Ask Dr. Eldritch!

Comic for Monday, December 5, 2011

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:06:49 GMT

#690 - Naturally Ectoplasmic New episodes When Available

Monday, December 5, 2011

REMINDER: Book Launch tonight, Tuesday, December 06, 2011, for my second book, "Ask Dr. Eldritch Volume #2 Why Does My Monster Hate Me?"! It's part of the Willamette Writers Annual Book Faire at the Old Church (1422 SW 11th), 7:00pm. Admission is free. Refreshments will be served. And many other local authors will be selling their books, so you can do all of your Holiday Shopping at once! I hope to see you there!

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Comic for Monday, November 21, 2011

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:04:17 GMT

#689 - Oh, That's So EASY New episodes When Available

Monday, November 21, 2011

TODAY'S NEWS: I've been remiss: I haven't mentioned that Reader Bob contributed a Fan Art comic (also reachable from the Fan Art page), and Reader SooGuy sent in a photo of him with his new copy of my latest book (found on the Fan Photo page). Much Thanks to Reader Bob and Reader SooGuy!

The long-awaited Book Launch Event for my second book is here! Anyone in the Portland area who hasn't gotten their copy of "Ask Dr. Eldritch Volume #2 Why Does My Monster Hate Me?" can do so at the Willamette Writers Annual Book Faire! Go to the Old Church (1422 SW 11th) on Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 at 7:00pm! Admission is free. Refreshments will be served. And many other local authors will be selling their books, so you can do all of your Holiday Shopping at once. And if you're still on the fence after also hearing that I'll be reading from my latest book, I have three words for you: Possible. Wardrobe. Malfunction.

See you there!

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Comic for Monday, November 7, 2011

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:49:12 GMT

#688 - Good Taste New episodes When Available

Monday, November 7, 2011

TODAY'S NEWS: First of all, Big Happy Eldritch Birthday Greetings to HolyHippie! I hope it's awesome!

Second, Big Congratulations to the podcast "Greetings From Nowhere," which is hosted by friends of the comic, for winning a Podcast Award! The Minions and I are very happy for them, and even though we've never won any webcomic awards, we're not jealous at all.

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Comic for Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 03:28:06 GMT

#687 - Falling Objects New episodes When Available

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

TODAY'S NEWS: Lots of people say that mind-control doesn't exist, but you can't prove a negative, like "There isn't ice cream in the freezer any more," so there's no point in pursuing accusations about me eating the last of it. Instead, let's talk about my book! You can still get in on the special pre-order price, plus BONUS GIFTS! Just email to sales @ askdreldritch.com by this Saturday (September 24th) and tell me how many books you want!

Perhaps you're thinking "Wow, he's really obsessed about this falling satellite thing," and you'd be right. I may be neural-influence-resistant, since in actuality, a lot of the GPS mind-control programming is solely to make us forget that large man-made objects fall from the sky every year. Do you remember a large satellite falling in 2010? I rest my case.

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Comic for Friday, September 16, 2011

Sat, 17 Sep 2011 02:06:33 GMT

#686 - Hypothetical New episodes When Available

Friday, September 16, 2011

TODAY'S NEWS: Since I didn't get notice to the Newsletter subscribers in time, I'm going to extend the deadline for pre-orders for "Ask Dr. Eldritch Volume #2 Why Does My Monster Hate Me?" for another week. I've received enough orders to lower the purchase price to $12.45 per book, and if I get requests for just 23 more copies, I'll drop that price to $11.95.* So if you were considering getting a copy, or thought you missed the deadline, now's your chance!

Email your requests in to sales @ askdreldritch.com by noon (PDT) on Saturday, September 24th and let me know how many copies you want. Not only will EVERY copy you buy be PERSONALLY AUTOGRAPHED, but you'll receive a FREE Zombie Danger Kit and Bonus Gifts for each book! You could take care of all of your holiday shopping with one email, so order now!

* That's $12.45 ($9.45 + 3.00S/H), or the super-special price of $11.95 ($8.95 + 3.00S/H).

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Comic for Monday, September 5, 2011

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 22:35:13 GMT

#685 - Origins New episodes When Available

Monday, September 5, 2011

TODAY'S NEWS: Hey, my second book, "Ask Dr. Eldritch Volume #2 Why Does My Monster Hate Me?" is available for pre-orders! Request yours now and you'll not only get a discount on your personally autographed copy, but you'll receive a FREE Zombie Danger Kit and Bonus Gifts!

Just email this address: by September 17th and let me know how many copies you want.*
The total price should be about $12.95 per book (estimated $9.95 + 3.00S/H). The more copies that are ordered means bigger discounts, and I'll pass the savings on to you. Once the book goes to distribution, I won't be able to offer such discounted rates, so order your copies now! And as always, thanks for encouraging my behavior!

* After the 17th, I'll reply with the total price per copy, and gather shipping and payment information.

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Comic for Friday, July 15, 2011

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 18:28:56 GMT

#684 - Reenactification New episodes When Available

Friday, July 15, 2011

TODAY'S NEWS: Hey, Everybody! I admit that my posting of comics has gone really wonky (perhaps even to the point where some people might wonder if maybe it would not come back). Sorry. But there is Good News! My plan is to start up a regular schedule again on Labor Day. Perhaps not back to the 3-days-a-week schedule right off, but at least something every week.

Until then, I’m posting all of my archive of Vote Incentive comics, changing them EVERY DAY! If you’d like to revisit all of them, just click on the voting button every day. I know, it’s not the same as new comics, but you might see comics that you haven’t seen before. And some of them are pretty funny. Like the one with the monkey.

Finally, for all of you who have been wondering about "Ask Dr. Eldritch Volume #2 Why Does My Monster Hate Me?", I’m still working with the Proofreading Minion on final revisions. I plan to have a pre-release sale to my Loyal Fans (that’s YOU!), so keep watching for the announcement!

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Comic for Monday, April 4, 2010

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:36:52 GMT

#683 - CAAD 2011 New episodes When Available

Monday, April 4, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS:
After a busy weekend of prodding the Minions to work faster, the manuscript for the second book of Advice Column Letters is complete, and sent off to the printer! To make the debut of "Ask Dr. Eldritch Volume #2 Why Does My Monster Hate Me?" even MORE awesome, we're releasing the first twenty copies as a Stumptown Comics Fest 2011 Special Edition (as indicated on the gold seal on the upper right of the cover)!

Want one? Come to SCF2011, and buy your copy there!

(And click on the image for a larger view!)

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Comic for Monday, March 14, 2011

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:31:01 GMT

#682 - Special Plans New episodes When Available

Monday, March 14, 2011

TODAY'S NEWS: There's a Bonus 5th Panel as a Vote Incentive, so be sure to vote if you want to see it!

Had a great visit with Christina of the Greetings From Nowhere podcast and her friend J____ this weekend. J____ wasn't familiar with this comic before (which is odd, since Christina and Nicole mention Dr. Eldritch, like, every other podcast), but she's lucky in that she has 682 new-to-her comics in the archive she can read! If you have any friends who you think might enjoy this comic, feel free to mention it to them, too.

And in case you're wondering, I do NOT plan how to eliminate people I know if they turn evil, so don't even ask.

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Comic for Monday, February, 14 2011

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:23:54 GMT

#681 - Lowest Common New episodes When Available

Monday, February, 14 2011

TODAY'S NEWS: Hey, Everybody! No, I didn't expect to go three months between comics. It just sorta happened. Thanks to everyone who has asked about me and the comic during that time. I do have hopes of posting more frequently than "quarterly."

If you haven't heard the news, I will be at Stumptown Comics Fest 2011! I hope all of you who are in the Portland area on April 16 - 17th will come by the Convention Center and say hi! Mention that you read my comic, and I'll give you free stuff!

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Comic for Monday, November 15, 2010

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:27:19 GMT

#680 - Confession New episodes When Available

Monday, November 15, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS: Haunting is definitely a skill, and not all ghosts are good at it. Most can't manage much beyond random thumps or a slight breeze that ruffles the pages of a book. Most people won't think "Hey, by the way that candle flame flickered, I can tell that I need to relay a message to some stranger that his mother loved him and she actually buried his valuable Pokémon card collection in a coffee can in the back yard," so lots of ghosts don't resolve the issues that are keeping them from crossing over to the Great Beyond. Sad, but true.

Anyway, I didn't quite finish this for Friday, so I waited until today to post it. I think I've figured out my Creative Efforts Formula: I accomplish approximately 50% of my creative goals for any given week. So last week I was aiming at three comics, a Newsletter and novel writing. I managed two comics. Perhaps my strategy should be to set my goals at three or four times what I'd like to accomplish, thus increasing my productivity to 150% - 200% of desired levels. Of course, this method will also increase my stress levels about the Accomplishment to Goal Gap, but it might be worth it.

Sometimes I think creative pursuits are just an artistic path to Crazytown.

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Comic for Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 13:26:45 GMT

#679 - Shady Business New episodes When Available

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS: I forgot to point out that this storyline refers back to this comic (if you don't know the Charlene story, read it here)!

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Comic for Monday, November 8, 2010

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 13:33:27 GMT

#678 - Nigel's Ghost New episodes Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Monday, November 8, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS: I'm doing NaNoWriMo again this year, but since I'm a Rebel Who Plays By His Own Rules, I'm doing my version where instead of trying to write 50,000 words in a month, I'm trying to finish the final chapters of the NaNo novel I started in 2005. I'd hoped to spend time writing this weekend, but I've only gotten as far as reading through the draft of what I have, and doing some mapping out of what should happen next. So my Word Count still rests at 0. Fortunately, there is still lots of November left.

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Comic for Monday, November 1, 2010

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 12:27:56 GMT

#677 - Post-Halloween New episodes When Available

Monday, November 1, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS: I struggled with scripting today's comic for quite a while. The original idea was totally different, and ended with a punchline about "Second Life." I've had a headache and felt queasy much of the afternoon (no, I haven't consumed ANY Halloween candy, let alone an excess of it), so I wasn't happy with it. So I when I came up with this, I threw it together and called it good. I really appreciate all the comments and emails saying that you miss reading Ask Dr. Eldritch, so I wanted to get SOMETHING out here for you. I hope you all had a great Halloween!

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Comic for Monday, October 4, 2010

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 12:35:13 GMT

#676 - Book Tour 3 New episodes When Available

Monday, October 4, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS: If interviewers stopped asking writers, cartoonists and artists where they get their ideas, that would be fine by me. I know it seems like a good interview question, but it's really not. Sure, we can go on about creative influences, amalgam and synthesis from other works or inspirational sources, but there are really only two answers, and the best one is: We just make stuff up. The source is our own heads. Sometimes it's when we're sitting at the computer trying to come up with ideas, but often it just happens when we're thinking about other things. When I was considering what present to give to my older brother and his fiancée for their wedding, it occurred to me to just give them toast, which became Comic #669. The whole idea for the Ask Dr. Eldritch advice column came to me when I was annoyed at movie characters who did stupid things, and realized that they needed someone to tell them how to handle the situations they were in. So, in short, we just think things up.

The other answer is "We steal them from other writers," which is honest, but it kinda sounds bad. You can see why we wouldn't want to talk about that.

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Comic for Friday, October 1, 2010

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 12:39:53 GMT

#675 - Book Tour 2 New episodes When Available

Friday, October 1, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS: I won a podcast promo contest at Greetings From Nowhere! I submitted six promos for the podcast, and the winning one starts episode #29. The promo is at the beginning, but you can listen to the whole podcast, too. Check it out here!

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Comic for Monday, September 27, 2010

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:46:07 GMT

#674 - Book Tour 1 New episodes When Available

Monday, September 27, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS: Going to Wordstock? So am I! I'll be at the Willamette Writers table from noon to 2:00pm on Saturday, October 9th, selling my book and chatting with anyone who will talk to me. If you're there, I hope you stop and say hi!

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Comic for Monday, September 13, 2010

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:22:56 GMT

#673 - Sibling Rivalry New episodes When Available

Monday, September 13, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS: Hey! Easter Egg! Act quickly, and you can score some awesome Virtual Doughnuts! And don't overthink it; just go with the first thing that seems to match the Easter Egg requirements.

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Comic for Monday, September 6, 2010

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:01:58 GMT

#672 - Numbers New episodes When Available

Monday, September 6, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS: Well, here we are, Labor Day, 2010! Five years ago, the first episode of this webcomic spewed forth onto the Web. I'm grateful to all of you who have found this comic and have been reading it ever since! Knowing that people are enjoying my work is truly a gift. Thank you!

I'm particularly grateful that you've stuck with it through my challenges over the past year. I wish I could say that those are all behind me, but I'm not sure that's the case. During the past four weeks, I've had three trips to the Emergency Room, one of which resulted in surgery, two (and possibly three) struvite kidney stones, multiple medical appointments and a barrage of tests. The best thing I can say about all of this is that if I have an underlying metabolic issue (which could be the cause of my problems for the past year or so), we may be able to identify and correct it. I am cautiously optimistic.

And I'm sure you're wondering, what does this mean for YOU? The good news is that I will continue to produce the comic and Newsletter. I'd hoped to return to my regular schedule, but coming off a week of forced inactivity and pain meds, I'm not nearly as prepared for that as I'd hoped. For now, comics will be published when available, perhaps one or two per week. I plan on resuming the weekly Newsletter, but I'm not sure if I'll release my second book of columns this year, or if it will have to wait until 2011.

In short, "Ask Dr. Eldritch," goes on! Thanks again for your continuing support as we head into another year of webcomicry and the Web's Best Uncommon-Sense Advice!

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Comic for Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:57:45 GMT

#990 - Break New episodes Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS: Apparently, I am having a problem with August.

I fully expected that the project for my current client would get Very Busy about this time. I didn't foresee last week's kidney stone. That kinda took me by surprise. Then I was back this week, and thinking I'd get rolling again, and came down with a cold.

Sometimes the thing to do is Zerg Rush the opposing forces, and sometimes the best thing for it is to fall back, regroup, and take a bit of time to regain one's edge, and then resume. And even if it's not the best thing, that's what I'm going to do.

So, let's meet back here on Labor Day!

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Comic for Monday, August 9, 2009

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:13:23 GMT

#671 - Questions New episodes Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Monday, August 9, 2009

TODAY'S NEWS: People sometimes ask me how long it takes to create a comic, and the answer is always "Well, it depends." I started working on shooting and assembling this comic about five hours before I started writing this, but even that's a little misleading. That time also saw two loads of laundry, a snack break, and a time-out when my back started aching and needed a few minutes of lying down. I also have to include scripting, and time spent setting up the web pages, and the time to write this news post. All in all, it's fair to say that I'll devote six hours of my life to today's comic. I hope you like it!

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Comic for Monday, July 26, 2010

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:26:02 GMT

#670 - Princess Sparkle New episodes Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Monday, July 26, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS: For those of you who have been wanting to see more of Princess Sparkle.

My most exciting news from the weekend was encountering a Pika in the wild, literally just a few feet from me. We only saw the one, but you know the saying, "For every Pika you see, there are a thousand you don't see." We weren't attacked or anything, but there is a thrill from being so close to a ferocious forest creature and surviving to tell the tale.

Comic for Friday, July 16, 2010

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:25:03 GMT

#669 - Presents New episodes Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Friday, July 16, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS: Do you like seeing what books people are reading? Perhaps you give others a knowing smile when they're reading a particular favorite of yours. Or you merely enjoy make snap judgments about your fellow riders of mass transit based on their reading choices. With more and more people switching to ebook readers, that silent communication could be lost, unless we do something about it. As my award-winning writer friend Mary Robinette Kowal recently suggested, ebooks should have clear sleeves on the back, and publishers could provide cover flats to insert in them. I think this is a great idea, and to help the cause, if you've downloaded the ebook version of my book, Ask Dr. Eldritch Volume #1 Are Aliens Eating My Crackers?, I'll send you a FREE 4"x6" insert card of the cover! I'll even SIGN it for you, if you like, also for FREE! Just send an email and ask for the Are Aliens Eating My Crackers? cover. You will have to give me an address to mail it to (anywhere in the US, and any country where sending such things is not prohibited). I'll autograph the card, too, unless you ask me not to.

And if you haven't downloaded the ebook version of my book, now is a good time to do so! If you can view a pdf file, you can read it. Just go here: Ask Dr. Eldritch Volume #1 Are Aliens Eating My Crackers? ebook

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Comic for Monday, July 12, 2010

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:22:55 GMT

#668 - Scott's Worst Birthday Ever New episodes Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Monday, July 12, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS: Perhaps you've been wondering, "So, does Evan do any other creative work than Ask Dr. Eldritch?" The answer is "Yes!", and to prove it, a cartoon I submitted to the Stumptown Underground zine has been published in their Mythology/Fairytale/Folktale issue, "Happily Ever After." My piece is called "Phil's Story," and it's available now if you subscribe to Stumptown Underground (eventually, you'll be able to purchase single copies of the issue, if you just want that one).

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Comic for Monday, June 28, 2010

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:55:51 GMT

#666 - The Number New episodes generally Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Monday, June 28, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS: Let's have a contest to celebrate the posting of Comic #666 (suitable for framing)! Lightly hidden in the comic are some horned devil faces. Be the first to post a comment here, on the AskDrEldritch blog, with the correct number of faces hidden in the image, and you win an Ask Dr. Eldritch Convention Pack, including a purple Ask Dr. Eldritch Tote Bag, a Today's Zombie Danger Card, a Get Out of Trouble Free Card, and MORE! Also, everyone who posts a comment saying the number of horned devil faces they think are in the picture will win a celebratory Box of Virtual Doughnuts! Got it? Good! Now Look, Post, and Win!

WARNING: Do not gaze too long upon the black-velvet painting of the chimpanzee in the cowboy hat, lest it Drive You Mad.