers), drying a sausage dog or smashing eggs. I've played it! It's lots of fun! Other people have played too it too! They also think it's lots of fun! Even my pal who hates everything has been saying how ace it is.



FACT: Once you're familiar with each game, try playing it in a foreign language!

I drew three different games. It was a really interesting experience because the brief was pretty loose. So, although I knew there was egg on a branch, it was up to me to decide what that egg looked like. Here is one of my early sketches!

In fact, doing sketches was a whole new world for me. It isn't something I really do normally. And also, I drew everything on different layers so everything could be animated afterwards. It turns out that this was useful training for a later project but that can wait for another blog.

I don't know whether it is available in the US or Japan...but it came with pre-ordered Vita consoles over here in England. I think it is available for downloading from the store in May. I've only written about one of the games here so that the other two will be a surprise!

I was so thrilled to be asked that I did some Frobisher Says fan art! I hope Frobisher likes it!

I don't think Frobisher ever says "spook that spectre," but if I designed a game for him then it would defo involve doing just that!

And here is a rainbow bird family! Aren't they cute! Which one if your favourite?

So yeah - mega thanks to HoneySlug and Dick for asking me to get involved. I can't tell you all how excited about the whole thing. I hope you all get excited when you play it!

Matchmaker...

So... three weeks and one survey later and the Witch has a name.

Thanks to everyone that voted. Flo was ahead by a few votes, followed by Lola and Fran.

I'm going away this weekend but People I Know will be back on Monday with three updates a week. I think People I Know is nearing it's 500th update which is crazy. I'm considering making a fancy book (with a spine) of my favourites and finally opening up the online shop. It's just working out what sort of stuff I do and don't include.

But that's a post for a later date.

Have an ace weekend!

Valentine's Story 2012 - Deleted Scenes

Hello!

So...after a few (three?) weeks, the Valentine's Day story of 2012 is over. Well, it concluded yesterday.

I'm really happy with it as a story and I hope you all enjoyed it. We got to see familiar faces in new positions, old friends that haven't been up to much and we also got to meet Jake the Cake! Hooray for Jake!

So...the story was meant to finish with yesterday's drawing.  However, as I was colouring it in, I felt like there were lots of extra bits and bobs that I had wanted to draw but couldn't as I was worried the story would feel too long. After a bit of thinking, I came up with this - some Deleted Scenes! For the remainder of the week, you'll see some short strips showing you all the extra bits that you didn't get to see. For example, today you get to see what Sally really thought of Toby and what the Witch got up to on her holiday.

It also means that I can reveal the name you chose for the Witch as part of Friday's drawing! That's exciting. Well...I think it's exciting.

What else? Well, I'm off to ATP this weekend which is my first big music festival. I'm a bit nervous so I hope it's fun. I'm making another diary comic about the time I went to Manchester. Maybe I'll make one about my time at ATP? I'm sure there is other stuff too but I can't think what...

Oh! And I was at London Super Comic Con last last weekend! That was a thing. In fact, it was pretty good fun. It was a whole new audience for People I Know and I had a nice chat with some cool people. Plus I saw the back of Stan Lee's head! In real life! Yeah! My next convention will be Comica in April.

I hope you're well! Have a lovely day!

Which Witch

Remember that time I asked for your short and sassy suggestions for witch names? Well, I went through the suggestions and made a mini survey with my favourites. I added in a last minute idea myself as well but it's up to you lot to decide.

I think you can vote for as many names as you like...but voting closes on Wednesday the 7th of March. You'll find out the most popular choice on Friday's comic! HOORAY!

There are some bonus questions too so please answer them! I'd love to know what you think!

Off The Wall Post!

Hello!

A few weeks ago, I was on a podcast. It is called Off The Wall Post and is about the internet and social media. You can listen to the episode by clicking this link - although you have to promise not to laugh at me. I didn't realise my voice was so...duck-like. Quack quack quack! Except at the start when I try talking with a Dick Van Dyke-accent... Then I just sounded like an idiot.

That's how I roll!

Anyways. So, I talk/quack away about a bunch of things. The lovely Dan, Baz and Kat are in charge of the whole thing and were really lovely. Especially because I'd hardly slept at all - it was a crazy week and I was mostly powered by Mini Eggs.

Listen to the podcast and you will discover:
- what my Dick Van Dyke impression sounds like
- how People I Know started
- what pen I like
- the phrase "cray cray popular"
- how gross my laugh is
 - AND LOTS OF OTHER THINGS TOO!!!!

But you will also discover other things that aren't about me. Things about QR codes and Google Ads and all sorts of things. If you're interested in the Internet, I would officially recommend subscribing to Off The Wall Post. It is a good way of learning what is going on online and also a good way to have some fun. Plus they have some ace guests in too!

There was an awkward moment (that got cut out) where I had to explain that I didn't have 12,000 Twitter followers, but we won't talk about that.

Before the recording, I had a panic about not having anything to talk about...so I did what I always do during a panic and made a survey! The response was amazing and made me laugh a lot. Thanks to everyone that had a go and I'm sorry that we didn't talk about it on the podcast.

Here are some of my favourite answers:


What does the Internet smell like?

• "Robots. Possibly the none-too-friendly kind, too..." - Estragon Helmer
• "Musty cat fur and shame." - Euan
• "Troll blood, unicorn pee and Eau d'Ordinateur aftershave" from James
• "The chocolate cake stuck between the letters of my keyboard" from Not Bazza
  

Do you remember the noise that dial up made during connection? How do you spell that noise?

• "BrrrrrrBoopBoopBoopBoopReeeooooreeeeooooochchhhhhhhchhhkkkhhhhh" from Rebecca
• "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-eeee-e-e-e-eeeeeeeeee its like george of the jungle but autotuned" from Corpius
• "Yes, it gurgled like a turkey. Gluhaaaark-huaarghkl-huraaahuraaghkl-gluh-gluh-klaaaaaghkh-huh-huhkluh-gluh-buhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-kuk" from Krikri
• "rrr beep beep beep boop beep beep boop...zzzz bmp. weee weee weee weee waoaoaoa ena ena eeee haaaaaa ccccccc ena ena eeeee bmp" from Anna

DAN Acronyms

• "Delicous Animals Near" from Alma
• "Do A Noise" from Kat
• "Dinner at Nando's" from JulieNotLaura

BAZ Acronyms

• "Boltonians Against Zebras" from Trevor
• "Brain Adjustment Zone" from James
• "Bacon Addicts of Zimbabwe" by Bits

KAT Acronyms

• "Kestral Analysis Team" from Phil
• "Ketchup and Twin" from Izzy
• "Not sure but I bet it's dirty." from Seb

Obviously Dan, Baz and Kat aren't really acronyms! They are the names of the Off The Wall Post! Oh how we laughed!

I also did a drawing for the gang! Here it is!

So yeah... that was my first experience of being on a podcast. I hope you enjoy listening to it and I hope I get to do something like it again! Thanks to Dan, Baz and Kat for inviting me along and thanks to everyone that filled in the survey!

In other news, I hope you're enjoying the current Matchmaker storyline. It's back to three updates a week next week... but what a journey we've been on since Valentine's Day! And there will be a survey about the Witch too so we can all vote on her name. Exciting!






IN MORE OTHER NEWS! I have a table at the London Super Comic Con this weekend! It is the first time they have run the event so I'm not sure what to expect (or even what forms I need to bring along) but I hope it all goes well. Come and say hello - I'll be wherever the small press comics are.


Have an ace weekend!

Stay out of trouble
TWx

Witch Alert!

So...in today's drawing, the Matchmaking Witch has decided to go on holiday. Don't worry! Someone will take over her Matchmaking business and she'll be back soon enough... but until then, I had a thought!

I was going to give the Witch a name at some point but now I've decided to let you lot get involved too. HOORAY!

If you've got an idea for a short and sassy name for the Witch, please go and leave a comment on this comic. I'll select my favourites in a few days and put them up in a poll. Then, we can all vote for your favourite name and that will be revealed when the Witch returns. Spoilers: She comes back from holiday at some point.

Remember: short and sassy! Short because it saves space and sassy because she's a sassy gal. Her tears today were just because of her inability to find a date for Toby...

IN OTHER NEWS: I hope you're enjoying the Valentine's Matchmaking Story! The twist in the storyline begins tomorrow! TWISTY!!!!

UPDATE! Voting is closed. The witch's name is revealed here!